Where and how do I begin my walk?

[Leslie_C]

I do love and believe in God, and I am dissapointed in myself that I have not made more of an effort to have more of a relationship with him. I am guilty of praying only when I need or want something and not just to thank him for the daily blessings he has given me. I am at a loss right now bc I want to build a relationship but I dont know where to begin in my walk with him. My life is in an uproar right now. I know that I should be living a lifestyle more pleasing to him but I dont know how to turn things around for me.

I have found myself also guilty of something Ive seen mentioned here (which is good to know Im not alone) and that is distancing myself from church because I dont want to be a hippocrit. If I am going to go to church and live that life then I want to be able to do it 100%. So I cant tell u the last time Ive been to church or the last time I opened a bible. To tell u the truth I dont even understand the bible. I have never actually learned it and its context. My knowlege is basically that of a child. All I know is that there is a God and that I believe in him, worship him, praise him, and love him. But I dont know much about the bible itself.

Can anyone offer me some insight on where to begin? It is very overwhelming for me, I have so much going on in my life but I also have this voice in my ear that tells me I really need to get to know him and that I dont have my whole life to put it off.

thx for listening.

 

[stcsweet]

Leslie,
Praise the Lord! God is speaking to you and wants you to know Him! I'm so encouraged to see your message!

I'm sure other ladies on this board have other resources and opinions....but, I wanted to share one with you.

Prayer and study are the first steps to bringing you close to God!

If you have about 35-45 minutes about twice a week to spare, please consider the online Charles Stanley Institute

This is a FREE (yes, really) course that you can take online and at your own pace. There is homework, which ususally consists of scripture readings and personal/online journal entries.

I pray that this helps you to take the next steps in solidifying your relationship with God.

Blessings!

 

[ChosenbyGod]

You should begin with REPENTANCE.
Meaning, have a change of heart, sorrowful spirit about the things you've done and sins you've committed and make up in your mind that you are turning away from those things. REALLY. Be sincere and honest w/God, remember, HE loves you and died so that you might be saved. Trust me, if you don't do this first step sincerely, the rest you try to do will be in vain. Ask God to forgive you for your sins (name the sins that come to your head...just talk to HIM ) and believe that HE'S FORGIVEN YOU!! Many people continue to beat themselves over the head over past sins, or rather, allow the devil to beat them upside the head. Just lay all that down at an altar and MAKE UP YO MIND that you ain't gonna look back!! (to the world, worldly ways, bad influences, bad atmospheres...etc..)

Next, BAPTISM IN JESUS' NAME for the remission (washing away) of those sins you just asked God to forgive. Let me give you an example:
Say that I'm over your house and I compliment you on this beautiful white rug that you have in your living room. You say thank you, and then you offer me some red Kool-aid. So we are in your living room talking (about God ) and I get all excited and accidentally spill some red kool-aid all over your white carpet. I apologize a thousand times "I'm sooo sorry!" and although you are a tad bit upset w/me, you forgive me. "Good!", I say and then sit back down to talk w/you. But in your mind your thinking, "Umm, that big red stain is still on my white rug, I can't forget what she did, I mean, it's staring me in the face". You finally tell me to clean up the stain which I gladly do. The stain is GONE! A few weeks later I come back to your house and I say, "Remember that time when I spilled that red Kool-aid all over your white rug??" You then look at your white rug and say "When? I don't remember that. I don't even see a stain".

This is how God is. He's forgiven us for our sins but the "stain" is still there. We need to be washed up, covered by HIS blood and we can only be covered through HIS NAME, JESUS. I can't even explain how clean you will feel!! It's great knowing that all the things you've done before are no longer remember by God, you can begin w/a clean slate!!!

Next, RECEIEVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST w/the evidence of speaking in other tongues. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, "Ye shall recieve power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you...". The only way we will recieve power (power over sin, flesh, the devil, etc.) is through the Holy Ghost. We certaintly don't have power in ourselves. Not at all!!

The plan of salvation can be found in the book of Acts chapter 2. This is where the first New Testament church started.

I pray that I have been of some help to you and I also pray that you will consider carefully the things that I have written to you and also what the Bible says about salvation.

"They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled"-Jesus

 

[stcsweet]

Chosen,
Very appropriate advice!

I just wanted to add a mini-editorial. My journey back to God didn't directly start with repentance. God took a different direction for me with other activities before I came to repent (I was not only hard-headed, but also hard-hearted). Thankfully, I did have enough sense to pray and seek God before that. God is truly merciful, because once that happened, things were wonderfully and completely different for me!

Leslie, please heed Chosen's advice. However, please do not give up too soon if you are having trouble with it.

 

[divinefavor]

Wonderful advice from everyone! Chosen said it all there's nothing I else I can say.

God is a merciful God and please know that those of us that are in this walk are still learning things daily and we still make mistakes. But God with His grace and mercy forgives us.

Also, after doing the things that Chosen has said. If you don't have a church home, I would suggest finding a church home where you are going to be fed/taught the word of God and how to live a Christian life and where you know the Holy Spirit is moving. It may take you to visit a couple of churches a few times or it may not. I read from your message that God is already speaking to you and He will lead you to the right church.

 

[Chichi]

Leslie,

The very fact that you are posting is a great start! Keep in mind that we are ALL guilty of sin. No one amongst us is without sin. No one can cast a stone at you. And as a matter of fact, no one amongst us can really say that we are 100% at all.

Jesus is a forgiver. As long as you have repentance in your heart and are willing to change, He will forgive you. Remember the story of the prodigal son... If you have those around you that say you must be "perfect" to walk the walk, do not listen to them. Jesus would not have listened to them either. If you remember in the Bible, Jesus had the most tense discussions with those who would just uphold the law at the expense of everything else. Jesus is a forgiver. Remember the story of the woman at the well and remember the story of the woman that everyone wanted to stone? Jesus said, "let whichever of you is free from sin throw the first stone." Then, of course, they all had to leave.

Easter is a time of new beginnings! My advice to you would be to start somewhere. Maybe mass/service every week? You will be amazed at how God can take a small offering and multiply it tenfold! Just make a start somewhere one day it will "click" and everything will come together. God bless and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Chichi

 

[DelightfulFlame]

great advice thus far! I also want to add that the bible can be overwhelming...so I would start with the Life of Jesus. Learn about how He lived, his Spirit, etc. He is the way, so He's a great start!