I want to know Jesus more

[firmfoundation]

Brothers and sisters, I have come to know Jesus back in 1999 when a friend of mine invited me to a Bible study. I've been an active member of the Church since then until 2001. I stopped going to Church in 2001 and backslid. It had been a very dark 10 years for me. Until October 2011, when God held my hand and lead me to the Church once again. I have done a lot of mischievous and kinda immoral things in the past. And now that I want to change and offer my life to Jesus, I am having a hard time giving up everything to Him. I had a relationship with a lesbian for 4 years, my mind is full of lustful thoughts...And even though I have been attending Sunday services again, I still can't give up my relationship with her. Please help me pray to be released from this chain. I want to give my life completely to God and I don't know how to do this. Should I give up even the friendship that she and I started? Or should we remain friends?

 

[Chad]

Lose the friendship with her immediately.

Matthew 10:37

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

That verse applies to loving anyone or anything above Christ. When you put anyone before Christ you are in sin of idolatry.

You will make some helpful friends here especially women who can become your accountability partner to walk you through this. Just remember, you DO have victory in Christ, now claim it out of your mouth with great faith. He already paid the price for your sins.

"Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:57-58

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life." 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you*will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

"Lord, it is nothing [not too hard] for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You.”* 2 Chronicles 14:11

 

[faithfulservant]

Before I give you practical advice about a real walk with the Lord, I have to say one thing: Turn from this sin! You can do it! Jesus will help you! But, if you don't trust Him and let Him handle this sin, you will continue to be bound by it. Don't worry about what people think. People aren't aware of God. They don't care about eternality. They think it's all about the moment. But you, you know! God is real, and He wants to save you, but you have to repent of such sin or every time he tries to throw you the life preserver, you will ignore it.

Watch His power at work to protect and guide you when you turn from this sin. Keep laying down the temptations to Him, and don't listen to the world when it tries to drag you back. If you need a place to live in order to get out of the relationship, go to people at the church. There is someone there who can help you.

Once you have turned and repented and sought Jesus' deliverance... Know the following:


Jesus' blood will cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Confess these sins to Him, and hold fast to the knowledge that He has forgiven you. Then, stop picking away at yourself and don't give an ear to Satan. Spend time in prayer with Jesus. Lift up your hands to receive His Spirit in greater and greater measure while you pray. Spend time studying His word daily. All these things will strengthen your knowledge of Jesus and your understanding of His ways.

Next, listen closely to what the Holy Spirit has to say to lead you through your sanctification. Don't worry about what you've done in the past, it's not about the past anymore. You have Jesus' righteousness upon you as your walk with Him. Satan will lie to you to make you feel guilty. Ignore him. Listen to Jesus' Spirit and He will tell you what to work on and when.

Many people falter because they know they have so many things the LORD needs to work out of them. Knowing this is good, as we should not have a tolerance of sin in our vessels. But, we should not assume to be perfected over night. This is a process. Cling tightly to the truth:

- Your sins are covered by Jesus' blood.
- You can confess your sins daily to be cleansed by Him when you stumble or fall short.
- As you stay close to Jesus through prayer, study of His word, and fellowship with other Christians, He will work a supernatural miracle that will guide you out of the darkness of your sin and into His glorious light.

The lust you're feeling will subside, but you need to continue to lay that sin down at His feet and use His word to rebuke such thoughts. He will do the rest, trust Him.

I pray blessings upon you, may the LORD guide you, protect you, and sanctify you until the day of glory. In Jesus' name I pray.

 

[faithfulservant]

Ok... I was at work when I posted earlier. I have come home to give some more Biblical advice:

Flee from sexual immorality! That's literally what the Word of God teaches. This is a big deal in the sight of the LORD. Why? You are a member of His Body!

1 Corinthians 6:15-20
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin[e] a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Paul uses the example of going to a prostitute, but references to sexual immorality refer to any sexual activity outside of a marriage between a man and his wife.

Please, forsake all the worldly traps (including this woman) even if it seems painful at first. It's God's will that you allow Him to cleanse you of such sin. You won't regret it in the long run, and I'm betting you will be quite relieved in short order when you detach yourself from such a relationship.

I pray blessings upon you again. The LORD will grant you the strength to overcome these sins, but you have to turn to Him to receive such power and turn away from such wickedness.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

I have done a lot of mischievous and kinda immoral things in the past.

Stop downplaying these things. They weren't "kinda immoral", they were grievous sins.

Should I give up even the friendship that she and I started? Or should we remain friends?

My answer is an unqualified YES! "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man (or woman) commits are outside the body, but he/she who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you have been bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor 6:18-20)

Spirit Led Ed (SLE)

 

[Fragrant Grace]

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed
John 8:36


Firstly, I agree entirely with Chad ByGraceAlone and SpiritLedEd, what you are involved in is serious, gross sin.

What you are caught in is such an awful trap....sexual sin does not look like other sins such murder or anger. It is much more devious....Instead it coats itself in false beauty, love and desire....and before you know it you are caught in a tangle of immoral lust and idolatory.

This sin has become your master....your passions and your girlfriend have become idol.....

my mind is full of lustful thoughts...And even though I have been attending Sunday services again, I still can't give up my relationship with her.

You don't have to stay trapped...you have Jesus who will freely forgive you if you turn back to Him in true repentance.....tell Him your struggles, submit to Him your feelings. Remember His promises

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bearit.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Now the devil, the master of all sins will be whispering in your ear...trying to tempt you, rattling your emotions.....but you belong to Jesus and He has conquered all sin.

It is good that you have written here....I believe that you have been led by the Holy Spirit who is convicting you of this sin. Praise His name,thank Jesus for His mercy, get immersed in His word and turn back to Him.

The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.*

Bless you


Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised)
Hebrews 10:23



* William Cowper

 

[firmfoundation]

Thank you for the advices. Slowly, I am detaching myself from this sin. It is really painful to part with her but I know that it's the right thing to do. Please help me pray harder. I am meeting with my Pastor after the Service on Sunday for counseling.

 

[firmfoundation]

By the way, I have a question and this has been going on in my mind for many weeks now. I am 33 years old, but I have not had any sexual intercourse with a man. My lesbian partner was my first. My problem is, there are times when my physiological need comes in and since I am technically single, I have no one to help me fil this need.

If I stimulate myself to satisfy this need, am I commiting sin even if I am not thinking or imagining porn? Help me understand this please.

 

[faithfulservant]

By the way, I have a question and this has been going on in my mind for many weeks now. I am 33 years old, but I have not had any sexual intercourse with a man. My lesbian partner was my first. My problem is, there are times when my physiological need comes in and since I am technically single, I have no one to help me fil this need.

If I stimulate myself to satisfy this need, am I commiting sin even if I am not thinking or imagining porn? Help me understand this please.

Focus on getting far away from this woman and the lesbian lifestyle. Then, start being really serious about getting close to Jesus. Why? Because when we get really close to Jesus, we won't be focused on our fleshly sexual urges all the time. It will be much easier than if we're always focused on how our flesh wants to be satisfied. It's a supernatural thing. If we focus on what our flesh wants, we struggle. If we focus on Jesus, those thing which seem hard become really easy. God has a plan for you, and when you walk with Him you will begin to see the plan unfold.

You might say, "I need a husband to fulfill my physical and emotional needs." The mistake here is that you aren't putting your need for Jesus first. When you put Jesus first, other things will start to fall into place (including, perhaps, a man who can fulfill your physical passions). Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

 

[HisFollower]

The first thing that our Lord teaches us and tells us is "Repent", and then to deny our own will, and then to forsake all to be His disciple. All together it is a matter of putting to death ours sins and our selfish desires. For this cause all that the Lord Jesus Christ teaches and consists of is unselfishness only, without any slightest spot of selfishness in any thing that He teaches or consists of.
Christ defines repentance very plain and simple, saying, "Go and sin no more"; then it is up to us, because repentance is voluntary, just as is continuing in sin voluntary.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

By the way, I have a question and this has been going on in my mind for many weeks now. I am 33 years old, but I have not had any sexual intercourse with a man. My lesbian partner was my first. My problem is, there are times when my physiological need comes in and since I am technically single, I have no one to help me fil this need.

If I stimulate myself to satisfy this need, am I commiting sin even if I am not thinking or imagining porn? Help me understand this please.

Sex as a need is a myth that needs to be destroyed. As my pastor wisely says, "You will not explode if you don't have sex."

SLE

 

[twc130]

Brothers and sisters, I have come to know Jesus back in 1999 when a friend of mine invited me to a Bible study. I've been an active member of the Church since then until 2001. I stopped going to Church in 2001 and backslid. It had been a very dark 10 years for me. Until October 2011, when God held my hand and lead me to the Church once again. I have done a lot of mischievous and kinda immoral things in the past. And now that I want to change and offer my life to Jesus, I am having a hard time giving up everything to Him. I had a relationship with a lesbian for 4 years, my mind is full of lustful thoughts...And even though I have been attending Sunday services again, I still can't give up my relationship with her. Please help me pray to be released from this chain. I want to give my life completely to God and I don't know how to do this. Should I give up even the friendship that she and I started? Or should we remain friends?

i can relate to what you are talking about concerrning the issue of backsliding and coming back to the Lord. When I first got saved things were great for 20 years and i backslid for apox-10 years and am now back with the Lord. Man, let me tell you that things are really different now! Dealing with guilt and pain for things i done in the past are so hard to overcome as i many times wake in the middle of night with guilt. I just cant get comfortable in any church and just seem not to fit in
All i can say is that rather this be a test or what,. I prayed and told the Lord I am here to stay, No matter what my feelings say, The Lord is the one I will serve, Its a fight, things get better with time . relapse is no game, you cant play with sin and thats why I am going through what i do, But dont care what is thrown at me anymore. Lord you have one person that is yours no matter what

following Jesus is not about going to church or sunday school! this is a war we are in. follow your heart. make sure your heart is the Lords and not the sundayschools or church! you know what to do. Follow your heart bro, love you