- QUOTE=pray for me;143795]Hi,
I have asked Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart 3 years ago. I still feel so lost. I
didn't grow up in church and I feel so guilty for that. I read my bible and ask God to help me. I don't know if I am trying to learn it all too fast or
if God is really the one having me to seek Him. I am so depressed over this. I cry out to God to show me and to help me.
I feel guilty for even trying to get to know Him. What should I do? One day I feel happy and the next, its like so many
doubts come to my mind. Am I supposed to keep on seeking Him and praying? I don't want to give up! I have come to far to give up now! Has anyone else felt this way or is it just me? I am desperate!
I don't want to die in my sin and go to hell !! My preacher passed away almost 2 years ago and I feel as though I don't have anyone to talk to. We have a new preacher, but its not the same for some reason. I am afraid I will be judged. What should I do? Please pray for me..If you feel as if God gives you a word for me, please tell me! Help me..O' Lord please help me!
My heart goes out to you in your troubled state. You assume that either God doesn't love you or you are not worthy of His love or both...I don't know for sure which but I do know this: You could not be more wrong on both assumptions.
As a human, you either live in truth or you live in error.
Everything highlighted in red above, is proof to me that you live in error and therefore, are living in bondage to that error. Jesus said (paraphrasing):
" I am the way and the truth and the life." You must understand this: Jesus is truth, all truth is of or from Jesus!
Now, let's look at your above confession, those highlighted in red and, turn these errors back into truth.
- didn't grow up in church and I feel so guilty : growing up in church may have helped and though I think that church is very important, it in itself is not the answer. I was a regular church goer for thirty years and was not saved. Church is full of people who readily call themselves Christians but aren't saved. Your guilt is from living in error, it has nothing to do with church. You do not have to go to church to be saved!
- if God is really the one having me to seek Him. : the mere fact that you have these feelings and are here at TJ, is that God is seeking you and working in your life. God's love is perfect ( read I COR 13 for God's love for you) and He loves you first, no matter what you have done or are now doing. Get this: His love is so perfect, that He loves you as if you were the only person in the universe! Of course, He wants you to seek Him, that is most important above all else.
- I feel guilty for even trying to get to know Him. : Now this is a classic human error of those who seek God but don't know Him. Your error is that you obviously don't feel that you are worthy or deserve Him. Perhaps it is your sin, that you see in yourself, that makes you feel guilty. Or, perhaps it is just that your guilt is that you just don't feel at peace with God and therefore feel it is something that you are doing wrong; none of these errors could be further from the truth. First of all , again, God loved you before you even existed and He always will. Second, no matter what you have done or are doing, God has already forgiven you. His forgiveness is complete and final and has nothing to do with you perfoming some task. Christ died for all and though we all are born sinful, God has already forgiven us at the cross. But that forgiveness has nothing to do with your salvation and relationship with God.
- doubts come to my mind. : You have heard the expression, "To error is human", well to doubt is human. So, don't feel ashamed or guilty about it. No matter what someone will say, we all doubt to some extent. It is a refining process that God has us in and it will get better as time goes on. Even Mother Terresa had some doubt in the end.
- I don't want to die in my sin and go to hell !! : Now, this is where the "rubber meets the road!...... Jesus took care of all sin at the cross, except one and that is the sin of unbelief. God is perfect and in Him there is no sin. So to him sin is sin, none is worse that the other. As examples, the New Testament states that lust is the same as rape and that hate is the same as murder....how about that! Look, God's Grace is this: It is what St. Paul calls the gospel that he preached: Grace is the death, burial and the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for your sins, His burial is proof of His physical (human) death and his His resurrection is proof of His spiritual life and your way to salvation and eternity with God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and the rest of us. God says (paraphrasing): " It is through faith (believing) in grace that you are saved, not by your works." " Grace is a gift and it is free".
Pray For Me,
Finally, believing in the finallity of the cross,(that Jesus has already died for your sins and God said that He would look upoun them no more!) is only half way to your salvation.
Jesus said (paraphrasing): to be saved you must be " Born Again"! Now this is the other half of God's free gift in grace, personally recieving Jesus Christ. Now that Jesus is resurrected, you must recieve Him into yourself, into your heart. Once he is there, He promises to never leave no matter what. You may, and probably will, experience some doubt, get down and low at times but, if you took the simple step to invite Him, then it is a done deal....your forgiven and now saved! That is why Jesus said that no one comes unto the Father unless he comes through me. By inviting Him in, He lives in you and you live in Him which is your pathway to God. You see it is not about you, if it were up to us, we would all end up in Hell! But since Jesus Christ lives His life in and through us, when we die, our physical, fleshy death and go before God spiritually, He does not see our sinful nature but the perfection of Jesus and then He glorifies us.
So the answer to your bondage lies in you being "Born Again". Have you personally recieved Christ into your heart ( look at Romans 10: 8-13), then rejoice it is over and done. You are free from you sins and there is absolutely no way you are going to Hell!!!
If you are still not sure if you have recieve Christ or not sure how, please contact me through the private messaging and I will help you with that.
Love and God Bless!
