Does It Mean I'm Not A Christian?

[Lully]

I was taught about God and accepted Christ in 2002. I spent the next several years pouring through the Word and going to various churches, really dedicating myself to righteous living. Several catastrophic events have taken place in life which have lead me to approach God from a fearful distance, mentioning Jesus and the Holy Spirit during prayer and basically trying to honor Him in a fast yet honest way. I don't know how to feel, I am afraid of God and all He is able to do yet doesn't. I understand spiritual warfare, I understand the Blood of Christ, I understand the Covenant, and yet I do not understand how we are supposed to have a "relationship" with such a scary God. He isn't all flowers and peace signs, He has absolute power yet doesn't use it in the graceful way most Christians like to portray a loving God. I believe in Him but I do not trust Him at all with my life and my needs. I pray for my life & family in a way that acknowledges Him in His authority, and I make requests to Him that I am fully aware may or may not be answered or fulfilled. I don't understand these happy people who seem to portray a loving God they stroll through the clouds with. Does this mean I am not a Christian?

 

[maxwel]

It doesn't mean you're not a Christian.

It does mean you need to grow in your understanding of the character and nature of God.

Many people who have trouble understanding God's love, or mercy, had a difficult relationship with their earthly father during childhood.

 

[Lully]

How do I get more understanding of His nature and character? I read the Word, I pray, and still I am just really afraid of Him. The father part is true, but that is why I turned to Him in the first place.

 

[TaylorTG]

Yo, Lullylickypops! The God of the old testament may seem like a malevolent sadist, but there are certain hints which prove that he is not!

AFKAJFAGLAJGALGJAGAGAGGAGAGA


Deuteronomy 5:9-10

For, I, the Lord, am a jealous God.

SADIST? NAH, READ ON!

Inflicting punishments for their father's wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the 3rd and 4th generation



BUT bestowing mercy on the children of those who love me down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love and and keep my commandments.

OHHHHHHHHHHH YEAAHHHH ^______^

Praise the father!

 

[Pie]

Hi Lully. It does not mean you are not a Christian.. it just means you lack understanding. What is it about Him you find scary? It's clear you need to study God's character and attributes. You mentioned you fear Him because He is all powerful? What do you mean by this,

"He has absolute power yet doesn't use it in the graceful way most Christians like to portray a loving God."

If you explain what exactly it is your having a hard time coming to terms with, we might be able to shed some light.

 

[JoyfulFleur]

God is powerful, indeed, but all those catastrophic events you speak of..are not caused by God. Anything that is harmful and painful comes from Satan.

1 Peter 5:8 - "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Jon 10:10 - "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

You are fearing God on behalf of Satan's actions! Don't let Satan whisper lies into your ears and make your heart turn away from God. God loves you more than you can even begin to imagine and He wishes no harm upon you.

 

[Lully]

Lots of good responses, thanks for the scriptures and the advice. Please pray for me.

 

[Hungry]

Jesus said if you have seen Him you have seen the Father (John 14: 9). We are saved from God's wrath. Do not be afraid.

 

[Angela53510]

God is sovereign and he is loving! So that doesn't mean he is on our chain, and we can yank it any time we want, and he will magically deliver what we want.

In fact, the Bible says the opposite. Job was a righteous man who suffered greatly, God did not deliver him for a long, long time, and never explained himself. He doesn't have to, he is God.

As for suffering, it is part of the process of sanctification, of chipping the edges off our malformed character. It is part of the refining process, where the dross comes off and something beautiful is created.

Look up "refine, refiner, refining" in the Bible and see how often God uses that metaphor. I was a jeweler for 7 years, and I can assure you that creating a beautiful piece of jewelry requires more than just being burned up in a fire. It means being twisted, hammered, cut, filed, put in acid, hammered more, buffed, buffed more, a bath in ammonia. And then, you need to rebuff it to bring out the sheen.

"Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people?" Jeremiah 9:7

"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another." Isa. 48:10-11

"and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time." Daniel 11:35

"And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”" Zechariah 13:9

And if these verses seem scary, God really is in control. This is one of my life verses about suffering. It has profoundly influenced my whole thinking about God, and realizing that I can trust him totally, even in the midst of trials and tribulations.

"Not only that, but werejoice in our sufferings, knowing that sufferingproduces endurance, [SUP]4 [/SUP]and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [SUP]5 [/SUP]and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

"God is love." 1 John 4:8, 16

Praying you find the love of God, and realize that one day, we will be with Jesus, and there will be no tears or crying anymore.

 

[oldernotwiser]

god's actions? satan's actions? i guess if you believe in a god who micro manages the universe that could be a question. i personally find that sort of understanding of god to be difficult. as far as the problem of evil: there's a line from one of the old george burns "o god" movies that sums it up for me. "why do i allow evil? i don't ..... you do"

 

[presidente]

Paul prayed for believers to understand the depth of the love of Christ. The Bible also says that we can come boldly before the throne of grace, and that he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

I pray that you will receive a revelation of the love of God.

 

[BeanieD]

Lully, I have found that the closer we draw to God, the more satan tries to get us away. God does not make the bad things happen, but He can allow them for the strengthening of our faith, and when He delivers us from all this we will be stronger for it. God doesn't always give us what we ask for, but will always give us what we need. Sometimes what we ask for may sound like the right thing, but down the road if we had gotten it we would not be happy. Only God can know what is best for us because He see's all of us, He see's our life and when we allow Him to He will take us exactly where we should be. We don't have to be afraid of Him, because He truely is a God of love.

May God bless you hon and give you peace. Praying for you <3

 

[jb]

I was taught about God and accepted Christ in 2002. I spent the next several years pouring through the Word and going to various churches, really dedicating myself to righteous living. Several catastrophic events have taken place in life which have lead me to approach God from a fearful distance, mentioning Jesus and the Holy Spirit during prayer and basically trying to honor Him in a fast yet honest way. I don't know how to feel, I am afraid of God and all He is able to do yet doesn't. I understand spiritual warfare, I understand the Blood of Christ, I understand the Covenant, and yet I do not understand how we are supposed to have a "relationship" with such a scary God. He isn't all flowers and peace signs, He has absolute power yet doesn't use it in the graceful way most Christians like to portray a loving God. I believe in Him but I do not trust Him at all with my life and my needs. I pray for my life & family in a way that acknowledges Him in His authority, and I make requests to Him that I am fully aware may or may not be answered or fulfilled. I don't understand these happy people who seem to portray a loving God they stroll through the clouds with. Does this mean I am not a Christian?

The simple truth is: GOD IS LOVE! John 3v16, 15v9, 17v23, Rom 8v31-39, Eph 2v4, 3v19,1John 4v8,16

He is NOT a hard God, quite the opposite, He is meek and lowly and gentle in heart, everything He does springs from His love for His free will beings. He only gives good gifts, it is the Devil who is a murderer and liar and who comes only to steal and destroy! Matt 7v7-11, 11v28-30, Luke 11v9-13.

If you get negative, nagging criticising thoughts about God, this is simply the powers of darkness slagging God off to you; these evil thoughts should be firmly rejected!

You can find some simple studies Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here to help you grow in your faith and walk with the Lord Jesus...

Yahweh Shalom...

 

[karen0123]

I was taught about God and accepted Christ in 2002. I spent the next several years pouring through the Word and going to various churches, really dedicating myself to righteous living. Several catastrophic events have taken place in life which have lead me to approach God from a fearful distance, mentioning Jesus and the Holy Spirit during prayer and basically trying to honor Him in a fast yet honest way. I don't know how to feel, I am afraid of God and all He is able to do yet doesn't. I understand spiritual warfare, I understand the Blood of Christ, I understand the Covenant, and yet I do not understand how we are supposed to have a "relationship" with such a scary God. He isn't all flowers and peace signs, He has absolute power yet doesn't use it in the graceful way most Christians like to portray a loving God. I believe in Him but I do not trust Him at all with my life and my needs. I pray for my life & family in a way that acknowledges Him in His authority, and I make requests to Him that I am fully aware may or may not be answered or fulfilled. I don't understand these happy people who seem to portray a loving God they stroll through the clouds with. Does this mean I am not a Christian?

You are a true Christian.

English Standard VersionProverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight

 

[tarzan]

The devils also believe in God. And they tremble.

This does not make you a true Christian.

You do not trust Him at all with your life and your needs. I would say that right now this disqualifies you as a Christian. It doesn't necessarily disqualify you from salvation yet, but it could if you continue thinking that way. I wouldn't take karen0123's word for anything at the moment. I wouldn't take anyone's word who tells you that you are okay right now. Until you learn to trust God with your life and needs, then you will continue to tremble at Him. I trembled at the thought of meeting even an angel at any time, and never understood why until relatively recently. I have been fashioned so hard that now I consider that I am not afraid of death at all, and would certainly not fear an angel or the Lord revealing Himself to me. So what if the sight is terrible, and the hearing is terrible. I've been through terrible. I love the Lord and I would accept any punishment for a revealing, if that ever were to be in His will for me. Paul was caught up to the third Heaven. That is quite an experience I bet. What is there to fear? I fear for the lives of my wife and kids at times, but it's still not right to worry. I would not deny anyone that realistic experience, but I also cannot condone the fear and worry as right and proper.
I've seen too much and experienced too much, directly and indirectly, to say or understand otherwise.

Let experience speak. If you are not relying on God for your living, you are not yet right. Fear of the Lord is not anxiety and worry. Fear of the Lord is respect, honor, submission, and praise. These things do not feel bad, but they feel right. Please do not be deceived if you are able to resist it.

I wish you weren't hurting.

 

[Agricola]

How do I get more understanding of His nature and character? I read the Word, I pray, and still I am just really afraid of Him. The father part is true, but that is why I turned to Him in the first place.

Sit in quiet without distractions and talk to Jesus and then just sit and "listen". It is a relationship you need to get to know someone personally for that.

 

[Lucy68]

It doesn't mean you are not a Christian....it means you have a weak faith. Faith is like a muscle that needs to be strengthened .

One thing I noticed in my early walk was that I tended to think of God as Santa Claus....that if I believed and worshiped Him that He would give me everything I wanted. (I almost said needed but what we think we need and what He knows we need, can be very different.) This is such a subtle way of thinking that sometimes we don't even know it's in our minds....it's living in those deep dark places that we really don't want to visit.

Or, my thinking may be that since I'm upholding my part of the bargain (going to church, praying, reading the Bible and being 'nice') that He should uphold His. This is a faulty perspective that will get us into trouble. When our true heart's desire is to have a relationship with God, purely because of Who He is...and not what He can do for us....THEN the door for His grace is wide open. Our antennae is tuned in to Him, the glass is not dark.

When we are able to praise Him right smack in the middle of a really hard situation, then we've got our attitude right. This takes a while....me must seek His face with humility and desire. Sometimes, we have to start with the simple prayer, "God, make my will willing". Our fallen 'self' can be very self-centered, petulant, and a real cry-baby . I think this is the whole point of the Book of Job.

When we get to the point that we can truly TRUST HIM with everything, then we know that our faith is stronger. We will have ups and downs...this is just part of the human condition.

Satan will continue doing what he first started in the Garden...whispering in our ears "He's not really all-loving...look how He's keeping this from you....or letting you suffer like this...or not letting do what you really want to do...or letting innocent people suffer". This is what we have to be on the look out for. True faith is ALWAYS believing that no matter what we see happening here on earth, that our God is a loving and full of compassion Being Who always wants the best for us.

Why is there suffering and pain on earth? Read Genesis and the whole Bible and that question will be answered. The end, Revelation, tells us that God will defeat Satan in the end. In the meantime, we're in a spiritual war....may we not fail our Commander .

 

[RedTent]

After I discovered that Christ died for us, and tried my best to understand the letters telling about how that changed the world, I found I learned a lot from following how God worked with actual people who were often sinful in the OT. It helps to have the prophets who predated our Holy Spirit telling what God's reactions were to what they did. I could see God in action in our world today better.

If you will keep this spiritual, this basic truth in mind in all your reading of scripture: God created us to be saved and live with Him forever, and to live in this world in abundance in all things. Look up fruits of the spirit, and you will see a picture of the abundance God speaks of. It includes a loving family and secure home. God gives us a path to take to work for these things for ourselves, too. Sin, our own and our father's, stands in the way, but following Him gets us closer to all of this.

Also, God's loving arms are always there for us, no matter what our troubles. Even in death, God is ready to care for us. You can absolutely trust Him.

 

[RedTent]

Sit in quiet without distractions and talk to Jesus and then just sit and "listen". It is a relationship you need to get to know someone personally for that.

This is the very best advice. I learned about it from a secular TV documentary about a physician who is so famous for doing wonders they profiled him on a 1/2 hour program. He said that the key to his work was a 15 minute prayer break he took at 9:00 AM, Noon, and at 3:00, the same times so often spoken of in scripture. He used a prayer shawl, sitting at his desk, to help him close out the world so it was just he and God, alone, so he could just listen.

I am convinced that if one in every ten adults did this, our entire world would be stood on it's end, miracles would happen, as people listened closely to God through His word, His spirit, and our focusing our minds on Him, as we listen rather than order God about.

 

[shrimp]

The Lord is a just weight. He is Love but also Severe. He Holds to what He says. His word is absolute Truth. So, when He says that we ought not worry about our food and clothes because He'll take care of it, He means every word.