What made Christianity click for you?

[JayBlue]

What was that one thing that made Christianity click for you? That one thing that just made it all make sence? I'm not talking about salvation, granted it could be very, very connected to that, but I'm talking about the thing that made you 'really' take being a Christain seriously.

"The defining moment."

Some people have told me what did it for them, and it was almost always a diffrent answer. I'd like to hear from some others on the forum.

 

[laura_charlotte]

I grew up with God, I couldn't imagine a life without knowing Him. He's my best friend, knows me through and through and only has the best plans for me in life. I can always turn to Him, He's always there for me. There's no book, other historical figure or so called prophet that comes close to knowing the Lord, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

[MollyConnor]

What a great thread idea! I think for me was when I took the Bible seriously. I read it everyday for a couple of years. I still read of course, but not as much as I should.

Anyways, reading Proverbs and Psalms really stuck out to me. Then the Gospels. I felt that everything that was written there was absolutely true. It all made complete sense! That's when I knew my life was never going to be the same. I grew up Catholic and converted to Christianity at 14. I loved God and I had faith all my life but it wasn't until I was about 20 years old that I started reading the word. I felt my life change around that time.

Really, it was a relationship with Christ. He is always there, but it's not until we are aware of his presence that we can accept the joy and peace that comes from him. I think the Bible helps us become intimate with Christ. The Word of God is alive.

 

[Lynx]

For me it was just that it works.

See, I'm kind of a nerd. And I seem to have a sort of bottom-line mentality. For me something either works or it doesn't. If it works, leave it alone. If it doesn't work, get something that does work.

And this Christian stuff seems to work. It doesn't appear to make any sense, but it works. It even goes directly against human nature in many ways, but it still works. Even if you ignore all the miracles, and some people have gotten very good at ignoring miracles in their effort to believe there is no God, all the things God said to do if we want a better life are things that work. I'm still not sure HOW some of them work, but I can observe that when they are enacted they work.

*shrug* Works for me.

 

[Lynx]

Oh and the miracles, they work too. I rode a bike to work for four years, and for FOUR YEARS rain redirected itself around my work schedule. In east Tennessee, where the mountains make their own weather, that's too much to be a coincidence. I wasn't even going to church at the time, but I knew enough to ask God to take care of me. Never thought about anything I could be doing for God, but God took care of me anyway.

 

[AbigailZeke]

Hmm, I've been a Christian long before I understood what it was all about. All I knew was that there was a God, and He's scary powerful and that His Son, Jesus saved me. Saved me from what, I had no idea. xD

When I learned the whys and the hows; what made the gospel good news, all reasons to not believe just stopped making sense.

 

[imfinallyfree]

I'll be honest and say that the current state of the world is what did it for me.

I seen all the bad in the world and didn't want to contribute for fear of going to hell.

I'm​ the exception that think that God is going to give everyone what they deserve according to how they effect society.

I got a bunch friend just livin in the moment? By doing that they effect society negatively so I don't want to be like them.

Like I says I'm bein honest,it wasn't till after I made that choice that I realized that I livin by God advice.

 

[CaptainGoat]

One word. God.
Two words. Jesus Christ.

 

[DCrawshawJr]

After being exposed to some radical teachers, radical meaning those who make you feel very uncomfortable, I eventually decided, "That's it. I need to look The Bible up myself, as unbiased as possible.". Ironically, one radical teacher suggested just that. Even if the whole world lies about Christianity, the Bible never will.

 

[MattforJesus]

I have always believed in a higher power ever since I was a child,which creation testifies there is a higher power,and that should be a natural reaction from people if they are not influenced as a child to the contrary,and are left alone to ponder on it.

I do not believe anybody is an atheist if left to their own mind making the decision,but our natural reaction would be when we look at the vastness of space,and all that is created,we think there must be a higher power greater than us.

My grandparents were devout Catholics,and really lived the life representing goodness,but I do not agree with that now,the Catholic Church,but back then I did not know,and was even proud to say I was Catholic,but did not go to Church,but on Easter and Christmas,in my younger days,but then not even that as I got older,as my dad was not in to going to Church,but for some reason I believed that the Bible is true without knowing it,but maybe that is because it was basically standard protocol,because it was so popular,and I already believed in a God.

People tend to do that,majority wise,whatever religion is popular in their nation,they believe it is the truth,and do not question it,do we have the truth out of all the nations,and it appears as if it is an arrogant thing,and they think,of course we have the truth,we are the great Arabs,of course we have the truth,we are the magnificient Chinese,and so forth.

But then I got tired of the world when I was an adult,32 years old,for I did not like that it was phoney,superficial,and vain,and the sin of it I did not like,and it made me happy to go to Church and be something better than part of the world.

I started reading the Bible,and it made sense to me,and I read through the Bible,and it made more sense to me,and I thought there is no way this can come from human intellect alone,and started understanding the prophesies of God telling us every kingdom that would come about during man's history,and what is happening today,and I thought how could they know of these things back then.

And the morality of it makes sense,for if we take away the problems people cause,all things are peaceful,and calm,so this higher power surely is not coming against us,and creation also testifies of God's attributes,which one of them is loving people,and everything is organized,and well contructed,there is no way that came from evolution,by chance definitely not,by evolution knew what it was doing but was not aware of it,still not,for how does evolution perceive anything to cause the occurences of it.

Evolution does not perceive hearing to give us ears,or sight to give us eyes,and so forth.Not only that but our bodies are contructed in such a way,as not only for best functioning,but for best looks.

Creation is definitely by intelligent design.

But after going to Church,and reading the Bible,I came to the conclusion that it was true,and confessed Christ.

But I could not jump right on confessing Christ,and being stable in that confession,without reading the Bible,and understanding it,and then came to the conclusion that it is true,for it is the only thing that makes sense out of all that people have put out in books,and no other religion compares to the Bible in the things it says,and the way it is written.

I believe in a higher power,and if He wants to communicate with people by a book,I could not give any book consideration to be of that higher power,but the Bible.It could be of a higher power,read through it,or read enough of it where it counts,it is of a higher power.

So the click for me had to be plainly reading the Bible,and believing it has to be the truth,for nothing makes sense like it does,although to those in the flesh,who love arrogance,and self exaltation,the world's ways,it will not make sense,for the flesh will rebel against that to where they will believe it is not true.

People get reached by different ways to believe the Bible,and God loves you,and Jesus loves you,does not always work with some people,but prophesy works well with some people,which God said that is how He identifies Himself as the one true God by telling us the end from the beginning,and said no other religion,or person will be able to do that.

Since I read through the Bible there is no turning back,for I know too much,but if I had skipped around,and did not hit any major key things,when I first started reading the Bible,I might not be a Christian,but I know too much,and now there is no turning back.I cannot even think about that.

 

[Adstar]

What was that one thing that made Christianity click for you? That one thing that just made it all make sence? I'm not talking about salvation, granted it could be very, very connected to that, but I'm talking about the thing that made you 'really' take being a Christain seriously.

"The defining moment."

Some people have told me what did it for them, and it was almost always a diffrent answer. I'd like to hear from some others on the forum.

The overwhelming Wisdom of the Bible... The astounding Love of God and His way of overcoming the fall of mankind..

 

[Yeraza_Bats]

Coming to Christ for me was a long process. I grew up with the desire to be a part of the whole lgbt thing, and as a teenager I decided that God was bad because of it. I was also way rebellious and mad about alot of things, and felt like I didnt care about others, up until I reached like 16 or so. I started to realize that I should care about the suffering of others, because I knew that I did not want to suffer myself. I remember the thoughts coming to my head leading me to that idea, actually : p If I fear suffering, should I not feel for those who do suffer?

So I finally started to have an understanding of doing good and caring about others. But that didnt lead me to God : p For a while I willfully refuse God because I thought that the idea that people like me should be punished was unacceptable. But at the same time, I knew that there was something. I mean, I claimed to believe that all life mutated from a blob of cells created from an explosion, that randomly mutated into the complicated biological structure that is the human body, on its own with no ability to design itself at all just cuz it happened. But I knew that there was something out there watching us.

And I remember dreams that I was having, too. I had multiple dreams that caused me to question the path I was taking. I remember one, I was in some city, and everything was on fire. I knew that the world was doomed just by looking around. And I remember looking down into a small patch of grass, and there was a small group of people on their knees before a man in a white robe, who was glowing. He lifted them up into the sky and they were no longer there. But I was, and I remember knowing in my dream that I was left behind.

I started having alot of anxiety about what was going to happen to me when I died, and I decided to come to God. And one emotional night I said a prayer that changed my life forever. And I decided that I would believe in God and nothing would ever change that. And I did, but I never sought the real God or followed anything He said : p

In 2014 I went through something so terrible that I couldnt express it through words, my friend had a Bible that he gave to me, and I grabbed it and begged God for help, and He opened it to a verse that directly referenced the life I was living, so it was at that point that I decided I was going to be a real Christian and learn what it meant to be one : p



Anywho, that story is not why Christianity clicked for me, I actually came to Christianity before I even knew what it was, haha. So right before the incident with the Bible happened, I had talked with a Muslim who explained to me that Christ was nothing but a prophet. And he used the Bible to back up his claim, and I believed him, because I didnt know any better, and there was no one at the time to show me how he was wrong. So when I came to Christ, I did not even understand who or what he was.

I was looking around on youtube one day not long after that incident, and I saw a video about a former Muslim terrorist talking about Christ. I actually was going to totally skip it, but I felt that I needed to watch it when I did, so I did : p The man was Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim, who has come to Christ, and now speaks out against Islam.

He talked about the Bible, how it calls Christ the Son of God, God with Us, and all these things. And he talked about how the quran goes out of its way to deny all of it. And he was the first person to teach me this verse here-

1 John 2:22- Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist-denying the Father and the Son.

This was my first step to understand who Jesus was, and why I should put my faith into Him : p

I found other Christian teachers who talked about the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, that even secular, non-Christian scholars accept the fact that Christ was crucified, and I saw how the OT predicted every single one of the events of Jesus would happen. I learned that the Bible all lines up with itself, leading to Christ. I learned that Christ actually claimed to do and be all the things that only God is and will do, like judge the world.

So, in short, it was me actually learning about Jesus and who He was that made Christianity click for me : p The prophecies of His coming, and dying on the cross for our sins. And the fact that false prophets came after Him to deny Him, in His name, in order to deceive many. I knew that God existed due to everything that happened to me. But that didnt make me a Christian. It was Christ and what He did for us that made me a Christian.

 

[kinda]

Such a driving question. This is a best guess, because I really don't know or remember a "defining moment". It was really more of a journey, day by day, and I continue to grow in Faith.

I think what really is great about having Faith in Christ is the layer of protection one receives.

Allow me to use surfing as symbolism here.....

I no longer feel like I'm out in the storm swimming for my life in the middle of a great ocean, my Faith gave me the surfboard to cling onto like a life preserver, but also allowed me to go farther with less effort. Sure, you have to paddle like mad, duck dive, and wait your turn for the next ride...You also have to watch out for currents, rip tides, other surfers, people just floundering, seals, sharks, dolphins, rocks, reefs, piers, and giant close outs. Than again, when you have trust, you glide down the wave and use that momentum to get back on top. Just like when things are difficult, I rely on God to get me out of trouble and guide me to where I need to be again.

I think life is way more meaningful and way more enjoyable with God. I think God allowed me to test HIM and HE answered.

 

[OneFaith]

What was that one thing that made Christianity click for you? That one thing that just made it all make sence? I'm not talking about salvation, granted it could be very, very connected to that, but I'm talking about the thing that made you 'really' take being a Christain seriously.

"The defining moment."

Some people have told me what did it for them, and it was almost always a diffrent answer. I'd like to hear from some others on the forum.

I seen the footprints of God. I was in Bible class, and they were comparing the Old Testament lamb to the New Testament Lamb. Two whole lists, side by side, matching. Old- physically perfect lamb. New- spiritually perfect Lamb. Sacrificed at midnight, sacrificed at midnight. And the lightbulb went on in my head. So many things like how the Old Testament tabernacle was a physical layout of the spiritual realm. And they didn't know back then, they didn't see the pattern. But I seen how God has always been in control, and knew what He was doing, even when it didn't seem to make sense to human minds thousands of years ago. No way humans could pull off such a hoax.

I always knew God was real, but it was like I actually seen His footprints. And the feeling overwhelmed me. The teacher stopped the class when she recognized my reaction, and I shared my thoughts. Everyone smiled and shared their revelations.

That was one of many defining moments.

 

[JoDel]

Some people have told me what did it for them, and it was almost always a diffrent answer. I'd like to hear from some others on the forum.[/QUOTE]
"The defining moment."
It's oddly strange for me. (to me, anyway) For as long as I can remember, I always sensed "someone being there". I was raised with a generic idea of God, but definitely NOT an active Christian home. I had an interest in the Word of God at a very young age...of course with little comprehension. But, I "knew that I knew that I knew", it was "real". (In a kid's way)

To keep this short and free from the typical "woe is me, my childhood sucked", it's best to say that in the worst times of life, the "sense of someone being there" never left me. Though in my teen years I tried to shake it and run from it because of wrongful choices I was making. I didn't know I was feeling "conviction"... I just knew the restlessness in my "gut" wouldn't let go. ~ In my 20's I was "drawn" to the bible... trying to understand...attending church services that might have well been preached in Pig-latin, because I always left empty and frustrated.

I was in a Christian bookstore one day when I was 28 and came across the NASB with Hebrew and Greek references to every word and heard VERY CLEARLY, so much so I turned around to answer the "voice" that said, "This will open up so much understanding for you". (I have always had a very literal, analytical mind... nor did I trust "people" to be honest") When I saw no one around me, I have to admit... I was both scared and excited at the same time. I bought that Bible along with a Strongs concordance and several other Hebrew/Greek references.

That night after my children and husband were in bed and the house was quiet, I spread the books out on my kitchen table and uttered a simple prayer, " Please God...show me..." The Word was truly ALIVE to me that night and I studied and searched and learned the "tenses, contextual meaning, and found that various words could be and were used in different meanings". My husband woke up at his usual 6 am to get ready for work and I was still at the table, paper with notes scattered everywhere, books all open ... and I'm pretty sure I looked like I was "hung over" from a hard night of partying. I had ran my fingers through my hair every time I "found" THE answer! Which was continuous ALL NIGHT LONG. I cried every time I "comprehended in my mind" and "understood in my heart". ~ That went on for months... I was being taught by the Holy Spirit! I was baptized during the coldest week of February, 1988. The pastor had told me the pipes were frozen at the church and the water in the baptismal "tank" was cold. There was no heater to it, it was always filled prior by faucet. He said we'd have to wait until the pipes thawed. I began to cry and took hold of his arms, (VERY STRICT Pentecostal Church, so touching a man other than your husband was frowned upon) and looked him in his eyes and said, "I NEED to do this! I don't care if it's cold! Please...baptize me"! He said, "Of course I will"... (and gently took my hands from his arms and patted my hands as if to say... it's ok). After evening service, I was called up to the baptismal and stepped down into the water... I don't remember feeling the cold, I'm sure the Pastor did because through chattering teeth he asked all the questions and I was underwater as soon as I answered the last one and heard him say, "In Jesus Name"!

I was filled with the spirit before I was baptized by water, so I came out of the water worshiping Jesus with hands held high and only became aware of my surroundings as the pastor moved by me to climb out of the frigid water! I always "loved" him for his "sacrifice" of comfort to perform MY NEED, because of my Love for Jesus.

To this day, I study in the exact same way with the exact "same Teacher". The ONLY ONE whose teaching is infallible. However, it does make finding a "Truth Based" church difficult, (no offense to anyone in here) because man can make mistakes in his translation of "rightly dividing the word". But I am currently attending one whose Pastor does what I call "treaching"... teaching and preaching simultaneously... and who too searches out the meaning from the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek references.

*Incidently, I had been baptized at 21... but had no idea "why", or what it meant. Only that the pastor of THAT church preached a hell and damnation message about baptism. SHAME ON ANY MINISTER OF CHRIST who uses fear as a vehicle of salvation.

 

[JoDel]

I seen the footprints of God. I was in Bible class, and they were comparing the Old Testament lamb to the New Testament Lamb. Two whole lists, side by side, matching. Old- physically perfect lamb. New- spiritually perfect Lamb. Sacrificed at midnight, sacrificed at midnight. And the lightbulb went on in my head. So many things like how the Old Testament tabernacle was a physical layout of the spiritual realm. And they didn't know back then, they didn't see the pattern. But I seen how God has always been in control, and knew what He was doing, even when it didn't seem to make sense to human minds thousands of years ago. No way humans could pull off such a hoax.

I always knew God was real, but it was like I actually seen His footprints. And the feeling overwhelmed me. The teacher stopped the class when she recognized my reaction, and I shared my thoughts. Everyone smiled and shared their revelations.

That was one of many defining moments.

Your testimony is great! But one thing... Jesus wasn't sacrificed at midnight. It happened between 12:00- 3:00. (Mark 15:33) Because of it being being the day Shabat (sabbath) would begin, His body needed to be prepared for burial before sundown,(Mark 15: 42-47 according to Hebrew law, no on could engage in "activity" after sundown.