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C
No, I was a pastor's wife and had a real relationship with the Lord, prayed hours a day. After I got dumped and they put me on antidepressants and stuff I lived together with an atheist and came to the point that I didn't even believe He existed anymore, because they took my kids from me and He didn't answer my prayers. Not so weird, I was living in sin but I was mislead. Then when he didn't want to marry I saw that I had been living in sin and repented and broke it off. I thought: there is enough evidence in this world for a devil so He must exist too and said the sinner's prayer and He came back in.
In some churches people 'come back and get saved again" every sunday night. In their minds they are backslidden by Monday night again. It's a horrible way to live actually and shows that their minds are not renewed to who they are in Christ in His finished work. The enemy works through lies to our mind to get our behaviors messed up. He's not called the father of lies for no reason.
I too was what one would call "away" from the Lord for about 16 years but He was with me the whole time. He has shown me where He was with me no matter where I was. I would still speak to Him but never read the bible or went to church. He brought me back to seeking to know Him correctly all by His own doing.
I had no "prodigal son " experience...with me He just woke me up one day with scripture running through my spirit into my head and He had no condemnation attached to it either. He showed me His love and true nature and it has been wonderful beyond compare when you understand His grace and love for us.
I believe a lot of sincere believers have left the church ( not Jesus ) because they could not live this religious Christian life that was being preached to them. They loved Jesus but they didn't want to be a hypocrite so they backed away from the organized church.
Then there is the group that struggled with a certain sin and was never taught about grace properly and so they left because they were defeated. Constantly feeling condemned and guilty and full of shame. The legalists keep preaching at them to change!
The only change that is effective is from the life of Jesus in us and that only comes with the message of the gospel of the grace of Christ.
I had no "prodigal son " experience...with me He just woke me up one day with scripture running through my spirit into my head and He had no condemnation attached to it either. He showed me His love and true nature and it has been wonderful beyond compare when you understand His grace and love for us.
I believe a lot of sincere believers have left the church ( not Jesus ) because they could not live this religious Christian life that was being preached to them. They loved Jesus but they didn't want to be a hypocrite so they backed away from the organized church.
Then there is the group that struggled with a certain sin and was never taught about grace properly and so they left because they were defeated. Constantly feeling condemned and guilty and full of shame. The legalists keep preaching at them to change!
The only change that is effective is from the life of Jesus in us and that only comes with the message of the gospel of the grace of Christ.
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C
Part of that is true for me. I loved God with everything but slowly let worldly desires creep in little by little and realised that I had become lukewarm. The verse about being lukewarm was in my mind before pulling the plug completely. Obviously deceived into thinking that was the better decision. But now 15 years on from complely turning my back he is on my mind. But i pray and I feel empty. I have an expectation due to memories I have about the Lord and I am falling well short.
Those are normal lies from the enemy attacking you in your mind. The Lord is with you and as you seek to know Him to see Him for what He truly is like. He will show you marvelous truths about Himself. When you get a scripture that becomes "alive" to you...meditate and talk about it with the Lord.
The neat thing about the Lord is that He lives outside of time and He sees you in Christ. He goes into your future and comes back with a word that will help you to be where He sees you in your future. Hold onto any of these scriptures and make them a priority in your life.
He will never leave you nor forsake you. Look for solid teaching on the grace of Christ.
The neat thing about the Lord is that He lives outside of time and He sees you in Christ. He goes into your future and comes back with a word that will help you to be where He sees you in your future. Hold onto any of these scriptures and make them a priority in your life.
He will never leave you nor forsake you. Look for solid teaching on the grace of Christ.
R
We all at some point of our Christian lives fail the Lord, to certain degrees, but He remains faithful! He promised to never leave or forsake us, but if He did leave and forsake us, He would be denying Himself, for our identity is in Him(Gal 2:20).
"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again..." Pro 24:16a
"If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." 2 Tim 2:13
When I notice I have backslided, I have often noted a certain pattern before that. Prayer time would slowly and gradually become less and less. Bible reading would also wane. This wouldn't happen overnight, but you can see the subtle nature of how Satan first pulls us away from the sword of the Spirit(the Word of God) and also the thing that effectuates the armor of God, prayer(Eph 6:18) I would also oftentimes lose my joy when backslidden.
When king David backslid in a huge way, sinning against God, we see the chastisement of the Lord come for his iniquity. He lost the joy of his salvation(Psa 51:12), and while God spared his life(2 Sam 12:13) , the damage his sin caused, cursed the generations after him. The same is true for us, the Lord has already put our sin away(Heb 9:26), He chastises us as sons, but our sins do have consequences that affect others whether we realize it or not.
"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again..." Pro 24:16a
"If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." 2 Tim 2:13
When I notice I have backslided, I have often noted a certain pattern before that. Prayer time would slowly and gradually become less and less. Bible reading would also wane. This wouldn't happen overnight, but you can see the subtle nature of how Satan first pulls us away from the sword of the Spirit(the Word of God) and also the thing that effectuates the armor of God, prayer(Eph 6:18) I would also oftentimes lose my joy when backslidden.
When king David backslid in a huge way, sinning against God, we see the chastisement of the Lord come for his iniquity. He lost the joy of his salvation(Psa 51:12), and while God spared his life(2 Sam 12:13) , the damage his sin caused, cursed the generations after him. The same is true for us, the Lord has already put our sin away(Heb 9:26), He chastises us as sons, but our sins do have consequences that affect others whether we realize it or not.
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If you get involved with some form of helping others, with a God-based group, and actually SEE how Jesus works in peoples' lives, it will "refresh" your memory of just what "living in Christ" has to offer...
You also have to remember that much of what we believe is simply on faith. Sure, we have historical documents, and records, but very much of what Jesus brought simply requires faith.... Don't expect to find "proof" of Jesus through science, or your own intelligence. That's not where He is... You need to become simple, and child-like again, and believe what you see, and experience. .....ask me how I know.
I'm not saying we should become stupid... not at all. We just need to realize that the principles Jesus taught have lasted, unchanged for 2000 years. What science "knows" and has "discovered" changes almost daily.... and, it's "new" discoveries almost always point back to God, whether they admit it, or not.
I suggest you read some of Lee Strobel's books... he's written several... "the Case for Christ", "the Case for a Creator", etc... He was an avowed atheist, and investigative reporter, whose wife became saved. He then set out to investigate and "prove" Christianity to be false, based on myths. Instead, he found Jesus
.
And, CS Lewis' book, "Mere Christianity" ... which I'm finally reading for the first time (Thanks Willie!)
If you truly want to come back to Jesus, He's waiting with open arms... you're in my prayers.
You also have to remember that much of what we believe is simply on faith. Sure, we have historical documents, and records, but very much of what Jesus brought simply requires faith.... Don't expect to find "proof" of Jesus through science, or your own intelligence. That's not where He is... You need to become simple, and child-like again, and believe what you see, and experience. .....ask me how I know.
I'm not saying we should become stupid... not at all. We just need to realize that the principles Jesus taught have lasted, unchanged for 2000 years. What science "knows" and has "discovered" changes almost daily.... and, it's "new" discoveries almost always point back to God, whether they admit it, or not.
I suggest you read some of Lee Strobel's books... he's written several... "the Case for Christ", "the Case for a Creator", etc... He was an avowed atheist, and investigative reporter, whose wife became saved. He then set out to investigate and "prove" Christianity to be false, based on myths. Instead, he found Jesus
.
And, CS Lewis' book, "Mere Christianity" ... which I'm finally reading for the first time (Thanks Willie!)
If you truly want to come back to Jesus, He's waiting with open arms... you're in my prayers.
R
All biblical characters failed. The only failures not mentioned are of Joseph, Samuel, Daniel, and Job. Why their failures are not mentioned I do not know. Although Joseph did marry an Egyptian. But everyone fails at some point. The failure is meant to teach us that we need the cross. Because without the cross we are toast.