How do you know?

[DarkVoid]

Ok, well, thought id finally ask this in the forum...

Basically, ive always wondered and could never understand, just how do you know that god actually cares about you? just because the bible says so? or is there another way to know this? and why do you trust him? also, how do you kno that ur belief is the right one? i mean alot of others have beliefs and think that they are right too, but they can't all be right...i kno the bible says god cares and that u shud trust him and that christianity is the one true belief...but is that the only reason u believe this? or is there other reasons too? if so, id like to kno them...

Because frankly, the whole "cuz the bible says so" thing, just doesnt work for me...so mayb i will find some other reasons that are more convincing...i kno "faith" has alot to do with it but i'm hoping to run across something a bit more um, "real", than that...

Anyway, ive talked about this with some ppl in chat but thought id post it here for all to see so i cud get a greater variety of responses (hopefully) ... and i posted it in teens cuz im a teen but of course anyone can answer...

Thank you for your time and looking forward to reading ur responses!

 

[virteous_man]

Ok, well, thought id finally ask this in the forum...

Basically, ive always wondered and could never understand, just how do you know that god actually cares about you? just because the bible says so? or is there another way to know this? and why do you trust him? also, how do you kno that ur belief is the right one? i mean alot of others have beliefs and think that they are right too, but they can't all be right...i kno the bible says god cares and that u shud trust him and that christianity is the one true belief...but is that the only reason u believe this? or is there other reasons too? if so, id like to kno them...

Because frankly, the whole "cuz the bible says so" thing, just doesnt work for me...so mayb i will find some other reasons that are more convincing...i kno "faith" has alot to do with it but i'm hoping to run across something a bit more um, "real", than that...

Anyway, ive talked about this with some ppl in chat but thought id post it here for all to see so i cud get a greater variety of responses (hopefully) ... and i posted it in teens cuz im a teen but of course anyone can answer...

Thank you for your time and looking forward to reading ur responses!

1) I know God loves me because the bible tells me so. When I came to believe in Jesus i was filled with the Holy Spirit and I changed. I know the bible is true, no man could of made 4,000 + years of scripture agree and fulfill so much prophecy. Even biblical archelogists have proven it. Noah's Arc is right there on top of ararat. There is a Noah's Ark National Park there. Just look it up.

2) I know my belief in Jesus is true because Jesus lives inside of me. He changed me. Just ask those that have known me my whole life.

3) My main reasons and 100% unrefutable proof of Jesus in my life. Is I have seen Jesus 3 times in a dream.

When I first asked Him into my heart He came walking towards me followed by saints. He offered me a pack of malboro light cigeretts. when I reached for them He dropped them and stepped on them. Then the dream changed and I was washing myself in blood in a old-timy bathtub. My urge to smoke was taken away right then and there no detox, no urges or anything.

2nd dream I saw Jesus sitting on a rock in front of some corperation. I said "Hi Jesus" He said Ben why are you so selfish. I woke up right away. the Lord lead me through trials and heartaches where i had to deny all I owned or thought I had quit my job become homeless and Preach His word.

3rd time about 6 months ago I saw Jesus in a ally here in the town I live in I said "Hi Lord" He said "Ben your not as selfish as you used to be are you?" I said no Lord. I am now in a Victory University program getting a degree in christian ministry attending church living with my family and walking in the Holy Spirit 24/7 I have repented of all my known sins. And ask repentance daily for my anger, grumpiness at times and tongue. I am working hard on that evil tongue.

He is real, His love is real. When I have no food, He is my daily Heavenly Meal. When I have no drink He is my Living Water. When I am all alone and have no friends or family around me, He is my Everlasting Father, Best Friend, my Holy Comforter. When I have no strengeth, no desire to continue or do good. His love carries me renews my spirit, encourages me.

I have been in the Lord 18 years I am 40 years old. Last month He told me "Ben 40 years you went and did what you wanted, Now the next 40 years you will go and do what I want you to do. In less than a month I am srtaing online classes at Victory University. More than half of my tution is a grant i don't have to pay back. Am in a accelated learning program where I can get my 2 year degree in less than 6 months.

He is faithful. Praise Your Holy Name Jesus!

 

[Crimeny]

Call upon Jesus and find out for yourself, he really does care like you wouldn't believe haha

 

[DarkVoid]

Thanks for the responses,

I just want to clarify, i'm not looking for proof of the events of the bible, but proof of the motives behind the events...

And it's great that uve had those experiences virteous_man but i havent and even if i did i doubt id believe them...

Crimeny, i just find it very hard to trust any sort of god and i guess thats my problem...

For instance, even if god did answer me, i dont think id believe what he told me unless he cud convince me somehow that what he said was true...

I'm not sure what im looking for...i ask these questions hoping that i will find out what it is, but so far its been in vain...

Well, if anyone has anything to tell me that they think mite make a difference, then feel free to do so...

Thanks again!

 

[virteous_man]

darkvoid: If you want the answers. I suggest you start by reading the Gospel of John, 1-3 John and revelation. Then read Luke and acts. Then see where you stand.

 

[DarkVoid]

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately anything the bible says is meaningless to me, i mean for me it holds no guarantee that god is who he says he is...

This thread was probably a waste of time...if what im looking for doesnt even exist...

Just wish there was more than what there is...

Oh well, excuse my pointless intrusion...

Peace out!

 

[dishchat]

There is no way to believe the Bible if someone isn't predestinated.Believe is not from mind because our mind can't believe God. Believe is from the heart.It enter the mind but it must be in the heart.
Why are we on the earth, where do we came from, where do we go? There must be a God who is there. If not, life has no sense.
In the time that we are living, all the prophecies of Jesus is being fullfilled.
If you want to know God,please seek Him. Only God can lead you and reveal His word unto you.
God take cares for me everyday.I have my own experience on that. Jesus love me and died for me. I have no problem to give him all my life.I was bored with my life, I tried and i seek help in other religion, in withcraft etc... nothing. But when gave Jesus all my life, he blessed me and continue to do so. He is real. If am wrong, i loose anything becuase i experienced that Christianity is the best life to live and thus i have no regrets to live it and i am not a looser.
But if an unbeliever is wrong, he looses everything because he got a chance to believe in Jesus in his life and he didn't and go to hell with regrets in his heart.

 

[Kyouken]

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately anything the bible says is meaningless to me, i mean for me it holds no guarantee that god is who he says he is...

This thread was probably a waste of time...if what im looking for doesnt even exist...

Just wish there was more than what there is...

Oh well, excuse my pointless intrusion...

Peace out!

What's more sure to you:

The Bible, which is the Word of God,
or some vision/dream/voice/whatever that could have been from God but you're not entirely sure?

The Bible is only sure thing we have when it comes to God. I'm not saying that getting a dream/vision/whatever from God isn't legitimate or impossible, but the Bible is the only thing we have that is 100% reliable when it comes to God.

You aren't going to find more than what you see unless you look with opened eyes. Call on the Lord Jesus Christ, and your eyes will be opened.

By the way, you're welcome here anytime pal You aren't intruding

 

[DarkVoid]

Thanks for the replies dishchat and Kyouken,

Yea, i guess the bible really is all the proof that there is, and if thats not enough for me, then i dont kno...

I have asked any god that exists to prove to me that they care about me...i havent been convinced yet...

I'm not sure if its because no god hears me, or they hear me but cant convince me or they hear me and just dont care...

(I'm not solely referring to the christian god but any god in existance cuz im not sure which god is real)

Anyway, im about to give up on this, it just doesnt seem like im ever going to get anywhere...

But thanks for trying to help!

 

[Kyouken]

If you keep searching, you'll end up SOMEWHERE.

I could tell you a lot of things about why Christianity is the only true religion and blah blah blah, but it seems like you're set.

May I remind you however that if you do want to know the God of the Bible, the only way is through His Son, Jesus.

Romans 10:13 - "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

I wish you luck.

 

[Crimeny]

try reading eccelesiates and proverbs ALSO you just made me remember something:

when i was recovering from demons and drugs and bad stuff, I recall that when i went to church, i had a voice constantly telling me that it was all a cult and all bad and i had that voice torture me for a long time!

if this might inspire you, you actually have to sort of sit down and sort of torture yourself to go through it, and eventually that feeling of it doesnt matter and whatever and there is no god and the voices go away, obviously the demons don`t like it but you open yourself up to God and Jesus!

see when i was recovering, i also had trouble reading the bible, it felt really uncomfortable but i made myself do it, with proverbs and eccelesiates and stuff, and i felt sort of like ahhh dont do it but the demons cant handle God!

its a matter of willpower, will you give it a chance or not even bother cause those demons just say no no no and they stop you and thats the hard part.

 

[Warrior_4_Christ]

alright buddy here you go this is your answer......God sent his one and only son to the cross to free the world of sin (but remember he gave us freedom FROM sin, not freedom TO sin.) Only ONE man was able to keep Gods law and his name was Jesus Christ. what he did is hard to explain on computer but can only be found in the bible. read to understand not to finish. pray to God and ask him to remove the tint that lies upon your eyes, and to soften your heart so you may hear his voice. seek the knowledge of our God continuously because it says in the bible that those who search are soon to find.
hope this helps stand fast and hold your ground

 

[Bunchii]

what's the use of asking if you're not believing with their answers? if you're asking it means you wanna know "WHY" , right? and now it's like you're insulting our beliefs! if you're not interested in knowing about Christianity, you better stop asking because at the end you don't know how to listen!

 

[lil_christian]

Ok, well, thought id finally ask this in the forum...

Basically, ive always wondered and could never understand, just how do you know that god actually cares about you? just because the bible says so? or is there another way to know this? and why do you trust him? also, how do you kno that ur belief is the right one? i mean alot of others have beliefs and think that they are right too, but they can't all be right...i kno the bible says god cares and that u shud trust him and that christianity is the one true belief...but is that the only reason u believe this? or is there other reasons too? if so, id like to kno them...

Because frankly, the whole "cuz the bible says so" thing, just doesnt work for me...so mayb i will find some other reasons that are more convincing...i kno "faith" has alot to do with it but i'm hoping to run across something a bit more um, "real", than that...

Anyway, ive talked about this with some ppl in chat but thought id post it here for all to see so i cud get a greater variety of responses (hopefully) ... and i posted it in teens cuz im a teen but of course anyone can answer...

Thank you for your time and looking forward to reading ur responses!

Why don't you ask God to give you a sign that He's there and that He cares? If you're a skeptic, make it something very specific. Though I'd suggest that it's not something done out of selfishness like "God if you exist give me a ton of money" or something else like that. I've asked God to give me signs before and they've happened. All it takes is asking God for a specific sign and just the tiniest bit of faith that it will happen. Don't need much...just mustard-seed sized will work.

And take this into consideration...if you get your sign...remember....with God, there are no coincidences.

 

[Livi94]

Well, isn't that what faith is all about? Besides, what is the harm in believing?

 

[Livi94]

what's the use of asking if you're not believing with their answers? if you're asking it means you wanna know "WHY" , right? and now it's like you're insulting our beliefs! if you're not interested in knowing about Christianity, you better stop asking because at the end you don't know how to listen!

We should try to help even if he has trouble listening. We must wecome his curiosity and pray that we can help. Shunning him will not solve anything. Questions are welcomed here!

 

[Livi94]

Thanks for the replies dishchat and Kyouken,

Yea, i guess the bible really is all the proof that there is, and if thats not enough for me, then i dont kno...

I have asked any god that exists to prove to me that they care about me...i havent been convinced yet...

I'm not sure if its because no god hears me, or they hear me but cant convince me or they hear me and just dont care...

(I'm not solely referring to the christian god but any god in existance cuz im not sure which god is real)

Anyway, im about to give up on this, it just doesnt seem like im ever going to get anywhere...

But thanks for trying to help!

Have you researched testimonies? Anything like that? The Bible is not the only proof out there. There is proof all around you! Miracles everywhere! Please don't lose faith, don't give up! <3
I'll be praying for you in hope you find what you are looking for

~ Olivia

 

[Bunchii]

We should try to help even if he has trouble listening. We must wecome his curiosity and pray that we can help. Shunning him will not solve anything. Questions are welcomed here!

Oh yeah of course we shoud try helping him! But he don't even know how to help himself ( Jay no offense) and besides I think his not really interested, just like what he says here. "Thanks for the advice, unfortunately anything the bible says is meaningless to me, i mean for me it holds no guarantee that god is who he says he is...

This thread was probably a waste of time...if what im looking for doesnt even exist...

Just wish there was more than what there is...".
-you know what guys I'm not making a fight here, okay! But my only concern is that if he's asking an advice why do he need to tell that kind of words! Eventhough he's not a Christian or believing in Christ, he must respect us also because he's in a Christian site in the first place.

 

[DarkVoid]

Wow...um...I haven't had internet access for a week, otherwise I wud have replied sooner...

First of all: Bunchii, I'm not insulting anyones beliefs...I just have a hard time believeing anything but what makes the most sense to me...and in an existance where anything is possible no one can be sure what is true and what is not...so just believe watever makes the most sense to you...and I am interested in religion, especially christianity, tho mayb not for the reasons u mite expect...

Secondly: lil_christian, even if I did get a "sign" that wud not convince me god cares cuz I'm open to the possibility that god lies and tricks...

Thirdly: Livi94, there's no real harm in believing...its just that I don't want to be played for a fool in gods game...and yes I have looked into a lot of sources besides the bible...

And again: Bunchii, u r right, I don't kno how to help myself...idk how to help anyone...in my mind everyone is headed towards eternal darkness and there's no way to save anyone...I wish I knew a way out of my dark views on life...and I guess I "tell that kind of words" cuz I'm being honest...this is honestly how I feel...and I do try to show respect, if u feel I've been disrespectful then I apologize...

Anyways, I hope this has cleared some things up, thx 4 the replies all!

 

[Crimeny]

Heh this was me a couple months ago, the only thing that saved me was a friend who told me to go to youth and then I got to know about Jesus.

Its weird but Jesus just plucks you out at the right time, whether you know it or not, he chose you, and when you feel like there is nothing then you find something, and the dark thoughts are problematic, also God never lies, despite how outrageous, never ever, i learned this many times but I was too pigheaded to accept this as the truth, so I always thought lies lies and lies, I remember once I blasphemed hard and needless to say, it was terrible, but eventually I learned, I hope you might learn too.