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Stuck With that "Anything's Possible" Attitude
David:
Hi Paul.
I can identify exactly with where you are right now, I was there myself not too many years ago. I grew up in a family that really had no time for religion of any kind, which is fairly typical of British families since the 1950s and 60s.
I personally think the Church is next to useless in helping people who are where you are. They talk about faith and God and being saved and Jesus Christ as though the unbelieving are just supposed to know exactly what they are talking about. In my experience since becoming a Christian, ad this was my own experience what unbelievers are looking for when God begins to drag them is (paraphrasing)....."Ok I want to believe, so prove to me there's a God, prove to me about this guy called Jesus Christ, did he really do all those miracles? Did he really walk out of his tomb and was raised from the dead? Whats this stuff all about?"
These are the questions that need answers way before the deeper spiritual stuff.
I just want to say here that I mean no disrespect to anyone with this next part. Many in the Church, many that come from religious backgrounds, religious families etc tend to forget that there are billions still in western society that come from secular backgrounds, had secular education, and that there is a prevailing culture these days of proof proof proof to almost everything.
The fundamental questions facing anyone being drawn to God are is there a Divine creator, a God? If so did He send His Son to earth 2000 years ago to be the savior of all mankind, and was He risen from the dead?
Well I did a lot of searching, listened to a lot of teaching, read the Bible, read Bible comentries etc, and God brought me to the conclusion that the answer to both questions was yes.
Oddly enough, while initially studdying the Bible (and not really understanding a lot of it to begin with, I was just fact finding), one of things that helped me and still does today is studdying cosmology and astro physics. I found that some of the worlds leading cosmologists and physicists, all avid atheists, are now concluding that there must be a creative superior intelligent force at work in the universe. Sure they don't believe in the God of the Bible, but they are lead by their findings to believe that the universe did not create itself out of nothingness.
Up until recently there was always a 1-2% chance for randomness in the way in which the universe functions according to their findings. But a recent discovery has totally eradicated any possibility of randomness in the universe, and its called the cosmological constant. According to physicists its is so finely balanced that it cannot be changed by 0. 120 zeroes after the decimal, which is a trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion (don't ask me what that number is, I just know it was a trillion six times over). They calculate that should this constant force be changed by that almost incalculable tiny amount, then its all over, there's no life, the universe collapses and that's game over. This they say is proof beyond any reasonable doubt that there is no randomness in the universe. Of course there were those (and there still are some) that put forward a theory of what they termed "the multiverse". This is the idea that there are infinite universes, all different, which they say reinstates the possibility of randomness (do you see how silly this gets, hanging on to this theory of the universe just evolving out of nothing?) What they could never have imagined is just where this mutiverse theory would take them. You see, if that be the case, then that introduces the possibility that there is a universe, or many that are far advanced to ours, in which could live superior beings with the ability to simulate a universe.........one just like ours.....so where are they? Back to the possibility of a superior creative force behind the universe. Well only God can give you faith. The scientists are floundering with this random evolution stuff as you can see.
As for Jesus Christ. Well for me that was the easy part once God had drawn me. The evidence is simply overwhelming. Christ is by far the most reliably documented person in ancient history. Writings of his life, ministry, miracles, death and resurrection were being widely circulated as early as 7 years after he left the earth, against a backdrop of deadly opposition.
Seven years is incredibally soon after the events by the standards of ancient history. The idea that people would risk stoning, crucifixion etc by writing about something that never took place is utterly ridiculous to my mind. There were many around that time making all sorts of claims to be messiahs etc, but their stories were practically forgotten and lost to time, and as we see from the story of Barjesus in Acts its because they were total frauds. The Gospel of Jesus Christ remains to this day because it is true.
As for being a slave to sin, show me a Christian that isn't or wasn't. Romans 3:10-12 “ There is none righteous, no, not one;11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
No man that ever drew breath on the earth lived without sinning, save for our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
I pray that God will continue to draw you Paul, and that you will come to know Jesus Christ through his Spirit.
Be blessed.
David.
Linny:
Hey Paul!
You know, sin is always fun when you are doing it or else nobody would be doing it! ;)
But it is when you are NOT doing it that you feel its effects on you. Sin leaves us empty.
The Lord doesn't want to take away our fun. He just wants to replace the things we use for fun with things that last. Now my fun leaves me full and content and happy.
You don't have to quit anything. If you feel like you are being led into this thing called Christianity, then when you surrender to it (Him), the Holy Spirit will slowly remove those desires from you and replace them with the good stuff.
Just keep investigating and listen to your heart.
David:
Gods Spirit has lead me to see that the sin we are a slave to in Babylon is much more of an affront to God than any physical sin in our lives.
Scripture tells us that Jesus reserved his most fierce indignation and anger for those that blasphemed Him and the Father, that committed spiritual sin.
Bradigans:
--- Quote from: Linny on March 11, 2008, 09:08:17 PM ---Hey Paul!
You know, sin is always fun when you are doing it or else nobody would be doing it! ;)
But it is when you are NOT doing it that you feel its effects on you. Sin leaves us empty.
The Lord doesn't want to take away our fun. He just wants to replace the things we use for fun with things that last. Now my fun leaves me full and content and happy.
You don't have to quit anything. If you feel like you are being led into this thing called Christianity, then when you surrender to it (Him), the Holy Spirit will slowly remove those desires from you and replace them with the good stuff.
Just keep investigating and listen to your heart.
--- End quote ---
Yes, sin leaves the child of God empty, but with the reprobate it's a different story because they have not THE SPIRIT of God.
- Ephesians 4:30 - And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
This is to the bona fide sons of God because the world has not been sealed.
- John 17:6 - I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
The world can find fulfillment in sin, because they have another Spirit.
- Ephesians 2:1-2 - And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
As long as they're not hurting one of us that belong to THE BROTHERHOOD, let them enjoy themselves. Don't envy them. This is it for them...
Linny:
[/quote]
Yes, sin leaves the child of God empty, but with the reprobate it's a different story because they have not THE SPIRIT of God.
The world can find fulfillment in sin, because they have another Spirit.
Don't envy them. This is it for them...
[/quote]
I'm afraid I don't agree and I don't see how the Scripture you quoted proved your points.
I was quite involved in the world of sin before I was called to something better and it left me empty as well as my friends. And if the world is fullfilled then why are they medicating themselves to get through the day and so many of them committing suicide?
Just in case you took my comments to mean I was envious of my former lifestyle to which so many are still connected, I am not. Been there, done that. I do not look back with longing....
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