Spiritual Battles...

[iTRU7H]

hey family, so im a baby christiann and still struggling with a lot of spiritual struggles, what gets me the most though is that back when i was in the party/drug lifestyle i used to share about god in debate classes and what not while looking at the atheists wondering, "how could you not see all this?" and now that ive truly given my heart to jesus i actually feel more like a skeptic than a believer... and it kills me inside, sometimes think that i dont believe at all... those darn spiritual hosts of wickedness... and i can see how we are close to the end, without a doubt deception has grown and the wicked ones have been wokring overtime especially on the bride... anyone else struggling?

[thexter]

We've all struggled at one time or another. Don't let the devil and FUD get to you. Read the bible, pray, and fellowship with those who believe like yourself and you will begin to know the Truth. God bless.

[Jlutz]

God reveals truth to those who seek it. Humble yourself before Him, confess any sin in your life, and ask Him to show you.

As my pastor says if you want to hear God, if you want to know Him, read His words. He has told us everything we need in His word.

If there are specific things you have questions on, post them, there are many here with wisdom and knowledge of Gods word. They can help you. They have helped me.

[antitox]

Don't be hard on yourself. The enemy always harasses young Christians as much as he can. I went thru all of that in my younger years. He will cause you to question your faith, wonder if you're really sincere, think you're not doing enough, "Are you really saved?", cause people to put you down, tempt you with girls, etc. Been thru all of that. I look back at it as part of my "initiation" into God's army.

Hang in there.

[Wing and a Prayer]

iTRU7H,

You say that you feel a greater degree of skepticism since accepting Jesus into your heart. Nothing wrong with that, with refining that skepticism becomes discernment. When we first open our hearts and become members of the body of Christ, not only do we deal with the external attacks to project doubts, but we feel how distant we are to G-ds word... How little we understand the ways of our Lord... Our own internal doubts start surfacing too... As others have pointed out, digging deeper into the Word brings us closer to G-ds ways, the Holy Spirit refines our experiences so that sketisicm become a tool for our use, we can now know the difference between truth and BS....turn your doubts into strengths....

Just a thought...
G-d be with you...

[Jlutz]

as God helps you put your doubts to rest you will be stronger for it, because you will come out of it knowing not just what you believe but why you believe it.

[iTRU7H]

well hey now, thanks for the encouragement!



soo a couple questions would be like ok daniel for example, and isaiah, and any book for that matter, shows the awesome power of our God, and Jesus' miracles and resurrection, and when looked upon everything, it fits so well and is infallible... so as i dig in i have come across a lot of debate whether some books (daniel/isaiah for example) were even written by one singular person...even some biblical scholars say it had to have been written by multiple authors, which was so not what i had believed in and still do not, but everytime i try to continue on, those seeds of doubt rear there ugly heads and then (with the crazy non stop mind that i have) i get myself out of whack and wind up with ... hmm, how is this all even possible, this is craziness....



but thanks guys!! your always great to fellowship with, espexcially now at my work (7pm-6am). talk about being ripe for sifting, i get so sleepy!!

[Acts5:41]

When I was reading your post, this came to mind:

Mark 9:23-25
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’? Everything is possible to the one who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

Jesus is always happy to take us, wherever we are, even in unbelief. .

I've never struggled with unbelief, but in my own battles God has let me know He will never fail me.

I don't consider myself an intellectual so I can't answer the scholastic stuff. I just believe whatever's between the covers of my Bible comes 1000% from God until He tells me otherwise.

[angelka71]

soo a couple questions would be like ok daniel for example, and isaiah, and any book for that matter, shows the awesome power of our God, and Jesus' miracles and resurrection, and when looked upon everything, it fits so well and is infallible... so as i dig in i have come across a lot of debate whether some books (daniel/isaiah for example) were even written by one singular person...even some biblical scholars say it had to have been written by multiple authors, which was so not what i had believed in and still do not, but everytime i try to continue on, those seeds of doubt rear there ugly heads and then (with the crazy non stop mind that i have) i get myself out of whack and wind up with ... hmm, how is this all even possible, this is craziness....

I have learned a lot from going to www.gotquestions.org. I know it covers the Bible, it's authors and how it was put together. Answered questions I had always wondered about.

You are not alone. We all struggle with doubts of one type or another from time to time. Even one of our Lord's disciples struggled with this (Thomas). Once you get past this you will be able to help others who are going through the same thing.

[Jan51]

now that ive truly given my heart to jesus i actually feel more like a skeptic than a believer...

soo a couple questions would be like ok daniel for example, and isaiah, and any book for that matter, shows the awesome power of our God, and Jesus' miracles and resurrection, and when looked upon everything, it fits so well and is infallible... so as i dig in i have come across a lot of debate whether some books (daniel/isaiah for example) were even written by one singular person...even some biblical scholars say it had to have been written by multiple authors, which was so not what i had believed in and still do not, but everytime i try to continue on, those seeds of doubt rear there ugly heads

You are obviously a lover of truth--that is so great! Now that you know you are truly saved, you want to make sure that you are not being deceived. That concern is from the Holy Spirit, to test all things, as the Bereans did and were commended by Paul. Act 17:11 ...for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

I once struggled with doubts about those books. I grew up in a Christian, Bible-believing family and church, but somewhere around high school, I began to wonder if what I believed was really true or if I was just gullible and was merely swallowing a bunch of stuff I'd been told. I went to a Christian college, where I picked up on the idea that educated Christians are skeptical and don't just believe everything they are told. (Unfortunately, for a while I became a little too skeptical...)

For a while, my belief in the absolute authority of Scripture was shaky. I started reading books critical of the Bible. I wanted to know what "the other side" was saying--what were their arguments, and could they be refuted?

I too read that Isaiah and Daniel were not written by Isaiah or Daniel. How could I know which Bible scholars to believe? As I read more, I discovered that some Bible scholars said the Bible was literally true (these scholars are known as "conservatives"), and some said it wasn't (these are known as "liberals"). The conservatives said that the only reason the liberals denied the authenticity of those books was because liberals do not accept anything supernatural, so they do not believe in fulfilled prophecy.

Daniel especially is a problem to them because it contains so much specific prophecy, made far in advance, and fulfilled in detail. The only way to deny these prophecies was to claim that the book was actually written much later, after those events had happened, which means it could not be written by Daniel as the Bible claims. It was written by someone else, after the fact, falsely claiming to be prophesying future events. The conservatives say that there is absolutely no manuscript, archaeological or historical evidence for such claims by the liberals.

There is nothing wrong with having doubts about these things, as long as it causes you to study and strengthen your belief in God's Word. In order to effectively talk to unbelievers about our faith, it is important to be confident in the truth of the Bible. If the Bible is not literally true, we are deceived and wasting our time.

One of my favorite commercials from yore was for National Enquirer, and I know this is showing my age, but it said (in a deep, mysterious voice): "Enquiring minds want to know!" Be a Berean!

[HeIsEnough]

soo a couple questions would be like ok daniel for example, and isaiah, and any book for that matter, shows the awesome power of our God, and Jesus' miracles and resurrection, and when looked upon everything, it fits so well and is infallible...

The scriptures are not a science book to be doubted and sifted, looking for inconsistencies or falsehoods. They are alive and active, cutting through the walls of defenses you've built up around your life. You'll find people in life who will argue the sky is not blue, so there is no end to skeptics.

What you need to do is grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sit, be quiet, prayerfully read and study the book of John, for example. The Spirit will speak to those who He has born from above, your faith will grow, you'll see this world for what it is, evil and ignorant. If you really want to grow and see as God sees, do that. You'll learn what the true armor of God is regarding 'spiritual warfare', you'll look at people of the world in a different light.

[MelanieAnn]

I can't speak to anybody else, but for me, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes it's better to just walk on with the faith of a child. A child doesn't have to have reasons or proof why they trust their parent, they just do because it IS their parent, they know ther parent loves them and will never allow anything not for the good of their child. God is our Father, He will not be less to His children than a human parent. It's interesting and a learning exercise to question and to try to find answers to all our questions, as long as we remember that even the Bible tells us that on this earth we see theough a glass darkly. To me this means that I can't possibly ever have ALL my questions answered in this life, so when I can't find an answer, I just have to fall back on my faith, which is what Jesus asks us to have anyway. If we could get answers to everything, we wouldn't need faith. Faith is believing without proof, and you only need a little, that of a tiny mustard seed.

Also, when you belong to God is when the powers of darkness start harassing you, they don't need to harass those who they aready have. Note that harassment is not the same as possession. They want to bother you, make you question your faith. They don't need to do that to those who have no faith.

[TaliaKirana]

It's okay to have doubts and questions. I think a lot of us here have struggled with understanding what we believe. But when you research the answers, you actually strengthen your faith. (True, we'll never understand everything.)

[JoyJoyJoy]

The scriptures are not a science book to be doubted and sifted, looking for inconsistencies or falsehoods. They are alive and active, cutting through the walls of defenses you've built up around your life. You'll find people in life who will argue the sky is not blue, so there is no end to skeptics.

What you need to do is grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sit, be quiet, prayerfully read and study the book of John, for example. The Spirit will speak to those who He has born from above, your faith will grow, you'll see this world for what it is, evil and ignorant. If you really want to grow and see as God sees, do that. You'll learn what the true armor of God is regarding 'spiritual warfare', you'll look at people of the world in a different light.

Young Christian, these words are pearls of wisdom.

[Luminary]

I've had several struggles lately, so you're not alone. The kicker for me, personally, was the fact that I had collected a massive amount of evidence that not only affirms God's existence, but that everything in the Bible was truth...and yet, I still struggled. My last struggle was very, very ugly, and I gave in to a number of sins in response (sigh). However, coming here to talk, praying constantly, and reaffirming my conclusion for Christianity by studying more...these all helped me. I prayed that my faith would come out stronger in the end of this trial, and that I would know God even better; He answered me, emphatically. Therefore, do not lose heart. Tell Him what you're thinking and what you're feeling. Ask Him to give you what you need most to help your faith and your relationship with Him. Read scripture...pick anything and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the truth. I promise you: They will answer you!

If it helps: I have prayed for you, and will continue to pray for you. If you need to vent, or want to ask questions, please don't hesitate to come talk with us. We all love you, even though we have not met or do not know one another. That's the simple truth. So, you're among friends here and we will help you as best we can!

[tbrian40]

I John 1:9. Luminary and everyone here, including myself.

[iTRU7H]

I've had several struggles lately, so you're not alone. The kicker for me, personally, was the fact that I had collected a massive amount of evidence that not only affirms God's existence, but that everything in the Bible was truth...and yet, I still struggled. My last struggle was very, very ugly, and I gave in to a number of sins in response (sigh). However, coming here to talk, praying constantly, and reaffirming my conclusion for Christianity by studying more...these all helped me. I prayed that my faith would come out stronger in the end of this trial, and that I would know God even better; He answered me, emphatically. Therefore, do not lose heart. Tell Him what you're thinking and what you're feeling. Ask Him to give you what you need most to help your faith and your relationship with Him. Read scripture...pick anything and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the truth. I promise you: They will answer you!

If it helps: I have prayed for you, and will continue to pray for you. If you need to vent, or want to ask questions, please don't hesitate to come talk with us. We all love you, even though we have not met or do not know one another. That's the simple truth. So, you're among friends here and we will help you as best we can!

unbelievable, thats exactly whats going on, i think thats why i get so discouraged at times...its with all the info that i know to be true, theres always that voice of doubt, and i struggle... what i find most amazing is when ive run to other things (sin) to fill myself, whatever it was, im always convicted...

this kind of stuff just drives me bonkers... i can see everything moving the way the Word says, it has never been proven wrong in my life, its like confirmation after confirmation, yet we struggle... i am so looking forward to that glorious day when are tears are wiped away, and we no longer struggle...

with that said, thank you all for the encouragement, it means a lot.. especially to know there are others that are struggling, not just like me, but with me. its cool to know were all in this together. praise god for making us a beautiful family.

[treasures]

Early in my walk, I felt afraid of these doubts, especially when the world told me one thing and the Bible told me another. Each time, I stepped out in faith, though not without some fear, to look deeper not only into what God tells me but also deeper into what the world was telling me. Time and time again, this played out. After about 10 years of this (somewhere along the way), it's no longer that I do so with fear that I might lose my faith but with excitement, joy and certainty that God's Word will prove perfect and true 100% of the time no matter what lies this world serves up as truth.


Edited to add something I read just recently that may be of help to you.

Growing in faith - http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-grow-faith.html