Hey guys I'm new and need help

I'm a fairly new Christian. And I witness a lot. However I feel kind of empty inside. I try to know God more and have a relationship, but I feel like I'm not with Him. I feel His blessings everyday, and I have turned away from all sin. I'm not good at studying the Bible. I don't even know where to start. I start reading books and then stop. The only book I've read through were Acts, Ephesians, Titus, and 1st John. I find myself listening to audio sermons more than I read the Bible. And all it's doing is firing me up, but not building onto my relationship. What do I do?

What do I do?

Don't give up.

If you keep at it, you'll get there.

He has promised:

Jeremiah 29:13
[b]And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.[/b]

Oh, and it's a joy to meet you! :-)

Knowing God is a wonderful experience. Try
not to depend upon what you feel or how you
feel, rely upon what God has promised to
you in His Word. I would recommend you read
the Gospel of John and look at the
relationship John had with the Saviour.
He saw Jesus as the light of life, the very
love of God, and the way, the truth , and
the life!!

Hi Ilya,

Am certainly glad you found yourself here, there is endless resources to help you throughout this life.

Keep at it. That might sound entirely too simplistic but a large part of being a disciple is simply discipline ...

Prayer, read some of the great men of prayer. And then pray.

Try reading the book of John ever so slowly, taking in the thoughts and concentrating, pondering on them, praying that the Holy Spirit would open them up to you. The same with all the books, the Psalms for instance. Small doses, long dwelled on ... take your time.

There are a number of really good threads on reading the Bible here, we will have to drum them up for you.

Here is an exceptional and short accounting that may be of a great help to you:

[url=http://mp3.biblebase.com/download_45.html] The Representative Man[/url] [i]By G.W. North[/i]

Thank you all for your generosity. I'm part of another forum. So they helped shape me into what I am now. God bless them. But I just haven't been walking with God. I'm too busy talking to other people about their faith. And trying to gain knowledge through audio sermons that I completely ignore the most important part. Reading the Bible to know God more.

How do I post. All I can find is reply :(.

How do I post. All I can find is reply :(.

From the home page under "Main Menu" go to "Discussion Forum". From there, click on one of the headings, for instance; "Articles and Sermons", in the upper right hand corner you will see "Post New Thread"

But I just haven't been walking with God. I'm too busy talking to other people about their faith.

Hope you read the link there earlier brother\\sister.

[i]It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, are are life.[/i] Joh 6:63

i. Find a bible believing and Christ-centered Church.
ii. Pray regular
iii. Don't read your bible too fast, but slow and pray while reading and ask the Holy Spirit to enlight the Word in your heart.
iv. Read devotionals

Sincerely Magnus
:-)

Ilya, how are you doing? Welcome to Sermonindex and I hope that things are going well for you :)

I appreciate your honesty in what you shared Ilya. And I hope and look to God with you that He will lead you along and be your help in all things.

Something you wrote caught my attention, where you said

"I'm too busy talking to other people about their faith."

From my own experiences, this made me think that, perhaps sometimes we are eager to be engaged/busy in the things of God, like talking to others about God, for instance, as a way to avoid being engaged by God Himself; that is, as a way to avoid having God deal with us personally.

And one of the ways He could deal with us, is while we are reading His word. You may know this Bible verse already but I'd like to put it up here, in the book of Hebrews where it says

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Someone has said that the Bible is the only book that reads you back when you read it. I think that is a pretty neat statement. The word of God is searching, and revealing, and goes down to the deep things in our lives.

But in all that, we need grace from God. We need grace to be willing to open ourselves up to Him and to trust Him.

Well Ilya, whatever the case is for you personally, I wish for you that God may be your help and carry you through.

Grace and peace to you in Christ.

Christopher

Thank you all so much :).

Hi. Ilya
I like to read along as I listen to the Bible being read by someone who can pronounce the names and words better than me and it has helped me pronounce them better. Audio Bible is a great web site and I feel sure you will enjoy it for years.

http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/bible.html

Eddie

hi ilya,
i'd like to reiterate what some others have said.

Read John slowly and in much prayer.

Prayer is bigger than anything. Jesus noted that the Pharisees
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me". (John 5). A knowledge of the word alone won't bring a closer walk with Him, but abeing in the word and praying to be changed to be more like Him. The searching with all our hearts is , I believe in prayer.
Now of course the word is also extremely important. In particular the gospel, as the Colossians were commended for their faith, hope and love for others which came through hearing the Word.
Its about balance in those two things: prayer and the word. E M Bounds has said that if there is not fervency in your prayer, then that should be the first thing prayed for and stay in prayer until its received. I know, in honesty, that in my life i've sinned and not immediately repented, but in those times i've prayed for God to give me a repented heart. ask God to give you a heart that is on fire for Him!

Ilya,

Welcome to SI! You will learn a lot here, it is a wonderful place.....

Now about your relationship with God: it is so very good you are free to share your problem...would it help you to know that it is common? That most growing Christians will find themselves at that point somewhere in their walk with the LORD? But what can we do about it? Tell God what you told us here! Then when you go study the WORD ask the LORD to speak to you through His word, recognizing his word is written for YOU and if you listen in your spirit you can know and experience that. Simple? Yes, but it is true.

I have learned that when I have a problem, I must tell the LORD all about it, just like I would to a trusted friend. The bottom line is He knows all about it anyway so do you not think He could give the best advice about it? "Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you" (I Peter 5:7) applies to you, to all of us. Awesome, is it not?

Blessings,

ginnyrose