i need prayers from some serious prayer warriors in christ

I will be praying John. What a blessing it is to see what the Lord has been doing through you, and to you, since the conference in Indianapolis.

We all must be serious prayer warriors in Christ, for that is where the battle is fought.

I will be praying for Keith, for you, and for your wife's family, that God will work things together for good...

You really are confused.

2 Cor 13v5, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified?"

Nothing in what you say denotes any Christian fruit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace etc, Gal 5v22-23.

Basically, you don't sound saved. If you were, why the doubts?

But it does worry you, so there is hope yet.

Seek God.

Bible4life,

I agree that you seem very confused. I am very concerned for you because as I read you different post you seem to waver from being very confident and full of hope in God at one moment to being very down and doubting God the next.

The problem is that I and most people on this forum don’t know you and therefore cannot really give you the correct counsel you are seeking.
However what I will suggest I would not normally say, but because you seem to be very unstable in character I would say this....

Do not look to this forum for spiritual help. You will get conflicting answers, causing confusion (due to no one really knowing you). Also do not rely on the sermons on this website for your teaching. Although there are very many good teachings, you need some maturity to enable you properly understand and apply them to yourself. This is because you will get a wide variety of differing views and doctrines. Also what is preached may not be what the Lord is saying to you at this time. Use the Forum, but just for encouragement in general.

What I suggest you do is to get involved with your local church (assuming you have a good one). You know enough from this website to know what is a good, sound church! Listen and apply the teaching from there. Submit to those who are mature in the Lord in your church and seek to act on the help they give you (as they will know you better than those here).

Also spend more time doing practical things for the Lord, such as serving others and working to provide for yourself and family, rather than worrying about every thought and word. Just set your heart to honour God and then get on with it. We can honour God in the practical things of life and then any other time we spend in prayer and the word. Forums like this then come last in any spare time left.

I hope you understand what I am saying. I think you need stability in the information you are receiving and trying to apply. Too much information of differing types can cause confusion.

bible4life,

Heydave has given some good advice. They are just suggestions, but good ones.

It really is left in your hands what you do.

God bless.

Hi Guys,

I believe that periods of 'being up and down' that John is talking about, have marked the lives of many saints over the years. David, the psalmist, had seasons like this, where he was confused and bewildered by some things that were going on in his life. The puritan writer William Gurnall, who wrote, 'The Christian in Complete Armour', talks about them as if they are to be expected, as a natural part of a Christian's life. The apostle Paul wrote about being "perplexed but not is despair". David Wilkerson, in many of his writings and sermons is very candid about the tumultuousness of the trials he's faced in his life.

John is expressing a lot of personal concerns. This in itself is a very good thing; this honesty, this reaching out to others for help, in recognition of one's need.I believe this sort of thing is the mark of a vibrant church, or any Christian community. None of us can know exactly where other posters are at spiritually. One thing I can say, is in comparison to the experiences you were sharing months ago on Sermon Index, John, it seems to me like you have been exhibiting a greater sense of confidence in Christ, and a greater love for the Word. Praise God :-)

Shall we lift up John in our prayers, and see what God will accomplish in his life, and in the lives of his friends and family members ?

Love in Christ,
John
p.s. I can't remember the which passage this is, but wanted to encourage you to remember, 'The trials of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us'

Dear John,

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being [u]sure[/u] of what we hope for and [u]certain[/u] of what we do not see.

Faith is the foundation of our new life in Christ. The bible teaches that there is no room for doubt in faith, only confidence and certainty in the work of Christ in our lives. [u]When the enemy tempts you with thoughts of doubt, do not even consider them -- reject them completely and reaffirm your faith by going to Scripture[/u]. Remember that Jesus is "the Word made flesh". If we say we have faith in Jesus, we must have faith in Scripture. Reading the Word is like talking to the Lord, and only in this way can your faith grow -- through knowledge of God.

The parable of the sower was given to us to make us understand that unless we allow the Word of God (Jesus) to take root in our lives, our profession of faith is meaningless and short-lived.

Mt 13:18-23 [color=CC3300]“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

But the one who received [u]the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it[/u]. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”[/color]

When someone tells you "It's all about Christ", it doesn't just mean the joy, or the peace, or the experience. More than anything else, it means it's [u]all about understanding the Word[/u]. Because if you don't take time to delve deeply and understand the Word, you will never really KNOW Christ, and if you don't know Christ, you can never LOVE him in the real sense of loving. And if you don't love Christ (the Word), you are not born again.

1Jn 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. [u]Whoever does not love does not know God[/u], because God is love.

1Jn 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For [u]anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen cannot love God[/u], whom he has not seen.

Jesus Christ (the Word) is the only way. At this early stage of your walk with God, you must feed voraciously on the Word for spiritual strength and growth.

Jn 6:53 Jesus said to them, [color=CC3300]“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the [u]flesh of the Son of Man[/u] and drink his blood, you have no life in you."[/color]

Jesus' flesh is the "Word made flesh" - it is Scripture.

Jn 1:14 [u]The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us[/u]. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the Word of Truth who gives us life.

Jas 1:18 [u]He chose to give us birth through the word of truth[/u], that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.