In Search Of Truth...

I was raised in a Christian home, left when I was 18, fell to addiction, drinking, partying, ect. Then, I grew up. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person with an inquisitive mind, and I have many, many questions about the Christian faith. I'll start with this one: I always hear people having "faith" in Jesus. I have tried for years and years to have a "faith" in Jesus. Without knowing me, it may be hard for you to understand, but I am truly searching for the truth, for Christ, but it's just not there. I am an analytical person, I need truth, I need proof. I can't understand why a Creator would put in order a world with so much sense, yet not allow so many questions left unanswered.
 
I have often used this analogy. I could tell you a monkey is sitting in the chair beside me, but you would never truly, wholeheartedly believe that there was a monkey there unless it was revealed to you, unless you saw it. You would never die for that monkey, unless you knew it was there. That's how I am with the story of Jesus...
 
Greetings:

If you have nothing for God,he has nothing for you.Why does he need analytics for.He wants you in church to be a witness
for the faith and charitable situations for loving.Lovings bring on the "Lover of Lovers".

bye
 
We all struggle with 'truth'. The problem is, the 'world' we live in defines our truth. We are 'multidimensional beings' if you will. And for seekers of truth; this is something that helps to understand when trying to fill that void.

We are part "physical" which is referred to as the 'flesh', 'carnal' or 'of the world' in the Bible. We are part 'spiritual' which as been described as a 'heavenly nature', 'soul' and 'spirit' with a small 's'. Christians invite the "Holy Spirit" to commune with them and this is designated with a capital 'S' in the Bible.

I believe the Bible; why you might ask? for multiple reasons-the first one of which is when I got saved-and I actually 'heard' the Gospel (allowed myself to hear it)-I knew I was in need of a savior. One of the biggest truths that led me allowing Christ through the Holy Spirit was seeing the decay and rot of the fallen world we live in. The Bible teaches about this extensively. So here is a truth for you from the Bible:

Life IS NOT supposed to be this way!

It is all jumbled up because of our great to the nth power grandparents at the beginning of Creation. God created man (mankind or humankind) to have free will. That liberty allowed them to choose sin. It was necessary so that we would have the capability of recognizing Good and evil.

Another truth from the Creation: God wants you to have free will-but He also wants you to choose Him-to choose Good over evil, light over darkness.

The Bible is just a preface to to eternity; it is a preparation of the spirit by THE Spirit to live in Glory. But we have to do it God's way.

If you study and take into account the entirety of the Bible-the whole Bible is about God reaching down and 'saving' mankind from its own wicked devices. Do I also believe that there are 'dark otherworldly forces at play': yes I do. But 99.999999% of all wickedness is derived from the machinations of mankind.

God wants us to choose the source of Good and Light and Truth and Love-Him-in the person of Jesus Christ. When you study the Old Testament as an unbeliever you see God as an evil ogre. When you become a Christian-you start to see the 'why' God allowed or commanded certain things to be done to keep His Name Holy among mankind through Holy Spirit guidance.

So essentially here is another truth: You are part flesh (the physical), you are part spirit (your soul) and God wants you to allow Him into your life so He (the Creator) can guide you, mold you, assist you into another way of life here, and here after.

The Bible teaches we live in a fallen world: this truth I see more and more everyday with the lies and deceit that are happening all around us. We see this truth manifested physically all around us-and our spirits cry out so much like Pontius Pilate said 'what is truth!?"

God has it-He IS it-but do you REALLY want it? Or do you want to go on living in the ways of the world? It is a serious commitment to make to God....
 
God left this note for you:

...God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them... And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God....Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

I am the way, the truth and the life.

Love
Jesus the Christ-Son of the Living God


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But God commandeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

With Love,
Paul-Apostle to the Gentiles
 
i like to read eastern philosophies.....

one thing i noticed is that teachers/philosophers usually they have disclaimer on what they teach:
that is: "don't blame me" "find it yourself" , etc.

i realized only Jesus is saying he is the Truth... imagine that : )

and studying what he teach, such as his Antithesis, he is very much different from the rest.... of course : )
 
I was raised in a Christian home, left when I was 18, fell to addiction, drinking, partying, ect. Then, I grew up. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person with an inquisitive mind, and I have many, many questions about the Christian faith. I'll start with this one: I always hear people having "faith" in Jesus. I have tried for years and years to have a "faith" in Jesus. Without knowing me, it may be hard for you to understand, but I am truly searching for the truth, for Christ, but it's just not there. I am an analytical person, I need truth, I need proof. I can't understand why a Creator would put in order a world with so much sense, yet not allow so many questions left unanswered.
Hi there

You have proof of God's existence all around you Rom 1:20. Good to hear you are seeking for truth honestly. God would want nothing less from us. As for finding Jesus, would you agree that we the creation do not dictate to God our creator. We do not tell God to jump on our laps. He tells us how to find Him. Scripture is crystal clear on what we need to do.

James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, You will not despise.

James 4:6 Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Matt 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Acts 13:22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And then the verse that I feel is the most applicable to you, 1 Cor 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Now the truth / common sense fact is that God is not dumb! He cannot be fooled. He knows the inner most desires of our hearts (Jer 17:10). If we are after Him as was the case of David in Acts 13:22, the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to us. It has been Gods will from the beginning that we know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. 1 Pet 1:20 and Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
 
I have often used this analogy. I could tell you a monkey is sitting in the chair beside me, but you would never truly, wholeheartedly believe that there was a monkey there unless it was revealed to you, unless you saw it. You would never die for that monkey, unless you knew it was there. That's how I am with the story of Jesus...

Jesus will have to put it on your heart for you to believe if you keep seaching for Him to do this, He will recieve you and give you salvation.
 
Jesus will have to put it on your heart for you to believe if you keep seaching for Him to do this, He will recieve you and give you salvation.
I would add only that the search for truth , the search for Jesus must be on His terms. He has provided the way to Him, if anyone insists on seeking Him on their own terms, well...luck with that.
 
I have often used this analogy. I could tell you a monkey is sitting in the chair beside me, but you would never truly, wholeheartedly believe that there was a monkey there unless it was revealed to you, unless you saw it. You would never die for that monkey, unless you knew it was there. That's how I am with the story of Jesus...


Hi Casey, thanks for opening up a bit and putting yourself "out there", so to speak, with these posts. It's not an easy thing to do, taking a jump into the unknown and making yourself vulnerable to other people. As you can see from the replies, there is a lot of diversity among Christians, even among those who have laid the true foundation, that being Christ Himself. Don't be discouraged by that.

Every case of a person coming to faith in Christ is a little different. Some come to faith in Christ at a very young age, others have to travel a much longer road to get there. I'm sort of in between, I was not raised in church but became a Christian at age 21 simply because the Spirit drew me to Him. This was not based on merit or works of any kind and certainly not on anything good in me.

A careful reading of your post seems to indicate that you know this is a life-altering relationship that you seek to enter into; in a very real sense, you are giving up your life to Him. This, along with your diligent seeking, indicates to me that the Spirit is probably already drawing you to faith in Christ. That is the key, this drawing of the Spirit. Without it,
all the effort and trying and reasoning in the world come to naught. The Spirit will turn the light on inside, so to speak, and only then are the spiritual eyes of a person open to his/her need for Christ. Various intellectual questions are no obstacles then, some are answered and some just become moot. Christ Himself becomes the answer. Reasoning and intellect do not cease to exist, but now they serve a new master. No longer self, but Christ.

It could very well be that your difficulties with faith are for a reason, i.e. to show you, early on, the inability of the intellect and reason alone to bring about true faith in Christ. This is something even long time Christians have a difficulty coming to grips with. It is often the case (and was so with me), that having begun in the Spirit, and usually following a time of great blessing, we now think we will be made perfect by the flesh (intellect, works, mighty self effort, high-powered self righteousness, etc.). Well, no. :)

Anyway, Casey, don't lose hope. There is a time factor in God's dealings with man and He is in no hurry by our standards. I would say be sensitive to the possibility of the Spirit's workings and revelations (in your heart), and even pray for this if you are able to do so. But once the door is opened for you and you know you are being called of God, walk through it asap, don't delay. You won't be sorry. There may be struggles ahead (as in my case now) but I wouldn't trade my current struggles for anything, they are part of my path that God has given me.

Tim
 
I think you are absolutely doing the right thing in searching for the truth.

While many of us come to Christ through our hearts, there are some who come to him intellectually, and it was because they searched for the truth and found it. It's not easy in a world where Christian bigotry is basically the last acceptable bigotry.

Keeping it brief, one thing I hear quite a lot by our Atheist friends is "the concept of God is irrational." Not at all. Their belief as to how the world came into existence is through the Big Bang (which, BTW, was conceived by a well-respected Jesuit priest who wasn't trying to discard God, but trying to go through the step-by-step process of his creation; not necessary to believe in the Big Bang, but I find it interesting nonetheless that Atheists claim it as their own). The Big Bang is only a reaction--they haven't conceived the idea of First Cause. Their ultimate response is that something CAN come from nothing...this, I'd argue, is one of the least rational things.

But some might argue that if God exists, who's to say Christians are right? What if God is just a creator and we've created the message of faith, hope, and love? Well, even Atheists agree that everything that begins to exist has a cause. Granted, we are sometimes struggling to figure out what some of God's causes are, but we ultimately know that what he has created is all good. Bad isn't a thing, but really just an absence of something, just like how darkness is only an absence of light.

I recommend looking up William Lane Craig, Trent Horn, and Fr. Robert Barron. (a mixture of Protestant and Catholic Christian apologists). You can find their work on YouTube also. They make incredible points regarding why Christianity is the truth and why we should all follow our Lord.

God bless you, and keep searching.
 
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