Please hear me out.

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civilpunch

civilpunch

Please hear me out.

I have been a sinner my whole life. I've been an atheist. I know this site is for christians only, but i want so hard to change, I want so hard to believe. I have read the bible, but I still need help. It doesn't speak to me. I have lived morally, i have not hurt another man, I have not been dishonest or evil. I may have abused alcohol, and other substances. I may have had relations before marriage, but am I condemned to hell without question? Please don't ban me for this.

How do you believe? How do you do it? How do I give up everything for that which I cannot experience?
 
civilpunch said:
I have been a sinner my whole life. I've been an atheist. I know this site is for christians only, but i want so hard to change, I want so hard to believe. I have read the bible, but I still need help. It doesn't speak to me. I have lived morally, i have not hurt another man, I have not been dishonest or evil. I may have abused alcohol, and other substances. I may have had relations before marriage, but am I condemned to hell without question? Please don't ban me for this.

How do you believe? How do you do it? How do I give up everything for that which I cannot experience?
Click to expand...

No one is condemned to hell without question unless he has committed the one unpardonable sin.

Coming to Christ is simple. 1) Confess that you are a sinner. We are all sinners, and all of us have sinned. None of us are perfect, and coming to Christ will not make you perfect. But you must first confess that you are a sinner. 2) Believe that Jesus died for your sins. 3) Ask God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from unrighteousness.

Other than this short answer to a couple of your basic questions, you asked other questions which take much more typing and talking about. You mentioned reading the Bible and it not speaking to you. You mentioned not understanding how to believe when you feel that you cannot experience it. I added "feel" in there, because it isn't that you can NOT ever experience any of it, it is just that at this moment you are feeling as though you are unable.

Someone recently joined this forum and had some similar questions. His thread is getting long, but it really might be beneficial for you to read through.

I will tell you that normally non-Christians cannot join this forum, and when you joined you had to check a box stating that you are a Christian. I am not telling you this to make you feel badly or anything. You will see that the member in the thread I am linking you to did the same. Joining under false pretenses is a rule violation, and could get your thread closed and other things, so a moderator will probably have to take your case under consideration like you will see happened with the other member. I am not a moderator.

Here is the thread you should read through: Click here.
 
To the moderator
I might suggest a rule change. Why not let non Christians join if they are honestly seeking answers? As long as they are sincere and honest about wanting to change… I can only see good things come from it. It would be very easy to pick out someone who starts to cause problems and ban them when and if it happens, but if we were having a closed meeting at our Church and an atheist came knocking on the door wanting to know God… well, there’s no way we would turn him away.

Anyway… just a thought.


As for you civilpunch, yes… you lied. Guess what? I couldn’t tell you how many times I lied before, but you came clean with your first post. That’s good, but you should try to get down on your knees and ask God for forgiveness. Start asking Him to forgive every sin you ever did. You could even go through them one by one. If a past sin comes to your mind, ask God to forgive you. I do it all the time. Even after years of being a Christian, sometimes something will pop into my head that I did in the past. When that happens, I ask for forgiveness. You might not feel any different right away. It took a long time to get to where you are now, it may take a long time to start feeling different.

Don’t ever give up

God bless you

Dean
 
Dear Civil Punch,

may have had relations before marriage, but am I condemned to hell without question? Please don't ban me for this.

How do you believe? How do you do it? How do I give up everything for that which I cannot experience
Click to expand...
?

I recently joined this forum. I am a Christian. For me it all began one cold night when my life was falling to pieces and I was living my life my way.
I realized I could no longer live life my way. My way just kept bringing me more heartache , hurt and pain. I just asked Christ to forgive me and to come into my heart. I told him I wanted him to live in me. That was 4 years ago. I have experienced so much since then. I have found since asking him into my heart, my life has changed. I am still a work in progress, I feel we all are. I like you had relations before I was married.
Looking where I am seeking growth in my life, I realize it has come to the point where I want to be pure. I never really understood the bible until I asked Jesus to come into my heart and life. After doing that so much makes sense . I looked to my Pastor and close friends for guidance.

I read alot and listen to Joyce Meyer every morning. Just tonight I experienced God's blessing. It was late and on my way home from my second job. My mind was wandering and I was in a rush. I did not completely stop at a stop sign. Turned right. There was a police man going the other way , he turned around, started following me. and sure enough the big red flashing light came on. I pulled over right in front of my driveway! Now mind you, I had been talking on my cell phone, (illegal in NY) it was on speaker phone though. :D, my seatbelt was not on, and my drivers license had not been updated to my new address. The policeman came up, shined the flashlight on me and my windshield to check the registration. He said to me, can you do me a favor, can you just be sure to stop completely next time at the stop sign? He said the college kids are out and about and we would not want anyone to get hurt. I said yes sir thank you very much. He walked away, I pulled in my driveway, shut the car off and prayed and thanked God. My point is.. when we start living in faith and living in obedience.. and when we mess up.. (we are all sinners.. yes Christians too!).. God is there and blesses us when we don't even deserve it. You see the 4 hours I just worked at my part time job, could have been eaten up by a fine. .. but instead I have been praying to the Lord for my financial situation.. for him to guide me.. and help me.

He blesed me with the part time job.. I went to work and he sees my efforts.. and he blessed those efforts .. and blessed me with the officer pulling me over.. to remind me to slow down and obey.. I did not get a fine, only a warning.. hmm. That is what God does.. he warns us, he loves us and he protects us.


The message in church recently told us that even though we are Christians we are still going to have persecution and suffering.. but God will bring us through it all. When I was not living in God's obedience, my life was so out of control.

Now I read in the bible in regards to Sexual purity.. and I see the consequences that folks in the bible had.. and I have seen the consequences in my own life.. and they are not pretty..

Your life will change,, you will be able to experience many moments of joy and peace.. See a Pastor, send a Private message to one of the Pastors here. (like Dean said.. I hope they don't ban you.. I agree Dean.. folks can tell if someone is stirring trouble).

I will be praying for you..

Faithwoman
 
heya Civil, to be totally honest mate. I couldnt relate to what you written any more than i do! I am in the exact same boat as you mate, and do ya know what, ive only been signed up to this forum for like 3/4 days, and everyone here has been so supportive and so helpful and already made me think about the way i apporach everything. Read the thread i started in the advice section, there is so much good advice there.

But most of all, stay positive, dont be like me. Dont focus on the negative, cause u will never get anywhere. Look at all the good things, focus on the positive experiences, and most of all. Be truthfull, to yourself, to what you believe, and to everyone you talk to. Because we are all human, we all make mistakes. Because we are not meant to perfect.

So stay chipper mate ;) it helps, it REALLY does. And keep posting, because it will help more and more. Also, if u ever wanna chat, i think it could help both of us having someone to talk to who is in the same boat. So drop me a PM or a reply here :)

Hoping to hear from ya

Chris

(p.s. in reply to stuff written above. I know it is against the rules to have Non Christians sign up. And i TOTALLY understand this being your sanctuary from all the thoughtless moronic mob that is Forum Trollers. But putting up a sort of non christian section for people to ask for advice might be a cool idea. Then if they seem genuine upgrade them to have access to the rest on the forum. I understand though (Have been a forum admin before) its alot of effort, but food for thought none the less ;) and soz for the annoyance in general)
 
Who am I said:
To the moderator
I might suggest a rule change. Why not let non Christians join if they are honestly seeking answers? As long as they are sincere and honest about wanting to change… I can only see good things come from it. It would be very easy to pick out someone who starts to cause problems and ban them when and if it happens, but if we were having a closed meeting at our Church and an atheist came knocking on the door wanting to know God… well, there’s no way we would turn him away.

Anyway… just a thought.
Click to expand...


This has been asked before. Here is a copy of a previous reply from the moderator team. I have highlighted the key section


Other Christian based forums have experimented with that forum feature, but unfortunately, the access has been used by spammers and bashers to infiltrait forums and to mine membership data, bash members and cause significant problems.

That is the primary reason that CFS disallows non-Christian members (except in very rare cases - and on a case by case basis.) We maintain order here and those persons who do register falsely to creat havoc - have their IP address logged, are banned and their ISP is notified of their activities. Some false registrants have lost their ISP provided intenet connection as a result of their lying, bashing and mining of data. The Staff here at CFS takes this matter very seriously and the tools that we use to maintain order are some of the very best available.

There is a Forum Feedback Form that any non-Christians can use to request a trial membership once they give a reason and are evaluated by the Administration. Again, this is done on a case by case basis, but it does happen now and then. There have been several cases where non Christians have spoken with CFS members here while on probation and have received enough solid, scriptural information from our established members to be saved through their acceptance of Jesus Christ.
 
I also feel that we need the security of knowing that we are all of one Spirit.
I share things here that I wouldnt share anywhere else, because I feel we share the same understanding and love.
If there were non-christians many may appear to be seeking, but actually want to cause problems.
 
Memo to 'civilpunch'

civilpunch:

The Moderators at CFS are willing to 'hear you out'. You will be given Probationary Membership while you are here initially to ask and to learn. We make this available on a limited case by case basis to those persons who seem to be sincere in their quest to better find God and Christ.

We ask that you refer to the full set of Forum Regulations posted at the top of every main topic page and to comply with all those regulations.

Welcome to CFS and we are here to assist you, as needed, in your Walk on God's Path.



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\data folder *5/
 
Jax said:
I also feel that we need the security of knowing that we are all of one Spirit.
I share things here that I wouldnt share anywhere else, because I feel we share the same understanding and love.
If there were non-christians many may appear to be seeking, but actually want to cause problems.
Click to expand...

To be perfectly honest, I’ve been keeping my eye out. I couldn’t tell you for sure that everyone is of one Spirit. And the fact is, anyone who is into witchcraft wants to disrupt the plans of God. There are many cases where people involved in witchcraft have joined Churches just to disrupt everything. They usually try to get into some sort of leadership position. Being the leader of a prayer team is one of their favorites. They can cause a lot of problems. Many have caused Church splits. Why couldn’t it happen to this forum? Think about it… the men who flew the planes into the twin towers… they were walking among us here in the states and nobody knew. Someone who just wants to cause problems is easy to pick out, but someone who wants to do some serious damage? Not so easy.

And just for the record, I don’t think civilpunch is here to cause problems.

Take care and God bless
Dean
 
To the proph and Civilpunch,
Both of you have by your effort to get into this forum demonstrated some degree of belief in God. As well, both of you are seeking answers and or the "feeling" of closeness to God that either you have felt at one time and or seen in another.
Unfortunatly what places you on the "non Christian"side of the registration rules is that you have not expressed your commitment to Jesus.
Hopfully we here at CFS can assist you in your efforts to know Him and help you get to the point of making that commitment.

Some things I wish to mention.
There is a differance between not believing and not knowing.
And there is a differance between believing, knowing and accepting.

Another aspect that needs concideration for both of you is the matter of "feelings"
In as much as all of these are variable, basicly intangable and relitive to factors such as maturity and situation we all (Even devout, mature Christians)have at times difficulty with them. So take comfort in that you are most definatly not alone.

Feelings

While feelings are an important part of any relationship, and certianly no less in ones relationship with God they should never be the only concideration.
Why????
Because "feelings" are affected by outside factors. Reflect back on your freinds or family. Have you always been happy with them??? always valued their relationship? always responded to it favorably? Always been as close as you wanted Have there been times when yo just saw them as strangers? distant? not present in your life?
We get tired, distracted or they do or say something that makes us resentful angry or feel rejected or distant.
Feelings are always in termoil. This is not a bad thing once one learns to understand and respect that.

There is purpose and value not only in feeling close to God but feeling distance, rejection and or anger from God in our lives. It lets us know that we need to do something or change something in our lives so that we again have that relationship and that feeling of closeness we want and need.
For both of you there is something missing, something in your heart that tells you that something is wrong.. You feel that and you are seeking it.

As I said in the begining it is not belief that you are lacking. No one seeks that which they don't believe exists. You are here because your belief has brought you to this point.

The more one knows the greater the possibility of knowing what it is that one is missing.
Your three most valuable venues for knowledge of God are; His written word (The Bible), personal contact/ relationships with those who know Him and last but certianly the most important is talking to Him personaly(prayer).


Sincerely His
Cliff
 
Dean I appreciate your point and of course you are right, but usually one can tell quite quickly on a forum where people are coming from and their agenda, it shows in a way it doesnt face to face for some reason!
However I am all for those genuinely seeking being shown hospitalty etc.
 
Cliff, your post about feelings is very good. I was suddenly reminded of a song by Don Francisco called "Love is not a Feeling." I'll post just a bit of the lyrics here.

"Jesus didn't die for you because it was fun,
He hung there for love because it had to be done,
And in spite of the anguish, his word was fulfilled....

Love is not a feeling, it's an act of your will.
Love is not a feeling it's an act of your will."

The whole song is better. I found a place where people can listen to this song and others by him. Free Don Francisco Music Online, Music Downloads, Music Videos and Lyrics - Rhapsody Online

I have always loved his music. If anyone hasn't heard his stuff, then I'd encourage you to listen. He has some wonderful songs with great messages. I grew up listening to his stuff on my mom's record player and tape recorder. I really need to buy some CD's. :p

(I'll make a thread in the music section of the forum with some of his music and links I can find.)
 
Civilpunch and proph- Jesus is about new life. He isn't about finding facts or living by rules. He is a living and vibrant person in my life. He talks to me, He helps me, He strenghtens me, He directs me, He gives me peace in otherwise impossible situations. I can read about a president in a history book but is that he same as knowing them?
If you can look at yourself honestly and realize that you cannot live a perfect life free from sin,
If you open your heart and accept the great gift of God's love - Jesus went to that cross for you- if you can accept His sacrifice for your sins and receive Him as Lord in your life then He will live and dwell in your very spirit. There is no greater find, there is no greater treasure than to find God and you will never be totally complete until you do.
He has kept you and brought you to this place and has stirred your heart to know the truth.
This same Jesus came to me as a young man. I was drinking, drugging and doing every rowdy thing imagineable. It is not that I really wanted to change. I Somewhere deep inside of me I knew ( as you do now) that He was drawing me. The day I chose to open my heart was the day things started to change. I hadn't really done anything different and probably din't know much better anyway- a friend once said you don't need to get cleaned up to take a bath. Once I met this Jesus I simply lost my desire to drink and drug as I found something so much better- there is no high like the Most High and His presence in your life will cause all else to pale. I then began to spend more time talking with Him and started reading His love letter to me ( the Bible ). The pages I had once read to no avail were now coming alive to me as God breathed His life into me, I was finding treasure on everypage. I made a commitment then to seek and serve Him, found a good church and have been in love with God since that day.
Sure I still mess up and make mistakes but my God is right there to pick me up and wipe away my tears . To know the love and grace of God almighty is beyond anything else and there is simply nothing that can compare. You are both in my prayers, Larry.
 
Jax said:
Dean I appreciate your point and of course you are right, but usually one can tell quite quickly on a forum where people are coming from and their agenda, it shows in a way it doesnt face to face for some reason!
However I am all for those genuinely seeking being shown hospitalty etc.
Click to expand...



Yes, I know… unfortunate as it is… we can’t always do things the way we would like. One thing I’ve learned is no matter what you do or how you do it, you will never make everyone happy.
 
Christian life is a progress ,often called a walk, indicating that there are steps and effort involved. That "walk" is not always easy, not always fun or exciting and most certianly not without error on our part.
The most comforting thing is to know where we are in relationship to were we and God wants us to be. Being in His will is the path of peace.

The biggest and most inportant step, actualy some refer to it as a leap, is the the commitment to and acceptance of Jesus as LORD.
It is the point at which one accepts Christ Jesus' will for their life rather than their own.
It is a very hard decission, but one that has eternal consiquences as well as consiquences here and now. A descission that without a doubt if done with sincerity will be life altering.
Just as a baby crawls before it walks and has to learn to stand before learning to walk ,so must the new born Christian work ,struggle and learn to walk with Christ.

As a lovng parent in their desire for the best for their child calls them, gets their attention, to stand them up and hold their hands, guide them, help them when they fall, that is how our father in heaven brings us along. Not with our eyes fixed on ourselves or the toys and things of this earth that catch our eye and attract us but by holdng his hand and looking into his face as we go through life.

Just as I told that feelings cannot be our only concideration ,I must tell you now that neither can "sight".

You will never see or know enough no matter how hard you try or how much you learn to accept Christ.
He has walked amung us made the path concoured the enemy and sits at the right hand of the father
But he does not just sit ,my freind. For with the same punctured hands that paid the price or our sin ,for our error, for our weaknss he reaches out to us . No matter were we are He is so close we can hear His whisper, so close that He hears our every murmur, so close that all we have to do is reach out to him in faith and accept him into our hearts and lives.

Trust in Him, step out in faith, accept Him as LORD and let Him show you the way.

Sincerely and
Respectfuly
His Cliff
 
Civilpunch has not returned to visit this thread yet. It may be adviseable to let him look over what has already been posted before proceeding.
 
civilpunch said:
I have been a sinner my whole life. I've been an atheist. I know this site is for christians only, but i want so hard to change, I want so hard to believe. I have read the bible, but I still need help. It doesn't speak to me. I have lived morally, i have not hurt another man, I have not been dishonest or evil. I may have abused alcohol, and other substances. I may have had relations before marriage, but am I condemned to hell without question? Please don't ban me for this.

How do you believe? How do you do it? How do I give up everything for that which I cannot experience?
Click to expand...

What a wonderful day!!!:D

You're no longer an atheist, my friend! SomeOne is speaking to your heart, and you're listening! *WW does a cartwheel*

How do you believe? You're doing it, my friend! Seeking is the first step. You know in your heart that He's out there. You're feeling in the dark for the shapes, you're looking for answers.

You're hungry, my friend, you're going to be fed. You're seeking, and you're going to find.

You've realized that there's a seed inside of you, and if you water and care for that seed, it's going to sprout and grow and grow and grow! You won't be able to contain it! I feel so excited for you, my friend! Wow!:D

Read the New Testament, and when you read it don't just skim the words. Pronounce each syllable in your mind and understand the meaning of every sentence before you go on. Taste the words and understand that they're true. Realize that it's not a work of fiction that you're reading, but the Holy Word.

You've taken your first step into an amazing adventure where your eyes will be opened and you're going to be blinded by God's precious light!

What a wonderful day!:)
 
Memo To Civilpunch

There have been many replies to your first post here. Since you have not been here to check-in recently, the staff is going to TEMPORARILLY suspend new posting in this thread so you have a chance to catch up on things.

When you return and read the additions to this thread, please contact ANY Moderator to have the thread opened up again for additional replies and discussions. Thank you.
 
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