Keeping going back.

[PorcelainHeart]

I've been a christian for a few months, but I keep going back to my old ways. I prayed that GOD will help me not lose faith in him, but I seem to lose it. My life is horrible and I used that an excuse not to be a good christian. I feel so bad, I feel like I'm failling GOD because I keep going back to the things he wants me away from.I fear I will never be a true christian.

[woobadooba]

I've been a christian for a few months, but I keep going back to my old ways. I prayed that GOD will help me not lose faith in him, but I seem to lose it. My life is horrible and I used that an excuse not to be a good christian. I feel so bad, I feel like I'm failling GOD because I keep going back to the things he wants me away from.I fear I will never be a true christian.

Oh dear sister, you sound just like Paul who said, "I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." Rom.7:14-15

We are all struggling with sin. It makes no difference how long one has been a Christian, temptation is always a present reality.

But the beauty of it all is that although you feel very distant from God right now, you are very near to Him. How do I know this?

I know this because you, like Paul, can say that you hate those things that you often find yourself doing, those things that you know you shouldn't do.

That tells me that the Spirit is moving upon your heart, and that as long as you keep praying in earnest, thus seeking first God's kingdom and His righteousness, one day, those things that you so hated to do, will no longer be a temptation to you in the sense that you will yield to them.

But the key to victory over sin is to pray not after the fact, but to pray for strength while you are being tempted to give in to sin.

You are on the right path! You are near the kingdom of God.

Don't give up on Jesus, but do make sure you give Him everything, holding nothing back, and it will be well with your soul.

[Tenorvoice]

Be encoraged my dear Sister. God is with you and He still loves you and I even in our sins.

We will fall and fail at times, but it seems to me that you are on the right track. You are being convicted of those sins that you do. Which is as it should be. If you ever get to the point that you are not being convicted then you need to do a Spiritual check up.

God gave us a concience(sp) and that is His little way of talking to us, and telling us when we have done wrong.

Do not worry my Sister.

In Christ
Tenor

[PorcelainHeart]

Thanks for the advice, what I keep going back to is wanting guys I can't have. Lust has always been a big problem with me. I try not to want them guys. I know I can get back with Jesus and be a good christian again. I just need to tell myself I'm not happy sinning, because I really not. After becoming a christian, I'm starting to wonder why people even want to sin. Everytime I sin I feel guilty. Sorry if I'm hard to understand. And thank you all again for the help. :)

[trubeliever]

Thanks for the advice, what I keep going back to is wanting guys I can't have. Lust has always been a big problem with me. I try not to want them guys. I know I can get back with Jesus and be a good christian again. I just need to tell myself I'm not happy sinning, because I really not. After becoming a christian, I'm starting to wonder why people even want to sin. Everytime I sin I feel guilty. Sorry if I'm hard to understand. And thank you all again for the help. :)

It is awesome to not want to sin and to do God's will :). I feel guilty too and i feel like I just slap God in the face and spit on Jesus on the cross saying, ya I know you died for me on the cross and that the reason is my sin. But what is another one? endure a little more pain... you can do it. It really hurts me and i feel extremely horrible. The best advice I can give you is STAY CLOSE TO GOD. Pray as much as you can, read your bible, slowly and carefully, let God speak to you. Ask Him to guide you and hold your hand for the rest of your life. Repent, be sorry, and learn. Nothing is too hard for God.

God Bless :)

TB

[HotRhymez]

Yo..I know exactly what you are talking about. I have become a Christian, and have fallen away from it many times. I haven't done anything Christian for a long time now.Sometimes I am not sure if Christianity is the right religion for me, because I never seem to be successful at it, nor do I understand it. I sin all the time and I can't resist it. I don't know what to tell you except keep trying and do your best at it.

[trubeliever]

Yo..I know exactly what you are talking about. I have become a Christian, and have fallen away from it many times. I haven't done anything Christian for a long time now.Sometimes I am not sure if Christianity is the right religion for me, because I never seem to be successful at it, nor do I understand it. I sin all the time and I can't resist it. I don't know what to tell you except keep trying and do your best at it.

lol what do you mean done anything christian? You haven't been successful at it? christianity is not a job where you get promoted and are stable if you do your job right and if you exceed expectations you will move up. It is a relationship with God. In order to "succeed" you need to learn about Him and get to know him. Its not like yeepee im a christian im hired... um... ya ok... so wat now?:P. Yes we all sin, we are humans and it doesn't mean that christians sin less than non-christians. Just 'work' on getting to know Jesus and praying and it doesn't have to be anything deep or anything just sit down by yourelf in your room and just you no as if you were talking to yourself but focus on Jesus and tell him, he listens. Ask him you want to learn more bout him and you don't feel this is working and that you want to do better and to guide you into what you have to do :)

God Bless You

TB

[woobadooba]

lol what do you mean done anything christian? You haven't been successful at it? christianity is not a job where you get promoted and are stable if you do your job right and if you exceed expectations you will move up. It is a relationship with God. In order to "succeed" you need to learn about Him and get to know him. Its not like yeepee im a christian im hired... um... ya ok... so wat now?:P. Yes we all sin, we are humans and it doesn't mean that christians sin less than non-christians. Just 'work' on getting to know Jesus and praying and it doesn't have to be anything deep or anything just sit down by yourelf in your room and just you no as if you were talking to yourself but focus on Jesus and tell him, he listens. Ask him you want to learn more bout him and you don't feel this is working and that you want to do better and to guide you into what you have to do :)

God Bless You

TB

Excellent post! And I would add something to this thought...

God does not expect us to do anything that He wouldn't do Himself, nor would He command that we do anything that isn't in His power to accomplish in our lives.

And so trials are not the enemies of faith, but opportunities to prove God's faithfulness.

The question that we need to ask is: Are we willing to let God perform His work in us, or are we going to try to do it all on our own?

If we try to do it on our own the sure result will be failure; and when we fail thus and never learn that our burdens must be cast on Christ, the inevitable will happen. We will blame it all on Christianity, thus declaring it to be a useless religion because it is empowered by a God that doesn't have the power to save us!

But if we persevere in Christ, the final thought will be, "I have fought the good fight of faith... There is therefore treasure awaiting me in heaven!"

I think we all know what our answer to the question is, but will we experience the power of the right answer? That is another question that is yet to be answered, and can only be answered by each individual, not once, but on a daily basis.

[PorcelainHeart]

Thanks for the advice yet again, I wish I could say more but I have a hard time thinking. I'm just now learning about christinity. I came from a athiest home and was knew GOD until I learn to get my own mind. When I learned about GOD i felt I needed to become a christian, so I did. And thanks for the help again, I wish I could say more, but I can't think right now.

[jacad]

Marmaladegirl22, I also am new to the faith and I understand the difficulty in avoiding your old ways. I also have grown up in a family setting where God was not first and foremost, and I also live in Houston. If you would like to talk I am more then willing to listen and offer any help that I can. I understand this is a tough struggle especially with out 100% support from those around you. I am here.

~Jason

[AvgJoe]

I've been a christian for a few months, but I keep going back to my old ways. I prayed that GOD will help me not lose faith in him, but I seem to lose it. My life is horrible and I used that an excuse not to be a good christian. I feel so bad, I feel like I'm failling GOD because I keep going back to the things he wants me away from.I fear I will never be a true christian.

Do you memorize Scripture?

Please click the following link~~~> http://www.memoryverses.org/why.htm - the whole article is good reading but scroll down to "Keeping us from sin and folly" for the section that speaks specifically to what you are experiencing.

God bless!

[PorcelainHeart]

No, I don't memorize Scripture, it's really hard for me to understand. Maybe, I should maybe it will make me a better person. Thanks for the help.

[twistedsketch]

Yes. Devote time to reading and understanding the Bible, and prayer also. If you do not have Christian friends, find some (you can pray for them to come into your life). Remove yourself from situations that tempt you. Every Christian has to do that no matter how far you are in the faith.

[Exorcismist]

Oh yeah...
I'm pretty new to Christian too..
well I've been like this for a err..
about a year and a half.
I'm FOREVER burning FIRE just like Jesus told me lol
well, that's enough discription for myself..
Anyways,
I, too, felt same way as you did
But you know what, Jesus will find you
because you were once a child of God.
I've been depressed of my oppression in me for a week
you know, during that depression, I never found anything in myself?!
Why? why did I felt nothing?
I guess it's because I refused everything in my life and seeing only myself.
Only my bad things and not others, only, about myself.
than when it was like er..a bit over a week
I would find myself, knee and pray like a desperate person trying to find his/her way to Jesus. Well, it happens lol
It happens suddenly.
It happens naturally.
There is no definate victory in faith.
Again, faith defines belief, faith, is how you can keep it. How you can protect it.
I experienced my family divorce not long ago (about 3 month)
Well, I favored the divorce since my family always fought
I lost my trust and faith in my father..so nada nada nada, I favored mom, and kicked my father out (err..I didn't kick him physically lol)
:cry:
Sometimes I miss him but thinking what he..have done to my mother, it hurts me and still rejects my father. Of course, I forgave him long ago.
err..am I going to far into my story?
If I was, sorry lol
I'm trying to find point in it, well here it is.
In this community of mordern world (like Canada and USA), people are BLINDED by the good things and not bad things. Christian is NO EXCEPTION. who knows when they er...hit Jesus's heart and become satanist or atheist? WHo knows?
Many of people go like "What a ****** life GOD have given me, I might as become SATANIST"
HAHAHA weird people -.-
but it's true..sadly that's what people are becoming now.
Again, they lost reality of the world?
Remember when Jesus said in Bible?
"May the poor be comforted"? I dunno where it was but there was
you may find yourself, millions of poor people, believe in God in whatever situation they are in.
It's so beautiful!
I hope you can be like that too :clap:

Again, it's faith again, it's about testimony.
Remember that. Remember that your in the world of trial to heaven.
Giving up means your giving up what was the best and most important love in your life. Jesus can love you so much if you love him. well Jesus loves us all already but lol
I guess it's my way to love him.
use your heart, do not jump into conclusion. Remember
the good parts of your life and not only bad things
that's EXACTLY what Demons wants you to see.
Remember, fight and win, TRIUMP!!

[PorcelainHeart]

My dad hasn't been much of a father, he loves to drink and yell at me. I still remember when he lefted me to marry some woman off the internet. I ended up stuck with my crazy step dad and mom. Exorcismist, we can talk any time, maybe we can heal eachother I don't know. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Linnis]

I write Scripture down I need to remember in a book and I keep adding to it, then refer to it whenever I need to.

You are human and God understands while as hard as a human tries sometimes we mess up. God can see your heart and see you are honestly trying to live a Christian life.

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Our faith will be tested, even Jesus was tempted, but God will not give you more than you can endure. When you think you will fall into temptation or back into the life you left behind. Lean on your faith depend on it, the Lord will give you the strength you need to overcome it.

[PorcelainHeart]

I guess GOD thinks I can handle alot, because my life gets pretty dark sometimes. I wish I could say something more thoughtful, but thank you for the help.

[Linnis]

I hear you. Sometimes I think of some of the things I lived through and I wonder if God thinks I really *needed* to live through all that, did I need to be tested with something quite so horrible. Then I remember I cannot judge God's Judgement and I have to lean on my faith.

It's not God making horrible things happen, it's God giving all humans a choice and some choose to do evil things, some choose to allow the devil into their hearts and they do his work and it effects good people or at least innocent people. God is not the author of evil, he gave people their own wills and some choose not the way of God. He also gave you the inner strength to know that God's way is the better way and you need to lean on that faith.

He's with you in your time of need, he will walk with you through your darkest hour even if you cannot see him(23rd Psalm)

[redrubypixie]

I feel the same - I have been a Christian for around a year. I was going to a church regularly for around 3-4 months before I decided I did want to be a Christian, and to take it more seriously.

My faith goes in waves. At the moment I can feel God calling me to listen to him, I can feel this so I am trying harder. But around 80% of the time I really don't think much about him at all.

I try to write things in my diary to keep track of things, I write down prayers, things like that. But I really don't do this as often as I should.

When I was little my Mum (who's a counsellor) often made us write down 10 things we were grateful for that happened that day or week. This idea recently popped back into my mind again, it's such a simple task to do, at the end of the week. We used to write it on coloured paper with pictures, and put it on the wall.

In addition, more God-related, we could also write prayer lists for the week or month. (Come to think of it, I need to update my prayer list!) If its a week, just 3 things, reinforce them every time you pray about them. If its a month, maybe 5-6. Make them really simple things, like praying for desire of prayer. Pray for the desire to not watch TV, pray for a sick friend, etc. In your prayers, include what you are thankful for.

I need to take my own advice....

[NewCovenant]

Hi, I've been a Christian for 11 years and have some advice for you folks that are new babies.

First of all, Christianity is like a marriage. (Scary thought, huh?) It's a roller coaster. As far as the "romance," I mean. There are highs and lows -- times when your faith "feels" very intense and wonderful, and times when it does not. At times your faith feels very intense, and you feel very close to God, it'is easy to just go with it, to read and study Scripture a lot, to be active in the church, to pray like crazy. At other times, when it's "low", it's a whole lot harder to do these things.

This is when it's easiest to fall into your old ways. It's at these times when it's essential to have a strong Christian support system and to keep at it: keep going to church, keep studying, keep praying. God will not fail you. The feelings will come back. Just like a romance, the feelings will return. Even though you have sinned, if you confess your sins, God will be faithful and forgive you.

Those of you who don't come from Christian homes (I don't), please find a good Christian church. I don't mean one that is necessarily very old-fashioned, doesn't allow women to wear pants, very strict and all that (unless that's where you feel comfortable). I mean one that teaches good Scripture and you feel safe. If you are young, find one that has good youth group activities and a good Singles group. If you have to visit a different church every week until you find one, then so be it. This is one of the most important decision you will ever make.

Also, I read a post here that someone wrote that said the Bible was hard to understand. You may have a difficult translation. Look for a more modern translation, like the New International Version (NIV), the New King James (NKJ), or the Updated New American Standard (NASB). These will make study and reading more easy and understandable for you.

It IS important to memorize key verses of the Bible. That doesn't mean to memorize the whole thing, or even chapters. It means to memorize verses which are meaningful to you and which you will recall (and the Holy Spirit will bring to your mind) when you need them most. Verses from Philippians are often very helpful. Romans, too.

The desire to sin doesn't go away overnight. Sanctification (to be made holy) is a LIFELONG process. It happens as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, to convict us of sin, and make us more Christ-like.

The first few years after conversion to Christianity are the hardest and most critical. Don't give up. Get some support, don't try to do this alone. Find a wonderful, loving church (it's out there), immerse yourself in God's word, pray-pray-pray, make friends here one the boards, make Christian friends (essential) at home, get involved with Christians at church. God chose you to be one of His Kids. Don't allow the old ways to steal you away.

May God richly bless you.

[bethdinsmore]

I've been a christian for a few months, but I keep going back to my old ways. I prayed that GOD will help me not lose faith in him, but I seem to lose it. My life is horrible and I used that an excuse not to be a good christian. I feel so bad, I feel like I'm failling GOD because I keep going back to the things he wants me away from.I fear I will never be a true christian.

Hi friend.
Sorry you're having a hard time. But one encouragement for you: anyone is a true Christian who has trusted Christ to be their sinbearer and to get them to Heaven one day, without relying at all on their good works or promises. And we can never lose our salvation. If we don't confess and stop our sin, God will discipline us as a loving father does, but we will still go to Heaven one day. (Romans 6:23 with Romans 11:29, and John 10:28-29, and Hebrews 12:5-6).

But - living the victorious Christian life is a different ballgame. Just as salvation is impossible without God, living a life of Christian purity and growth is also impossible without God. Maybe you are feeling this:

2 Cor 1:9
9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
(NIV)

But - rely on God to do the guiding and give you strength - all you need to do is cooperate with Him, step by step. Here is a wonderful guarantee:
2 Pet 1:3
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
(NIV)
Phil 1:6
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
(NIV)

For practical help since you have mentioned a particular problem, here's a Christian website that gives free online classes on sexual purity: www.settingcaptivesfree.com (http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com)

I have led many Christian recovery groups, tho I'm no expert. But please let me know if I can help.

God bless you, friend. I'll pray for you.
Aloha in Jesus

[torchedfuel]

I've been a christian for a few months, but I keep going back to my old ways. I prayed that GOD will help me not lose faith in him, but I seem to lose it. My life is horrible and I used that an excuse not to be a good christian. I feel so bad, I feel like I'm failling GOD because I keep going back to the things he wants me away from.I fear I will never be a true christian.
It sounds like yuor really trying to reach out. But dont be hard on yourself. Seek the Lord and spend as much time as you can with Him. Read the bible and worship Him. Let Him know how much you love Him and how you feel and what you been going through.The Lord is always there and lets no one down. Things will happen in His timing. Keep strong and keep moving forward. I pray that the Lord blesses you and shows you the way.