affirmation of being a child of God?

yo Jimbo!

one suggestion from someone of the same age bracket!

maybe you should stop looking at yourself and your image to God. God's grace is there for you. Jesus Christ said on the cross: "it is finished". that means that you can be righteous in the sight of God the Father, if He should see Christ's blood in you. Stop thingking how you would be acceptable to God. rather, start cherishing God's grace through Christ's sacrifice.

noone should ever try to work for God's approbation, as none will be accepted. however, Christ's work is always available for anyone. with Christ's blood, in times you are wrong, Christ's sacrifice is more than you sins. that should get you motivated as a christian and see yourself as acceptable to God, and move on with that. on the other hand, if you are the obedient one, you will have no option for pride, as you will recall that it is Christ's blood that gets you acceptable to God.

always cling God's grace, not your works. this approach can eliminate both pride and discouragement for every christian. stop looking at yourself and how you perform in God's sight. rather, start looking at Christ's victorious work on the cross and acknowledge that God is gracious to you.

 

This is regarding the post by DHK (Nov.8 @ 2:02 am).
In a word: WONDERFUL

Jimbo, that post is so true.

 

Hey Jimbo,

My heart goes out to you. I just felt strongly that I needed to chime in here. I was in exactly the same boat. I was obsessive compulsive about it, had a nervous breakdown over it, I was even on prozac for a short time. The thing that changed it for me was not the prozac (the counselor who perscribed it told me that I could either do prozac or do therapy sessions with him - which would have been very expensive, but it could be worked through), but finally looking at the Bible, getting to know it and literally taking Jesus at His word. I'd heard a lot of "stuff" on TBN about all these supernatural signs and the like, and I wasn't experiencing them in my life. What I eventually learned is that it is as "simple" as 1 John 5:11-13. In verse 13 John writes:

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." (NKJV)

Those that believe in the name of Jesus are to know they have eternal life. It wasn't about a feeling or an experience. The Bible is true, God's promises are true. We can know because the ible says so. Are you saved? I can't say; I don't know, but I do know that Jesus said that no one comes to Him unless the Father first draws that person (I can't remember where that verse is right now). The most important thing to realize is that as worried as YOU are about it, God wants you saved even more than you WANT to be saved. He may have placed that concern in your heart, not for you to dwell on obsessively (I made an art of doing that). The fact that you ARE concerned is a GOOD sign, not a bad one. Someone who didn't feel he was saved and was unconcerned is the person in worse shape. so if you don't have that assurance, keep studying, keep learning, find a good church, take a discipleship class. Get grounded in the the Bible, KNOW what and why you believe. Keep praying, and tell Jesus your every fear. Reap Phil. 4:6-9. In fact, memorize that passage. Read Romans 8 also. Reread it more than once.


Some practical things you can do starting right now:

-Spend a lot of time in the Psalms. Pray them back to God.
-Even though you don't feel it, spend time thanking God for whatever you do have in this life.
-Praise Him for the attributes you find in the Bible. Make it a habit.
-Sing your favorite hymns back to Him, or even a good praise song (depending upon your views of praise music).
-Pray to put on the full armor of God by faith (Eph 6: 10-18). This is not a mantra, but by faith you're clothing your mind in truth (not fears, not worries, not feelings or lack thereof), peace (with God, and the peace of God), His righteousness ('cause ours is worth nothing), His salvation (won for you on the cross), Faith (which is given as a gift to you and protects you from the "what if's" and doubts), and the Word of God (which is the biggest weapon there is, stops the enemy every time).

-Use the Lord's Prayer as a template for how you should pray every morning. Don't just pray it back wrote, but use it as a "template" for how you should pray.

eg.When you reach "give us this day our daily bread," pray for others around you, your family, your country, yourself. When you reach "for Thine is the kingdom, etc. . . ." dedicate everything you are, everything you have, every dream every hope to Jesus. Reaffirming these things regularly is a good habit to get into.

-VERY important! Keep a journal! Write down your feelings every day or as close to it as you can. Write down what you learn in the Bible. Write down a prayer to Jesus. Do that regularly too! It doesn't even have to be a long thing. It can be as short as a sentence sumarizing what you miht have learned that day. Or somethng in the morning and something in the evening. This will focus your mind on God regularly.

Make these things regular habits. You will find you get used to doing them and begin to miss them when you don't. I've looked back on some of my journal entries and had to wonder "WHO is this person writing this stuff down?? Where did I get that burning faith from??" You will be able to look back and SEE God's hand in your life. You will find yourself LIVING that "Footprints" poster! As you learn and grow and develop these habits, you will begin to develop a confidence in His presence, and as you seek Him out, you will find yourself beginning to recognize His presence. I really can't explain it better, and I won't. You are seeking to hear from Him and you will, not necessarily any fireworks, but an inner assurance. I know that takes time, but He does give peace and He does feed us, strengthen us, and recharge us.

These are some of the things that have helped me; but definitely find a group of people to fellowship with. A regular Bible study group helps greatly. The relationships you develop help a whole lot because you begin to pray for and encourage others even in the midst of your problems (God's amazing and wonderful in how He does that!).

Don't give up! Don't be discouraged! If you don't feel like reading His Word, ask Him to make you hungry for His Word! Ask Jesus to please help you and He will!

I'll end with a prayer for peace in Jesus, and an calm assurance in the promises in His Word for they are true!

Brett