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Post by rockwell on Jun 8, 2007 12:32:48 GMT -5
A new thread for men who believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and claim this as their personal faith . The purpose of this thread is to provide honest, spiritual support specifically to Christian men within the context of the Christian faith.
Encouragement by means of typed prayers, quoting scripture, and personal words of support. Share your faith stories and how your faith has helped you in your struggles against temptation.
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Post by rockwell on Jun 8, 2007 12:34:41 GMT -5
MY FAITH>>>>>
Where is my faith? How do I obtain it? What is it like to trust in the Lord? What does it really mean? Do I trust him or not? Do I believe he wants to best for my life and my family or do I think he wants to hurt and punish us to teach a lesson?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdon. That is a saying from either the Psalms or Proverbs in the Bible. I admit, I do fear the Lord. He is the ultimate power and can do whatever he wants. I fear him. It is hard to fear and trust at the same time. Part of me believes he wants to bless me and part thinks "watch out". I obviously have issues with trusting the Almighty. I am being completely honest.
I am not a holy roller. I do not proclaim my faith out to everyone. I have a quiet faith. Sometimes ignored, sometimes just going thru the motions. I have always believed in God the Father Almighty, Jesus Christ his only son, and the Holy Spirit. These beliefs have been ingrained in me since before I can even remember. I still claim them as my own. These basic beliefs. God created the entire world and universe. He is all powerful, and is incomprehensible. His ways are so much higher than mine that I cannot entirely know him because he moves in mysterious ways. Ways not understood by me. As I have been taught and believe for myself, God shows his love by forming himself into a human. Jesus is this human and he decided to take this enormous punishment for sinfulness on himself. God had decided that humans must die in an eternal death as punishment for rebellion against God. Jesus took that punishment for humans and died, paying this penalty and setting us free from this awful punishment. So I am set free. Yet I feel the chains still. I do not feel the joy I am supposed to feel. Perhaps I am not supposed to feel it. What are feelings anyway? So I am thankful to God that I can be assured of something that is scary. Will I go to heaven when I die? Very scary thought. But in Jesus's sacrifice, he assures us that we have this eternal life even though I do not deserve it. In that there is comfort. I know it is a strange and incomprehensible belief. So God has accepted me not by anything I did, but because of what his Son did when he died on the cross. And I place my faith in him. I have nowhere else to go.
Through all my confusion I still cling to this profession of faith. I rebel, I am a poor example. I do not have a heart that is clean enough or pure enough or compassionate enough. In my faith I see myself as a pilgrim. I am on a journey toward the truth although I only have a part of the truth. The simple part that God did something huge to allow me into his kingdom. Never anything on my part. Nothing I could do or ever do would allow me this gift.
But I am still wandering, not faithful enough. Not trusting. Super far away from perfection. Still relying on God's spirit and patience to help me through the days. To be the right kind of husband and father and friend. Help me God to be humble. I need your help.
To the reader: I hope that in some way if you are searching for that higher power, that you will consider God the Father Almighty and his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I do not have all the answers, only simplistic things. But if you send me a personal message I will answer.
God, The Father Almighty, and Jesus his son: I ask you to help me and all the men on this board. Help us all to find the truth, set us free from our sin and allow us to have the ability to believe in what your son did for us by dying for us. I know I probably am not making sense, but speak to that one reader who is seeking. Your humble servant.
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Post by james78 on Jun 8, 2007 12:43:41 GMT -5
AMEN brother!
My faith has helped enormously in my struggle. Actually, James 4:7 (the one under my name to the left) is my whole strategy for dealing with this. I finally realised that only by complete submision to the will of God could I overcome this addiction.
And I would like to echo rockwell's statement. I pray that any seekers consider Jesus Christ as their saviour. I too will answer any personal message. My faith is relatively young but I seek only to serve my Lord and help others with this affliction.
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Post by rockwell on Jun 11, 2007 16:13:33 GMT -5
To the Christian Men:
Our faith is vital to our belief that our minds should be pure before God. And it is likely that our faith's influence on our lives is what led us here and is driving us toward yielding this aspect of our lives to God's will. And so we rely on God's power to draw us closer to him, so that we can become the men we were designed to be. Loving husbands, fathers and leaders.
We cannot fall back on excuses such as "I am too weak" or "I have no will power." God has bold plans. He is black and white when it comes to sin, there is no grey areas regarding the sin of lust. Live in light or live in darkness. There cannot be any in between. No cushion. No comfort zone.
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Post by rockwell on Jun 12, 2007 10:29:48 GMT -5
Calling all Christian Men........
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Post by changingmyways on Jun 12, 2007 10:47:37 GMT -5
Heres one that I use..........setcaptivesfreee.com
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Post by james78 on Jun 13, 2007 3:06:16 GMT -5
Plan A or Plan B?
During previous attempts to stop looking at porn, I had a Plan A (relying on my strength) and a Plan B (I can always call on God later). When Plan A failed, I gave up and skipped past Plan B into full relapse.
Now, however, God is Plan A. There is no Plan B. I have heard it said that if you have a Plan B, you do not intend for Plan A to work. Therefore, I would see it as a lack of faith on my part. After all, God is sufficient. The Lord told Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Given that, if I have faith and ask God daily for help and strength, I will succeed. God cannot fail, and he has promised not to allow us to be tempted more than we can bear. For it is written: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
For this reason I have chosen not to join any SAA groups. I must rely on God alone, not on men. My recovery plan does not have numerous items, fall-backs and contingencies. Only Plan A. All Glory belongs to God. Any plan that brings glory to another must surely fail for me so that I might again come to the Lord for His glory.
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Post by manic on Jun 13, 2007 4:27:29 GMT -5
Hi James,
Please understand that I'm NOT posting this to criticize you. If you really feel this is God's plan for you, I cannot argue with that. I just want to give a slightly different perspective on the matter for discussion. You quote 1 Cor 10:13, "when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" My question then is "which way out does God provide?" It may be possible that some of my Christian fellow addicts are simply refusing the protection that God offers them. I’m sure you are familiar with the story of the guy who was trapped on the roof of his house during a flood. He prayed to God that He would rescue him. A man in a boat appeared and offered to take him to safety. He declined, because he said “I’m waiting on God to rescue me”. The same thing happened when a second boat and a helicopter arrived, and finally the man drowned. When he reached the gates of heaven, he asked God why He had not rescued him. The answer was: “My dear child, first I sent a boat, then another boat, then a helicopter, what more could you expect me to do?”. Morale of the story is that those who stubbornly refuse to investigate self-help books, 12-step groups, board discussions and all such things may set themselves up for failure rather than success. It’s not that they have so much faith in God, it may be they have too little. You're right: God is plan A. But please be obedient if He tells you to join an SAA group.
All the best, Manic
PS Don't think I'm pushing a pro-12-steps agenda: I also have chosen not to join any SAA group. But not because I stubbornly refused to investigate it (see my journal).
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Post by manic on Jun 13, 2007 4:37:51 GMT -5
Rockwell,
Thank you for your testimony. I pray that God will purify your heart, and mine.
Manic
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Post by witness on Jun 13, 2007 6:24:08 GMT -5
I've been reading the book "The Divine Conspiracy" and find it to be very helpful.
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Post by manic on Jun 13, 2007 6:29:44 GMT -5
I've read "The divine conspiracy" as well. I found it a fascinating read. I have one entry in my journal about it, but I may write more about it in the future.
Manic
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Post by james78 on Jun 13, 2007 9:26:45 GMT -5
Manic,
I understand fully what you are saying. And yes, if God was leading me to join a group or some such I would go. The point I was making, perhaps not too clearly, is that we should not rely on such things instead of God. And if we are lead to a group or books etc. we should not lose our focus on God. I am, however, lead right now simply to study His word, pray and have faith. We are also told, of course, to confess our sins to fellow believers, and I feel that this board is a great way to do this.
I certainly do not wish to discourage anyone from anything that will help, but unless it is God's leading, and done giving glory to God I personally think the road will be very hard indeed. If it is God's leading, do it! As my personal favorite verse says: "Submit yourselves therefore to God". I will continue to pray that it is not stubborn pride in my own faith deceiving me and that I am followinf God's plan.
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Post by rockwell on Jun 13, 2007 13:15:51 GMT -5
Seeking Gods direction for our lives and giving to him our weakness is the beginning. God uses various ways to help us in healing and then to help others who struggle with similar issues. God can direct us to support groups and message boards such as this. He can lead us to counseling, one on one friendships and to confess our weakness to others. He works in mysterious ways and ways that are not always predictable, not always what we would expect.
I believe God is using this message board to help men and women struggling with lust, temptation, P, etc. By confessing ours sins to one another, encouraging one another and telling others what works for you or me, we are in the process of recovering and becoming the persons that God wants us to become.
I certainly do not know all the answers and I am not an expert.
Those of us who trust the Lord need to rely on him. Ask for his direction. He will lead us. Some of us will be led to different paths than others. That is not important. The important thing is to be led by God where he wants you as an individual to go. And noone can tell you what that is. Only you can find this out by the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life. Ask, seek, knock. It is scary. It is uncertain. But it is the right thing for those who belong to God.
When Jesus was on a boat with his friends and a storm came, it tossed the boat. Jesus was sleeping but his friends were filled with fear and anxiety. They called out to Jesus and woke him. They needed his help. Jesus replied to them and said "Do not fear, only believe." Hard words to hear. The storm is about to destroy the boat and they could sink and die. But Jesus was correct. Because in the end Jesus calmed the storm. There was no need to fear because the outcome was determined by Jesus, which was calm weather.
Now for the disclaimer. I write these things and in my head know that they must be true and right. The hard part is putting this into practice in my own heart. My faith is just not as strong as it should be. Anxiety has too much of a place in my being.
Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.
Do not fear, only believe.
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Post by james78 on Jun 14, 2007 2:04:19 GMT -5
Yes, we are all led down different paths. Only God knows what we each need to recover. Only God can provide for those needs. How is entirely up to Him.
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Post by james78 on Jun 14, 2007 2:31:01 GMT -5
Now for a bit of inspirational stuff Here is a list of statements, backed up by scripture, that I read that summarize who we are. By the grace if God I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10) I am the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) I am the light of the earth (Matthew 5:14) I am a child of God (John 1:12) I am a branch of the true vine (John 15:1,5) I am Christ's friend (John 15:15) I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear his fruit (John 15:16) I am a slave of righteousness (Romans 6:18) I am enslaved to God (Romans 6:22) I am a son of God (Romans 8:14-16) I am an heir of God, a co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17) I am a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16) I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) I am reconciled to God and a minister of reconcilliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) I am God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to to do good works (Ephesians 2:10) I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12) I am a son of light, not darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5) I would encourage you to read these verses for yourself, so that you can see these statements in full context. In Christ we are truly blessed to be these things in the eyes of God. If you don't have a bible, search here www.biblegateway.com/
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