I don't want to be one of those Christains who loves God and goes to Church every Sunday because I am afraid of going to hell or because I want to enjoy the blessings of God for my own selfish reasons. I really want to learn to love God and understand God, but I don't know where to start. Other than reading the Bible, what other things can I do to develop a better relationship with God?
2007-06-16 18:34:54 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
to the first person who answered the question. Wow...LOL.
2007-06-16 18:40:58 · update #1
IGNORE the bible. The biblical god is a monster with human flaws like jealousy.
Look up Spiritualism and Gnosticism. I believe there is a truly loving God. there are many roads to God and He does not care which road you take.
2007-06-16 18:40:34 · answer #1 · answered by Gorgeoustxwoman2013 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Scripture tells us to "fear the Lord", not being "afraid", but in awe of Him.
The first thing you need to do is change the way you are seeing God. If you just relate to Him as someone mentioned in the Bible, or a deity who has given you rules and guidelines in life to follow, you're missing out on so much more. What did Jesus say?.........
He said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." Did He not? Read the life of Jesus again. See how He is personally, how He relates to His disciples, and to the people themselves. See how He relates to the Father. He is the example of how you are to become close to, and relate to God. How does Jesus approach the Father? As a son would approach his father.
You are a child of God. Approach the Father as a child would. Develop that type of relationship with Him.
The next important thing is........take the time. We are so caught up in our day to day, that we don't take enough time to spend with God. I am guilty of this also, so I'm not preaching to you, ok? We spend more time in front of the television than we do in the presence of God. We have to set time aside to sit quietly with Him, or to talk to Him.
Stop putting pressure on yourself. You are human. Dust. You are not going to be perfect. There is nothing that you are ever going to do, that is going to appear to be enough, or satisfactory. I hear alot, "So and so is a "good Christian." None of us are "Good Christians". We all fail. Accept your successes and your failures. Always leave room for improvement.
2007-06-16 18:49:46 · answer #2 · answered by C J 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try enlarging your spiritual life...i find that the prayer of
St. Francis is a good place to start. Try taking it line by line, one line a day. Perhaps you may learn something about your self.
Seek God in life, if your heart is true to your faith, first you do the right thing because are afraid of the consequences. Then you find that you are doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Eventually, if you keep a conscious contact with your God, and seek knowledge of his will for you and the power to carry that you...honestly....then you may find that you are doing the right things, showing compassion, respect, giving of yourself freely, etc...because there is nothing that you enjoy more.
Pray for the willingness to seek his will for you.
Hope this helps.
Blessed Be
2007-06-16 18:48:50 · answer #3 · answered by trinity 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dear Sadwoman,
i think a Bible study group or a fellowship with fellow believers can be very beneficial. In community we can experience the love of God, and it reminds us how real His love is, and His personal concern for us. There are times we get overwhelmed with life and we start focusing on ourselves and in community we also have opportunities to serve other people, and remind ourselves that God gave us life to serve Him, and to serve others. i find so much joy in be a blessing to people and along the way you realize how greatly blessed you are.
Reading the Bible does help- but sometimes i know it's a hard consistent habit to develop or it can be challenging to understand- so i think Bible study is great- because you're relating to people who want to grow close to God as well-- and you are relating beyond a surface level.
Hope that helps. Kindly,
Nickster
2007-06-16 18:41:32 · answer #4 · answered by Nickster 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The purpose of our existence is to eventually come to know and love God ... non-sexually, but otherwise, in the authentic biblical sense.
The way this is typically accomplished is through a lifetime of full and active participation in the work, worship, sacraments, and devotions of the universal (Catholic) Church that Jesus personally founded and left behind on earth, for the purpose of our salvation.
If you're not doing that, it will be a miracle if you actually ever manage to get truly "saved" ... especially in today's world.
2007-06-16 20:22:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When someone says fear God, it is not supposed to mean be scared OF Him. I fear the Lord, as all Christians should. My fear comes from a fear of disappointing Him. I desperately want to live up to the promises He has for my life. So you should fear the Lord, but fear that you will not live up to what He has in store for your life. I'm not saying that we should always be scared, I'm saying that we should be cautious and always on the lookout for the tripwires that the enemy lays for us.
Atheists can convert to Christianity on their deathbeds, it’s not about when we accept Jesus into our lives but rather that we do it with a welcoming heart. God sees your heart and He knows that you are desperate for an intimate relationship with Him. Talk to Him, Pray to Him, worship Him and love Him. God pours blessing into your life because He loves you and because He wants to provide for you, to not accept these blessings is to deny God a place in that part of your life, this is selfish. When you give your life to Christ, you give Him ALL of your life; this includes all the parts of your life that are not worthy of Him. Accept His blessings and open your heart that little bit more to Him.
May God bless you with, health, prosperity and peace, and may He guide you safely through the hardest parts of your life as well as the easiest.
2007-06-16 19:09:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a classic case of the scripture being taken out of context or too literally. You need to understand the historical context of the time as well. 1Cor.14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches Let me ask you a question. Do you converse with your husband, children, others in church before or after service? Do women at your church sing in the choir? I find it absolutely hard to believe that you and other women in your church "keep silent" say nothing in church ever at all. Conversing, singing in the choir, talking to kids in the nursery, given announcements, etc which would be opposite of keeping silent. You would virtually have to be a monk who took a vow of silence to not converse at all. Obviously, that's not what this verse meant. This verse and many others in the Bible need to be "rightly divided" and you have not done that according to your question. (2 Timothy 2:15).
2016-05-17 15:03:14 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're on the right track. Keep studying the Bible, pray, and find a church that believes as you do. Become involved in your church's missions. Trust Him to lead you in the right direction.
2007-06-16 18:45:11 · answer #8 · answered by cj_justme 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just taking time to notice all His wonderful creations, counting your small blessings as well as the big ones, and realizing the the love expressed in Christ's sacrifice helps.
2007-06-17 02:11:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Frequently receive the eucharist, go to adoration often, meditate on the mysteries of the rosary, read or listen to the testimonies of other people...and keep the line of communication with God open, pray pray pray.
2007-06-16 18:43:17 · answer #10 · answered by The Raven † 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋