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Hi, I'm new to the forum. And if truth be told I wasn't expecting to find myself on Bible.org.

I was raised (in Wales, UK) a Catholic, but developed some issues with the faith in my later teenage years. I couldn't reconcile certain ideologies that seemed acceptable or unacceptable as a means of personal interpretation. Faith can be confusing enough without all of that.

I still need God though; and that's been heavy on my mind of late. I don't live a bad life really, but I find myself so dissatisfied because I'm not doing anything that I truly love. I almost feel like I'm wasting an awful lot of time doing nothing when I should be doing something. I have the power to change this of course, and I believe that, but I find myself seriously lacking the courage. I'd like to change my town, my job, my home - any of these things, but I'm dogged by indecision.

I've lost touch with the Bible itself. I don't even know where to open it to find guidance on this.

Can anybody help?

Kindest regards,
Ross

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Kindest Regards,

Ross

"Such a foolish man, God ain't known no greater sinner
I have come in search of Jesus, hoping He will understand"
- Johnny Cash, 'If I Give My Soul'

You do not need to change your location, job, etc. (1 Cor. 7:17, 20) unless these are specifically involved with living in sin (i.e., if you are living with a woman and not married to her; etc). I would instead say that you must work to redeem where you are by finding a church (preferably an evangelical one) that will help you to grow and learn more about what it means to follow Jesus. You need the help of others who are following him. This is more than attending a service and will involve you actually developing a close relationship in such a church.

Also, perhaps a good place to start reading in the Bible would be the Gospel of John. You would do well to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) that tell the good news about Jesus in four accounts giving different angles to the one story, but you would do well to simply read John first (perhaps even a couple of times through first).

I would also strongly encourage you to check out "The Theology Program" offered here at Bible.org. You will likely find some help for dealing with some of your questions about the Faith.

My prayers are with you that you will follow Jesus with the way you choose to live and will have understanding as you read the Bible and seek him in prayer.
Blessings and welcome to the Forum ,
Rick

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Ross, you say you'd like to change your town, your job, your home - any of those things, but you're dogged by indecision. I think Rick (Antipater) is right in what he has said, but why do you want to do those things? And what are you afraid of?

Cale

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This may strike a chord or it may be tangential. Ignore it if it is.


Admins: As far as I can make out this image meets board guidelines, but edit if necessary. It is from ASBO Jesus. I have no idea what ASBO stands for.

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John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Thank you for your replies.

I'm going to start with the gospel of John as you've advised. Right now, having a starting point helps.

@Gideon: I suppose I want to change these things because I don't feel a part of a community and I don't feel like I can grow within their confines. As I said, I don't live a bad life; but at the same time I just don't feel like I'm living a full one. I think there is more that I should be doing; more that I can offer but actually doing something about it frightens me. I guess I'm afraid of what can go wrong.

@John: an ASBO is an Anti-Social Behavioural Order

Thank you again

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Kindest Regards,

Ross

"Such a foolish man, God ain't known no greater sinner
I have come in search of Jesus, hoping He will understand"
- Johnny Cash, 'If I Give My Soul'

Ross, I think I understand. As Rick has said, it isn't necessary to change those things in order to live and grow in Christ unless you're living in sin where you are. On the other hand, it has been my experience that God will sometimes give me an unsettled feeling in my spirit in preparation for making some kind of change in my life. It is that unsettled feeling which moves me to seek God for and be sensitive to his leading for some new direction in my life.

God is greater than any circumstance of life and he is always with us if we are trusting in him. So it is always possible to serve him and to grow in grace regardless of where we are, and the Bible gives us many examples of that -- examples like Joseph, Daniel, Paul, and Silas. But there may be times when God wants to move us for his own reasons, as he did with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Paul. The important thing, IMO, is to discover what God wants you to do. Does he want you to stay or go? And if he wants you to go, where does he want you to go? And finally, what is his timing?

In my own life I have always tried make big changes toward something rather than away from something. I'm speaking of attitude of course, because big changes in life typically involve leaving something behind... letting go of one thing in order to take hold of another. What I have tried not to do is to escape some circumstance just because it is difficult or unpleasant, recognizing that God often uses those kinds of circumstances to teach us and to work needed changes in us.

So I would encourage you to follow Rick's advice, pursue an intimate relationship with the Lord where you are, and seek his direction for your life as you do so. If you are sincerely seeking God's will for your life no matter what it is, he will guide you. His guidance may be to stay right where you are for the present, or he might lead you to make one or more major changes. If change is the order of the day, then ask God to open a door of opportunity. When the time is right, he will open that door for you and it will be time for you to act.

Any time we make major changes in life, we face an element of uncertainty that can make us fearful if are trusting in ourselves. But if we are trusting in God, that same uncertainty can bring a sense of adventure as we look expectantly to see what God will do with us and through us. It is thrilling to see what God will do when we obey him in faith. And we can discover great joy in being used by God to bless others as we are obedient to him. I pray you will know that joy and the great adventure that life in God can be.

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Thank you for your guidance on this, and your kindness in crafting a response.

I genuinely feel like I have a starting point and I suppose I didn't previously trust that to be true. These things aren't easy I guess, but nothing worth having is.

Thank you again

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Kindest Regards,

Ross

"Such a foolish man, God ain't known no greater sinner
I have come in search of Jesus, hoping He will understand"
- Johnny Cash, 'If I Give My Soul'

Hi again Ross,

I checked out the lyrics of "If I give my soul". There is a lot of symbolism there and the song could be understood at different levels and with different emphases. And that reminded me that none of us know you or you situation well enough to do any more than stab at advice. So I pass on some advice about advice which I was given once.
If it is possible find a wise person who will listen to you and who wants to understand your situation. You do tend to find that in churches these are the older and quieter members. They are able to empty themselves of their own agendas and ego and walk with you to meet your needs rather than their own. It is not necessarily the Pastor who is your best pastor.

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John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Hi John,

That makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you for your 'advice on advice' .

I often use music and lyrics as a way of expressing myself; being a musician I explore a lot of my own feelings through this medium and also through listening to the work of others.

Your comments are particularly pertinent as a result of this.

I'm very grateful for this guys

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Kindest Regards,

Ross

"Such a foolish man, God ain't known no greater sinner
I have come in search of Jesus, hoping He will understand"
- Johnny Cash, 'If I Give My Soul'

Just checking in to see how things are going.

I'm no musician (I wish I were) but I love music and sing in a a capella gospel choir (I think I may be the only Christian in it.)

I often find myself liking themes in popular/rock music. E.g. Wind Op by Jethro Tull on Aqualung has "I don't believe you've the whole ... thing wrong. He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays"

When a close relative was dying from Cancer I played Bjork singing John Taverner's Prayer of the Heart over and over on my drive there and home.

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John

My soul looks back in wonder at how I got over

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Hi John,

Things aren't going too badly. It feels good to be opening the Bible and using it again; something I haven't done since I left school. We're talking, about 7 years.

In terms of music, I'm always drawn to the spiritual sentiment. I recently felt moved when listening to U2s 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own,' which has such a strong religious message as well as a family one.

A song I've also been listening to a lot lately is 'Did Trouble Me' - an old country gospel song covered by Tom Jones. Again, there's guidance in those lyrics that tends to hit me quite strongly.

Right now I'm trying to work out what's making me feel unsettled. I guess I still need as much guidance as I can get, though.

Music helps as much as anything; I'm grateful for it. I don't think there's anything that could bring me closer to God.

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Kindest Regards,

Ross

"Such a foolish man, God ain't known no greater sinner
I have come in search of Jesus, hoping He will understand"
- Johnny Cash, 'If I Give My Soul'

Ross,
If I may give a little advice as well. there are tons of ways to look at each situation and it is true that many will give you advice without full knowledge of your situation. I am about to do so but that is because I believe the advice I am about to give will help any and all situations.

Now you have stated that

What truly needs to happen is that you need to fall absolutely head over heals in love with God. When this happens you will no longer feel unsettled or dissatified and you will naturally end up doing things you love and things that make a difference with boldness because the things you love will be filtered through your ultimate love relationship with your creator. He will give you purpose and a reason. The key to all of our walks with Christ is that a love relationship is at the very core of our faith. One thing that helps me is while I am spending time with him in the bible I am constantly looking for the ways God loves me, this frees me on a daily basis to know that I am loved and then in turn to spend my days expressing love back to him. This is one way we can live out what is spoken of in 1 John when he says "We love because He first loved us". So my advice is to first constantly be aware of how much God loves you and than in turn every day try to find ways to more deeply love Him. If we are successful in doing this that love will filter through the rest of our lives and those struggles you spoke of will evaporate in light of your passionate love for God himself.

I truly hope this helps you in your walk!

Hello Ross; Seems I'm arriving a little late here.
Your situation screams at me, so I am compelled to reply;

I would like to start by saying it seems to me that God is moving in your life, after all your here right? You've rescently opened the Bible up and began reading right? Sounds like some things are headed in the right direction and that God loves you enough to be nudging you along gently.

Anyway I can relate to much of what your saying and would like to share some basics:
keep it simple ....
1. Keep God 1st in ALL that you do.
2.Work the body Mind and spirit (exercise, walking, work,reading the bible ,fellowship with other Christians etc.)
3.Being a part of a christian community in my opinion is VITAL as we are all attacked regularly and we see on the news and in real life the wickedness round about us... without being refreshed yourself you are very likely to fall and or succumb to the ways of "men"
4.Perhaps serve? the rewards of serving God cannot be put to words.

I believe if we keep God 1st (and live according to his Will) everything else will fall into place, we may not always like our lives or situations, but we can trust in Gods plan for our lives...I know I do as I've made more mistakes than anyone I know.
p.s. We cannot know Gods will unless we "meditate on his word day and night"

Will-I-AM,

Of all the posts here I have to say I really like yours. I have point one and two down with out to much of a problem. However it is hard for me to be a part of a christian community due to my work schedule. I don't have the traditional days off. I work different shifts with different days off. I try to pray everyday, but I do miss being part of a church and having fellow Christians in my life.

Jeff

Jeff,

You could perhaps find a congregation which has small-group meetings during the week. Those Bible studies could be a good solution for your situation and help you stay connected to a community of believers.

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Blessings,
Randy
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