A fresh look on my faith

[Cueball]

Hey guys as some of you might have noticed I haven't been hanging out here as much as I used to. No real problems I have just been in a spiritual slump so to speak. It is a long story which mainly revolves around me swapping churches over the last year or so. I thought I needed to move churches and did and basically it took me a year to realize I was not getting fed as I needed to. Nothing wrong with the new church accept it was not where God wanted me and my family. I actually kinda of new this for a while. It has taken me this long to get over my own pride and go back to my old church. My family and me have been going back to my old chuch and I am sensing God much more than I had. It has caused me to look and realize just how much damage the year out of Gods will has done to me. Now don't get me wrong I haven't been running around like a heathen but as a mature believer it is a sad state of affairs when you allow your self to fall out of communication with your savior and the body of Christ. I feel like we are heading back on the right track. Pray for me and my family.


.................................................. ....Roby........................................

[BLACK WOLF]

Absolutely Roby...you can count us here to pray for you. Pride is hard thing to swallow...we've all been there more than what we all would like to admit.

Ray ;)

[Cueball]

Thanks for the support. I have found sometimes being honest with myself involves telling others the truth as well.

.........................................Roby..... ..................................

[Esquire]

Roby,

Consider it pure joy, my Brother, whenever you face trials and temptations of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance, which must finish it's work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (from James ch. 1).

I will pray with you that God will complete the work he's started in you. It's an easy prayer because He already promised to do so. That means I already sort of know the answer in advance and there ain't much uncertainty!

But I'm honored to stand in the gap for your family, from Kentucky, even when I know the outcome. :)

The analogies abound, my friend. I love the rock climbing images. What feels like a retreat or a backwards movement is often necessary to accomplish a big ascent. Who knows what God has in store?

Gilbert K. Chesterton said once that "the whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land." He then (if I remember rightly) goes on to say that when we leave home and eventually come back to it, we discover things about it that we never could have discogvered becuase home was so familar. But coming home after a long journey we see it freshly, as through the eyes of a foreigner, and appreciate much that we were previously blind to.

Mike

BTW: A man plans his steps but the Lord directs his path! (Proverbs 16:9).

[DaveHawk]

Roby, It's is good for all of us to see our weeknesses sometimes. It's how the Lord causes us to grow. I'll lift you and your family up also.

I wasn't going to post a situations I had a year ago but I will say I went through desert experance myself. Although I was not growing I was becomes steeped in lack of senceativity. I had contempt in my heart towards a person who wronged me and Last week I asked him for forgiveness. At the moment he received my requset I felt a burdon lifted and our relationship restoried.

If God is not causeing you to grow I would surch and find out why. I Thank the Lord that you are faithfull to Him and your family. God Bless.

[Swanny]

Hi Roby, Haven't had the privilege of chatting with you on this forum yet.

My wife and I have been in similar circumstances as you have described. We were part of a church plant that was teaching something new to us at the time...that the nature of true repentance and faith in Christ always produces a changed life...that Christ does not grant forgiveness of sins without instilling an incurable desire to grow in holiness (sanctification) in this life. This was a radical difference in what we were taught from childhood...that one could believe in Christ without costing anything....it was up to the individual whether he or she would later submit to the Lordship of Christ and follow him...discipleship was an option because if it weren't, then (supposedly) salvation wasn't by faith alone.

Anyway, we left and studied the issues for 10 months or so. My parents let my wife and I know that they thought we were making a big mistake in going to that church due to the fact that they were teaching salvation by works (in their mind). After a lot of prayer and searching and discussion with folks on both sides of the fence...we felt strongly convicted we were wrong in what we had believed from our earlier years...so we 'repented' and changed...went back to the assembly....and thus it resulted in a tremendous friction that started growing between my parents and us....not that we desired or wanted it, it was just a by-product of our conviction to change our mindset and churches. They view us as heretical and of the camp like those Paul warned in Gal. 1 that were holding to the wrong gospel. Made us more aware of the verses in Mtt. 10 where Christ said he came not to bring peace, but a sword...to divide families.

Not complaining here...the Lord has used it for our growth in grace and his glory for sure. Our Christ and his grace is much sweeter to us and more needed now than before.

Care to share any of the particulars that were surrounding your leaving and returning?

[Cueball]

I really don't know where to begin and if I can put it all down. Doctrine was not the issue in our chosing to leave. I think to boil it down to its simplest form the messages from our pastor seemed to always leave me feeling that I wasn't giving enough of myself, my time, my money. I left church feeling bad more than I did feeling good. I really think I was running from the truth. I do think the gospel is the good news. I also think that it is hard at times to look at ones self. I just know that my relationship has faltered somewhat over me leaving and since returnig I since that God has been there and its about time I came back around.

................................................Ro by...................................

[DaveHawk]

Cue; In the scriptures we are told to grow where we are planted. I was a member of a great revival church here in the DC area back in the late 70's sometime in the mid 80's the pastor slipped up and coused a downfall of that church. Many good faith full beleivers left in scrch of another church. The Lord was telling many fokes where to go but I hadn't heard from him yet. I went through a year of getting befor God ernestly seeking His dirrection for my family. It was one day while sitting in my treestand in a predawn and in prayer the Lord spoke to me and said it is time to go. I asked where and we went.

God will dirrect you, all you need to do is ask and wait on Him.

[Matt]

Walking a spiritual path is like taking a hike in the Mountains, I've been told before. Sometimes we come to Peaks. When we are on a a peak we can see everything clearly, we feel God in our lives regularly, and doing good seems easy. Other times we enter a valley. In valley's you can't see clearly, we don't always feel God. Valley's are where most people loose their way. But if you cling to God and realize he is there, even if you can't feel him at the time, your faith in God will pull you through the valley and to the next peak. As we get spritually stronger the peaks last longer and are more numerous. They valley's, on the other hand, are not as dark and you get through them faster.

Keep praying, keep exercising your faith, you'll pull through. Not giving up is the key.

[BLACK WOLF]

Great analogy Matt and great storie Dave!

Ray ;)