@Heart2Soul I am going to try to keep this short...no promises.
I thank you and
@Hidden In Him for your wise spiritual words that needed to be spoken.
My walk with Christ has been, how can I say it, not the norm.
The stories my parents use to tell about me as a baby are pretty fantastic.
According to my parents they kept a Bible in my crib because I would cry until they did. That is not normal!
I do not remember a time when I did not believe in Christ. Riding around in diapers on my tricycle I remember thinking about Christ.
I did not learn how to read in school...the Bible taught me. And this sort of thing goes on and on in my life.
My understanding of Christianity was from the Bible...a very simple understanding even before I started school...Christ is our God...Faith is a divine power that is wielded by us...the way to heaven from there is Beeeee Gooood...and lastly...the devil can be defeated if you have confidence in yourself and Christ. So many miracles in my life that I cannot count. Faith is so easy for me because of that. If I go on it is going to sound like a lot of bragging....I was gifted, I started at a Christian collage at 15 years old and I could have started at 14. But this is not my point here.
I have gotten to know the people on this forum....and it is truly a heartbreaking for me. Their walk in life, their walk with Christ. Some of it full of tragedy and pain...physical and emotion. Failures of the church. I feel like saying sorry all the time, but that is not going to fix it...I do pray for those on the forum and sometimes with tears in my eyes. But prayers cannot change the past. I am sorry! I am sorry!
But what I can do is put some things in perspective, give a little advise. Some come to Christianity broken...with a life of hideous memories. I am sorry! But this is one of the things I try to explain about baptism...so important that people understand. When you come out of that water, your past is gone...that person is gone....that person is forgotten by God. The person baptizing you should make that clear to you. The Words of the Bible are more than sweet sounding phrases, they have power, but baptism is as much a phycological thing as it is a spiritual thing. You need to fully understand that when you come out of that water....you have a new life ahead of you...a clean slate...and you are equal with all other Christians, regardless of your past. If you continue to carry around baggage from your past, then you do not understand. This new person that is you, does not have a past. All the things that you may have done, did not happen, all the wrongs that have been done to you, did not happen. If you continue to carry the baggage around Satan will use it against you. A person like me that believed early in life, is no better than the person that comes to Christ when they are 70 knows only the simple things of the Bible. So important to understand. Let your past go...all of it. And Christ loves Christians equally! Keep it simple.
From there understand what I knew from a very young age...Christ is our God...Faith is a divine power that is wielded by us...the way to heaven from there is Beeeee Gooood...and lastly...the devil can be defeated if you have confidence in yourself and Christ.
Next put on the Armor of God...with this armor you can stand up to anything. Read this carefully and consider the ramifications.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Keep it simple...we are creatures of habit...develop a habit of just doing the right thing. Have confidence, even as a new Christian that is 70 years old, have confidence in what is right and wrong. Sometimes as a young Christian, what you thought was right in certain situations may turn out to be wrong. (And I have seen God adjust some of these things for a person that was try do to right.) But what is the alternative...do what you think is wrong. In your walk with Christ and the Holy Spirit, if you develop a habit of doing right...it will be a knee jerk reaction. Your spirit indwelled by Christ and the Holy Spirit...three footprints making their way on the journey of life. The Trinity is there in your heart to guide you, to teach you. The Trinity is there when you trip up and fall. And if you take to heart what I am tell you and you have developed this habit of doing right, they are going to pick you right up and dust your failure off and send you on your way. Why? Because they want you to keep doing what you have been doing....right.
The points I making (and yes I am trying to keep this short) is that it does not matter if you are a new Christian or a person that has been a Christian their whole life....we are the same in God's eyes and His heart. The same the same the same! It does not matter if you are a man or a woman....the same the same the same. You do not have to know the Bible forwards and backwards to be a good Christian and doing right...the Gospel message of salvation is simple....We can put all you need to know on a 3X5 card....the details have made things confusing and obviously generate arguments and divisions in the Church. Keep it simple...Love God....be good...and do good...
The battle with Satan and his demons? If you keep it simple and do good...you are just to much work for him. He is looking for the low hanging fruit...the confused...the troubled...those that have been lead down the wrong path by heretical teachings, those without spiritual confidence. 90 percent of your battle with Satan is putting on the Armor of God and standing firm in His Word. A woman or man...it does not matter, you can take on Satan and he does not stand a chance. Just do what is right....simple....You have the armor, you have the sword that is the Word of God...You are travelling down the road of good. And Satan is not going to want any part of that.
I pray that this can help, but I have to stop because I could write a book on it.
Now there can be people that rush in and object to what I have told you....LOL...You will get no better....see confidence. LOL Look at where they are coming from...what is their intent? Are they trying to confuse or twist what I have said?
Good Bless
