I've been backslidden for years now. I like to come back to
God and get to know Jesus again,but I'm scared. My
christian experience all those years ago was anything but pleasant.
lolligirl63
OK lolli. Let's take care of the spiritual side of things first.
To right your relationship with God is easy. All you do is confess to Him that you've backslidden and fallen away from Him. Then you ask for forgiveness by the blood of the Lamb. Then you receive His forgiveness by believing His Word which say he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And by believing, this means you now FORGET all that past because he will throw ALL your backslidden sins into the sea of forgetfulness.
The next step is to begin to increase your faith. How? By reading the Word of God, the Bible, every day. Set aside a time slot that you know you can get away by yourself for about an hour, and COMMIT to it. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Since you will probably need to feed on the milk of the Word, I recommend this devotional regiment:
Read Matthew, then Mark, then Luke, then John 4 times. Just read what you can in your alotted time slot. Stop and take the time to think about what you're reading. If something seems to jump out at you, (even if you've only read 1 verse), stop and ponder on that. Meditate on it. This will be the Holy Spirit guiding you.
Then, after 4 repetitions of reading the "Gospels", read just the Gospel of John 10 times. Why? Because John is a little different revelation than the others. It reveals much more about the person of Jesus Christ. There's more depth in conversations and details of events. The reality of Jesus, and who He is is more prevalent. Absorb this book like a human sponge.
Next, you need to spend a considerable time in the Epistles. These are the letters written to the churches by the apostles Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude. Luke also wrote the book of Acts.
Also, you need to spend time in prayer with God every day. This is NOT anything formal. It is basically talking to God. That doesn't exclude that you CAN do a formal prayer, whereby you plan beforehand what you will talk to our heavenly Father about.
Then, seek out a church that preaches Jesus Christ crucifed, died and went to hell, rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father on high. He is the everlasting Lord, the Prince of peace. our Lord and Saviour. I would mention that once you find a church that preaches this, do NOT automatically make it your church home. Check out others also. The deciding factor you need to look for is whether or not there is true Godly love in operation. Here is Paul's definition of love from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 to 8:
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]. (Amplified version)
Use this measuring stick to guide you.
The last thing I would like to mention is that there appears to be a lot of fear in you right now. Recognize that fear is not of God, for He has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather of love, power, and a sound mind. You need to fight this spirit of fear because it is our enemy, Satan, seeking to destroy you. And you have authority over him, for greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. The greater One lives in you!!!
And one more last thing, come back here often. I too have battled weight problems, but have also found the answer from God. We should talk about this in one of the other forums though, so that other may be blessed also.
