New christian...in need of guidance

Kathy - posted on 04/05/2011

Make absolutley sure your going to a church that take's it right out of the bible, and get into a good women's bible study, bible study is the best thing, along with reading your bible. The fellowship you get out of that you learn much fast than anyother way....Beth Moore writes wonderful bible study's as does James MacDonald, there's other's but these two are my favoirtes....Remember to put him first....Blessings to you.....Kathy

Sherilynn - posted on 06/17/2010

I understand how you feel because I'm sort of in the same situation. I encourage you to try and spend as much time as you can with God. Not just church and fellowship, but with God. Just sit in a quiet place, open your Bible, close your eyes, and ask God to speak to you. Thank him over and over for your many blessings. If your breathing, then thats one blessing. A relationship with God is like any other relationship, it simlpy takes time. The more time you spend talking to him, praising him, and show him he is number one above all things, then he will reveal himself to you more and more and take you places you've never been.

Kellie - posted on 06/17/2010

God is progressive and will only reveal Himself to you a little at a time. In Scripture when Moses cried out for God to show him His glory God said He couldn't because Moses would not be able to live through it. LOL. Essentially God is more wonderful than we can imagine! Reading your bible and praying are two main ingredients to developing a relationship with Him but have a focus on what you want to know about Him. The concordance in your bible will lead you to passages that will help you better understand God. Look up words like love, compassion, mercy, grace, loving-kindness...then compile a list of scriptures with these words and study that out. Choose one adjective at a time and keep your focus there until you have a clear understanding and then move on to the next.

Just recently I learned that there is a passage of scripture where God infact describes Himself. What better way to get to know Him than to hear what He has to say about Himself. The passage is Exodus 34:6&7 "And the Lord passed by before him (Moses) and proclaimed, The Lord! The Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, Keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."

And Jesus says in John 3:17 that "...God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him."

And lastly I Corinthians 8:3 says "But if one loves God truly [with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing] he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him.]

Intimacy with the Father is a journey. You will know how close you are to Him by the craving you have for Him. Psalm 42:1 and Psalm 63:1.

I am so excited for you!!! Stay amazed and guard your heart!

Rachel - posted on 06/16/2010

Hi Mallory, welcome to the family of God. You said you were at one time very religious....well good news for you being a Christian is not about religion it's about a relationship with the Creator of the universe and believing that He sent His son to die for our sins. What a wonderful thing to know that when we die we will live eternally with God. My advice to you is to get up every morning and first thing before you do anything else, talk to God. Start a prayer journal and write down thoughts you have, praises, requests. Once you do it for awhile it's really neat to go back and read it and see all the ways God answered your prayers and blessed your life. As for reading the Bible it's hard to just open it and read and a lot of the times we may read but not really understand or grasp. A good start is to read a psalm and a proverb each day. I do the one that's the same as the day( for example on June 16 I would read Psalm 16 and Proverbs 16). There's a lot of great advice, instruction, and encouragement in these two books. Also you should pick one other book of the Bible to start reading from. Paul's letters are great choices since he was writing to Christians in different communities with instructions for living the Christian life. (Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, and Philemon) While you are reading it's good to really delve into the Scripture by asking these questions: Who?What?Why?Where?How?To Whom?
Who wrote the book, What did he write about, Why was he writing, Where was he writing(time and place?), How did he get his point across and to whom was he writing to?

Hope this helps and I'll say a prayer for you. God Bless you in your daily walk with Him.

Macrina - posted on 06/16/2010

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." I would encourage prayer and reading your Bible. It may be helpful for you to start a particular Bible study, maybe about Jesus' life to see what He is all about. Talking to your minister would be a great idea! If he following Christ in the way that he should be, there should be no reason why you should be scared to approach him. More than likely, he will be very excited to help you! So glad you want to seek God!

Chris - posted on 06/15/2010

I have had the same problem off and on for years. It is so easy to get caught up in daily life and forget about God. What has helped me is reading the bible every day, and talking to God every day just like as if he is in the room with me. I have found that if I live with the knowledge that He is with me everywhere I am it makes me feel closer to Him. Getting involved in your church is also a way to get closer to God. When you volunteer with your church and are helping other people, you are working for Him.

Mary - posted on 06/13/2010

Most of what the churches are teaching now days is only religion and nothing more than rules and regulations. As long as you keep the rules of the church they say you are doing fine as a christian and ready for Heaven. Like you said there is much more to it than that. I like to watch people like Joyce Meyer on tv that teach about these things. I also like to read good books that teach about these things. I too discovered that although I'd gone to church my entire life and had tried to follow all the rules yet there was still something lacking in my relationship with God. I wanted a personal relationship with Him like He wants us to have not just keeping all the rules. I got tired of that. Not that I didn't want to keep the rules just some of them were unnecessary and needed to be adjusted. The church I grew up in had too many rules that weren't in direct accordance with the Bible. Many were man made rules and were based on the convictions of the minister therefore everyone else in the church was expected to have the same convictions or they were hell bound. Many strayed away from the faith because of this church. I always had a desire to serve God and He chased after me till I returned to Him but then I discovered there has to be more to it than just keeping rules all the time? What about having a personal relationship with Him? God wants us to be with Him the same way our husbands want us to spend time with them. They want intimacy (or at least we women do) not just saying I love you but showing it in how we treat each other day by day and spend time together with each other. Otherwise, what kind of a relationship would we have with our spouses if we never spent any quality time with them? Hope some of what I said is helpful to you. Read your Bible, pray and seek God and ask Him to show you what to do and how to do it. Allow Him to speak to you. It may not be what the church says is right but if God is o.k. with it for you than that's all that's really important.

Mariela - posted on 06/11/2010

read the word and pray and also look for more people who follow ur faith in Jesus Christ. I pray continuous throughout the whole day and I find that makes my relationship w the Lord stronger by thanking him and askin him to have his will in my life or when Im going through a though cituation. Also I have the christian radio station on for edification and to learn more and also for my kids to listen and I love it. Also its very important that u keep congregating.

Ruth - posted on 06/11/2010

As many have said...Pray and read you Bible, Look for a Moms Bible Study group if they have one, Or even find friends on Here Im sure there are a ton of people that would love too help you including me ^__^

Kelly - posted on 06/11/2010

You have got to get the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge! It is excellent!!!!!

Mallory - posted on 06/10/2010

Thank you everyone, for all the encouraging words of wisdom, i have found them all very helpful!! i know i can always count on the Christian Mommy group!!! thanks so much!!!!

Mary - posted on 06/10/2010

All the advice you have been getting is good. So instead of saying the same things I will pray for you.

Father, I ask that you bless this young mother with a special gift of faith, faith to believe that with You ALL things are possible - so that You, Father, can be brought into the place of highest honor in her life. Give her faith that will enable her to be completely sure that You are able to do anything You have promised. Because of this faith, she will be accepted and approved like Your friend Abraham, the Bible's true example of abiding faith and immediate obedience.
Without Your gift of faith, it is impossible to please You; without constantly hearing the Word of God, it is impossible to have faith. Thank you, Lord, for rewarding those who exercise their faith, for by it they will have peace with You. In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

Becky - posted on 06/10/2010

pray without ceasing.....whenever you have time in your day pray! also as everyone has said read your Bible...I don't believe enough is said about kneeling and praying though, it puts you in a perfect position to receive. also as robin said, the devil will make it hard.....stay strong in the Lord. i'll be praying God bless and keep u

Stephanie Jo - posted on 06/10/2010

Read your Bible and pray. Keep going to church and find a friend that can study, have talks and just be there.

Kandice - posted on 06/09/2010

I am fairly new to being a Christian as well but my Pastor tells me to Pray about whatever you want in life and God shall forfill it ... I souly believe it. As as far as being Stressed about about any little thing Go to the word its a Stress reliever itself. There are scriptures for any problem or any situation.

Leona - posted on 06/09/2010

Read your bible, pray, find a mentor or a friend that you can share thought, feelings, frustrations etc with!

Victoria - posted on 06/09/2010

My best suggestion is to start by reading the bible, daily. God will give you the understanding, He will lead you closer to Him. Pray.

Mallory - posted on 06/09/2010

thanks you for returning to my post!! i apprectiate all the guidance i can get!!

Josslyn - posted on 06/08/2010

We are all students in the eyes of God, have patience, take time for understanding, start by making your place in this world as God's creation and try each day to live the life that Jesus lived, but remember that Jesus was the only one without sin, but God gave his only son to cleans us of our sins, Our Saviour is a forgiving one, don't break yourself down if you don't get it right, admit to your mistakes, pick it up and try again.

Perseverance is the key, and God will grant you a higher understanding to everything as your grow in faith!

God bless and I pray your walk and growth in faith will be a fruitful as mine has been!

Robin - posted on 06/08/2010

Read your Bible and pray daily! Since your new at it you will prob. face lots of trials and temptations cause the devil doesn't want you to grow with the Lord so what you're gonna have to do when those come (if you can't handle em by yourself) is post a prayer request on here and/or ask the church to pray for you! The key to a personal relationship with God is reading your Bible daily and growing in Him daily. you can read Christian books (those will help), gathering with believers (church which you said you are doing) will help you stand strong in the Lord and in your faith! I hope this helps!!