hot_foot_steph | (no subject)

So I’m really confused about my relationship with God right now. I don’t know what’s going on. I just don’t feel like I can surrender everything to him.

And yet, who CAN possibly do that? I was reading in “My Utmost for His Highest,” by Oswald Chambers. In one of his devotions, he talks about Peter and how he could “not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough.” This was talking about that time when he said he’d follow Jesus and Jesus told him he’d deny him 3 times. It goes on to read, “Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.”

Don’t we always fall short of what it means to follow Jesus? Aren’t we all merely “naturally devoted” to God? Who CAN be a real disciple if it entitles giving everything to Christ? NONE of us do that. Or am I the only one?

I thought salvation only had to do with accepting Jesus. I didn’t know you had to DO all this stuff to truly be saved. I didn’t know you had to give up your entire life to get saved. I thought it was a simple childlike faith. Because we all know that nobody can truly give everything to Christ.

Maybe it’s just me. But I’m tired of wrestling with my salvation and not knowing whether or not I’m saved.

How does one truly KNOW that they are saved? Somebody help me with this…Rachel? Kristy? Anyone.

I am truly struggling with this. I always get apprehensive when I read about “totally giving everything up to God” and stuff because I just don’t know if I can do that. I mean, what does that MEAN? Maybe I am and I just don’t realize it. I just don’t know.

It was always “believe in Jesus” not “the cost of discipleship is everything.” It almost sounds like a manipulation. Becoming a Christian is not supposed to be hard! Giving everything to Christ IS hard!

So which is it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

steph: i do not know where to begin with this post, and i certainly don't think you and i could go in to it enough on a livejournal comment board.
step by step:

1st, you dont do ANYTHING to be saved--we are saved by grace and grace alone. no sufficient amount of work or toil or any one thing on this entire earth could EARN us salvation.. Jesus said he wants our faith, not our sacrifices. all of the surrendering, the grieving over your own sin, all of that--that is what is necessary for SPIRITUAL GROWTH. once you are saved, you are SAVED---but you're a spiritual baby. you know that, i think i've read posts on the Music board [baaack in the day] on the same issue, right? And then we spend the rest of our lives learning and growing and maturing to finally reach what it is to be like Christ! But that doesn't even happen in our realm! We are finally like Him only in eternity! and it will take us a lifetime to get there! alot of times it's really hard for me to think of all of this trial and tribulation and breaking and molding and et cetera et cetera in the spectrum of eternity. because here and now it's kind of a bummer to know that i'm never going to fully be what i am intended to be for my entire time here--it is only after death, when i am with Christ himself. and whether you are a spiritual baby or a spiritual mommy, you will be Christ like. i think the maturity building "accrues," so to speak, eternal gifts and treasures in heaven.

i like what CS Lewis said [and if you havent read mere christianity, i strongly recommend it]. to summarize: he said that only a truly perfect man could repent perfectly in the way God intended..but the catch 22 is that a perfect man need NOT repent. so Christ came and repented FOR us, to not only carry our loads if we would only ask, but to show us how we can do it with His help. and for the rest of our lives, Christ ALLOWS us and GIVES US THE POWER to sacrifice ourselves. to learn to love. to learn to forgive. to learn to be like Jesus...and it is a tedious tedious journey that will take you your entire life.
becoming a christian is not hard, becoming a mature christian is.

i'm sorry that this isn't backed by any form of scripture and i'm sure that someone with a clearer mind and/or heart could much more easily and affluently help you out, dearie.
but in the mean-time i am always mindful of you in my prayers and i love you very much.
*b

Thank you Blair. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to this. You help me a lot, you know.

Lovelove love,
S! ;)

This is REALLY weird...I've been checking your LJ, but I haven't seen any posts for SO long that I stopped checking so frequently. But anyway, today I see a billion posts, and I don't know where they came from. Were they friends only? 'Cause I'm logged in today, and a lot of times I'm not.

Anyway, some people say it's arrogance and you can never know for sure that you're saved. But I say it's faith and trust. You're not saved by anything you've done...God did all the work. All you had to do was accept it, which you have! God said it...you believe it. That's it. It doesn't require you to "feel" saved or to "feel" close to God. Trust me, I've done my share of wondering if I'm really saved. I personally don't believe in eternal security, but I also believe that if you're thinking about God, worried about your relationship with him, then you are still in Him.

Have peace, Steph. I'm praying for you.

Kristy