welcome to the family..growing every day and glad to see you here....Rev

Originally Posted by verefx

Hello everyone,

My name is Mike and I am looking for a place where I can talk about my relationships ,(in particular with Jesus) and know that those I am conversing with know what I am feeling. I am married (30 years) have 3 children, all grown and 1 grandson, 2 years old. I gave my life to Jesus in 1987 and at that time I surrendered for full time service and have been running ever since. My relationships with friend and family have suffered due to my running. In particular my marriage relationship. I have so many things that trouble me on a daily basis due to my drifting further and further from God. I know it is never too late, but I have drifted so far I do not even know what is truth and what isn't anymore. I am praying that this public forum will help me on my journey back to a close relationship with God.

Mike just a word ..i was taught that the order of things is thus..God ,the husband,the wife ,the children,the job , the ministry. and if any of these are out of line the whole thing crumbles..i live by it now because i found out the hard way.. there is a korean chess game called chong gee..it plays like chess with one exception..the center fold of the board is the river ,,youre not allowed to cross it for battle until the queen and king are protected and the castle is right ...i know its easy to get caught up in the battle for THE LORD but its when youre the tiredest that satan works his whishpers in youre ear .may you find peace in the Fathers lap during this time...just thought id share ..blessings in Jesus name

Welcome to the community Mike! Oh I have a friend named Mike. :D It's so good to have you here. Good to see you taking the steps to get closer to the good Lord.

You're right. It's NEVER too late to be saved and He is a loving, and forgiving God. There is nothing to fear. He always welcomes us back into His embrace. The truth is the way of the Lord. There is no other truth then what He has given us to live by. The word is truth.

I would gladly answer questions you may have and browsing the forums might help you but only God knows what you're trully struggling with and only He can truly help you. Perhaps He might use someone on this site to help you. But we don't know that and the only way to find out is by getting involved here! I hope you find what you seek!


Blessings

Welcome. My prayer is that the LORD gives you the courage to put aside every weight of sin that has been holding you back from running with Jesus, as opposed to running away. When you get a taste of what it's like to run with Jesus, you'll never run away again.

Welcome, Mike. I understand the feeling of drifting away from the Lord, I did it for about 30 years. All those years, some wrinkles and a little bit of wisdom later I also realised that He never goes away. We're the only ones who put ourselves at a distance from Him. This is a great forum, so many people who love God and each other - it's impossible to feel alone. Blessings and much love to you.

Originally Posted by dannibear

I completely missed this one seemingly simple thought behind the shedding of blood from Jesus Christ for for long before, that I can't possibly let you keep searching until I tell you. Jesus knew we wouldn't be perfect. If we were, we wouldn't have needed a savior. What I would like to know though is if you have feelings of guilt. You can message me personally if you wish. Guilt is not a feeling from God. Search your heart and let me know. :)

We are here for you brother! Many hugs, Danni!

Yes, guilt is my middle name.... you look up guilt in a dictionary and there is my picture. My drifting away took me to many places I wish I had never been, the worse being drug abuse. The guilt I have for the things I have done that hurt my family is often so overwhelming all I can do is cry. I know Jesus paid for that and that He forgives me, but the guilt is constantly telling me that I am not worth it. I can't forgive myself and the guilt is what caused me to go back to drug use over and over for 10 years. I am now clean 112 days today... but the trail of despair I left behind makes it very hard to stay on track. This is why I need something like this... a place I can talk about the things I have done without fear of condemnation.

Uh-huh....yep. The guilt is heavy. But the guilt also lies. God says you're worth it. I ran from the Truth & went into the darkness....when Jesus found me, and brought me back out of the darkness, I stood in the awesomeness of His Light. I felt so clean....I was clean. It didn't take long for me to look around and see all of the piles of messes that I had made because of being in the darkness & unable to see the effects of what I was doing. It seriously brought me down. Yet, I believed that the Lord would help me sort it all out.....and He has been. The Lord's been putting my life back in order. There are still people in my life who cannot bring themselves to trust the changes that the Lord is making in me. But over time, He has given me new eyes to see with (His). That's the essence of Grace. When you can look at a painful situation, that once caused resentment, guilt, depression.....and see it in a new way (from God's perspective) and you have hope, that's His Grace. God wants you to "come up here" where He is so that He can show it to you from His perspective. There is NO condemnation when He shows you these things. And He does it step-by-step. He knows what you can handle. When you find yourself looking at the "trail of despair"....you need to get back up where He is at & let Him love you & show you how to see your messes. He will guide you, as you already know.
The accuser is satan. He will always condemn you, and trick you into condemning yourself. But you are God's son. You belong to Him. The devil's a liar. Yes, you have a filthy track-record....that's not a lie. You're in Christ now, and you have a new nature (His), and a new life. Look up & see the Lord's hand reaching down to you to bring you up where He is at so you can see what He wants for you to see. He'll show you how to walk in your new life in Christ, and He'll show you how to reject the old man (sin & it's emotions).
God bless you, and may His face shine on you today!