Hi Yonathan,

I want to say first that your God knows how you know Him. He knows how you hear Him and how you don't. He knows how to get His point across to you and He knows what you need to keep a real relationship going. Is fasting good? Yes. And as you walk with Him you will do it a lot, as He leads you into it. Fast literally means, "to cover the mouth" which is why many associate it with food. Read Isaiah 58 and you will get a picture of the heart of the fast. Which is really, laying down ourselves for others. You will find that you will grow in your understanding of Him who is LOVE when you allow Him to love those around you. The nice thing about this, is it doesn't take us 3 years at a bible school, it is something we can apply immediately. And then you will find many of the issues you deal with simply leave, because you are no longer focused on your self, but on Him and on those in your life.

Read the bible? Yes, certainly. But don't read it for itself, as Jesus said, "You search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, but they testify of me, and yet you won't come to me!" Now I am paraphrasing, John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, for you think in them you have everlasting life. And they are the ones witnessing concerning Me. And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

So read it, but as an invitation to meet the Lord in that time. It is an understanding heart we want, not just a head full of biblical knowledge!

And pray. Yes! Pray always. It is interesting to note that Jesus sent out the disciples before He taught them how to pray! Why? The best way to learn is when you need to! The only formula is a sincere heart.

Walk in honesty with Him and yourself and wonderful things will happen.

Bless you.

It's Me again, Unregisterd. Read Brother Aaron McGill's post. It adds a lot of detail that I left out, specifically, our #1 goal is to KNOW Christ whom we serve and to become Christlike, showing love to everyone around you, even those who hate you, use you, despise, gossip on you when you aren't around to defend yourself, persecute you, and abuse you. As bourn again believers we live by a differnet standard and calling than the world does. The world should be able to know who you are in Christ by your life. You are young and Jesus' disciple, John was around 18yo when he made a decision to live for Christ. He learned a lot about Jesus and we today, have learned a lot from his writings in the New Testament. GOD bless.

Well, what can i say. I'm weak and I have no will power. In a few hours, i will have gone 2 days with out food, and about 1.5 cups of water.
And to celebrate- i will have a pizza...large...pepperoni..and a 6 pack.
I read two books from the bible. I decided i'd read the new testament, one book a day, and to fully understand it for every day i fasted... I got through Matthew and Mark (By the way, someone please inform me what the hecks the diffrence is between the two? I basically read the same thing twice, i shoulda skipped it and went to Luke)

I tried doing it as right as i can, but still nothing from God..2 days isn't alot to give up, i know- but like i said..i'm weak.
I didn't tell anyone i was fasting..I showered, and combed the hair so it didnt look like i was fasting.. i did it by the book...for 2 days, but none theless.

Currently accepting advice.

I was thinking about you today. I pray that the Lord continues to draw you closer. I pray that he leads you in everything. ***I wanted to say something to you, and give you something to think about, while you deal with thinking that the Lord is not there, and you thinking that everything is going wrong.

In the Bible it says that everything that is good comes from the Heavenly Father. ***Sometimes he does let things happen to us, as through this he gets our attention, as to how we are living our lives. This is in the case that we are not living a Christian life. (He lets the consequences to our actions be the punishment for our wrongs. Much the same as we should do as parents of our children.) Sometimes he lets things happen to increase our faith that he will not let us drown in our problems, and that he will come through for us in the end. (He does not want us to worry about what we will eat, or have to wear, and if he is concerned about the little things in our lives: How much more does he care about the bigger problems that we face?) Sometimes it is the Devil who will come to us creating problems to discourage us from drawing closer to the Lord! Remember the Bible says that the devil is walking to, and fro throughout the earth seeking who he can devour! Do not let this happen to you! Sometimes when we draw closer to the Lord (especially as young christians) the devil will come in with a vengence, and he does this hoping he can rock your socks off, and win! Who knows why these bad things are happening.

Try to keep your eyes upon the Lord. Try not to look at the situation, and look to him. Try to look for the good in your life instead of focusing on the bad. The Bible says to thank God for everything, not just the good things that happen. Thank him for it all, and see where this goes. Keep the faith, it's hard, but you need to do it.

In closing I want to use a real life situation to help you through this. Here goes! ***What do you do in a blinding rain storm, and when you are on foot? You seek shelter until the rain subsides. What if you are driving in a blinding rain storm? You either slow down, or stop (and pull over) until you can see to drive again. ***Use this in your real life when it comes to problems that you face that seem overwhelming. Many times we can make mistakes out of being scared, or being frustrated, or probably many other things! Slow down, and ask for the Lord to lead you. Think things through before acting, or talking. Quiet your mind so that you can hear the Heavenly Father's voice. A lot of times he is speaking to us, but we cannot hear him as we are in AUTO PILOT, and OUT OF CONTROL. My prayer today is that something i've said to you will be of help. I pray that your eye's, your heart, and your mind are opened up to hear the Lord say to you which way to turn, how to conquor your problem's, how to gain your faith in him, and anything else that you are in need of today. I pray blessings which are heaping up, running over, and full of glory!!! I pray this in the sweet name of Jesus, Amen, and Amen!!!

Thank you so much For praying for me.
If two people agree on one thing it shall be done, right?

Thing is, i've been trying to find out if God exists for a long time.. Really-from a scientific stand point, what ever is easier to believe is the right theory, It's much easier to understand evolution..or the big bang theory. My rational mind struggles to deal with the existance of a God, although it is very open to the posibility.
The thought of, if it wern't true, why would all these ppl follow it? also crosses my mind- but then again, under that train of thought, people fly planes into buildings in the name of islam-which also shows alot of faith.

The thing that makes me want to believe in God the most are these shows on TV- like benny hinn, pat robertson, etc. Who i always see healing people in the name of Jesus, even through a television set. It would have to be a mass- perfectly coordinated conspiracy to carry something like that out.

Also- if you look up Near death experiences on YouTube- there are a lot of good stories on there, that strongly suggest an afterlife.

And also from my mother.. She had it rough some years ago..and she told me that a man on the television called HER out, and told her she would find a very good job and her life would change for the better..a few days later, i suffered through an injury when i was in the second grade (about 12 years ago) which nearly cost me two fingers at school. My mom cried 'why, you said things would be better' ..that sorta thing. anyway, this resulted in a law suit- and i have started recieving a pretty large payment for it..a few days after that- my mom landed a really good job at a factory, and things started looking alot better (home ownership etc.)
What really gets to me though, if God did that for my mom...why isn't she at church every sunday morning? Living a perfectly Godly life.. I'm not saying it didn't happen, i believe it probably did..but still..doubt is with me.

Another thing is, a few years later, when i was in the fifth grade (which is when i think learned to dislike the world a little bit) My teacher was a real..christian.. and she did things that would put you on the news..we had students who practiced Islam, and all sorts of stuff, and she would sometimes stand there, close her eyes, and start speaking in tounges, and shouting out Amen and stuff and seeing visions, etc.. So one day- she said God told her I was going to be a pastor.. even told my Mom. Looking back on it though, she told one of my best friends he was going to be a car salesman! haha. That one still gets us laughing...I find this diffrent though, you really can't determine someones destiny, too many variables- i probably would of believed her more if she said ''if you go on this track, then...''
I want to believe God has a plan for my life, and i want to have a relationship, and i ask him why he's making this hard for me.
Plenty of other christians say they felt 'diffrent and peace' as soon as they asked jesus into their hearts and others had revelations and stuff..don't see why their diffrent, and don't see why if you ask God to show himself to you- why he won't just ..do just that.

Yon, ***That's right, and there are two in agreement here! (Can I get another believer from this website to believe with us?)

***As far as the evolutionary theory, I say the same thing that you said about Christianity. If people fly planes into bldg's in the name of Islam, and this act shows a lot of faith. I believe that you are saying that you think it could be possible for Christians to be trained, and influenced to the point that this is why they believe so strongly that there is a God. (You think that it is somehow possible that they are taught, and possibly brainwashed into believing it! Therefore you believe, it is possible that there may not be a God, and this is just merrily what Christians people believe to be true.

***Well I say that if you believe the above paragraph could be true (in your eye's), then consider the following: I ask you to consider whether it could be possible that because you were introduced to, and taught this evolutionary theory in school (or wherever), that this is what caused you to believe it could be true, and to question God's existance? Also, this is what makes you to question the Christians, and the fact that what they believe to be true, may not be true at all.

***As far as what others have told you happened to them when they found God. I'm sure that they are telling you the truth!

***As to God not showing himself to you. I will give you some Bible for you to stand on. The Bible says that you walk by faith, and not by sight. This means that you just believe, even though you do not see it. Also, the Bible says that if you seek him, you will find him. ***You are seeking him, and if you can keep doing this... You will find him! The Bible also says that "No man can come to him on his own unless God draws him. This means that God has to be dealing with your heart in order for you to come to a personal relationship with him. ***I believe that God is drawing you, or you would not even be trying to find out if he was real or not! I believe that you would just be living your life, and believing in this Kaka mamy evolutionary theory, and that would be that!

***I want to encourage you to keep seeking the Heavenly Father as you have. Just be still, and listen for his voice. ***Listening for his voice does not necessarily mean that you will hear a audible (out loud) voice, it means that sometimes God will speak in your mind, and in your thoughts. Sometimes he will cause things to happen that are favorable to you. This would be a sign from God.

***I will continue holding you up to God in my prayers. Just be still, and listen, and watch for signs from him. Sincerely, kweig.

I'll be sure to follow your advice and be on the look out for any signs.
thanks again for keeping me in prayers.

__________________
Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

God bless you all.

Check out this link i found, pretty interesting

He was lying in bed, kept wide awake by the barking dogs, when paralysis set in. He was unable to cry out. He could see nothing but a whitish gray, like a mist or fog, although he sensed someone or something was in his room. His wife didn’t awaken. The next thing he knew, he was being levitated above his bed. He then had the sensation he was being suspended by what felt like a pole inserted into his rectum. By this time he was alive with terror, but he couldn’t scream.

I thought I was having a satanic experience, that the devil had gotten a hold of me and had shoved a pole up my rectum and was holding me up in the air. So helpless, I couldn’t do anything. I said, ‘Jesus, Jesus, help me!’ or ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!’ When I did, there was a feeling or a sound or something that my words…had hurt whatever it was holding me up in the air on this pole. And I felt like it was withdrawn and I fell. I hit the bed, because it was like I was thrown back in bed.… My wife woke up and asked me why I was jumping on the bed.”

CE-4 has since uncovered thousands of similar experiences. Abductions can be permanently halted by one thing and one thing only: the name of Jesus. Now why would the name of a primitive holy man (which is what the aliens claim Jesus was) have any power whatsoever over super-advanced beings from other planets?

It should be pointed out that the name of Jesus alone, apart from faith on the part of the person calling on it, will not prevent abductions. There is a wonderful story in the New Testament (Acts 19:13–17) about some Jewish exorcists who tried to deliver a demon-possessed man by calling on the name of Jesus—but without embracing faith in Jesus for themselves. The demon-possessed man beat them up and sent them running.

UFOs and the Christian Worldview