Just joined!

[JasonF]

Hello!

I just joined. I am hoping to find a Biblically mature Christian or Christian elder that would be willing to kind of guide me and such as I am wanting to grow as much in God as possible.

I also want to clarify, I listed my self as Baptist, because it seemed the best option. I believe myself to be Baptist by doctrine, but do not consider myself Baptist by denomination. This may change as I learn more. The church I went to before was non-denominational with a Baptist pastor, which is what I was looking for, God seems to always direct me to Baptist material, the church I just started going to recently does not list a denomination.

I grew up in a family that taught me that God was real and the Bible true, went to some church and church summer camps, I believed I was saved, but was not.

When I was 20 my fiancé at the time passed away and I started searching for specific information about after this life. I was also feeling bad for some ways I treated her.

Eventually I read the miracle catching of fish that Jesus wrought and I believe Peter fell down before Jesus and said something like, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man." It struck me if the head/lead apostle could have no part with Jesus how little I could, and that is when I believe I got saved.

I grew in my usage of the Bible and eventually started in church and became very active. I had come across some independent fundamental Baptist material on the internet that I vehemently disagreed with at the time, but I wanted God's truth and sought him on it and realized it was true. It struck me that denominations were contrary to the Bible, and ended up at the perfect scenario for me a non-denominational church with a Baptist pastor. It seems some think there is evil with non-denominational, so maybe I'll be convinced otherwise.

At that church I grew to where I lead the adult Sunday school and did some other services and maybe 1 Sunday morning.

I ended up having bad migraines with constant light sensitivity and ended up in a bedroom tucked away for months two summers in a row, during this I was made the assistant pastor. However, I ended up moving due to the health reasons and wanting to be closer to family. This somehow turned into me going for almost ten years with very little church or Bible.

Somehow recently God has graciously brought me back to the Bible and I started going to a local church that does not list a denomination, and do not know all its intricacies. I am wanting to soak in the Bible and God and grow as much as I can. I still believe I got saved 18 years ago when I was 20, but don't know how to explain the past 10ish years. May God be gracious and merciful to me.

 

[Marooncat79]

Welcome to the 3 ring circus known as the Baptist Board

 

[JasonF]

Thank you, I am hoping to not get sucked into any circus-type aspects, I recall I had a moment of wariness about joining a forum do to the circus-type aspects you may be referring to and I don't want to spend time on those type things really, and hopefully can get some decent guidance here, maybe not? What do you think?

 

[JonC]

Thank you, I am hoping to not get sucked into any circus-type aspects, I recall I had a moment of wariness about joining a forum do to the circus-type aspects you may be referring to and I don't want to spend time on those type things really, and hopefully can get some decent guidance here, maybe not? What do you think?

It depends on you.

Some here want fellowship. Some guidance. Some to learn how others believe. Some want to debate theology. Some want to debate politics.

Welcome to the BB. Enjoy the forum.

If you have any questions just ask @tyndale1946 . He is the keeper of the answers.

 

[tyndale1946]

JasonF... You have shared your journey's with us but I am at a loss of what you mean by a circus-type aspects?... All of us on here have had different journey's in our walk with Christ... To say anyone is better than anyone else, is not who we are... We have all had our highs and lows and I think we learn more about the lack of self and depend more on the Lord more when we don't have all the answers... How did this brother or sister handle this situation?... We are all in the same boat... One thing is none of us is perfect... Looking for perfection go somewhere else?... Take us despite the warts and imperfection, failing and falling in our lives... We learn from each other... And above all remember when you join, you are not alone!... Brother Glen

 

[37818]

@JasonF,

You might want to look at Peter's instruction on how to build on one's faith. I do not think this is ever to late. I look to it my self.

2 Peter 1:4-11.

I also find 1 John 5:9-15 very useful. I share verses 9-13 with anybody.

 

[tyndale1946]

@JasonF,

You might want to look at Peter's instruction on how to build on one's faith. I do not think this is ever to late. I look to it my self.

2 Peter 1:4-11.

I also find 1 John 5:9-15 very useful. I share verses 9-13 with anybody.

See JasonF as I told you, no one goes here alone... Brother Glen

 

[JasonF]

JasonF... You have shared your journey's with us but I am at a loss of what you mean by a circus-type aspects?... All of us on here have had different journey's in our walk with Christ... To say anyone is better than anyone else, is not who we are... We have all had our highs and lows and I think we learn more about the lack of self and depend more on the Lord more when we don't have all the answers... How did this brother or sister handle this situation?... We are all in the same boat... One thing is none of us is perfect... Looking for perfection go somewhere else?... Take us despite the warts and imperfection, failing and falling in our lives... We learn from each other... And above all remember when you join, you are not alone!... Brother Glen

The first person to reply said welcome to the circus, I thought they were perhaps referring to forum drama. Forums being open as they are can have people of all levels, and not everyone is necessarily there to help, there can be people putting each other down and so on, perhaps those things don't happen here, this seems a little more closed than public, but I am just not wanting to get involved in anything that would either be not right, such as name calling and so on, or I do not want to get into some things that may not be as valuable of a use of my time as others, which is why I'd also like guidance on some things. I don't want to get into things that would fall under:

"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do." 1 Timothy 1:4 KJV

Sorry, it may have been my misunderstanding of the original persons use of circus. I am not wanting to make a bad first impression. But it is true with any group there are differences and so on that is to be expected. Perhaps the fact that it seems like the website isnt working to allow new people to join with gmail accounts and so on, may also lead to those with less helpful comments to not be here.

I knew a guy who would pose all these different ideas on things in a Christian setting of believers there to learn more, and he told me once that he did not pose these ideas because he believed them, but actually I forget why he said he posed them, but the point was that it comments and so on that even he didn't believe and was not truly helpful or edifying.

I have wasted the last 10 years, I need to redeem the time and not fall in any new bad habits as much as possible. I could easily spend all my time on forums probably, and maybe it is a good place for Christian fellowship and guidance, I don't know yet, but I think I need to be careful on how I spend my time. Writing a post like this might take me such an amount of time, and perhaps it would be better if I was reading a Spurgeon sermon or something.

I hope I have explained myself and do not come across in a bad light, I would imagine most here would feel the same way, do correct me if I am wrong, I need to keep learning, but have learned so much recently about how I can get so many things wrong and not even see the possibility of how I could have been wrong until I found out I was in fact wrong.

 

[JasonF]

@JasonF,

You might want to look at Peter's instruction on how to build on one's faith. I do not think this is ever to late. I look to it my self.

2 Peter 1:4-11.

I also find 1 John 5:9-15 very useful. I share verses 9-13 with anybody.

Thank you, I maybe need to look at commentaries or something on the 2 Peter verses as you are right that I should do that, but honestly I am not sure what it all means, and I know I've looked up the words in the dictionary before and probably will need to keep doing that, but not sure what all that means or how it works.

Any material on that anyone recommends?

For the 1 John verses, I wonder how do I be sure I have the Son? Your signature has the first verse in it as well, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, but how does that work, I just read a work of A. W. Pink talking about so many people who believe but are lost, such as those who will say Lord, Lord, but do not the things that he says.

Somehow lately I have been assaulted as well with doubts about God existing and the truth of the Bible and these types of things, and I am just trying to hold onto the anchor of faith in Jesus and get through that stuff and hope it goes away and either ignore it or sometimes think of things that prove God and the Bible are real and true.

 

[JonC]

I still believe I got saved 18 years ago when I was 20, but don't know how to explain the past 10ish years.

I want to address this.

Many (probably most) of us have gone through times in our lives when we were stagnant in terms of our journey walking with Christ.

I was saved as a young man, but just like you there was a time in my life where I could not account for my own spiritual walk. I questioned if I had been saved in my youth, given that I did not understand so many theological aspects of redemption.

I came to realize that salvation is not dependent on so many of the fundamentals we hold so dear. Salvation is dependent on Christ and His gospel.

I had been saved with the faith of a child. I had grown in that faith for a decade. My missing 10 years, those times I looked back and questioned my salvation, was a stagnant period in my life in terms of growth.

I suspect that you could be in the same boat.

Looking back at that time God was convicting me. He was actually using those ten years, unbeknownst to me, to create a zeal for His Word and gospel that I may never have had without that time.

 

[JasonF]

Thank you, as long as I end up saved in the end and with God that is all that matters, but I thought I had been exposed to some material in the past that said there were no such things as backsliders and it just meant you weren't saved kind of a thing, so I just don't understand how I could go from a state much like the one I am currently in, to like nothing, I still would pray and think I wanted to do what God wanted in everything, but maybe it was anxiety rather than real prayer, I don't know, but I am praying all the time for help figuring out what to do with my scrupulosity and I don't know. But I like what you said about how its about Christ and his gospel. As long as I have saving faith I am saved regardless of the bath it took, I just hope that that is what I have or that I will have it before the end.

 

[37818]

For the 1 John verses, I wonder how do I be sure I have the Son? Your signature has the first verse in it as well, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, but how does that work, I just read a work of A. W. Pink talking about so many people who believe but are lost, such as those who will say Lord, Lord, but do not the things that he says.

Consider the fact that God cannot lie. Titus 1:2. And 1 John 5:13 says you can know. I offer 1 John 5:9-13 reference written on an index card, telling the person God in that reference says we can know we have eternal life. Understand what John wrote, is also God's word on it.
John wrote also that gospel account so people can beleive and have eternal life through Christ. John 20:31. I have known since 1962. I was lead to believe at a Baptist church.

 

[tyndale1946]

The first person to reply said welcome to the circus, I thought they were perhaps referring to forum drama. Forums being open as they are can have people of all levels, and not everyone is necessarily there to help, there can be people putting each other down and so on, perhaps those things don't happen here, this seems a little more closed than public, but I am just not wanting to get involved in anything that would either be not right, such as name calling and so on, or I do not want to get into some things that may not be as valuable of a use of my time as others, which is why I'd also like guidance on some things. I don't want to get into things that would fall under:

"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do." 1 Timothy 1:4 KJV

Sorry, it may have been my misunderstanding of the original persons use of circus. I am not wanting to make a bad first impression. But it is true with any group there are differences and so on that is to be expected. Perhaps the fact that it seems like the website isnt working to allow new people to join with gmail accounts and so on, may also lead to those with less helpful comments to not be here.

I knew a guy who would pose all these different ideas on things in a Christian setting of believers there to learn more, and he told me once that he did not pose these ideas because he believed them, but actually I forget why he said he posed them, but the point was that it comments and so on that even he didn't believe and was not truly helpful or edifying.

I have wasted the last 10 years, I need to redeem the time and not fall in any new bad habits as much as possible. I could easily spend all my time on forums probably, and maybe it is a good place for Christian fellowship and guidance, I don't know yet, but I think I need to be careful on how I spend my time. Writing a post like this might take me such an amount of time, and perhaps it would be better if I was reading a Spurgeon sermon or something.

I hope I have explained myself and do not come across in a bad light, I would imagine most here would feel the same way, do correct me if I am wrong, I need to keep learning, but have learned so much recently about how I can get so many things wrong and not even see the possibility of how I could have been wrong until I found out I was in fact wrong.

Do you actually think you are going to find a board where the people are not human?... Is everyone in their best light?... My question is why did you come here?... What exactly are you looking for?... I've been here for over 20 years and I don't know why Jon said I'm the answer man?... Everyone on here has answers... We may not like the answers as others do but we are not all the same either... As far as this old timer is concerned you get what you put in... You don't like one forum, go to another... You don't like what somebody said to you or the way they said it... Report them and let the moderators and admin handle it... IOW... You don't like the fire stay out of the kitchen... I read Spurgeon too as I'm sure many do on here... And others they can recommend and I've read some of their recommendations, but above all things just be yourself... The Lord knows all about us where we have been and what we've done but we don't know about you... We are here because of the Lord and we are here for you!... If that isn't enough JasonF, I don't know what is?... Brother Glen

 

[JasonF]

Do you actually think you are going to find a board where the people are not human?... Is everyone in their best light?... My question is why did you come here?... What exactly are you looking for?... I've been here for over 20 years and I don't know why Jon said I'm the answer man?... Everyone on here has answers... We may not like the answers as others do but we are not all the same either... As far as this old timer is concerned you get what you put in... You don't like one forum, go to another... You don't like what somebody said to you or the way they said it... Report them and let the moderators and admin handle it... IOW... You don't like the fire stay out of the kitchen... I read Spurgeon too as I'm sure many do on here... And others they can recommend and I've read some of their recommendations, but above all things just be yourself... The Lord knows all about us where we have been and what we've done but we don't know about you... We are here because of the Lord and we are here for you!... If that isn't enough JasonF, I don't know what is?... Brother Glen

I am glad for any help I can get. I took the circus comment to refer to some of the more childish and fleshly things we can fall into doing, perhaps I took it wrong, sorry. I think this is likely do to reading some forum reviews of a different forum recently and seeing people's negative remarks.

 

[KenH]

I just joined.

Welcome, Jason!

 

[tyndale1946]

Honestly I am not real sure why you are talking like this. I am glad for any help I can get. I took the circus comment to refer to some of the more childish and fleshly things we can fall into doing, perhaps I took it wrong, sorry. I think this is likely do to reading some forum reviews of a different forum recently and seeing people's negative remarks.

I apologize and I stepped out of line and I will tell you right now I was wrong, I will gladly eat humble pie... Brother Glen

 

[JasonF]

Its ok, I kept editing that post to try to make it better, I ended up taking out the "Honestly I am not real sure why you are talking like this" part as I thought perhaps I was just mistaken and didn't want to aggravate you, I am not looking for any problems

 

[37818]

When I accepted Christ, I was 14. Was on the notion I could know for sure. And the following 8 verses.
Romans 3:10.
Romans 3:23.
Romans 5:12.
Romans 6:23.
Romans 5:8.
Romans 10:9.
Romans 10:13.
Revelation 3:20.
Of course with an adult instructions with each verse.
Again 1962 at a Baptist church.
And was excited about knowing.

 

[kyredneck]

Welcome to the BB Jason!

Maybe the new owners have fixed some of the problems?

 

[JasonF]

I couldn't get a confirmation email to my Gmail account, i had to use a private email for work.