JFJ Forums

    Before I begin, let me give you some background information. I am 17, I was raised in an agnostic type home, my mother leaning towards atheism, my father, a "Christian." As a child, I had always believed in "god" but I never pursued anything spiritual. I was the "I'm a good person, god will accept me" kind of guy. I wasn't raised in a Christian home.

    Two years ago, my uncle and aunt invited me and my father to church. Of course we were hesitant, so that Sunday, I woke up and my dad asked me if I wanted to go to church. I said I'd think about it, I was very tired, and I went back to sleep. Something was happening though. All of a sudden, I knew I had to get out of bed, I felt like I needed to go for some reason. I couldn't shake it. I went downstairs to find my dad praying. I later found out he was praying that I'd get out of bed and go to church with him. So off we went. It was amazing, I'd never seen people with such overflowing love, I felt so accepted. By now I had already been deep into pornography and other sexual sin, as well as other dark things. After a while, I started feeling bad about doing these things, I thought, "God wouldn't want me to do this..."

    My habits left me quickly, I was moved. I grew quickly in the Lord, and I was SO proud of Jesus. I began to have questions and got involved with apologetics and history. I had doubts, a lot of them as I grew through my adolescence. I nearly left the faith, I was so scared that I committed the unforgivable sin. I thought I couldn't go back to God, and I became depressed and stopped eating. I became ill and I slept the majority of my time. I hated being conscious, I thought of suicide frequently. I decided that I needed to know the facts, so I researched and read for hours about certain passages, reading and re-reading them. I didn't spend my time with friends, or doing hobbies, I needed to know.

     I eventually learned that God will accept anyone who comes to him, and that the only sin he will not forgive is the rejection of forgiveness, when you permanently harden yourself to God until you no longer want to be forgiven. I had never been happier, I had been healed of my sexual perversion, my chronic nightmares, my animosity towards my father.... The list goes on.

     This however is not the end, The story goes on to just 7 months ago...

To be continued on a second post...please do not post until I finish.

  I began to have questions why Jews did not believe in Jesus. The Hebrew scriptures seemed so evident, so I began to search why Jews rejected him. I was very scared when I saw some of these reasons, I didn't know Hebrew so I couldn't understand a lot of it. I was just 17! I didn't know a lot! I was so depressed again, I wanted to know if what I believed was true, I would follow the evidence wherever it lead. I asked the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to reveal if Jesus really was the Messiah and I began my journey.

     I immediately began to research, I read for hours a day, anything I could get my hands on. I currently have 23 websites about Messianic prophecy, apologetics and Jewish-Christian debate. I also started to accumulate a lot of books. I read and highlighted and took notes. I checked every verse and read each verse 10 times over. I maintained my neutral stance and listened to every debate I could get my hands on. Eventually I confronted my deepest fears and began to go to every Anti missionary site I could find. I checked their claims, looked back at my information and drew conclusions. It's almost as if I were looking for any reason not to believe! I was brutally honest with myself and analyzed every available recourse I had... I found myself back at Jesus' feet.

I discovered a lot over the last 7 months. It's been really tough. But God wants us to be honest with ourselves, to love him with all our mind. I am still recovering from all this. I may doubt sometimes, but even Jesus himself did not condemn Thomas for his doubts, but let him touch his hands. Jesus is willing to let you touch his hands, if you will only let him.

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  1 Peter 3:15

Gd help you because it cant be easy to be so alone. Here is a good prayer I found today and share it with you. I hope it encourages you.

WHAT TO PRAY FOR
Do not pray for easy lives.Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.Pray for powers equal to your tasks.Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. Everyday you will wonder at yourself,at the richness of life that has come to you by the grace of Gd- Phillips Brooks

Amen to that!

You have spoken the New Covenant Neotetro! The Covenant placed upon our hearts!Look there and you will find all the answers. A Woman from Thailand wanted to join JFJ, but she was afraid ; She said ;I read, but sounded kindof scary. I hope she joins.[big heart], and a fresh perspective! Navyblue is a good friend of hers,and mine, and she has a great heart for Yeshua. Are we not all grafted into the Lords tree of Israel, when we accept Him, and become adopted children of Abraham? Is not the Love of the G-d of Israel all we seek? Jews , and Gentile believers!You have found the Holy of Hollies within you;  separate but;[ Immanuel! G-d with us.]Congratulations; without love ;our words, and works mean nothing!Jesus reduce us to Love!

Great Testimony, Neotetro!

By the grace of God, I've been a child of God since I was in Ohio State University about 12 years ago, though life could be up and down, HE has been faithful to me!

The problem has never solved from my family due to my belief in Christianity! I came from a family who has strong spirit of idol worshipping in Asia! My old man never likes my belief and he often tells me it's because he paid for my college tuitions, that made me today!
Currently, I just returned to my country while I am in vacation, surprisely, he refused to let me enter his house unless I promised to burn incenses to the ancestors!

For what he had treated me spiritually and mentally since I lost my mom during my childhood, I don't think he will succeed this time! He often called we children are the vampires cause we sock all his money! I don't know the kind of father he is, but I just put all these in the hands of God! There no way I could change the situation, only God could do it in His perfect timing! By the grace of God, I have reached to a point that nothing will make my compromise my faith in God, even though he may not take me as his daughter any more!

Jesus said, He is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes through the Father except through Him! How could I betray Him when He did so much for me in my life, mercifully and faithfully!

Currently, I am going through some medical checkup and was just informed to have tumor! However, the faith and the peace of God are with me, which I'm very grateful! I know for all these, His will shall prevail!

I could only say to God be the glory!

Blessedchildofgod; Hello H.!/Christ warns us of the cost of dicipleship;[Luke12:49-53] Greetings to this forum! ;my friend.

blessedchildofgod , you know the scriptue saying that if any two people agree to and ask for in the name of jesus that he will do it and that when you stand praying ,forgive. would you have any thing to ask of GOD that  I can agree to and ask of GOD  with you ? If so please do.

'Loved your testimony, Neotetro. And your statement about you wanting to sleep but having 'something' make you get out of bed and go to church, well that was the Holy Spirit, of course, and it reminded me of something that happened to me years ago when I was a little younger than you are now, when my mother had taken me to church one Sunday at a Southern Baptist church. During the services the pastor said something about the Holy Spirit being present and wanting people to come forth and testify in front of the church as they were led to do so, and people began doing that, one after another, and I can remember rolling my eyes at it all and thinking about how badly I couldn't wait until it all to end so that I could get out of that place and get home and get about doing what a kid my age and like me at that time would have rather been doing on his weekend.

Well, after thinking to myself how I could NEVER come forward in front of people and act like those people were acting, etc, yuck, haha, etc, well the next thing I knew 'something' came over me as well and I began to fidget in my seat and begin to feel a heavy conviction of sorts come upon me, and by golly the next thing I new I was standing up and moving towards the front of the church to the podium and microphone, where I then began to start confessing in front of everyone as to how I had been silently making fun of the entire affair while sitting there, in my mind, while they were doing so, not taking any of it seriously, and that how sorry I was for doing so, and that how I believed in the Lord, etc, with tears then rolling down my face, all of this until I felt a release of sorts when I confessed Christ in front of everyone, upon where I then left the podium and sat down next to my mom, in where she then put her arm around me and told me how the Holy Spirit had come upon me, etc, and 'washed my mouth out' or whatever.

One minute I was rolling my eyes a it all, with me thinking there would and could be no chance in the world of me ever going up there and acting like any of them, and then the next thing I knew I was up there having the Holy Spirit wash my mouth out in front of the whole congregation.

I doubt if I will ever forget it.

God is real, as is Jesus Christ, and it was nice to read your testimony and especially about that part. You've got a good head on your shoulders for only being 17, thanks to the birth of the Holy Spirit in you, and don't ever get discouraged or whatever, as he is there all of the time with each and every one of his children, always, and he has stated that he will never leave you nor forsake you. You are saved forever, born of the Holy Spirit forever, and you are his forever, and you HAVE eternal life now, all through what Christ did for you on the cross. And this is the power of God; halleluiah.


God bless.

Love, Ruht