Vado2:
■ I can be reading my Bible, praying, and being extremely close to God one minute, and then I can be sinning the next week or two.
■ I found that when I have a close relationship with him, my life is better. I learn more effectively, I am wiser, and everything is right.

Kobojunkie:
1. Describe what you mean by being extremely close to God one minute.

2. Define this close relationship you claim is with God. Because what you describe does not read any different from what one who does not believe also feels when he/she is centered emotionally and mentally.

MITCHELL96:
This is the best post I've seen on Nairaland I'm a long time, not all these sexual related topics.

OP, first of all, you have to keep that relationship with God very intimate. How do you deal with someone/something you love so much and really want to keep?

Sheabi, you take all manner of measures to keep, protect or save that particular thing or person?

Now, all you have to do is cut all manner of distractions, because you saying one minute you're praying, the other minute, you're sinning. This means you're been distracted and you've not really surrounded yourself enough with things that will shield and fight for you when temptation come.

Read your Bible, pray in the morning and in the night before you go to bed, avoid having a girlfriend, your chances of committing sexual sins are high when you have a girlfriend or you're with a girl.

Vado2:
■ In the sense that I study the Bible, pray, and make God's words real, and it shows . He directs every step of my life, so I can feel it in myself.
■ However, after sometime , my desire for close companionship wanes. For example, I haven't read God's word or even prayed all week. In times like these, everything around me suffers, including my own motivation and activity.
■ I'm feeling so restless in the spirit that I'm unable to even pray.

Kobojunkie:
1. But Jesus Christ never said that you should read your Bible in order to be close to Him. And Jesus Christ never said you could pray your way into a relationship with God? Also, Jesus Christ never said you make God's word real to get it to show -- whatever that means. Instead, what Jesus Christ said is that it is those who live their lives in submission and obedience to His teachings and commandments- God's Law and Truth aka the Gospel- that belong to Him - John 14 vs 15 - 20 - and it is only those people who He loves - John 15 vs 9 - 11.

So how certain are you that the one doing the directing of your life is God since God is not a liar, or is He?

2. So, you need to keep to these rituals of yours for this God to continue to direct you? When you stop engaging in the rituals, the God also stops and everything begins to suffer? Again, what makes you believe the God you speak of is the Fathe who never even asked for any of the rituals you listed?

3. In Matthew 6 vs 6 - 15, Jesus Christ gave explicit instructions to His followers on How to Pray, complete with a prayer designed by God Himself for you to recite when you need to pray to Him. Are you not able to maybe start by actually doing that which God commands rather than engaging in rituals which He never asked for?

By the way, if you finally decide to obey Jesus Christ be certain that suffering and tribulation are bound to follow.

Kobojunkie:
1. But Jesus Christ never said that you should read your Bible in order to be close to Him. And Jesus Christ never said you could pray your way into a relationship with God? Also, Jesus Christ never said you make God's word real to get it to show -- whatever that means. Instead, what Jesus Christ said is that it is those who live their lives in submission and obedience to His teachings and commandments- God's Law and Truth aka the Gospel- that belong to Him - John 14 vs 15 - 20 - and it is only those people who He loves - John 15 vs 9 - 11.

So how certain are you that the one doing the directing of your life is God since God is not a liar, or is He?

2. So, you need to keep to these rituals of yours for this God to continue to direct you? When you stop engaging in the rituals, the God also stops and everything begins to suffer? Again, what makes you believe the God you speak of is the Fathe who never even asked for any of the rituals you listed?

3. In Matthew 6 vs 6 - 15, Jesus Christ gave explicit instructions to His followers on How to Pray, complete with a prayer designed by God Himself for you to recite when you need to pray to Him. Are you not able to maybe start by actually doing that which God commands rather than engaging in rituals which He never asked for?

By the way, if you finally decide to obey Jesus Christ be certain that suffering and tribulation are bound to follow.

Vado2:
■ Joshua, 1:8, says otherwise. Joshua was the one through whom God expressly said that we are to study and meditate on God’s instructions all day and all night.
■ How can we obey God's commandments if we don't meditate on them? It was your understanding of God's words, the result of thoroughly digesting his words that caused you to reference some parts for me to go back and read.

Kobojunkie:
1. Joshua was called according to God's Old Law of Moses - the National Constitution of the State of Israel in the Land of Canaan - given by God to the people of Israel for living in the Land - Deuteronomy 30 vs 15 - 20. Jesus Christ never told you to follow that Law since He came to call you to a different Kingdom entirely, so why would you think that it makes sense to do as Joshua did and not as Jesus Christ instead says you should - John 15 vs 14 ?

2. You claim you have been studying and meditating for so long, so why hasn't all that yielded actual results as far as obedience of that which God infact commands of you to do? Why are you still engaging in rituals that have absolutely nothing to do with that which He commands of you? This since you believe so much that meditating is the way to obedience.

Vado2:
■ Thank you so much, Kobojungle for your input so far.

Vado2:
I can be reading my Bible, praying, and being extremely close to God one minute, and then I can be sinning the next week or two. I found that when I have a close relationship with him, my life is better. I learn more effectively, I am wiser, and everything is right.

MITCHELL96:


Sheabi, you take all manner of measures to keep, protect or save that particular thing or person?

Vado2:



Greetings, Mitchelle, and thanks for your reply. The main issue is that as days wears on, I lose focus. This may not even be sin, but rather the fact that my mind becomes so overpowering that it becomes my primary distraction rather than passion habits. The difficulty I have is maintaining the momentum. I am happiest when I have a strong relationship with God, but somehow, as the week goes on, it dwindles. How to maintain momentum is beyond me.

Dtruthspeaker:


That is why people are by nature never God's children.

So hard Truth, whose child are you if you are not Gods child?

You are Satan's!

Hence the ease of committing sins and the difficulty of doing evil.

Hence the reason why Satan fights God continually and continuously because he already has you.

That is one of the hard Truths you would have to face, for an evil and sinfilled fruit means an evil and sinfilled tree.

Hence you are applying to be God's Child and until you change, you have not been born again.

So right now you are just pursuing born again. but you are not yet there

Vado2:


Thank you for your input, Dtruthspeaker. How do I really experience being born-again and grow in my desire for God?

I wouldn't say I lead a sin-filled life; I don't have any passion addictions, but I have found that when I lose my relationship with God, I am miserable and lack motivation to do anything. I often sin because it helps me feel better when I'm unhappy. I don't turn away from God because of sin, but I do feel a general loss of interest that, to be really honest, has absolutely no underlying cause.

Dtruthspeaker:


It is a learning and growing and growing and learning process which is driven by how much you really want God.

But it is difficult at the first because there are so many many things you have to learn first which will show you who you really are.

And after that, you would see and decide for yourself whether you truly want to follow God or stay where you are.

So as I said, it is like this at the beginning but if you open your eyes and observe what is going on as you have observed this phenomenon of loving God and sliding back, depending on how knowledgeable you are about the Bible events, you would see many many things, which is going to affect your decision

But however, I do say choosing to follow God is the bestest decision you can ever make.

It is also a very very hard journey and everyone, (your family, friends, neighbours) will hate you and curse you and set hot and wicked traps for you. Beautiful Girls/Women (Satan's most important weapon) will come for you.

And in all these, it is still going to get difficult and difficulter.

BUT BECAUSE OF ALL THESE, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT GOD IS REAL AND THAT HIS WORDS ARE ACCURATELY TRUE, IF you have learnt what He is teaching.

So get ready to learn about God, Satan, yourself and people. That is some of the things you are supposed to be learning.

Tip. Read The Laws in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy and the stories of those whose lives are similar to yours in the Bible and see what happens to them and what God Said about them.

But most importantly OBSERVE AND LEARN WHAT GOES ON AROUND YOU AND INSIDE YOU.

herlecks:
By living. Keep living and walking the path he sets for you.

Vado2:

I sincerely appreciate the time you took to do this. I would abide by your advice. Would it be possible for you to serve as my accountability partner, if possible?

Kobojunkie:
What path? Why is there so much ambiguity with you folks where God is concerned?

herlecks:
Go to the secret place of bible study, prayer and meditation intensified, that's only when the path starts becoming slowly visible.

Kobojunkie:
What you just typed makes no sense when put up against what is written in scripture.

■ What secret place of Bible study,prayer and meditation?

■ the one and only path God gave His people has always been His Law, so apart from it and it has been visible for the world over almost 2000 years now. What other path are you attempting to see for yourself?

herlecks:
A path through the law? What happened to the just shall live by faith?

Kobojunkie:
The Path is the Law! Those who live by faith are those who live their lives in continuous submission and obedience to the teachings and commandments of God. That is what God has always told you from the beginning. It was true for Abel, for Abraham - Genesis 26 vs 1 - 6 - the man whom God called His friend for his faithfulness. And it is the same mandate from Jesus Christ who makes it abundantly clear in His Law to us that only those who live their lives in continuous submission and obedience to His teachings and commandments love Him - John 14 vs 15 - 20 - and His friends are those who do as He says - John 15 vs 14 .

herlecks:
It takes the Holy Spirit to live by faith, not commandments.

Kobojunkie:
That is a bloody lie!

Abraham was able to obey God without first knowing who God was. God said in His Old Law that in order to know Him one must first Obey Him. Jesus Christ also said that he loves only those who obey Him so can you have Jesus Christ if you have no faith, to begin with? Can the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit of Truth who lived inside of Jesus Christ live on the inside of one who does not obey God, one who is Unholy and filthy in the sight of God?

The Holy Spirit, according to Jesus Christ, is only given to those who have through continuous submission and obedience to His teachings and commandments — God's Truth and Law — come to know the Truth and have been set free from slavery to sin and become a Son of God. Only those who have become holy and acceptable vessels worthy of God's own Spirit can have Him inside them - John 8 vs 31 - 36 & John 14 vs 15 - 25.

herlecks:
■Do we receive the Holy Spirit by works or by faith?
■ How is it that it is my strength that qualifies me for receiving the Holy Spirit?
■ Don't I need the Holy Spirit to be righteous?
■ How come I must be righteous to receive the Holy Spirit that is supposed to make me righteous?
■ Have you been obeying God by your strength or zeal to obey his commands?

15 “If you love me, you will do what I command.
16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever.
17 The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you.
19 In a very short time the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live.
20 On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you.
21 Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.” - John 14 vs 15 - 21

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers
32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33 They answered, “We are Abraham’s descendants. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”
34 Jesus said, “The truth is, everyone who sins is a slave—a slave to sin.
35 A slave does not stay with a family forever. But a son belongs to the family forever.
36 So if the Son makes you free, you are really free.
37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me, because you don’t want to accept my teaching.
38 I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do what your father has told you.” - John 8 vs 31 - 38