Welcome to Gaia! ::

I apologize that I have been late putting up a topic, and this one will probably be rather short since I don't have a lot of time on my hands, don't feel too well, and am tired from the day.

Note: Next church meeting, I will have something prepared about "bad habits"! It's a topic that has long been overdue and one that has been requested so that is what next church meeting's topic will be! (And I'm sorry I totally forgot, "bad habits" will be the church meeting after the next one I had already posted. I thought I had already put one up about bad habits and it turns out I haven't. I am so sorry that I forgot about it >_< my apologies!)

I figured I would do something different. First, grab a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil or simply use any type of word document on your computer. Here's an activity below (Note: No one is obligated to share their results publicly on this thread. These can be used solely for personal use):



Now, the question I ask after you have finished is: Is God Your #1?

In this world - it is so easy to get distracted from God. There are many things that can pull us away that are in this world. One thing we must remember is the world is not our home - Heaven is our home. The things we have here can make life more comfortable while we're here, but when we die - all the worldly things are behind us.

To be successful, we need to put God first!

Matthew 6:31 - 33 NIV:

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:19 - 21 NIV:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Colossians 3:1 - 4 NIV:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Proverbs 16:3 NIV:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.

2 Timothy 2:15 NIV:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Matthew 22:37 - 38 NIV:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

John 15:5 NIV:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Definitely smile and unfortunately, it's so easy to fall into that trap Dx but with God, we can resist wordly temptations and ways that are not right. smile

We all come across rough patches in life smile I'm sure many of us had trouble with our faith at one point, and at others - we have gotten sapped into wordly things. It's not an uncommon issue and the good news is that it can be changed!

In order to put God as our number one, we need to make sure we are giving ourselves completely to Him by doing His will and what is right through Him. If there is something that is not honoring God in our life, we need to remove it because that will cause problems.

We need to read God's word every day. This may be considered the hardest for each of us to do because perhaps we had a super busy day, or were too tired to do anything by the time we got home. I have been guilty of not studying every day myself and am constantly working on it. I have often said I had too busy of a day, or didn't have the time to read, but it's only making excuses. Everybody has 24 hours in their day - we can make the time, too! I find that reading of a morning is best because once we wake up - there may not be a whole lot of the day's troubles on our mind to distract us. If we make time to read and study God's word of a morning, it can help tremendously! We don't have to study all that long - even a 5 - 10 minute study will work if we are short on time. We always need to make time for God smile it may feel difficult at first because of all the activities going on around us. We live in a distracted generation and it's easy to be distracted from God's word. We need to set aside a time to not be distracted - if the phone rings, we can ignore it and call back later. If someone sends us a text, we can respond to it after we're done studying.

At times in my life, when I remember doubting the most was when I didn't have a foundation for what I believe in because I didn't study God's word. It was exceedingly rare that I read my Bible at home and it collected dust on a shelf in my closet. I also was trying to grow, but it was hard because I was exposed to a false doctrine and it wasn't me that was the fault 100%. I had asked questions about things to elders of the church and they didn't always answer them clearly and sometimes wouldn't answer them at all so I struggled. I noticed my parents put on their Sunday facade and would go to church and the rest of the week - live life as if they didn't have to worship God any other day of the week. I came out of that when I came across someone who could explain things to me clearly and I understood. I pulled away from the false doctrines I grew up with and started anew. It's not easy, but sometimes has to be done. The problem in one's life who is struggling may not be false doctrine or anything like that - it could definitely be other things in our life that aren't right with God. We can use bible tools such as the blue letter bible, which can be found online to help us understand and study God's word.

If we doubt, there's something that is making is doubt and we need to identify what it is and put a stop to that.

Here are some Bible verses to keep in mind:

Proverbs 3:5 - 8 NIV:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

James 1:5 - 8 NIV:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Matthew 21:21 NIV:

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

We cannot rely on ourselves to do things, we need to trust in the Lord. If something isn't right in our lives - we need to pray that they would be set right. If we lack faith, we can pray to God about that, too. God will listen to whatever it is that we have to say smile so do not give up because God has not given up on you! Keep fighting to turn that doubt into a faith that cannot be shaken smile

You're welcome smile and I understand. The reason I took over this guild when I was asked was because I haven't found a church in person and figured others out there have that same thing happening in their lives and need somewhere to go to to fellowship, share their wisdom with others, and study the Bible together. Although I do encourage others to go to a church in person if they are absolutely able to smile

When I thought about it myself, I tend to go to a friend's house and keep thinking, "I'll read God's word when I get home." Then I believe my lie I had just told myself and then I will get home and think, "I am too tired," or, "Oh, I need to check my stuff on the computer real quick," and get caught up with way more than I need to - like checking the news on a million different websites or grabbing tanks instead of only checking my notices.

Indeed, God does want to involve us in everything. There is someone from The Bible, musasgal, who has posted a Spiritual Habit series from her church and figured she'd share about involving God in our every day life. It's an interesting topic. Her thread about that can be found here:

Spiritual Habit Series.

Yes! We are to cast our cares on him, even the tiny ones smile you have that right. It's amazing that things can sound so ridiculous and stupid to us, like perhaps some work drama or that past experience we can't seem to let go of, but God understands. I'm glad you brought that up! God knows us better than we know ourselves so He definitely knows what is best for us ^_^

I like that you bring up, "He wants to hear from us all the time, not just when we're in a crisis." because I totally agree! I've heard preachers say, "Don't use God as your 'genie in a bottle', because he's not - He's there for us all the time. We need to involve him in everything, not only when we're in trouble." It's so easy for form that habit in today's world and if we do that, we need to realize to bring God into everything. If we only bring Him into our life only when we are in trouble, what does that say about us? If for example, I had a friend named Suzy and she only talks to me when she needs something - it would get annoying, right? I would get upset because I want to talk to her more as a friend, not only bothered when she needs something. I see it as a similar situation. Although, God is a lot more patient than I can be razz

That's great that you're doing an essay on that and that you have done a speech! Perhaps create your own thread in the "Bible Study" sub-forum and add the things that you have found and share them. I'm sure many others would like to read it as well! smile Disproving evolution is always a fascinating topic. I enjoy the topic a lot!

The Blue Letter Bible...I'm not sure if it's an actual book, it could be an actual Bible version, but I am referring to www.blueletterbible.org

This whole thread proves that it takes work for God to be our #1 - that we can't sit around, doing what we want to or staying "busy" with the world constricting us and pulling us away from Christ. We need to make it a daily effort to keep God as our #1!