Hello,

I have been a christian ever since I was 5. I have gone to church ever since I was born. My problem is that I am getting tired of the same old same old... going to church, and youth, then church again. I am like falling away from Christ. But I don't want to fall rom Him. My questions are:

Has anyone ever gone through this problem?

If so what brought you back?

What verses have helped you to grow closer, or go back to God?

PM me or post a reply.

- Audra

Audra,

First off, I want to give some encouragement. If you are truly in Christ, have trusted Him alone as Savior through faith, and have committed your life to following and worshiping Him, then the following verses are true of you:

I am confident of this very thing: That He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 1:6

There is now therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
~Romans 8:1

...and no one can snatch them out of My hand...
~John 10--Jesus is our good Shepherd! Both He and the Father hold onto us if we are indeed His!

If you are in Christ, He will keep you by His power, and He will be at work in you to conform you to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-30). I hope that is encouraging.

We all have dry spells from time to time. And it's usually because we're distracted or are not being filled and satisfied by God alone. You end up feeling like you're just going through the motions, right?

Well, what has been the cure-all for me is to pray, asking God to show me where my heart is, and what has crept in to steal my joy. Usually there's sin. I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong--usually it's a sin of the heart. I've allowed an idol to take God's place, or there is some sin I'm hiding from others, or I'm not loving my family or submitting to my parents as I know I ought to be.

The Christian life is a life of constant repenting and believing--it's how we got saved in the first place, and now it defines our daily walk with the Lord--we must constantly turn from sin and trust in the work of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from our sin. And when we keep our sin and the cross constantly in mind, we will have constant cause for rejoicing! And it makes time among God's people (the church) that much more precious--because we can learn from God's word and worship Him and encourage one another toward love and good deeds.

All of that said, if you're feeling empty or are in a dry spell, it's probably because you're starving spiritually--at least that's been my experience. If I'm not feeding on God's word and dependent on Him in prayer each day, it's easy to be discouraged and distracted--and it's easy to look to other things to satisfy me instead of God Himself. He is my source of joy (Ps. 16:11), so if I'm not hearing from Him by spending time in His word, meditating on His glorious promises, then I'm going to be running on empty.

So, in times when I've not had a heart to read God's word, I've committed to read Psalm 119 every morning, praying that God would give me the same heart for His word that the Psalmist had--and every time He's answered! If we believe God's word is powerful, and that He answers our prayers, we know that we can come to His word in humble prayer and be changed and refreshed!

Another time I just sat down and read through Hebrews. Or Daniel. Or Philippians. Or Romans 8. I've really loved the gospel of John lately--it's anything but boring! John knew Jesus personally and is screaming on every page, "This is Jesus, the Son of God, your Creator and Savior! I want you to know Him!!!!!!! Know His heart, know His will--and find life in His name!!!!" Sigh...I love the gospel of John! Another time when I was dealing with trials, I'd read 1 Peter everyday for a month. That gave me time to meditate on the same chunk of Scripture each day--and I found so much treasure in that little letter!!!

Well, I've shared a lot. Not pointing at any one thing as the cause of your being bored, just sharing from my experience. Start dealing with whatever it is by going to God in humble prayer, confessing your boredom and asking Him to search your heart and reveal to you what is missing. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Dig so deep into God's word that you get lost in it! And if you'd like a book recommendation...............I really have enjoyed "Authentic Beauty" by Leslie Ludy. She's got some great resources for soul-searching and calls young ladies to live set-apart lives for their Lord Jesus--which is anything but boring!

Oh, and if you're tired of the same old same old...why not try to get a group together to do more than just church--why not see about going witnessing at a mall or park, or see if there is an elderly widow at your church who needs your help, or bake things for your neighbors and attach pretty cards with Bible verses, or volunteer some time at a homeless shelter (with parental approval and blessing, of course). Gasp--and, now that I think of it, start at home! See how you can bless the socks off of your parents and siblings! The point here is, if you obey God's word and do things that aren't typical of young people today--maybe even typical of the other kids at your church, you'll end up escaping the "same old same old" for sure! A life of radical obedience is in stark contrast to defining Christianity as "I go to church at least 2 times a week". So, get into God's word and start applying it--and you'll find PLENTY to keep you out of the same old same old. God's word is so good!!!!!

Ok, this is long enough. I hope it has been both encouraging and helpful.

Grace and Peace,
Lauren

*Guild Mistress : LadyPinkfLaMe

*High Warlord : bananaboy


*War Chief: obbi
*War Council:
Cleocatra
ishida3000
Pido
aceman123
tiPz

*Hunting Elder: iaxe
*Beast Hunters:
LordAtlas
BladeSeeker
EscortServic3
Rheica
mStupida
jaLLy


*Novice Ambassadors:
gorna
BANKROB
cHEeEHhH

*Adiutors:
TiOroK
Nonciaon


*Prince: LordTaurus
*Muse: AngeLoFaith


*Melee Fighters (Warriors):
aqua8
eunerwin
hotguy20
SG4GODLIKE
KieLLe05
SwAnGeT
asasaas
arthanknigth
xxxbLaStErxxx
CUTewarrior
knghtdevil69

*Blade Dancers (Bladers):
LUzOooo
xXALESANAXx
Watashiro
kaldero00
JohnRayTheII
alexiscute
iceza05
oOxXxOo
ViceSword
BLaBLa22
gemini24
19CZC74pawpaw


*Ultimate Destroyers (Wizards):
lauron
wardX
JericM
QueenHallow
PaSCuaLSiXSiX
yetsumi


*Deadly Snipers (Archers):
PointClickKill
AstRaLz
simplydark
MaRiAmEn
bloods008
ajen143


*Faithful Shielders:
Hasse0
hamnida08
JhiNgGoYz
wartune


*Magic Swordsmen (FBs):
o0jAsMinE0o
hukagi
redwin08
Ninjas
diane143
stillremain

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” – Laurence J. Peter

With all those disappointments I had in my life, in my college life in particular, I’ve realized that I’m already losing something in me; the thing rich in me when I was still an elementary and high school student; the reason why I was fulfilled in my life then. And this is FERVOR, my keen interest on a particular subject or activity.

Disappointing craps had swallowed me whole, and I felt pity for myself. I don’t even know now what I want, who I wanted to be, where I wanted to go, how I am going to explore my life. With these thoughts, I decided to seek where and what my passion is.

As I was reading the Kist which I borrowed from my friend, a statement caught my attention. “Passion is the human soul on fire.” It was also stated there that life without passion is a life not worth living. It is not life at all. And I agreed with it, because now, I don’t know if I’m really living my life as it should be or even cast doubt on myself “Am I really existing or having a so-called LIFE?”

I am just being so careless I guess. That is the very reason why I always end up regretting something. But one thing for sure, I don’t really take it negatively. I always put in mind that there are always next times; that people do get to have second chances. I just have to be determined enough the second time around. I must never accept failure, no matter how often it visits me. I just have to keep on going and never give up.

Sometimes I feel sorrow, weariness, anger, dissatisfaction, and even drooping hopes. But even if I am suffering these, even if I am already inferior from others, I always think of not to weaken myself; remember that it takes life to love life.

Among those mistakes I’ve done, I learned that it is not a disgrace to fail and I must analyze each failure to find its cause. Others told me that I am smart enough to handle things ‘coz I’ve got brains. But I still have to learn how to fail intelligently for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. I might have a failure in attitude, failure in my ambition, failure in my ability, and even in everything. But with these letdowns, I do believe that I’m better equipped to accomplish the things I’m striving for.

And if I’ve got to find my own passion, my fervor already, I’ll spend my time reaching that dream for success is not measured on what position you have reached in life but by the failures and obstacles you had to overcome while trying to succeed. Most success comes from ignoring the obvious. It breeds confidence to take the harder way. Got my point?

So, to end this lengthy post, this is what I can utter to myself:

“The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct and learn from it. This literally turns a failure into a success.” – Stephen Covey and

“The winner is simply someone who gets up one more time than they fall over.” – Robin Sieger