No real help

[ipjones6000]

I see and hear a lot of Christian messages with Bible verses and anecdotes that tell us we should love God, hate sin, etc. But there never is any real follow up or plan to help. No practical ways to love God or to stay away from sin. It really annoys me that people will give these nice messages that are chock full of scripture, but then just smile and say "Ain't God wonderful?" How about a plan to help me out, that doesn't involve getting a subscription to your website or buying you book? Does this bug anyone else?

[MarkD]

Before I think anyone can effectively answer your question, I think you may need to clarify what kind of help you need.

Do you need help loving God?

Do you need help staying away from sin?

Both?

Or something else altogether?

[carmen]

How to love God: John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

How to stay away from sin: Galations 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.



(Sorry, couldn't resist. I will :tape now....I promise I'm not stalking your posts :lol)




(Sorry, couldn't resist :D:

[ipjones6000]

I was just talking in general. Sometimes I'll be listening to Christian radio, hear something, and think, that's nice, but what's the follow through? It seems like a lot of messages have good scripture but totally lack any real substance. If I want to know what God thinks about something, I'll read the Bible, but if someone is going to tell me I need to love Jesus more or something, how about way to do it rather than stuff I already know? I'm just ranting now. Those five minutes cuts on Christian radio can be really insightful but sometimes thay can be very unhelpful.

[Werner]

IMHO, one of the first steps to being able to love God more is to learn more about Him, and thus gain a greater appreciation for who He is and what He has done for us. Greater, but not complete, because an infinite God will take an infinite amount of time to understand and grow in. Learning His Word, and about the things He created, and how they work, will show us in part how marvelous God is.

Consider anyone else you know and care about. What did it take to know them better and love them more? You spend more time with them, learn their likes and dislikes, think of things to do together that you both like, talk to one another about anything and every thing... on and on...

God is real, and our relationship with Him is real. The relationship will grow if we feed it.

Maranatha! :dancing

John

[Benja32one]

I was just talking in general. Sometimes I'll be listening to Christian radio, hear something, and think, that's nice, but what's the follow through? It seems like a lot of messages have good scripture but totally lack any real substance. If I want to know what God thinks about something, I'll read the Bible, but if someone is going to tell me I need to love Jesus more or something, how about way to do it rather than stuff I already know? I'm just ranting now. Those five minutes cuts on Christian radio can be really insightful but sometimes thay can be very unhelpful.
:thumb
Isaiah 8.20 and 28.10-13.
:nod

[littleone]

I see and hear a lot of Christian messages with Bible verses and anecdotes that tell us we should love God, hate sin, etc. But there never is any real follow up or plan to help. No practical ways to love God or to stay away from sin. It really annoys me that people will give these nice messages that are chock full of scripture, but then just smile and say "Ain't God wonderful?" How about a plan to help me out, that doesn't involve getting a subscription to your website or buying you book? Does this bug anyone else?

I am not sure if this will help you, but I have found that these notes have really helped me in my walk with Jesus.

Just scroll down the page to Christian living and you will find all kinds of helps in that section. Actually everything on the whole page is beneficial reading.

http://www.gty.org/bible_faqs/bible_faq.php?PHPSESSID=40ca0328270c6f1c82d04cf933d5e1c7

[Timothy]

Chart: Living Grace Day-by-Day
http://midacts.net/charts/bedore-living_grace_day_by_day.jpg

Chart: Two-Fold Appplication of God's Grace in the Believer's Life
http://midacts.net/charts/bedore-twofold_application_of_grace.jpg

Study: The Believer's Inner Conflict
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=188224

Study: Your Inner Conflicts – Old and New Natures
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=82253

:wave

[Writesinme]

IMHO, one of the first steps to being able to love God more is to learn more about Him, and thus gain a greater appreciation for who He is and what He has done for us. Greater, but not complete, because an infinite God will take an infinite amount of time to understand and grow in. Learning His Word, and about the things He created, and how they work, will show us in part how marvelous God is.

Consider anyone else you know and care about. What did it take to know them better and love them more? You spend more time with them, learn their likes and dislikes, think of things to do together that you both like, talk to one another about anything and every thing... on and on...

God is real, and our relationship with Him is real. The relationship will grow if we feed it.

Maranatha! :dancing

John

Werner--you are awesome!!!

[ipjones6000]

I wasn't talking about anything in general. I am trying to express my frustration to those who speak about changing one's self but fail to actually say anything more than describing the problem and what the end result is. They provide scripture I've read already, but no advice, no steps to follow, no hints. They say, "be a better person" and quote a Bible verse, and say that Jesus loves good people, but never give you any advice on how you can achieve your goal.