Dear Pastor Andy,
How Can I find God?
How do I really know He is there?
How do I know the bible could just be another book?
He promises me eternal life in John, but how do I know that it's real and that I won't just die and everything will go black and be another non-existent dead organism? I don't want to die and just be dead.
I have faith and love, but I have doubts right when my faith gets strong.
How do I know that I'm not just insane and only think I'm dealing with demonic activity?
Whenever I read the bible I pass out right away because of all the issues.
Why don't people believe in the devil and demons and their actions when Jesus performed exorcisms? And why don't people believe His every word when the book pretty much states to follow him?
In some books does it really change from Jehovah to Lord because of an edit from the original transcript?
There's a Holy Trinity, is there an unholy trinity?
My Reply:
When I accepted Jesus, I didn't really know what I was getting into. I just knew it had to be better than things were going. Also, I was searching for God, and John 14:6 tells us that the only way to God is through Jesus. But when I accepted Him, I simply said, "I'm giving you a chance." Then repented for everything I'd done up until then and asked Jesus into my heart, me into His, etc. He'll speak to you in the Scriptures, and help you understand right from wrong, Him from not Him, Truth from not truth, etc.
Let me see if I can help you with some of your other questions:
- But you're right that there's an evil (demonic) that's out to create doubts in you.Try this: when you're about to read scripture, pray first, asking Jesus to help you understand and believe what you're about to read. Then after reading it, pray again for understanding of what you just read.
- Authenticity of the Bible: check out this link (don't get thrown off by the link's name). You can also check out anything by Lee Strobel or Josh McDowell to help you understand from where we got the Bible).
- Also, find a Christian church and join a life group (small group) and/or Bible Study group to help you in your own studies.
- People often don't believe in the demon thing because Satan has put other comforts into their lives that caused them to change their beliefs of such. This is a dangerous tactic of Satan's though. Can you imagine if our military in Iraq decided one day to not believe there's a war going on, and walk around unarmed? With nobody shooting the enemy, they'd get picked off for sure. Unfortunately, many Christians have fallen into this trap, and are no longer fighting and being picked off, spiritually.
- Actually, the Bible totally says to follow Jesus. But though Bible's are so easy to come by, Bible illiteracy is very common among Christians. They believe the worldview about the Bible, and when they read something against what they've come to believe, they choose not to believe it. Another is reason is because for many, Truth has become Relative. For example, John 14:6 ("I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Nobody comes to the Father but through me.") Many Christians have friends, relatives, even spouses who don't know the Lord, or who've died without knowing Him. So they've chosen to believe that everybody will go to heaven because they don't want to believe their loved one won't make the cut. But Jesus said it right there in scripture.
- Jehovah/Yaweh: In the Old Testament (OT), it's spelled with 4 letters, all consonants. Some pronounce it Jehovah. Personally, I understand more so how they got Yaweh from it.
- Finally, there is no unholy trinity. Satan is by himself in that respect. His only helpers are the 1/3 of angels who sided with him and whom are now demons. And remember too, (John 1): darkness (evil) can't overcome the light (holy).
---Pastor Andy
