Hi friend. First, I congratulate you for realizing, not only where you are, but how far you’ve strayed, not only from your religious lifestyle, but your faith, and even how you’ve strayed. I also praise God for showing you this, giving you the desire to return to Him, and leading you to ask for help.
More Than A Religious Lifestyle:
Now, there’s more that’s needed here than a religious lifestyle, for such is simply the response to something much greater, and this is your relationship with Jesus.
What You Need To Do
So if you desire a genuine relationship with Jesus (as well as the religious lifestyle that comes with knowing Him), then here’s what you need to do:
- Pick up your Bible:
Pray first, asking God to help you understand what you’re about to read. Pick a book in the Bible and read through it, but don’t read any more than 1 chapter each day (and make it a priority to read it each day). Take notes, underline things in your Bible, highlight things that stand out, etc. Pray for understanding both before and after you read, and ask for help in knowing how to respond to what you just read. Also, read it with the desire to learn from Him, and the obedience to do what it says, even if you don’t want to. - Pray:
Since you’re having trouble praying for anything other than selfish needs, try starting off like this:
Imagine Jesus asking, “How are you doing?” After giving Him your short answers or bs answers, then imagine Him asking you again, “No, really. How are you doing?” Then answer Him truly. If you need help with prayer, you could also use the Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew chapter 6 as an outline (not word for word) or a guide for how to pray. - Find a church: As Christians, we were saved for community – there’s no such thing as a hermit Christian (yeah, monks tried this out, but when you read about them, many went really off track with their theologies). You need to gather with other believers for worship, fellowship, communion, praise, etc. So find a church, attend it regularly (get there on time), and plug into it (join a small group, tithe regularly, meet with the Pastor or Youth Pastor, join a Bible Study, volunteer, etc.)
What Will All This Do?
That’s a start. Continue to pray as I mentioned, continue to read your Bible as I instructed, continue to keep your eyes open for God to answer your prayers and questions, and you’ll build on your relationship with Jesus, your Christian ethics, and ways of life (or religious lifestyle) will not only return, but build up stronger than before, this time on solid ground.
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