How Do You Know You are Chosen by God?

[TibiasDad]

What nobody can understand is how I experience life. The people in my life treat me like I don't exist. If I risk talking to some of them, I also take the risk of getting into trouble. When I was talking to one person who seemed to treat me better, about this, they told me "you are hard to notice". That is what a Christian person told me! Whenever I would go to Church, I couldn't figure out how to make things work there either. People treated my parents and I like we were nobodies. Not interested in getting to know us. Even when we tried, we always come up empty handed. This has been an issue for 21 years!!!! I don't think, unless you have been in my shoes and experienced this, you know what you are talking about. How can you learn to love people are act more like objects? Who treat you like an object? I am in the Bible every day! I pray nearly everyday too! I listen to sermons and other Christian resources everyday. This walk with Jesus is not about just doing more more more and then things will be better. In my experience most "Christian" people don't even try to spend nearly as much time with Jesus as I do! These people go to church and look down on those that smaller in society then they are. They love living in their own bubble, and don't invite those smaller in.

I decided to start praying for heaven. I'm reasoning with Jesus in prayer. I explain to him how everything is, how everything is going, how I can see no way that I'm any use to Him on this Earth. I asked Him to take me out of this world. So far I have prayed this twice, and my goal is to pray it more and more. Since my other prayers, are not getting answered, perhaps this is His will for me.

My friend, I am truly sorry for your experience and can only say that I would hope to treat you very differently were your to come to my church. Unfortunately, however, I know your experience is far too common.

I appreciate your honesty and your consistent personal efforts in reading scripture and praying, but I think I’m picking up on something in your testimony that marks the real issue of why you find it difficult to love other people, and it is a matter of your perspective.

If I am understanding you correctly, you are finding it difficult to love others because they don’t love you, despite what you perceive as your best and honest attempts to engage with them! I get it, but Jesus tells us to love based on his having loved us, but because we have been loved by them.
Remember Jesus’s words, my brother:

Matt 5:43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

And again, in John 15:9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

My suggestion to you is to “Abide in my (Jesus’s) love” and then you will find the means to “love one another”, ie, other people. None of us can love an “enemy” unless we are convinced that we have been loved by him even when we were his enemy! His love is all sufficient and the only love necessary; but it will not be the only love you will find.


Doug

 

[dwight92070]

Even though you may have no other friends, God is your friend. People will often disappoint you, but He won't. People will reject you, but He won't. He does and will answer your prayers - just not always the way you want Him to, or within the time frame that you expect. But you can rest assured that He WILL answer you. He does love you and desires that you trust and love Him. He doesn't want you to give up. "A broken and a contrite heart, He will not despise." Psalm 51:17 I had similar feelings when I was 21, and I told God about that, even though I wasn't totally sure He was even there. He answered me by directing me to read the book of Matthew. When I got to chapters 5, 6, and 7, all I could do was cry, because Jesus gave me renewed hope, renewed purpose, and I knew that I was born again. I am now 74 and have loved Him for over 53 years and He has blessed me with a precious wife, and 5 precious children and 2 grandchildren. "He has set my feet on a rock." That would be Jesus. He Himself is our salvation!! Jesus IS the purpose and meaning of life! "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I will pray for you even now as I close. God LOVES YOU!

 

[dwight92070]

God really only has One Chosen One, i.e. One Elect - that is Jesus Himself. Luke 9:35 "... This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"
ANYONE who chooses to follow God's Chosen One - automatically becomes His chosen and His elect. Anyone who refuses to follow Jesus is not chosen or elect. Then as we choose Him and abide in Him, we will be remain His chosen and His elect.

The teaching that God has predestined some to be saved and the rest to be lost, whether they choose that or not - is false teaching. The truth is that God has predestined that ALL who have chosen Christ and are abiding in Christ, by their own free will, are saved. He has also predestined that ALL who refuse to follow and abide in Christ will be lost.

 

[AlwaysOnAJourney]

I know that I have been absent for days, but I have been constantly thinking about this thread and wondering what would be the best answer to write. Tonight my ongoing health issue is causing my body to hurt so bad that I can't sleep. I found myself thinking about stuff even more, and digging in deep. Here is what I have come up with. Since I don't have any friends, and I don't have a wife and kids, and my parents are aging and who knows how much longer they will be alive. Since my job situation, and other mental problems isolates from other people. I have come up with a simple conclusion. I am useless to Jesus. Why would Jesus leave someone like me, or those even worse then me, on this planet? I have heard preachers say that the one reason why Jesus leaves people on this earth is so that they can reach the lost. I have no way of reaching the lost. Therefor I must logically conclude that I'm useless to Jesus. That is why I have given up on all my other prayers, and decided to dedicate my prayer life to asking Jesus to take me to Heaven. I've been trying to reason with Him, and express why my life is pointless. He has seen all that has happened to me. It is still possible that somehow, when I asked Christ into my heart, that He judged my motives not good enough for salvation, so that He might be in me. If that is the case then I might burn in Hell. At the end of the day, I have no more hope then prayer.

Not long ago, I was reading several articles about friendship and loneliness. It sounds like loneliness can shorten a persons life. If that is the case then I probably don't have that much longer anyways. I remember years ago, I used to do all that I could do, to try and work around my issues. I used to do all that I could do to put myself out there. But all I run into is rejection. Seems that is God telling me, "you are done dude".

 

[AlwaysOnAJourney]

It is especially interesting how my entire family found themselves cut off from the local churches. If that doesn't scream "you are done dude" then I don't know what does!

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

I know that I have been absent for days, but I have been constantly thinking about this thread and wondering what would be the best answer to write. Tonight my ongoing health issue is causing my body to hurt so bad that I can't sleep. I found myself thinking about stuff even more, and digging in deep. Here is what I have come up with. Since I don't have any friends, and I don't have a wife and kids, and my parents are aging and who knows how much longer they will be alive. Since my job situation, and other mental problems isolates from other people. I have come up with a simple conclusion. I am useless to Jesus. Why would Jesus leave someone like me, or those even worse then me, on this planet? I have heard preachers say that the one reason why Jesus leaves people on this earth is so that they can reach the lost. I have no way of reaching the lost. Therefor I must logically conclude that I'm useless to Jesus. That is why I have given up on all my other prayers, and decided to dedicate my prayer life to asking Jesus to take me to Heaven. I've been trying to reason with Him, and express why my life is pointless. He has seen all that has happened to me. It is still possible that somehow, when I asked Christ into my heart, that He judged my motives not good enough for salvation, so that He might be in me. If that is the case then I might burn in Hell. At the end of the day, I have no more hope then prayer.

Not long ago, I was reading several articles about friendship and loneliness. It sounds like loneliness can shorten a persons life. If that is the case then I probably don't have that much longer anyways. I remember years ago, I used to do all that I could do, to try and work around my issues. I used to do all that I could do to put myself out there. But all I run into is rejection. Seems that is God telling me, "you are done dude".

I can identify with your feelings. My children have rejected me. My wife refuses to learn English well enough so we can have any kind of conversation. She's satisfied that she has many Chinese friends to talk to. I have always struggled with depression. I am a hermit, no friends, and always lonely.

I am not done. You are not done. God isn't done with you.

Peter Gabriel wrote this song. The lyrics were changed for this version to reflect Jesus.

Don't Give Up Lyrics by Maire Brennan - Lyrics On Demand

Don't Give Up Lyrics by Maire Brennan at Lyrics On Demand

www.lyricsondemand.com

 

[AlwaysOnAJourney]

When the Church is called "The Body of Christ" I don't understand why Jesus allows the Church to act the way it does to people. If Christians are supposed to help take care of the poor and needy, then why don't they? How can they continue on with a the worldly attitude that some are welcomed into the local body and some just don't have the "correct" personality to fit in.

I know the Bible good enough that I can refute myself. By telling myself:

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

My other side tells me, "You are an evil sinner, and therefor God's people have rejected you."

It was due to my isolation that I got the internet. I used to be very very active online. But I was never great at it. Always people who can do it better then me. Now days I'm very quiet. Because I can't help others. It isn't that I don't want to. But I don't have the right answers for people. That is part of the reason why I don't get involved with all the chatter. I think at the end of the day over half of it makes no real difference. The truth remains the same no matter what angle or spin you think you see in scripture to argue that your point is the one that everyone else should be believing. I want to see Christians actually love on another like the Bible keeps telling us to over and over and over again. There should be nobody in the Church that isn't feeling Biblical love.

 

[Lily]

I think all of his creation, all the descendants of Adam and Eve are chosen by God. John 3:16. But that's not what adoptions us into his family, only believe in Jesus Christ in the sacrifice He made in the cross will do that.

 

[AlwaysOnAJourney]

I think all of his creation, all the descendants of Adam and Eve are chosen by God. John 3:16. But that's not what adoptions us into his family, only believe in Jesus Christ in the sacrifice He made in the cross will do that.

I think I am loosing my belief in that. Because my life experiences don't SEEM to line up with that. I feel that I was chosen for destruction. Judas was chosen because Jesus needed someone to betray him. One would naturally think, since Judas actually saw the miracles that Jesus performed He would of been a believer not a betrayer. Yet Jesus allowed Satan to enter into him, so that He would betray Jesus. Later He committed suicide. Most believe He went to hell. I struggle with the idea that He went to hell because He tried to repent before he went and hung himself.