Even without belief, following the guidelines of a religion can be salvation. The guidance helps all of us move through life with less confusion and uncertainty.
@@CottidaeSEA That's strange. Trying to understand God's truth leaves me more confused every day. But what a joy when his wisdom is revealed! I chalk this up to the fact that my finite mind simply cannot comprehend the infinite truth. And because I have faith, I'm cool with that. In fact, it lets me view the world through the eyes of an eternal child, because that's literally what I am.
I turn 51 this year. It has taken me every minute of that to awaken. I wasn't raised in the church, although we did go, occasionally. So I am not well read in the Bible. Like many, I had, for lack of a better... a midlife crisis that turned my life upside down and shattered everything I built. Lost my family, home, and career in the matter of days. I spent some time in the hospital, because I was afraid of where I might go in the aftermath. When that failed to make any sense, I dove deeper into the bottom of every bottle and chased every high I could find. I could not find any way to quiet the demons inside. I finally reached the point where I was done. I wanted the pain to go away. A week later, I was back on the other side of the country. A place I had not been in nearly 2 decades. It was meant to be a goodbye trip. I was going to make up a story about a far away job and then go full on Leaving Las Vegas. Who ever said you can't go home again is a liar and a thief. Because you can, and should, go home as often as possible. But I digress... Needing a job, a family member asked me to drive them to their medical procedures and to run errands. This fit me perfectly at the time. It was great, because I love to drive and it was up and down highway 101 on the California coast. Some of the most beautiful country to drive through. I had a lot of time to think. Eventually, I was no longer able to drive. So another family member took over. He was a bit older and quite the luddite. I begged him to get a cell phone. Tried to implore the danger of driving that road at that time of the morning. He finally relented, so I got him a phone on my plan. The very next day, he hit a black bear at 4:30 am and totaled the car. Here's the thing. Not long before this, I had a come to Jesus, with Jesus. I got on my knees and asked honestly, for the Lord to reveal himself. Give me a sign, that I can not ignore. Let me just say, I was not ready. Even now, my hands shake and my heart races when I think about the events that unfolded. After my family member hit the bear, I thought to myself that it could not be a coincidence. The very next day? Too convenient. But still, it's no jug of wine. And then, my mother passed suddenly. She got the flu, which turned to pneumonia and she never recovered. Again, I was devastated. I felt the spiral returning and the dark thoughts reemerge. And one night, not long after her passing, I had a dream. One of those vivid, almost feels real, kind of dream. In the dream, I was returning from the store and my sister came running out, shouting, "Come and see, come and see!" Bemused, I follow as she leads me to my mom's room. She won't even let me drop the bags of groceries. As we cross the threshold of her room, I see my mom, sitting on the bed. She had this sly grin on her face. One she would often get when she thought she got one over on you. And behind her, surrounding her, is dozens of women. Some I recognized, my Aunt that passed a few years earlier. My grandmother. Who had been gone for nearly 2 decades. Others I didn't recognize, but I knew they were relatives somehow. I ran to her, and hugged her. And I felt hundreds of hands embracing me. I never felt so at peace in my life. Then I tried to tell her I needed to put the groceries away so I could spend time with her, but she said, "No!" To which I insisted, I didn't want the food to spoil. She demanded that if I left, she would not be there when I returned. But I knew better. So I left to the kitchen, and dropped the bags. I swiftly returned to say, "Ha, told ya!" And it was an empty room. A few months went by. My brother in law took me out four wheeling to blow off some steam. We ended up getting stuck and needing to get pulled out. There was a guy with a truck that offered to help but we didn't have a tow strap. Luckily, another man noticed our trouble and offered to let us use his. Sure enough, we pulled the truck out with no problems. I rolled up the tow strap and went to return it to the man. He said, "Keep it, you'll need it again." I thought, rude. Guy says I'm an idiot. Well, he's probably right. Okay, here's where you say BS. But I swear, this is exactly what happened. The very next day, while making a shop run, we saw an elderly woman, run across 4 lanes of busy interstate highway. We knew something was off, so we turned around and went to see what was going on. Another elderly woman had broken down across the freeway and this was her friend, coming to the rescue. But she parked on the wrong side of the freeway. And froggered her away across. Somehow successfully! Someone was watching over her, for sure. So we rolled up behind and found them stopped on a curve. In a very bad spot. She had a dead battery. We needed to get them off the roadside, so we could try and get the battery jumped. I went back to the truck, told my brother what was going on, and we both realized we had the tow strap. Again, coincidence? No, I don't think it was. Taken at face value, this is just a boring story. It meanders through meaningless periods of my life that I somehow assigned deeper meaning. But to me, this was proof of his divine presence. And that he has heard me. And he cares about me. ME!?! But not just me. Everyone out there, just like me. He's waiting for you to reach out and ask for his hand. Ask for his booming voice to fill your heart. He's waiting for you. Here. Come and see.
You have a gift in your writing. God is amazing how He reveals His Hand in our lives- we just KNOW. Take care and keep searching. Get a bible you understand and start reading if you haven’t yet. He REALLY speaks to you through His Word!
"it is a God-shaped hole we are trying to fill with material things" Amen!! He is absolutely right! We can only fill a God-shaped hole with God and people need to stop fighting that.✨🙏✨🙏♥️
““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV 👌
"And only God Himself will fill it". This quote is from Saint Augustine, 1.600 years AGO. Not Pascal or whoever the comedian said. A SAINT said it, a Doctor Saint no less, second biggest philosopher in history [loses only to Saint Thomas Aquinas], first theologian ever. Edit: oh btw, there's no salvation outside the Catholic Church.
5:32 Ecclesiastes has always been my favorite book in the Bible, for precisely this reason. Too many Christians, including pastors and priests, ignore this book because they find it difficult or strange. But that is precisely the beauty of Ecclesiastes -- it is *brutal* existentialist philosophy written long before Kierkegaard came along.
@@MattyJohn146 You're right. Priests (and also rabbis, for that matter) will often use Ecclesiastes during certain services and prayers, whereas pastors, especially those lacking rigorous theological training and knowledge of Church history, usually just skip over the book entirely.
I didn’t know anyone else knew this way to pray. Over 50 years ago, I had been attending a church and had to know if God was real or this was just a feel-good thing. I actually demanded, “God, if you are real, tell me!" I was crying, I was so desperate to know the truth, one way or the other. I literally felt the weight of God’s hand on my shoulder and heard Him say clearly “I am here”. I have never doubted since the reality of God or His word. Has the evil one tried to get me to doubt? Yes. Have I doubted. No. It would have made no more sense than doubting that my husband of almost 52 years was real just because I can’t see him anymore.
Christians aren’t uneducated. Christian’s live in the world of people with worldly views. You have to be brave to be a Christian. Christians think deeply and ask deep questions everyday. Did you not hear what his golf buddy was saying? He sounded uneducated to you? This comedian giving his testimony and throwing out wisdom and quoting proverbs sounds uneducated to you? Christians read, go to college, are self disciplined, are the most productive members of society. The Bible says to work like your master is watching. Only someone so wrapped up in their self would think a Christian is uneducated. We live in the world. Open your eyes.
*1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV* “but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
Father in heaven, we come before you now on behalf of your servant, @gabrielacosta2267, who is sorrowful and broken ready to surrender completely to you. Like a rudderless ship that has crashed on the rocks, Gabriela is sinking and feeling like she is about to drown. But you Father are the God of miraculous recoveries. You saved your prophet Daniel from the lion's den, your servant Noah and his family from the floodwaters, and the children of Israel from the powerful armies of Egypt. When all hope appears to be lost, You, Father, make a way when there was no way. When we look at this world through our own eyes and through our own understanding, there is no hope to be found. But when we look with spiritual God given eyes, there is limitless beauty, peace and abundance culminating in The Ultimate Great Hope who stepped down from His throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for a short human lifetime with the singular mission to create a way of escape from the curse of this world, namely sin along with the misery of its consequences and death. He who had no sin, became sin for us that we might have Eternal Life with Him and with you, Father, in paradise, where every tear will be wiped away and there will never be any more sorrow because evil and the father of evil will have been destroyed . Father we now commit Gabriela into your loving, caring hands. We ask that you fill her with your Holy Spirit that she may taste of the sweet goodness that You have in store for her. We ask that you provide a canopy of protection around her and guard her with your armies of holy angels. Open her eyes to see the way out of her "lion's den" and give her the peace of knowing that you already have a way of rescue planned for her even before she can see it. We humbly ask you for these things and thank you for the answers that you are about to provide Gabriela in the name of our dear and faithful best friend and Saviour, Jesus of Nazereth, King of Kings and Lord of Lord's who tells us to "cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us". AMEN!
@@christopheespic If i may give you an advice: prayer is the best thing you can do. You can't act your addictions or depression out of existence. Jesus can. The best thing you can do is ask the one who made you for help and give your life to Him. I've been in a very dark place. Diagnosed with OCD. I've been to a psychiatrist... They couldn't do anything. If it wasn't for Jesus i will either be dead or in a mental institution right now!
You really think that your god has the power to help you, but he won't until you get a certain number of people to implore him to do so? That would make him a a monster.
@@jsmall10671 God doesn't need numbers to get His attention. Prayer isn't meant to manipulate God to get him to do what you want but rather to change and align yourself with His will to get yourself to do what He wants. Because fulfilling what He wants will bring peace and healing and order to every aspect of your life. Praying for others is a selfless act meant to further your own spiritual walk as well as to aid those who are hurting. God cares about our desires, though He's not a butler, the more His children focus on a certain issue that is consistent with Him, the more spiritual attention is focused on it. God can heal and save even if only one person were to pray to Him
I have to share this. It's perfect. Both the testimonial and the commentary. Glad I came across it. And yes, I know what it's like to be away and to be near God. I am eternally grateful for coming to know Him.
I had this experience friday night around 930. 20 years saved, still wrestling with the flesh, feeling defeated, caught in the sin/repent cycle. Christ led me to try and practice being in His presence. Then tell Him everything. The fear, the doubt, the sin, the wants. He gave me true faith in exchange. I understand what you are talking about now, and it does seem impossible to verbalize. I was starting to feel very alone in this experience with Jesus (sounds silly saying) and Satan was chipping away but hearing you say it helped alot. Thank you.
I was into witch craft and through a series of events I decided to open the bible and opened to that exact place...vanity of vanities.... It started me on a new path.
Have you read Matthew 7 _[13, 21-23],_ 13:14-15, 15:7-9, 19:16-19, 24:11 lately? Board the John 3:1-21 Ark by the roads of Mark 1:15, 16:16, Luke 13:1-5, 24:47, Matthew 18:1-3, John 1:12, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-23, 10:9, Galatians 1:7-9, 1Corinthians 3:18-23 and parallel verses before it is too late - this day, because the door is closing and most will not escape the coming inescapable global flood of fire storm but a remnant and most so called true disciples of the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ _[God]_ clearly for now are exactly who the true Jesus referred to in Matthew 7:21-23 and parallel verses if you are not truly part of the John 3:1-21 qualified remnant. Selah.
I'm crying. I'm so unworthy of His patience, His sacrifice, His love. Thank you, Lord of my life. Great video. Thank you so much for this. I've been reading my Bible and CS Lewis. All unbelievers should read Lewis. He will lead you to the Bible, and the Bible will lead you to Christ. Blessings 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️
@@CynVee Proverbs 18:13. I have studied the NewWorldOrder since early 2001...how about you oh false accuser and clearly dangerous guilty of Proverbs 17:15-16 like any Dunning-Kruger Effect infected one who engages in strawman arguments because they have to truly learn what it means to be an authentic austere John 3:1-21 qualified one. Galatians 4:16.
Wow, "closer to Adolf Hitler than to Jesus Christ". That was a powerful statement and reality. Thank you brother for this edifying and encouraging video. GOD bless you and thank you for sharing this mans testimony.
@@friisteching3433 God knows the hearts of man, and through out the Old Testament as it is today He shows mercy in His patience. If you don’t see the seriousness of sin (in sickness, death & separation from God) and God’s holiness then you won’t truly see how patient He is to those who are lost. “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” Leviticus 18:24-25 ESV This is referring to the people he destroyed. They were doing really vile things. Also before they were destroyed God offered them to come in peace for their lives to be spared. “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it.” Deuteronomy 20:10 ESV
Powerful message from a man who came to God the hard way. Thanks for posting, he's truly grateful for what Jesus did for him on the Cross. Heard an amazing sermon yesterday...the pastor said that the amount of blessings you'll get from a prayer where you're asking God for something is directly related to how much love you have for Him when you pray that prayer.
"...we are closer [moraly] to hitler than we are to jesus christ" i have long since held the belief that the scariest thing about Adolf Hitler is not that he was a monster; the scariest thing about Adolf Hitler is that he was not. he was just a man. and that is a VERY hard pill for people to swollow
Love you and your channel. You help me understand more and more how much love god has for us and that jesus was really the perfect example. God bless ❤
People that have come to believe that Jesus Christ is who he said he is - God, a part of the Trinity - are not just uneducated and simple minded people. Some of the most brilliant minds have come to the same conclusion.
What is the verifiable evidence that this supposed person called Jesus is (was?) a god? Note: A book produced by copies of copies of fables, with no known author, is not evidence
@@jtapia0 Nobody can prove God to you, only He can do that, but you must ask Him to do it. The Christian relationship is personal. Read the book of John and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you, He will. The Bible claims to be God's inspired word, if you disagree with that, you must prove that it is not. God does not owe us anything. We are the sinners who reject Him and we must be the ones who approach Him and ask for forgiveness. If Jesus is not God we all have a huge problem, we have no Savior. Since His name is the only name given under Heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4). I will pray for you. Time is so short.
@@jtapia0it may not be evidence for you, but it's plenty of evidence for others and you are only the regulator of evidence for yourself, not others, but it's All about Jesus Christ and the truth thereof; the Bible is an integrated message system outside our space time domain knowing the end from the beginning; His story in advance, learn it and trust in the one who gave it to us, immortal grace, so little time 🙏
@@tomvela77 Ahh I see You already asked a being, of which you have no evidence of its existence, and it has already shown you (itself) that it only exists "in a personal way" for you... Tell me more. Time is so short to believe in in circular reasoning
Amen to this. Love the beautiful gospel call at the end. I can't help but think about people's resistance to praying that prayer. You don't know what's on the other side of that door. You've experienced trauma and you've built these barriers to keep you safe. And just throwing a door to an unknown universe wide open is terrifying. It takes faith. But it's not a blind faith. Jesus is real. He proved who he was. The grave is empty! You can trust Him. Say the prayer. Open the door. Trust Jesus.
Do you believe I to be incredibly brave and humble to open up and clearly describe that I haven't encountered any reason to acknowledge the reality of any particular god?
@TheoSkeptomai the bravery is in the honesty of the answer, this person can articulate their short comings and their honesty in seeking truth and not finding it in the created world. Just making a statement misses the point entirely. Perhaps consider your beliefs as being settled and you are content, however what did you make of the statement that you must be omniscient to disprove God to yourself
@@TheoSkeptomai Yes, if you acknowledge the truth is not subject to your own preferences or ideals, and disqualifies every other option to be the truth. If not, no.
I need forgiveness every single day. I fall constantly and I feel the weight of the shame that brings but I never stop trying. I think about his love and my weakness almost all of my waking hours........ but I keep getting up because he is my father and he loves me.
@mpappas57 true I had no idea what I was doing when I first got saved. Even though I grew up in church. After a few years I seen someone doing something and I was like Jesus please help him and it hit me wow I use to do that. And I realized the holy spirit had really helped me grow into who I was always meant to be but was it a bumpy right getting g there lol god bless you all I love you all.
"You're not smart enough to be an atheist": That, ladies and gentlemen is our sin! We are so vain as to think we ARE smart enough to be an atheist. That vanity keeps from gaining any further knowlege of any kind, especially the existence of God. We are so smart that we stop "Checking our premises" (Ayn Rand).
""You're not smart enough to be an atheist": That, ladies and gentlemen is our sin! We are so vain as to think we ARE smart enough to be an atheist. " Not holding a position doesn't require any intelligence or information. Holding a position, and defending it, does. " That vanity keeps from gaining any further knowlege of any kind, especially the existence of God." Faith that you have the right answer prevents you from trying to gain any further knowledge. It is the assumption that you already have it. "We are so smart that we stop "Checking our premises" (Ayn Rand)." That's not being smart, it's being confident in your knowledge. If you have faith that god is real, then you don't need to check your premises. The 'atheist' you're describing is just a heretic/pagan. Wrong god/belief.
I am going to subscribe to your channel because I like what you are saying. I am a Fisher of men and have steered a few people the right way. I write what I need to say on my note book and give my sermons from it. Currently I am doing the 7 deadly sins. You are a fisher of men and we need to be strong to bring people to God. It brings tears to my eyes when I see an atheist turn to God. How great is that? God bless you and will put you in my prayers. May God give you safe passage in life my brother. Keep up the good work.
In my experience, no one believes in Jesus based on the evidence. That is merely intellectual assent. They come to true belief because they are willing to allow a God they don't know to take control of their lives. That was hard for me to do, but it has made all the difference.
@@jezzeyable The internal witness of the Holy Spirit is evidence, too, even though it is not a shareable, independently repeatable kind of evidence. There are also numerous reports of visions (especially among Muslims), which is closely related to internal witness. Coincidence (e.g., a word given at the right time) can be another type of evidence. You could call it current history. Of course, these are all subjective. A person ought to confirm them with additional evidence. But if it gets you through the narrow gate, who’s going to argue the point (other than someone on the broad path)?
Your prayer at the end is very similar to the prayer that changed my life. I was never an atheist, but I was a lost sheep, a prodigal. That day, just over 10 years ago, I surrendered. I poured out my heart to God that if my station in life then was how I would live until I died, I would surrender and accept my fate stoically and accept my judgement at the end. He told me he had prepared a place for me, and he delivered. I now have a productive, fulfilling life on the other side of the globe, and am able to care my my family, my land, and my community. I thank Him every day for allowing me to live a greater life than I ever could have imagined that day.
When I started to watch this video, it brought back a memory from 1954 while I was attending Submarine School in Groton, CT. A group of us were shooting the breeze in the rec room and somehow the subject of belief came up, very uncommon, one fellow said he didn’t believe in the God thing, we were all raised Atheist. A chief that had survived the war spoke up,”Sailor, if you are ever subjected to a depth charge attack, you will be on your knees praying too God like every other man jack on the boat, and on returning to port attending something with a religious overtone, witnessed it many times.”
That doesn't mean anything, not everyone in that kind of situation would pray for a god, and if that is the case which God? The Christian one? Don't think so. Praying doesn't always mean asking salvation to an invisible creature and we have to consider that the west is heavily influenced by religion
@@dext1352 You know not of which you speak! I’m referring to a time well before you were born and probably before either of your parents, a time when the world was not overrun by Barbarism and total ignorance and stupidity.
@NBZW that is exactly what I'm talking about, a time when religion was still held high in the minds of people. A time where not everyone had access to information or culture, so technically speaking, those times were the ones overrun with ignorance and stupidity
Thank you for sharing this video. We all need to remember why and when we came to Jesus. To stay there, we live a life of service . Greatest act of service for us, look to the cross and know that He loves us like no other person.
Could someone please pray for me? Although I lack the words to say, I know the Lord hears me, though I know not what I ought to speak He understands completely. Yet I long, yet I desire, yet… He knows. Lord help me to be patient as I anticipate your perfect timing. In Jesus Christs’ name I pray. Amen. Take care brothers and sisters in Christ. Stay encouraged you don’t struggle alone. Thank you for your prayers.
Jesus loves you 🤍✝️ Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
God can reach each and every one if only they are willing. I loved the brutal honesty of his friend telling him he was a moron and not smart enough. Let us love one another enough to tell the truth. We all act stupidly at times, and sometimes need harsh reality to wake us up.
I cannot imagine going through life without Christ, this world is so easy, and has no source of peace, only relentless evil. I am so glad you find Him and can live your life with a future to look forward to.
Beautiful testimony! Just before my encounter with Jesus, I called out to Him and said, "Lord, I hear you and feel you what is it that you want from me?" And then boom, I was overwhelmed with this unexplainable, emotional feeling and dropped down to my knees and saw what a wretched sinner I was. I bowed down to my savior and I ask Him to forgive me. I told Him I wasn't worthy of His forgiveness because, what He did on the cross for me was far greater. At that moment my life changed. I promised to serve God all the days of my life. I promised I would be a bold ambassador of Christ, and that I would raise my children to be bold ambassadors of Christ. All glory to the most high!
Please remember the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ teaches not to go by feelings/heart but by His Spirit. Board the John 3:1-21 Ark by the roads of Mark 1:15, 16:16, Luke 13:1-5, 24:47, Matthew 18:1-3, John 1:12, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-23, 10:9, Galatians 1:7-9, 1Corinthians 3:18-23 and parallel verses before it is too late - this day, because the door is closing and most will not escape the coming inescapable global flood of fire storm but a remnant and most so called true disciples of the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ _[God]_ clearly for now are exactly who the true Jesus referred to in Matthew 7:21-23 and parallel verses if you are not truly part of the John 3:1-21 qualified remnant. Selah.
@@RemnantDiscipleLazzaro-Rev1217 So are you saying the Holy Spirit didn't speak to me in that moment? You don't know me and I don't know you, but my born again experience changed my life dramatically. I began to obsess over God. I started to read scripture, study it, and review prophecy to historical events. Are you saying all the Muslims who had encounters with Jesus are not born again? Because I have heard many Muslims who were radically transformed. I did not go by my heart, which is deceitful and wicked, nor did I go by my feelings, but by the calling of the Holy Spirit. Not sure if you read my testimony, but I immediately saw what a wretched sinner I was and asked Christ to forgive me. Jesus Christ is the only one who is capable of cleansing the heart and renewing the spirit.
I heard this guy before , but this time I connected 3 things to my own experience: 1. I went back to God after I realised that I got nothing else left, no wife, no friends, no money; 2. Meaningless meaningless: at that time I was an avid listener of J. peterson, and I agree that in life we need purpose and meaning to strive; 3. Happines: one of my favorite quote is "happiness is only real when shared", happiness is a byproduct of accomplishing purposes and connected to relationships.
@@ricksonora6656Please provide non-imaginary or invent evidence (aka personal experience) for your god or argument that implies that only believing in a god can overcome the three points you stated above.
@@jtapia0 Let’s straighten out your thinking process before taking on more substantial subjects. Your challenge assumes personal experience is invented or imaginary. By your illogic, your experience of reacting to what I said is imaginary or invented. Also, I previously addressed flaws in your logic. Why can’t you acknowledge or learn from that little bit rather than dodging like a JW?
There is a unnoticeable difference between skepticism and stubbornness. Nothing wrong with being skeptical, it is wise to not get fooled. Find your goalpost and quit moving it, because stubbornness is hell.
Ok, another bat swing and ball out of the park!!!! Nice job on the ending. My parents one in faith one out at age 78 just received this video. My wife and I have been praying for help and the words you spoke are what they need to hear as they are aging and forgetting they fell in love at 15 married at 19. Anything is possible with God, Jesus Christ Lord King, and The Holy Spirit in us. All Glory to God. ❤❤❤
As a young man I searched for god and did all the things that was expected of me in the christian community. But all i ever got was silence even though i truly wanted to know god. Why?
God IS there watching, even in His silence. Wanting to make changes in one’s life for the better for all the right reasons and not just because we have been inconvenienced helps too. We have to want that change and want His love deep in our hearts. I started to experience a different world when I became to love mankind and not just “myself” and what was convenient for me. All kinds of wonderful doors opened then.
@@mgichndzI wanted those things so bad and nothing happened. Christians say that they feel god in their heart. I felt nothing. They say they feel his presence. I felt nothing. They say they have conversations with god. I heard nothing but silence.
I think it's very difficult to depend our belief in God based on how we "hear" him or "feel" him. Faith, or trust (Greek pistis), is not primarily an emotional response, although it is a part of it. It's the assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not yet seen as Hebrews 11 tells us. I'm someone who's not very emotional and have problems with regulating it therefore I don't get when people say they feel God's presence or that they hear God talking to them because I honestly don't experience that as much as I want it to, and often when I do experience it, I ask myself if it's just me and my confirmation bias. So I don't put my faith in God based on any of those things. Believing God and believing in God are two different things. I believe in God, that he exists, but me believing God and what he says is another thing. Again in Hebrews 11:6 it says "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - that he rewards those who seek him - that's trusting His character and His promises, and this reward is not temporal but ultimately eternal. I recommend reading through Hebrews especially Hebrews 11. The people mentioned there had great faith not because they felt or heard God in a way that fulfilled what they want, most of them didn't even get to receive what they prayed for in their lifetime, but they trusted God's promises and character even beyond their prayers' result. I still struggle with feeling or "hearing" God, but I believe that His word is more than enough to aid me in my walk as a Christian (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Ultimately, my faith is a result of a culmination of different things, not just my feelings or personal experiences. Sorry for the long response but yes, I hope this helps.
Thank you for the shoutout in the description! As a seasoned testimony clipper with 42 atheist converts to Christianity on my channel… Jeff’s is one of the most powerful. Life without God has no meaning, without no meaning no purpose! The end of the matter is by following The Lord everything else is given meaning. Without him, nothing has purpose!
When your heart is hardened you won't accept reality, so only how hard your heart is dertermines how long life has to tenderize you before you are willing to accept you are not God, you are in fact wrong about everything, & the only road away is the road to salvation. Took me 44 years
@@jtapia0 up to you brother, but realize what the man said also applies, it takes more faith to believe something came from nothing. I have fulfilled Gods mandate by letting you know the truth whether you accept it is up to you, only you can decide when enough is enough. I have no obligation to prove to you anything if you have a hard heart I would just be wasting my time. When you have had enough if you are wise you will come to Him.
That statement wasn’t meant to be used as an insult though. Really, it’s a statement that one should sit with because it holds such powerful gravity! To be intelligent would to assume that we know such things as whether Jesus was with God from the beginning of time, or, something like what Force created God? We humans think we know so much….but we are so ignorant! Only a wise man knows that he knows nothing at all.
@@mgichndzThat and it takes God to reveal or tell you. It took me a long time before realizing God lives in both Heaven, Earth, and a third realm we don't know about. Why? Because he created Heaven and Earth. So he can stand outside of both. Blew my mind for a while. So now he is even bigger than we thought. We only know Earth. God knows several realms and as in revelations, plan to make a brand new one again.
@@mgichndz “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” I Corinthians 8:2 NKJV “then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.” Ecclesiastes 8:17 NKJV “Those who possess wisdom don’t feel the need to impress others with what they know, but foolish ones make sure their ignorance is on display.” Proverbs 12:23 TPT
Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. This year has been hard. My mother went to heaven on April 5th. My husband lost his job a month ago. And to top it off our car died. Plus, I've been having weird pain in my pelvis. My mother died of uterine cancer. Both my grandma and great grandma died of ovarian cancer. So I had an ultra-sound. I haven't learned the results yet. Be still and know that I am God. It isn't easy to leave it all in His hands, but once I did I felt such a sense of Peace.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the WORD OF GOD is ALIVE and ACTIVE. SHARPER than any double-edged sword, it PENETRATES even to dividing SOUL and SPIRIT, joints and marrow, it JUDGES the THOUGHTS and ATTITUDES of the heart."
"Remove me from the bondage of self"....wow! that hits! Amen!!!
That’s a direct quote from the AA big book.
Or, as the kids today say "Man, that slaps"
@@jakebaldwin2146 lol
@@Hakeem597 just started the video, noticed your comment, which mirrors what Russel Brand said recently.
I grew up in the church, but I learned that I had no way to deny God after he cured my crippling depression.
Even without belief, following the guidelines of a religion can be salvation. The guidance helps all of us move through life with less confusion and uncertainty.
@@CottidaeSEA That's strange. Trying to understand God's truth leaves me more confused every day. But what a joy when his wisdom is revealed! I chalk this up to the fact that my finite mind simply cannot comprehend the infinite truth. And because I have faith, I'm cool with that. In fact, it lets me view the world through the eyes of an eternal child, because that's literally what I am.
@@Digitalsapien Even if you are confused, you're provided a goal and purpose. That can be enough.
I turn 51 this year. It has taken me every minute of that to awaken. I wasn't raised in the church, although we did go, occasionally. So I am not well read in the Bible. Like many, I had, for lack of a better... a midlife crisis that turned my life upside down and shattered everything I built. Lost my family, home, and career in the matter of days.
I spent some time in the hospital, because I was afraid of where I might go in the aftermath. When that failed to make any sense, I dove deeper into the bottom of every bottle and chased every high I could find. I could not find any way to quiet the demons inside. I finally reached the point where I was done. I wanted the pain to go away.
A week later, I was back on the other side of the country. A place I had not been in nearly 2 decades. It was meant to be a goodbye trip. I was going to make up a story about a far away job and then go full on Leaving Las Vegas. Who ever said you can't go home again is a liar and a thief. Because you can, and should, go home as often as possible. But I digress...
Needing a job, a family member asked me to drive them to their medical procedures and to run errands. This fit me perfectly at the time. It was great, because I love to drive and it was up and down highway 101 on the California coast. Some of the most beautiful country to drive through. I had a lot of time to think.
Eventually, I was no longer able to drive. So another family member took over. He was a bit older and quite the luddite. I begged him to get a cell phone. Tried to implore the danger of driving that road at that time of the morning. He finally relented, so I got him a phone on my plan. The very next day, he hit a black bear at 4:30 am and totaled the car.
Here's the thing. Not long before this, I had a come to Jesus, with Jesus. I got on my knees and asked honestly, for the Lord to reveal himself. Give me a sign, that I can not ignore. Let me just say, I was not ready. Even now, my hands shake and my heart races when I think about the events that unfolded.
After my family member hit the bear, I thought to myself that it could not be a coincidence. The very next day? Too convenient. But still, it's no jug of wine. And then, my mother passed suddenly. She got the flu, which turned to pneumonia and she never recovered. Again, I was devastated. I felt the spiral returning and the dark thoughts reemerge.
And one night, not long after her passing, I had a dream. One of those vivid, almost feels real, kind of dream. In the dream, I was returning from the store and my sister came running out, shouting, "Come and see, come and see!" Bemused, I follow as she leads me to my mom's room. She won't even let me drop the bags of groceries.
As we cross the threshold of her room, I see my mom, sitting on the bed. She had this sly grin on her face. One she would often get when she thought she got one over on you. And behind her, surrounding her, is dozens of women. Some I recognized, my Aunt that passed a few years earlier. My grandmother. Who had been gone for nearly 2 decades. Others I didn't recognize, but I knew they were relatives somehow.
I ran to her, and hugged her. And I felt hundreds of hands embracing me. I never felt so at peace in my life. Then I tried to tell her I needed to put the groceries away so I could spend time with her, but she said, "No!" To which I insisted, I didn't want the food to spoil. She demanded that if I left, she would not be there when I returned. But I knew better. So I left to the kitchen, and dropped the bags. I swiftly returned to say, "Ha, told ya!" And it was an empty room.
A few months went by. My brother in law took me out four wheeling to blow off some steam. We ended up getting stuck and needing to get pulled out. There was a guy with a truck that offered to help but we didn't have a tow strap. Luckily, another man noticed our trouble and offered to let us use his. Sure enough, we pulled the truck out with no problems. I rolled up the tow strap and went to return it to the man. He said, "Keep it, you'll need it again." I thought, rude. Guy says I'm an idiot. Well, he's probably right.
Okay, here's where you say BS. But I swear, this is exactly what happened. The very next day, while making a shop run, we saw an elderly woman, run across 4 lanes of busy interstate highway. We knew something was off, so we turned around and went to see what was going on.
Another elderly woman had broken down across the freeway and this was her friend, coming to the rescue. But she parked on the wrong side of the freeway. And froggered her away across. Somehow successfully! Someone was watching over her, for sure.
So we rolled up behind and found them stopped on a curve. In a very bad spot. She had a dead battery. We needed to get them off the roadside, so we could try and get the battery jumped. I went back to the truck, told my brother what was going on, and we both realized we had the tow strap. Again, coincidence? No, I don't think it was.
Taken at face value, this is just a boring story. It meanders through meaningless periods of my life that I somehow assigned deeper meaning. But to me, this was proof of his divine presence. And that he has heard me. And he cares about me. ME!?! But not just me. Everyone out there, just like me. He's waiting for you to reach out and ask for his hand. Ask for his booming voice to fill your heart.
He's waiting for you. Here. Come and see.
You have a gift in your writing. God is amazing how He reveals His Hand in our lives- we just KNOW. Take care and keep searching. Get a bible you understand and start reading if you haven’t yet. He REALLY speaks to you through His Word!
@@sbee985 Thank you.
Please make a video of your testimony
@@joannaramsey6953 It's in the works. Thanks.
Not a boring story. A journey to belief and relationship.
"it is a God-shaped hole we are trying to fill with material things"
Amen!!
He is absolutely right!
We can only fill a God-shaped hole with God and people need to stop fighting that.✨🙏✨🙏♥️
Those words say it ALL..♥️♥️♥️
@@stickybandit327 Exactly,we need to turn around and meet Jesus,for without Him we cannot come to God.
““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
👌
"And only God Himself will fill it". This quote is from Saint Augustine, 1.600 years AGO. Not Pascal or whoever the comedian said. A SAINT said it, a Doctor Saint no less, second biggest philosopher in history [loses only to Saint Thomas Aquinas], first theologian ever.
Edit: oh btw, there's no salvation outside the Catholic Church.
5:32 Ecclesiastes has always been my favorite book in the Bible, for precisely this reason. Too many Christians, including pastors and priests, ignore this book because they find it difficult or strange. But that is precisely the beauty of Ecclesiastes -- it is *brutal* existentialist philosophy written long before Kierkegaard came along.
Agreed.
priests? I think you have a very wrong view of Christianity.
@@MattyJohn146 , there are priests in most branches of Christianity. What is your gripe?
I like this book too. My grandpa recommended people read it during one of (if not the last) sermon he shared during our family reunion.
@@MattyJohn146 You're right. Priests (and also rabbis, for that matter) will often use Ecclesiastes during certain services and prayers, whereas pastors, especially those lacking rigorous theological training and knowledge of Church history, usually just skip over the book entirely.
I love a God story!!! I love when non believers come to know Jesus Christ! I cry every time. Happy tears
AMEN! all glory to Jesus Christ!
Me too!! God saved me 2 months ago and called me out of the LGBT lifestyle I was in. The Bible is so profound 🥹
@ryanskyy Amen, my brother in Christ!!!!! He is our Redeemer!
@@pamelas1002 me too! Heaven rejoices and so do we!!
@@pamelas1002 yes!! We are so lucky and blessed 🥹
This struck so many chords. It was like music. You could almost hear it. Thank you.
I didn’t know anyone else knew this way to pray.
Over 50 years ago, I had been attending a church and had to know if God was real or this was just a feel-good thing. I actually demanded, “God, if you are real, tell me!" I was crying, I was so desperate to know the truth, one way or the other. I literally felt the weight of God’s hand on my shoulder and heard Him say clearly “I am here”. I have never doubted since the reality of God or His word.
Has the evil one tried to get me to doubt? Yes.
Have I doubted. No. It would have made no more sense than doubting that my husband of almost 52 years was real just because I can’t see him anymore.
Sometimes we should listen to uneducated people, because the educated can be prideful thinking they are wise.
So true... wise in their own eyes but blind to the truth.
Christians aren’t uneducated. Christian’s live in the world of people with worldly views. You have to be brave to be a Christian. Christians think deeply and ask deep questions everyday. Did you not hear what his golf buddy was saying? He sounded uneducated to you? This comedian giving his testimony and throwing out wisdom and quoting proverbs sounds uneducated to you? Christians read, go to college, are self disciplined, are the most productive members of society. The Bible says to work like your master is watching. Only someone so wrapped up in their self would think a Christian is uneducated. We live in the world. Open your eyes.
"All I know is that I know nothing..."
*1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV*
“but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
@@jdog5642 “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Proverbs 26:12 NKJV
My life's falling apart, please pray for me
If I may give you an advice: don't pray, act!
Good luck.
Father in heaven, we come before you now on behalf of your servant, @gabrielacosta2267, who is sorrowful and broken ready to surrender completely to you. Like a rudderless ship that has crashed on the rocks, Gabriela is sinking and feeling like she is about to drown. But you Father are the God of miraculous recoveries. You saved your prophet Daniel from the lion's den, your servant Noah and his family from the floodwaters, and the children of Israel from the powerful armies of Egypt. When all hope appears to be lost, You, Father, make a way when there was no way. When we look at this world through our own eyes and through our own understanding, there is no hope to be found. But when we look with spiritual God given eyes, there is limitless beauty, peace and abundance culminating in The Ultimate Great Hope who stepped down from His throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for a short human lifetime with the singular mission to create a way of escape from the curse of this world, namely sin along with the misery of its consequences and death. He who had no sin, became sin for us that we might have Eternal Life with Him and with you, Father, in paradise, where every tear will be wiped away and there will never be any more sorrow because evil and the father of evil will have been destroyed . Father we now commit Gabriela into your loving, caring hands. We ask that you fill her with your Holy Spirit that she may taste of the sweet goodness that You have in store for her. We ask that you provide a canopy of protection around her and guard her with your armies of holy angels. Open her eyes to see the way out of her "lion's den" and give her the peace of knowing that you already have a way of rescue planned for her even before she can see it. We humbly ask you for these things and thank you for the answers that you are about to provide Gabriela in the name of our dear and faithful best friend and Saviour, Jesus of Nazereth, King of Kings and Lord of Lord's who tells us to "cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us". AMEN!
@@christopheespic If i may give you an advice: prayer is the best thing you can do. You can't act your addictions or depression out of existence. Jesus can. The best thing you can do is ask the one who made you for help and give your life to Him. I've been in a very dark place. Diagnosed with OCD. I've been to a psychiatrist... They couldn't do anything. If it wasn't for Jesus i will either be dead or in a mental institution right now!
You really think that your god has the power to help you, but he won't until you get a certain number of people to implore him to do so?
That would make him a a monster.
@@jsmall10671 God doesn't need numbers to get His attention. Prayer isn't meant to manipulate God to get him to do what you want but rather to change and align yourself with His will to get yourself to do what He wants. Because fulfilling what He wants will bring peace and healing and order to every aspect of your life. Praying for others is a selfless act meant to further your own spiritual walk as well as to aid those who are hurting. God cares about our desires, though He's not a butler, the more His children focus on a certain issue that is consistent with Him, the more spiritual attention is focused on it. God can heal and save even if only one person were to pray to Him
I know Sooo many people who need this word!
But are Rejecting God!
Thank you.
God is Our Strength!
I have to share this. It's perfect. Both the testimonial and the commentary. Glad I came across it. And yes, I know what it's like to be away and to be near God. I am eternally grateful for coming to know Him.
3:16 “you’re not an atheist then, you’re a moron” about made me spit out my eggs😭🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Outstanding!
Very powerful testimony!
I had this experience friday night around 930. 20 years saved, still wrestling with the flesh, feeling defeated, caught in the sin/repent cycle. Christ led me to try and practice being in His presence. Then tell Him everything. The fear, the doubt, the sin, the wants. He gave me true faith in exchange. I understand what you are talking about now, and it does seem impossible to verbalize. I was starting to feel very alone in this experience with Jesus (sounds silly saying) and Satan was chipping away but hearing you say it helped alot. Thank you.
@@Someoldguy76 your words described me! I was in the same cycle. I thank God every day for His love and forgiveness!!
What a wonderful testimony!
“Nothing ever leaves the junk drawer… until you get a shed, that’s the suburban version of the junk drawer.” 😂
@@jmcgraw6 rural, too.
I love Jeff Allen! I actually listened to his stand up and loved his comedy before I knew he was a Christian. What a blessing. Thank you, Brandon.
I was into witch craft and through a series of events I decided to open the bible and opened to that exact place...vanity of vanities.... It started me on a new path.
I’m so glad you left this testimony- hope you look for others testimonies that are similar to yours as there are many and I wish you the best. ❤
I said the same thing when I read Ecclesiastes. Word for word; “THATS IN THE BIBLE!?!?
That feel when you realize God's word isn't a bunch of feel-good nonsense it's actually deep spiritual truth.
Thank you for this. This Man's perspective hits me where I needed it to.
For I am a sinner but he loved me enough to save me and the rest of our human family! Thank you God praise be you for ever and ever!
@@JeremySchwartz2027 Amen🙂!!!
Have you read Matthew 7 _[13, 21-23],_ 13:14-15, 15:7-9, 19:16-19, 24:11 lately?
Board the John 3:1-21 Ark by the roads of Mark 1:15, 16:16, Luke 13:1-5, 24:47, Matthew 18:1-3, John 1:12, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-23, 10:9, Galatians 1:7-9, 1Corinthians 3:18-23 and parallel verses before it is too late - this day, because the door is closing and most will not escape the coming inescapable global flood of fire storm but a remnant and most so called true disciples of the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ _[God]_ clearly for now are exactly who the true Jesus referred to in Matthew 7:21-23 and parallel verses if you are not truly part of the John 3:1-21 qualified remnant. Selah.
God blessed me and hopefully so many more through your sharing of this video! All praise to God and thank you
Thank you, brother 🙏
Dude speaks from his experience living with God. Respect that. God bless!
Amen and Amen! Awesome video. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you from my heart for this beautiful testimony.
I'm crying. I'm so unworthy of His patience, His sacrifice, His love. Thank you, Lord of my life. Great video. Thank you so much for this. I've been reading my Bible and CS Lewis. All unbelievers should read Lewis. He will lead you to the Bible, and the Bible will lead you to Christ. Blessings 🙏🙏🙏✝️✝️✝️
Lewis was part of an occult society....
@@RemnantDiscipleLazzaro-Rev1217 ridiculous. It's easy to disparage the reputations of the dead. Try not to believe all the nonsense you read.
@@RemnantDiscipleLazzaro-Rev1217 oh please tell more, did you ever read all his works, I’ll ponder a guess, no. Stop being lazy and accusatory.
@@CynVee Proverbs 18:13. I have studied the NewWorldOrder since early 2001...how about you oh false accuser and clearly dangerous guilty of Proverbs 17:15-16 like any Dunning-Kruger Effect infected one who engages in strawman arguments because they have to truly learn what it means to be an authentic austere John 3:1-21 qualified one. Galatians 4:16.
God is unworthy of me.
Awesome testimony!!❤❤❤❤
Wow, "closer to Adolf Hitler than to Jesus Christ". That was a powerful statement and reality. Thank you brother for this edifying and encouraging video. GOD bless you and thank you for sharing this mans testimony.
We are not closer to Adolf Hitler than Jesus Christ. Everyone could be Adolf Hitler or Jesus Christ under certain circumstances.
God of the old testament is closer to Adoft Hitler than to Jesus.
@@friisteching3433 I can tell you have not read the whole Old Testament. God is full of mercy in the Old Testament.
@@tobennauzo3933 what mercy did God show the Canaanite?
@@friisteching3433 God knows the hearts of man, and through out the Old Testament as it is today He shows mercy in His patience. If you don’t see the seriousness of sin (in sickness, death & separation from God) and God’s holiness then you won’t truly see how patient He is to those who are lost.
“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.”
Leviticus 18:24-25 ESV
This is referring to the people he destroyed. They were doing really vile things. Also before they were destroyed God offered them to come in peace for their lives to be spared.
“When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it.”
Deuteronomy 20:10 ESV
Powerful message from a man who came to God the hard way. Thanks for posting, he's truly grateful for what Jesus did for him on the Cross. Heard an amazing sermon yesterday...the pastor said that the amount of blessings you'll get from a prayer where you're asking God for something is directly related to how much love you have for Him when you pray that prayer.
Greatly enjoy Jeff Allen's comedy as well as his testimony.
1. Ephesians 5:4 - ***“Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”***
Thank you brother for discussing sin and the gospel on your channel
This testimony had me crying😢
Same here! ❤
@@JeremySchwartz2027 Mark CEN CA thanks for the reply GOD BLESS YOU
Me too! I'm not a big cryer but this one for some reason got me! Praise Jesus!
Thank you so much for your channel ❤
"...we are closer [moraly] to hitler than we are to jesus christ" i have long since held the belief that the scariest thing about Adolf Hitler is not that he was a monster; the scariest thing about Adolf Hitler is that he was not. he was just a man. and that is a VERY hard pill for people to swollow
Love you and your channel. You help me understand more and more how much love god has for us and that jesus was really the perfect example. God bless ❤
People that have come to believe that Jesus Christ is who he said he is - God, a part of the Trinity - are not just uneducated and simple minded people. Some of the most brilliant minds have come to the same conclusion.
Brilliantly put👍
What is the verifiable evidence that this supposed person called Jesus is (was?) a god?
Note: A book produced by copies of copies of fables, with no known author, is not evidence
@@jtapia0 Nobody can prove God to you, only He can do that, but you must ask Him to do it. The Christian relationship is personal. Read the book of John and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you, He will. The Bible claims to be God's inspired word, if you disagree with that, you must prove that it is not. God does not owe us anything. We are the sinners who reject Him and we must be the ones who approach Him and ask for forgiveness. If Jesus is not God we all have a huge problem, we have no Savior. Since His name is the only name given under Heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4). I will pray for you. Time is so short.
@@jtapia0it may not be evidence for you, but it's plenty of evidence for others and you are only the regulator of evidence for yourself, not others, but it's All about Jesus Christ and the truth thereof; the Bible is an integrated message system outside our space time domain knowing the end from the beginning; His story in advance, learn it and trust in the one who gave it to us, immortal grace, so little time 🙏
@@tomvela77 Ahh I see
You already asked a being, of which you have no evidence of its existence, and it has already shown you (itself) that it only exists "in a personal way" for you...
Tell me more.
Time is so short to believe in in circular reasoning
Love this! Thank you!
Amen to this. Love the beautiful gospel call at the end.
I can't help but think about people's resistance to praying that prayer. You don't know what's on the other side of that door. You've experienced trauma and you've built these barriers to keep you safe. And just throwing a door to an unknown universe wide open is terrifying.
It takes faith. But it's not a blind faith. Jesus is real. He proved who he was. The grave is empty! You can trust Him.
Say the prayer. Open the door. Trust Jesus.
Thank you for this.
This is an incredibly brave and humble person that can open up and clearly describe their real life and how God changed their life for better.
Do you believe I to be incredibly brave and humble to open up and clearly describe that I haven't encountered any reason to acknowledge the reality of any particular god?
@TheoSkeptomai the bravery is in the honesty of the answer, this person can articulate their short comings and their honesty in seeking truth and not finding it in the created world. Just making a statement misses the point entirely. Perhaps consider your beliefs as being settled and you are content, however what did you make of the statement that you must be omniscient to disprove God to yourself
@robberlin2230 Do you trust that I, too, am honest in seeking the truth? Yes or no.
@@TheoSkeptomai Yes, if you acknowledge the truth is not subject to your own preferences or ideals, and disqualifies every other option to be the truth. If not, no.
@sauliruottu5871 Do you agree that which is true _always_ comports with reality?
Bless you for this
9:14 wow. That's heavy. "We are all closer to Adolf Hitler than Jesus Christ." Wow
He can talk for himself 🙄.
@@christopheespic Why do you say that?
@@chandlermullins2253 because I don't feel closer to Hitler than to Jesus!
In fact, I don't feel close to any of both.
I can respect him and listen to his argument!
I need forgiveness every single day. I fall constantly and I feel the weight of the shame that brings but I never stop trying. I think about his love and my weakness almost all of my waking hours........ but I keep getting up because he is my father and he loves me.
The book of Ephesians is an excellent book also. I have read it ten times in the last couple of days and find it to be very heartening. Thank you.
Haters, Russel is still an infant in the faith. Give him time to grow and pray that he becomes a great ambassador for our Lord Jesus!
@mpappas57 true I had no idea what I was doing when I first got saved. Even though I grew up in church. After a few years I seen someone doing something and I was like Jesus please help him and it hit me wow I use to do that. And I realized the holy spirit had really helped me grow into who I was always meant to be but was it a bumpy right getting g there lol god bless you all I love you all.
He helped this agnostic of 39 years turn to Jesus and start praising God. So as a baby Christian I can relate.
We’re all infants in faith. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
@@gamera5160amen to that!
10:30 When you read that tears came to my eyes.
Me too-
"You're not smart enough to be an atheist": That, ladies and gentlemen is our sin! We are so vain as to think we ARE smart enough to be an atheist. That vanity keeps from gaining any further knowlege of any kind, especially the existence of God. We are so smart that we stop "Checking our premises" (Ayn Rand).
""You're not smart enough to be an atheist": That, ladies and gentlemen is our sin! We are so vain as to think we ARE smart enough to be an atheist. "
Not holding a position doesn't require any intelligence or information. Holding a position, and defending it, does.
" That vanity keeps from gaining any further knowlege of any kind, especially the existence of God."
Faith that you have the right answer prevents you from trying to gain any further knowledge. It is the assumption that you already have it.
"We are so smart that we stop "Checking our premises" (Ayn Rand)."
That's not being smart, it's being confident in your knowledge. If you have faith that god is real, then you don't need to check your premises.
The 'atheist' you're describing is just a heretic/pagan. Wrong god/belief.
@@SoMuchFacepalm Still have to check your premises. Am I obeying God? That is the ingredient to keep us from forgetting the Lord. Stay humble!
@@geoffreyedwards6691 Take your own advice.
@@SoMuchFacepalm I checked my premises for 40 years. I only recently got humble.
God has a way of humbling us when we won't do it ourselves.
I am going to subscribe to your channel because I like what you are saying. I am a Fisher of men and have steered a few people the right way. I write what I need to say on my note book and give my sermons from it. Currently I am doing the 7 deadly sins. You are a fisher of men and we need to be strong to bring people to God. It brings tears to my eyes when I see an atheist turn to God. How great is that? God bless you and will put you in my prayers. May God give you safe passage in life my brother. Keep up the good work.
In my experience, no one believes in Jesus based on the evidence. That is merely intellectual assent. They come to true belief because they are willing to allow a God they don't know to take control of their lives. That was hard for me to do, but it has made all the difference.
Right on buddy! Outside of historical evidence, there is no evidence. That’s where faith comes in.
Agreed.
So then how do you argue that you "know" your god now ?
Just because you believe it for yourself?
@@jtapia0 you don’t. It’s why it’s called faith.
@@jezzeyable The internal witness of the Holy Spirit is evidence, too, even though it is not a shareable, independently repeatable kind of evidence. There are also numerous reports of visions (especially among Muslims), which is closely related to internal witness. Coincidence (e.g., a word given at the right time) can be another type of evidence. You could call it current history.
Of course, these are all subjective. A person ought to confirm them with additional evidence. But if it gets you through the narrow gate, who’s going to argue the point (other than someone on the broad path)?
Your prayer at the end is very similar to the prayer that changed my life. I was never an atheist, but I was a lost sheep, a prodigal. That day, just over 10 years ago, I surrendered. I poured out my heart to God that if my station in life then was how I would live until I died, I would surrender and accept my fate stoically and accept my judgement at the end. He told me he had prepared a place for me, and he delivered. I now have a productive, fulfilling life on the other side of the globe, and am able to care my my family, my land, and my community. I thank Him every day for allowing me to live a greater life than I ever could have imagined that day.
The greatest uniter is God. Nothing is more real then God.
This is beautiful 😭😭
It's really inspiring, how Bible enters into life and changes more lives.Praise to God. Amen🙏
❤God bless you Jeff and Tami 👆
When I started to watch this video, it brought back a memory from 1954 while I was attending Submarine School in Groton, CT. A group of us were shooting the breeze in the rec room and somehow the subject of belief came up, very uncommon, one fellow said he didn’t believe in the God thing, we were all raised Atheist. A chief that had survived the war spoke up,”Sailor, if you are ever subjected to a depth charge attack, you will be on your knees praying too God like every other man jack on the boat, and on returning to port attending something with a religious overtone, witnessed it many times.”
That doesn't mean anything, not everyone in that kind of situation would pray for a god, and if that is the case which God? The Christian one? Don't think so. Praying doesn't always mean asking salvation to an invisible creature and we have to consider that the west is heavily influenced by religion
@@dext1352 You know not of which you speak! I’m referring to a time well before you were born and probably before either of your parents, a time when the world was not overrun by Barbarism and total ignorance and stupidity.
@NBZW that is exactly what I'm talking about, a time when religion was still held high in the minds of people. A time where not everyone had access to information or culture, so technically speaking, those times were the ones overrun with ignorance and stupidity
@@dext1352 What ever you think best professor, have a good life.
@@NBZW oh yes I will
AMEN PRAISE GOD
Thank you 🙏🇺🇸
Thank you for sharing this video. We all need to remember why and when we came to Jesus. To stay there, we live a life of service . Greatest act of service for us, look to the cross and know that He loves us like no other person.
Could someone please pray for me? Although I lack the words to say, I know the Lord hears me, though I know not what I ought to speak He understands completely. Yet I long, yet I desire, yet… He knows. Lord help me to be patient as I anticipate your perfect timing. In Jesus Christs’ name I pray. Amen. Take care brothers and sisters in Christ. Stay encouraged you don’t struggle alone. Thank you for your prayers.
Hello 👋 of course I will pray for you! You are in my prayers, brother! God bless you! He is always with you and will never leave you✝️😇
Jesus loves you 🤍✝️
Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Wonderful testimony! Verified by my watery eyes
Amen alleluia amen
God can reach each and every one if only they are willing. I loved the brutal honesty of his friend telling him he was a moron and not smart enough. Let us love one another enough to tell the truth. We all act stupidly at times, and sometimes need harsh reality to wake us up.
Very wise and effective video. Moving testimony and Truthful. Entertaining as well. Emmanuel and Hosanna. God bless you and yours!
Wow dude you’re funny! God bless you, what a lovely journey to Christ Jesus ❤
Amen, love you brother
I cannot imagine going through life without Christ, this world is so easy, and has no source of peace, only relentless evil. I am so glad you find Him and can live your life with a future to look forward to.
Beautiful testimony! Just before my encounter with Jesus, I called out to Him and said, "Lord, I hear you and feel you what is it that you want from me?" And then boom, I was overwhelmed with this unexplainable, emotional feeling and dropped down to my knees and saw what a wretched sinner I was. I bowed down to my savior and I ask Him to forgive me. I told Him I wasn't worthy of His forgiveness because, what He did on the cross for me was far greater. At that moment my life changed. I promised to serve God all the days of my life. I promised I would be a bold ambassador of Christ, and that I would raise my children to be bold ambassadors of Christ. All glory to the most high!
Please remember the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ teaches not to go by feelings/heart but by His Spirit.
Board the John 3:1-21 Ark by the roads of Mark 1:15, 16:16, Luke 13:1-5, 24:47, Matthew 18:1-3, John 1:12, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-23, 10:9, Galatians 1:7-9, 1Corinthians 3:18-23 and parallel verses before it is too late - this day, because the door is closing and most will not escape the coming inescapable global flood of fire storm but a remnant and most so called true disciples of the authentic austere Scriptural Jesus the Christ _[God]_ clearly for now are exactly who the true Jesus referred to in Matthew 7:21-23 and parallel verses if you are not truly part of the John 3:1-21 qualified remnant. Selah.
@@RemnantDiscipleLazzaro-Rev1217 So are you saying the Holy Spirit didn't speak to me in that moment? You don't know me and I don't know you, but my born again experience changed my life dramatically. I began to obsess over God. I started to read scripture, study it, and review prophecy to historical events. Are you saying all the Muslims who had encounters with Jesus are not born again? Because I have heard many Muslims who were radically transformed. I did not go by my heart, which is deceitful and wicked, nor did I go by my feelings, but by the calling of the Holy Spirit. Not sure if you read my testimony, but I immediately saw what a wretched sinner I was and asked Christ to forgive me. Jesus Christ is the only one who is capable of cleansing the heart and renewing the spirit.
@@JesusIsKing_JesusIsLordAre you willing to answer some straightforward questions concerning your comment?
@@TheoSkeptomai No
@JesusIsKing_JesusIsLord Fair enough. Then I won't bother to read your comment. Have a great day. Peace.
I loved listening to his comedy show. I never knew he is a Christian.
I heard this guy before , but this time I connected 3 things to my own experience:
1. I went back to God after I realised that I got nothing else left, no wife, no friends, no money;
2. Meaningless meaningless: at that time I was an avid listener of J. peterson, and I agree that in life we need purpose and meaning to strive;
3. Happines: one of my favorite quote is "happiness is only real when shared", happiness is a byproduct of accomplishing purposes and connected to relationships.
God bless you!
It is not necessary to invent an imaginary being to overcome the three difficulties you mention.
@@jtapia0”Imaginary” is question-begging. “Invent” is an unfounded assumption.
@@ricksonora6656Please provide non-imaginary or invent evidence (aka personal experience) for your god or argument that implies that only believing in a god can overcome the three points you stated above.
@@jtapia0 Let’s straighten out your thinking process before taking on more substantial subjects.
Your challenge assumes personal experience is invented or imaginary. By your illogic, your experience of reacting to what I said is imaginary or invented.
Also, I previously addressed flaws in your logic. Why can’t you acknowledge or learn from that little bit rather than dodging like a JW?
There is a unnoticeable difference between skepticism and stubbornness. Nothing wrong with being skeptical, it is wise to not get fooled. Find your goalpost and quit moving it, because stubbornness is hell.
Ok, another bat swing and ball out of the park!!!! Nice job on the ending. My parents one in faith one out at age 78 just received this video. My wife and I have been praying for help and the words you spoke are what they need to hear as they are aging and forgetting they fell in love at 15 married at 19.
Anything is possible with God, Jesus Christ Lord King, and The Holy Spirit in us. All Glory to God. ❤❤❤
This video is great 🌷
As a young man I searched for god and did all the things that was expected of me in the christian community. But all i ever got was silence even though i truly wanted to know god. Why?
God IS there watching, even in His silence. Wanting to make changes in one’s life for the better for all the right reasons and not just because we have been inconvenienced helps too. We have to want that change and want His love deep in our hearts. I started to experience a different world when I became to love mankind and not just “myself” and what was convenient for me. All kinds of wonderful doors opened then.
@@mgichndzI wanted those things so bad and nothing happened.
Christians say that they feel god in their heart. I felt nothing. They say they feel his presence. I felt nothing. They say they have conversations with god. I heard nothing but silence.
@@benjisandk Be silent. Be quiet. He is there.
@@beataversteeg8672 So some people say I do too little and some people say I do too much -hard to figure out.
I think it's very difficult to depend our belief in God based on how we "hear" him or "feel" him. Faith, or trust (Greek pistis), is not primarily an emotional response, although it is a part of it. It's the assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not yet seen as Hebrews 11 tells us. I'm someone who's not very emotional and have problems with regulating it therefore I don't get when people say they feel God's presence or that they hear God talking to them because I honestly don't experience that as much as I want it to, and often when I do experience it, I ask myself if it's just me and my confirmation bias. So I don't put my faith in God based on any of those things.
Believing God and believing in God are two different things. I believe in God, that he exists, but me believing God and what he says is another thing. Again in Hebrews 11:6 it says "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - that he rewards those who seek him - that's trusting His character and His promises, and this reward is not temporal but ultimately eternal. I recommend reading through Hebrews especially Hebrews 11. The people mentioned there had great faith not because they felt or heard God in a way that fulfilled what they want, most of them didn't even get to receive what they prayed for in their lifetime, but they trusted God's promises and character even beyond their prayers' result.
I still struggle with feeling or "hearing" God, but I believe that His word is more than enough to aid me in my walk as a Christian (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Ultimately, my faith is a result of a culmination of different things, not just my feelings or personal experiences.
Sorry for the long response but yes, I hope this helps.
His wife truly is an angel.
Also from @2:36 - 2:50 .. Wow. Glory to Jesus.🤍
Thank you for the shoutout in the description!
As a seasoned testimony clipper with 42 atheist converts to Christianity on my channel… Jeff’s is one of the most powerful.
Life without God has no meaning, without no meaning no purpose!
The end of the matter is by following The Lord everything else is given meaning. Without him, nothing has purpose!
Amen!
@@Daily_Dose_Of_WisdomGood guy, on a journey. Making good progress.
He who honours God, He will honour. Just keep doing what you're doing. Blessings.
Excellent video!!!!
When your heart is hardened you won't accept reality, so only how hard your heart is dertermines how long life has to tenderize you before you are willing to accept you are not God, you are in fact wrong about everything, & the only road away is the road to salvation. Took me 44 years
You spoke of reality….that being what exactly?
@@therick363In the context of his statement, I would say Truth. Truth of the existence of God and the acceptance of Jesus Christ.
If your heart is hardened you should try to lower the cholesterol in your diet. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
>
But I point out that 1 + 1 = 2 and that you have no verifiable evidence of the existence of your god
Am I wrong about that?
@@jtapia0 up to you brother, but realize what the man said also applies, it takes more faith to believe something came from nothing. I have fulfilled Gods mandate by letting you know the truth whether you accept it is up to you, only you can decide when enough is enough. I have no obligation to prove to you anything if you have a hard heart I would just be wasting my time.
When you have had enough if you are wise you will come to Him.
Beautiful.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ecclesiasties is my favorite book for sure!
Jesus ‘THE’ Christ
About 50 years ago Jesus saved me at the age of 20. I will willingly bend my knee to Jesus.
When he said that in order to like the creation, you must need to have relationship with the Creator
Which is absolutely false.
The first mistake is assuming the world was created.
Thank you
So, he didn't have a good reason.
@@YuelSea-sw2rp Yeah, good evidence.
@@YuelSea-sw2rp Good evidence would be something that is independently verifiable and demonstrable.
Nice testimony
PRAISE GOD the eyes of sinners are opened and SOULS ARE SAVED!
God shaped hole in everyone's ❤️ 💙 💜 too true 👍
What were the 5 words?
The opening line of the book of Ecclesiastes
@@Daily_Dose_Of_Wisdom oh. Gotcha
@@Daily_Dose_Of_Wisdom So he used five words to say absolutely nothing.
the beauty of simplicity... (snag) "You're not smart enough to be an atheist" ... hilarious...will be using from now on. THANX!!!
That statement wasn’t meant to be used as an insult though. Really, it’s a statement that one should sit with because it holds such powerful gravity! To be intelligent would to assume that we know such things as whether Jesus was with God from the beginning of time, or, something like what Force created God? We humans think we know so much….but we are so ignorant! Only a wise man knows that he knows nothing at all.
@@mgichndzThat and it takes God to reveal or tell you. It took me a long time before realizing God lives in both Heaven, Earth, and a third realm we don't know about. Why? Because he created Heaven and Earth. So he can stand outside of both. Blew my mind for a while. So now he is even bigger than we thought. We only know Earth. God knows several realms and as in revelations, plan to make a brand new one again.
@@mgichndz “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.”
I Corinthians 8:2 NKJV
“then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.”
Ecclesiastes 8:17 NKJV
“Those who possess wisdom don’t feel the need to impress others with what they know, but foolish ones make sure their ignorance is on display.”
Proverbs 12:23 TPT
For a short time, I used to think that certain influential people I follow online brought me to God, but truly, it was Jesus all along, working them.
Like who?
COuld he work a little harder saving innocent children from priests?
Fantastic!
He IS our inheritance.
Yet the road is so narrow..... see Matthew 7:21-23.
Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. This year has been hard. My mother went to heaven on April 5th. My husband lost his job a month ago. And to top it off our car died. Plus, I've been having weird pain in my pelvis. My mother died of uterine cancer. Both my grandma and great grandma died of ovarian cancer. So I had an ultra-sound. I haven't learned the results yet. Be still and know that I am God. It isn't easy to leave it all in His hands, but once I did I felt such a sense of Peace.
Powerful
Hebrews 4:12 "For the WORD OF GOD is ALIVE and ACTIVE. SHARPER than any double-edged sword, it PENETRATES even to dividing SOUL and SPIRIT, joints and marrow, it JUDGES the THOUGHTS and ATTITUDES of the heart."
So sad they rushed him.
He gives the more fleshed out story in other videos.
Sad he had to wrap this testimony up.