February 7, 2024 Rewrite

Version 0.1

1-Preparing for Resolution of Conflicts

This website is intended for believers dealing with one of two challenges. One, God seems silent or distant. Two, a feeling of conflict regarding the faith.

Introduction

Some believers are wrestling with contradictions in the faith. Some believe their spirituality could be better or have been better if not for the sense of contradiction. We will present some ideas for dealing with those later through a series of tests. Before getting started, let’s make sure we are practicing good spiritual habits: Spiritual Nourishment.

Bible

Read the Bible. If you have not been reading it, start small and commit to reading one verse per day. Some of us had to start with one per week. If you simply can’t achieve that goal, do this: commit yourself to open the Bible each day, glance at a page, and then close it. For an app, open, view, close. You may be thinking right now that this is pointless. Try it. After a day or two, you know this use of your time provides minimal benefit and is pointless. Now, you have cause to change it to what may improve your well-being. You may want to consider reading a verse each time verses are in view. The principle is to start as small as necessary and build a series of successes. Each time is like putting a small deposit into a savings account.

There are many ways to access scripture. Choose one and use it. Try another mode if the media does not fit your learning style or is impractical.

Many apps and websites provide a daily verse.

Many audio options exist. Both my free music app and the paid version offer access to the Bible.

One of my most used approaches is the Blue Letter Bible (BLB) app. It offers many versions of the Bible that are accessible when your device is connected to the Internet. Do you plan on a camping trip? Several of the versions can be downloaded to your device for offline use. The app has so many features you can choose from that everyone can use. One feature is options for an audio version of the Bible. Sometimes available in dramatized as well as straightforward reading. The text can be set to scroll automatically. Experimenting with it can make it possible to coordinate with the audio version. The audio version has a speed control. The app website offers several more tools, many or all at no charge. A surprising and fun feature was a live user map. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

If you have a day where you have scheduled only a few hours or perhaps twenty to study the Bible, consider software. E-Sword is free and has excellent features. Other programs exist and vary greatly in price.

Pray

Aim for daily prayer. You can find prepared prayers or simply pray what comes to mind. Commit to start praying. You might want to try the day’s main meal; you do not have to close your eyes and bow your head. As you pick up the fork, direct your attention to God and say, as a thought, thanks.

Suppose you have been saying thanks for the food, but now you want to take the next step. You find many examples of prayer, but nothing seems right. So here is an entirely different idea. Find a Christian song and focus on the words as the artist performs them. Once you do that, see if you can find a way to direct the words to God as a prayer. Be open to a creative direction in prayer that provides a sense in your heart that God approves and is beneficial. Here is a creative modification: there may come a day when you direct your attention to God and start humming a tune, any joyful tune that emerges, to Him as a prayer - - and you have confirmation in your heart that you did what you were supposed to. Many of us would ask what a random tune directed toward God means. But that’s not the point. Is your heart sincere when you do that? At the very least, you are explicitly taking an action to honor God, perhaps the best way you can do so. Our faith is a matter of the heart first. For another option, get a copy of the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6.9-13, and change to words to fit you.

Aside: what God empowers works. Who am I (author) to say what will not work for you?

Gathering

If you are not gathering with other Christians in the name of Christ, then find a way to start doing that. There could be someone who, for reasons of health, transportation, or other, simply can not do that. Find a live service on YouTube or through their website and start attending it via the Internet. Participate to the extent that makes sense to you. Some people simply can’t sit through a full ninety minutes, sixty minutes, whatever. Do what you can. Start.

Summary

If you have not been doing Christian practices, then you may not want to take on everything mentioned here. Start small.

If you do not consider yourself a Christian but did at some point in your past, then do what you think is right for now. If anything in this article seems worthy of doing now, then start doing it. If not then continue to 2-Preparation.

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The ‘Conflicted’ Article Series

This description of the articles in the series is the same for each article. The basic series consists of Prep 1 and 2 and Bible 1 to 4.

If you still practice the Christian faith, start with articles Preparation-1 and Preparation-2. If you no longer consider yourself a Christian, then skim the two preparation articles for anything you might find interesting.

The last line of each article will be contact information or indicate how to find it.

Orthodoxy

Regarding churches, the scope here is limited to mainstream perspectives. The intent is all who generally fall under the Reformed perspective, the Armenian, and to the extent we know how the various types of catholic churches.

Preparation 1

Read the Bible, pray, and regularly expose yourself to Christian content in person or via TV or radio.

Preparation 2

Answer the question, who is God?

Contact Information: Go to the About main page and scroll to the bottom.

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