Becoming a better Christian

[GunpowderGelatine]

I was raised Catholic, but since adulthood have seldom gone to church until the last few years. DD attends a catholic school and is very committed to her faith and I'd like us all to be a bit more involved in general. But I feel that 'just' attending church is a bit like paying lip service IYSWIM. What can I do to be a better Christian?

I suppose I have some guilt because I spent much of my 20's identifying as an atheist and being a bit sneery about religion. Why? Honestly, and again I'm ashamed to say - it was the en vogue thing to do at time (or certainly felt like it). I also experienced abuse as a child that made me question everything and my faith wavered. I envy people with unmovable faith, and since we started making the effort to attend church I can see the kindness as compassion increasing in us all. I will admit I don't 'buy' every last thing in the Bible, but I do have faith and I feel like I fit in so well with Christianity.

I guess I'm asking what you believe makes you a good Christian?

For starters I don't believe there is any such thing as a "good Christian" and actually the notion that there is, is incredibly damaging. Damaging to people's self esteem and ultimately their ability to connect with God.

I attend what would be classed as a modern or evangelical church which makes a point of teaching the difference between "religious thinking" and a true relationship with the living Creator God.

Joyce Meyer "Battlefield of the mind" might be a good starting point, and plenty of free talks on YouTube!

A 'good' Christian follows the word of Jesus.

Jesus was a very wise guy. - www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4512335/amp

All organised Christianity these days is not at all Christian. Especially Catholicism. Article above is a good reference point on how to become the perfect Christian.

Sounds like you want to be a the best person you can and that's not something that's tied to a religion. It's about being more loving and understanding, wanting to add good to the world by showing the goodness in you.

Being a 'good person' is a fine aspiration. I think most people share it.

For some of us, the help and motivation we have to be the best people we can be comes from our Christian faith. It's a solid anchor point in a very stormy world.

Personally, my Catholic faith is a strong support when I am weak, and a constant spur onwards, both deliberately, through the relationship I have with Christ, and accidentally, by the errors I and the Church organization make that move me to do and be better.

Loving your neighbour.

Getting away from the "I'm worth it" culture and moving to "the other person is worth it" view. Thinking of others before yourself.

At the end of the day I am definitely not a good Christian all the time. I am a human and I make mistakes, get angry and speak without thinking. But I do try afresh each day.

I do tithe, and give extra on top of that, and I do serve in the community This isn't to try and get to heaven as some atheists might think, but just to try and love my neighbour as Jesus teaches us.

I identify as a Christian but I fall short. I swear. I drink. I occasionally gamble. I do do voluntary work on to of my job but by the standards of Jesus I am pathetic. God is perfection. We are flawed creatures. Follow Jesus. Repent your sins. Try not to repeat them.

To say that you don't buy everything that is in the bible is where you should start, really.

It states in the bible;

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Holy Spirit worked through men to write the Bible. He would never allow it to move on the planet if it was incorrect or some of the stories were wrong. It is the absolute foundation to your faith.

You will find that you have unmovable faith when you read the Word often. It was His gift to us. We should be rejoicing in the Word. We speak to Him through prayer. He speaks to us via his Word.

I am not catholic and I would urge you to look into other doctrine. But that is your choice.

God bless you.

God saw our sin and rightly so, should condemn us to hell. But He sent His only begotten son to the earth, to atone for our sins. He died, he rose, we repent, believe in Him and live in Him, and Him in us! Praise God.

It's challenging, I go through periods of agnosticism and strong faith.

I wouldn't particularly say there was a correlation between attending Church each week, and being a "good Christian".
I like to attend Church for the fellowship, for the sens of belonging, to meet with my "Church family" . I attend Church because I like to sing hymns; I like to share prayer concerns; I like to listen to various preachers' thoughts; I like to have my thinking challenged; sometimes (more so when my dc were little) I just loved that 40mins of peace (after they had gone out to Junior Church and creche), to just have a short time of peace during each week.
I don't think any of those reasons make me a "good Christian" but they are all darned good reasons for attending a Church.

Try reading the Bible, praying each day & going to church a few times. Take it from there. Read a few books - there are loads out there on all aspects. But take the first step and hopefully God will guide you from there.

I am also Catholic and love my church, I love that it is universal and I can go virtually anywhere on the planet and find a Catholic church and a local Catholic community.

To grow in faith and love there are some straightforward things we can do. The first is to develop a prayer life. Like any other relationship we can only learn about another person by spending time with them. You can start this is in very simple ways. It is good to aim initially to pray for 20 minutes a day. Chose a time of day that works well for you and when you feel at your best. Try and have a regular time so that it becomes a habit. There are lots of different forms of prayer. Asking God to answer your prayers are “petitions” but also just sitting in God’s presence is a very powerful form of prayer.

I would suggest that you buy a candle that you like and have a quiet place that you can hopefully pray every day, or most days. Light your candle as a way to recognize that you are setting this time aside for God.

Look up on your phone what the Catholic mass readings of the day are. You can read all of them or just the Gospel. After reading the Gospel, reflect on what you have read, if you like to journal, jot down anything that comes to mind.

Then reflect on the past 24 hours and thank God for experiences and people that you are grateful for.

Then think about what you might have done better and could have done that you didn’t and ask for forgiveness.

Then pray for anything in particular that you are concerned about, if anyone comes to mind during this time, offer them to God.

Then ask the Holy Spirit to come and pray in you and draw you closer to God. Sit quietly in God’s presence for as long as you want. It’s fine if your mind wanders just quietly bring your mind back to focusing on being within God’s presence (just like when you sit with a good friend). If to begin with you don’t feel any different or you feel bored or distracted don’t worry. This is not a sign of failure of any kind. Prayer is a gift from God so we have to make ourselves available and listen. Just make this time exclusively for God and wait on Him is prayer. Even if you feel no positive emotions (such as peace, joy, contentment) don’t worry at all. We don’t rely on emotions in the spiritual life, but on the will. And your will is with God. Love is an action and you are choosing God.

Just think of it as any love realtionship. When you sit with someone you love, it makes no difference if we are feeling down or happy, distracted or focused - we are still choosing to be with that person. Your relationship with Jesus is exactly the same. You cannot know someone if you never choose to be with them. The more you regularly chose to be with God the more grace you will experience.

Another form of prayer is praising God and if you like to sing or want to listen to Christian music or chant and find this helps, you can use this as part of your prayer time.

If you feel inspired in any way and feel Jesus is moving your heart, you can write it down. Over time, if you jot down your thoughts you will often find patterns and ways God is speaking to you.

Prayer is very simple but if you do this daily you will find your heart and life changing.

I often like to read books by my favourite saints and mystics during this time, if you want recommendations I would talk to someone at church who you can tell has a strong prayer life because of how loving they are - you can’t help being drawn to people who are close to God. There is a supernatural beauty there.

The Mass is the most powerful prayer, so regularly attending Mass will strengthen and develop your faith.

It’s important to be in a state of Grace to draw closer to God and be able to recognize God (in fact the desire for God is a prayer in itself). If you haven’t been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation for a long time, look up an Examination of Conscience on the internet and pray and reflect on it. Write your answers down if necessary. Then go to the Sacrament and be very honest with God. You will immediately see a difference in your prayer life because you have removed blocks.

Regular use of the sacraments: Holy Communion at Mass and frequently going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation will draw you into a deeper relationship with God. I would also join some kind of group at church so you know others who are also wanting a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life.

As others have said there is no such thing as a good Christian or a bad Christian - just Christians! So please don't feel bad or guilty. Remember the parable of the prodigal son - the father looked out for his son every day hoping he would return. And when he did come back he threw a party! There was no bit in that parable where the father berated his son.

I often find it difficult to pray and read the Bible, but I have found the Pray as You Go app really helpful. Each day it leads you through a meditation on a Bible passage and through some prayers. It's brief - only 12 mins or so, so an easy way to start out.

Just make up your mind that kindness is the only thing that matters. I am sure that this would be enough to satisfy even the most demanding of gods.

Take to heart Matthew 25:40, and try to see everyone (including yourself!) as He sees you. For me that's what can make a huge difference in someone's "goodness". I have witnessed too many Christians who nod their heads and appear perfect inside church on Sundays and then ignore the homeless man on the street outside. Some might deliberately show off how they are giving money but they'll continue to "other" the person. Maybe perhaps if they really acted on Matthew 25:40 they would have found a new friend. :(

Remember our primary example, Jesus Christ and try to emulate Him by taking time for prayer and study.

For me I have a power hour first thing, it roughly breaks down to 15 minutes scripture reading, 20 minutes scripture study, 10 minutes prayer, 10 minutes watching a video presentation and 5 minutes reading a current magazine or website article (that have been published by my church). It sets me up for the day.

If I have an especially busy day I try to ensure prayer (because you can do it anywhere!) and some appropriately uplifting music.

I believe that being a good person comes from within. It doesn’t need to be spurred on by fear or judgement from an outside entity. There are ‘good’ Christans and ‘bad’ same as with every religion and people. Some very religious people who followed doctrine and protocol to the letter have been very very bad people unfortunately.

When developing a prayer life with our loving God is it often advised to start with modest goals that we find doable and can commit to. As we gradually increase and advance in our prayer life it is natural to want to pray longer. At the beginning the goal should be that we can faithfully meet God each day and prayer is something we want to do and so a small commitment is often wiser.

Kindness, goodness and other loving virtues will naturally increase as love and grace increase. It all flows from love.