I've asked a few questions and people seem to be really kind, considerate and insightful, so I'll ask the one that has been on my mind for a while. Can you really have a relationship with Yahweh, and how? I mean is there really a difference in your life? I don't expect loud voices talking to me or anything but is it really possible? I have a desperate urge to to draw close to Yahweh but I'm sort of scared.


Thanks
Mike.

That's a really good reply, Juskie. I too have heard the soft voice. And Mike it is very scary at first because you are afraid that you might be decieved or that you might just be making up stuff to comfort yourself. For me personally there are a few ways to avoid that fear. Be a Berean. As Juskie said, weigh everything against the sciptures. If it's something that Yahuweh would want or would say according to what he has said in the scriptures then it is him. Don't expect to get the answers you want or how you want to hear them or when you want to hear them. I will ask for peace or wisdom or understanding about something and I will wait for hours or days, and then I will be replying to a message on the board and the concept that I prayed to understand will come to me with particular resonance and happiness in understanding...it's as if I had always known it. The joy is that I know that I was confused to the point of madness and that I didn't find the answer on my own and there it is like poof right in front of me and I realize my fingers had been used by Yahuweh to answer me. Pray according to Yahuweh's will and not your own. What I mean is Don't ask Yahuweh for 10 billion bucks and lots of chicks in bikinis. Pray to him for things that he would want you to have. When I first started out on this path I knew virtually nothing. I prayed to Yahuweh for wisdom as Solomon did. I have grown in the word so much in the last 6 months that it's almost impossible for me to believe I could have done it on my own. The connections I make and the understanding that I have gained are just incredible. Mind you I am not perfect, but I have come so so so far in so little time. And last but not least....persist. I will only say one more thing. You should not be afraid to have a relationship with your heavenly Father. He loves you more than you can comprehend. If you do not speak with him and if you do not give him the chance to speak to you...others will. In my experience once I opened myself up to true belief in Yahuweh's word and acquiecense to his existence and his plan, I was attacked and accused and berated by the adversary or his minions endlessly. I believe he did it because I had opened the door but I hadn't walked through. He was desperate for me to close that door while still standing on the other side. He reminded me of the horrible things I have done in my life, the bad things, the untasteful things, the things I did when I was 3 years old the things I did when I was 5 years old, he reminded me of taking a cookie and blaming it on a fly when I was 4 years old, he tried to make it obvious to me that I had no hope. He scratched open old wounds, long past embarassments, and ancient regrets. It's his ply and trade make us abandon hope. I believe Yahuda (Judas) could have been forgiven. But he wouldn't allow Yahuweh to forgive him because he had allowed himself to be accused by the adverstary to the point of no return. David was a murderer and an adulterer...Moshe was a murderer as well. But these men were beloved by Yahuweh. Death is the steepest penalty in the scriptures and Yahushua payed it all in full so that you could have a relationship with him...HalleluYAH! Before that time I had some sense of moral duty or what not. But I really felt no guilt for the things I had done. It was like a storm in me all of the sudden. I think he knew that this was his last gamble and he put all the chips into the center of the table. Fortunately he lost, and I walked through that door. I think that in a way you have opened yourself up to this too. No matter if you like it or not you will keep some sort of company. It might as well be Yahuweh.

KP certainly has a way with metaphors, as the picture he painted fits perfectly.

For me, it is hard to tell you about a difference in my life, as I don't really remember not having a relationship with Yahuweh. Before I came to know his name, I was at a church revival, and the guy was asking people when they were saved, and all these people knew exactly how old they were and what was going on. I didn't have that, because for me, I had always been in a relationship with Yahuweh, I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't (as an aside, the guy made me feel ashamed and I got the feeling he thought I wasn't saved, because I didn't know the exact date, I'm glad that my relationship with Yahuweh was strong enough that I didn't bother paying attention to him). Now, this doesn't mean I am perfect, as I certainly can recall when I have messed up, but those don't really matter, I just tell him what I did and I keep trying to get better. It it like talking to "Dad", although there are times when instead I feel like I am talking to a brother or a best friend (Yahushua) and even times when I feel like my "Mom" is there comforting me (Ruach Qodesh). I almost have a running dialog in my head throughout the day, though I don't actually hear an audible voice talking back.

I will assure you though, there is no reason to be afraid. Give in to that urge, as he has the same urge for you to enter a relationship with him. It really is like kp illustrated, right now you are in that infant stage, but he is there watching over you, eager to teach you, interact with you, and get to know you.

Your a poet KP a true American Poet.