Stress Center Peer Support

Greetings everyone!

In light of the idea that being a Christian is an important contribution to this forum of “Spirituality for Anxiety and Depression,” I was impressed to pose, what I hope to be, a stimulating question. Not, of course, to be intimidating or to open up some proverbial “can of worms.” The purpose that I have for asking this question is to simply stimulate thinking and allow those who wish to do so, to express themselves in the realm of 1 Peter 3:15 which says, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” If you are someone who does not want anything to do with any kind of deep root meaning to being a Christian, then I can respect your choice in the matter and I kindly ask that you do not interfere in a way that would ruin this post for those that believe that it can make all the difference in the world to their mental health. In other words, my question applies to those who believe that it is a valid question. If my question cannot bring about a meaningful exercise in fulfilling the purpose of this forum then I will be glad (or should I say sad) to delete my post.

The question I pose is: “How do you know that you are converted?” Of course, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “Are you converted?” And, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “What does it mean to be converted?” I realize that these are serious and very personal questions and some may wish to give thought or study to them without sharing on this post while others might want to share their knowledge and experience here. If the Christian believes that Jesus is the answer to all our problems, then true conversion must be a reality in the life and not just some idea or theory, not to mention, just some wishful thinking. It’s like there is a difference in just “knowing about God” and actually “knowing God.”

May we all be blessed as we give thought to this question, whether we choose to comment here or not.

Sincerely in Christ

The question I pose is: “How do you know that you are converted?” Of course, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “Are you converted?” And, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “What does it mean to be converted?” I realize that these are serious and very personal questions and some may wish to give thought or study to them without sharing on this post while others might want to share their knowledge and experience here. If the Christian believes that Jesus is the answer to all our problems, then true conversion must be a reality in the life and not just some idea or theory, not to mention, just some wishful thinking. It’s like there is a difference in just “knowing about God” and actually “knowing Go

Gil...I am very happy to say that I am a "born again" Christian!!! Yes, I was converted 21 years ago!!! Thank You Jesus for Salvation!!!

To me being converted (saved) is knowing that you have passed from death unto life because you love the brethren!!!

God is Love!!! Everyone who is born of God is born of Love!!!

Before I was converted (saved), I believed in my mind there was a God!!! I believed that from a child up to adulthood!!!

When Jesus washed away my sins with His precious blood and water that flowed from His side and cleaned up my soul, He placed His Sweet Holy Spirit within my soul that day!!!

From that day forward, I have never felt like I was praying through the clouds trying to reach HIM!!! He lives right inside my soul and no longer do I just believe in Him, but I know HIM!!!

I know that He hears and answers my prayers!!! I feel His presence inside of me!!! I rejoice in Him and I sing praises and my soul is full of His Love and Mercy!!!

My cup overflows with blessings, which, only Christ Our Savior could give to His little children!!!

I love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength!!! He is the Rock I am leaning on!!!

He has been there when I felt soooo all alone in this life!!! I can feel His Sweet Peace and Joy in my soul!!!

I can feel love flowing like a river to my other brothers and sisters-in-Christ!!!

My heart rejoices because I know that I know, that I know, that I am a child of the KING!!!

May God Richly Bless You Gil for starting this thread is My Prayer!!! Amen and Amen

The question I pose is: “How do you know that you are converted?” Of course, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “Are you converted?” And, a prerequisite question to this question could be, “What does it mean to be converted?” I realize that these are serious and very personal questions and some may wish to give thought or study to them without sharing on this post while others might want to share their knowledge and experience here. If the Christian believes that Jesus is the answer to all our problems, then true conversion must be a reality in the life and not just some idea or theory, not to mention, just some wishful thinking. It’s like there is a difference in just “knowing about God” and actually “knowing God.”

Good morning Gil,

I am so happy to see you are well and visiting us. I pray that things have gone well for you since our last exchange of letters and prayers. May God continually shower you with His love and blessings.

Your questions are intertwined nicely.

What does it mean to be converted?
Are you converted?
How do you know that you are converted?

Being converted means that you have come to the realization that: There is more to this life, no matter how you try to do things on your own. Life in and of itself is incomplete, you recognize that this emptiness and void must be filled with something other than the vanities of life.

Then you come to the awareness that there is something much bigger than you could ever imagine that has been missing in your life. It is sort of a spiritual awakening. Then you are led to God, indeed, you may later recognize the means as a supernatural leading; and come to an awareness of His salvation plan for humankind through repentance, dying to selfish desires, coming to understand God's salvation plan for all of us, and acceptance of the sacrificial offering that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

Am I converted? Yes!

How do I know I am converted? I have totally surrendered and found that I could never stand before God on my own; least I be found guilty of sin. He gave me His son as the only acceptable offering for my sins and the son sent me His Holy Spirit to help guide, counsel and help me in my life's journey no matter what I encounter.

This is how I know: I have such an intimate relationship with God, that I speak to him regularly through prayer on continual study that teaches me more of Him so that I may remain in Him and be more like Him. Through this truly intimate Parent child relationship, is how I get to see Him in His glory, listen intently and follow His leadings of me.

I hope you are well and hope to see more of you even if you are well. Your little brother in the Lord.

Hi Gil,

This was a great question and answer posting, that gets folk to probe deep inside of themselves.

I don't know why more people haven't responded, maybe it goes too deep into questioning what, how and why people believe the way they do or posting their answers up for everyone else to review.

I will just say that I am not ashamed to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise Jesus!!! I am forever grateful to Him for what He did for all of us.

Jesus paid debt He did not owe, for a salvation and grace I never deserved! Thank You Jesus!!!

Hi Ms. T Bones and Gman,

Thank you for sharing your excellent comments. I had made an attempt to respond back and share some thoughts of my own by typing something up in a Word document so that I could copy and paste it to the forum. I had started it and saved it to finish later but I ended up having some problems with my computer which I could not figure out how to fix. I ended up restoring my computer back to the manufacturer settings. Before doing this I copied all my documents, etc. to a thumb drive and now I cannot find it. I'm not thinking very straight at the moment, but perhaps I can remember what it was and share it later. I'm still unemployed and I recently moved about a thousand miles away from where I was. It was not a very pleasant thing to do but I'm starting to readjust. A nearby theological seminary is offering a free class in 1 and 2 Thessalonians that starts this week so I was impressed to take it in hopes that it would help keep my mind stimulated.

Your prayers in my behalf are still appreciated. It has been over a year now since I lost my job and I want to thank all of you on this forum for sharing things that have helped me to cope with my situation. And, of course, we all have our "situations" and it is a blessing to share and pray together.

God's blessings on you all!

Hi Gil,

You posed a tough question. The first thing that came to my mind was the parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20 but I just came across what Boom wrote in the prayer request thread that "real love is an action and a choice and not a feeling."

When I came to believe in the Messiah it was a choice in my mind, not a feeling. Feelings come and go, are not concrete and can confuse us to no end. Look where it has gotten all of us on this forum, LOL.

But much of it is faith. The definition of faith from the Webster's 1828 dictionary is this (I chose 2 out of the 10 definitions):


1. Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. ex: I have strong faith or no faith in the testimony of a witness, in in what a historian narrates.

3. In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called "historical" or "speculative faith"; a faith little distinguished from the belief of the existence and achievements of Alexander or of Cesar.

So in my estimation, between what the Bible says and my faith, I have the "golden ticket" if you will. Plus I'd rather live this life as a believer even if it was ever revealed to me that I was wrong, because my life has been made richer upon knowing my Messiah.

I guess that would be the "short" answer from me.