Chat with JulioKelle

It's alright! Take your time, and have fun!

@Anonymous And I still will ask myself is this good enough? I still find myself trying to serve a religion rather than walking with him. My boyfriend is the only person who I speak about God with but he’s in the field rn and can’t talk often (army stuff) and he helps me learn so much.

I too thirst for truth! The Bible also has a lot of difficult things to process, like hell and (for me) the difference of Jews and Gentiles, so I cry out of sorrow a lot when I read the Bible. But it's great that your boyfriend is so helpful!! Man, it must be hard having to be away from him for such long timeframes, so I'm sorry about that.

@Anonymous It is pretty hard. We both go to West Point and it’s demanding but true love never fails. But it’s just a process for me because it feels like I just have to relearn. But I like to keep learning and I want to. I just hope to be good enough:/

@JulioKelle Yes, I've learned that love doesn't even have to do with what you have in common with someone. Some of my great friends have little in common with me, but we still talk! Anyway, btw, if you feel that it's a good idea to let your bf know that you are talking to a guy on NOCD, go ahead and tell him! I wish I could tell my mom that I talk to some people online, but... there's a lot of issues going on with it. There's been a lot of relational problems with my family and the internet

@Anonymous Oh yeah, I’m very open with my man about it. He actually wants me to find friends because I’m scared to talk to other people:/

@Anonymous But Idk I wanna talk more about the religious part of it😂

@Anonymous And also, this is not for anything more than just to talk about God and Jesus and OCD I hope you understand that…

@JulioKelle That's alright. I have a Bible club, and so that's all we talk about there too!

@JulioKelle Is there anything you want to talk about rn?

@Anonymous Oh okay sweet, sorry your previous comment seemed like you were thinking this was more than that😭😭 I was like uhhhhhh ok….

@Anonymous I guess like, just how your relationship has gotten closer through OCD and this… my boyfriend doesn’t have OCD so he doesn’t really understand:/. But he helps me learn how to love and learn how amazing God is and how amazing Jesus is.

@JulioKelle Nah, this is professional lol! Although I encourage you to keep looking for others to talk to here on NOCD, because I honestly don't know how great I am at talking about this kind of stuff. Also, I'd recommend checking out "Chat Now", which is a Christian messaging service for 24/7 texting, and from personal experience it's a great service! I highly recommend it! Although, they don't necessarily have OCD -- they just discuss Christ in general. How do you think you have gotten closer with God because of OCD? Also, have you looked into any nearby churches?

@Anonymous Oh okay sweet😭😭. I’ve never heard of that but I think that’s something I need! And yes I have but it’s the church that’s catholic and I think I’m Christian. I’m not sure like what to do in regards to that.

@Anonymous And like for me it’s like, trying to remember my OCD isn’t me. I think that’s the hardest part is that I think that my OCD is the truth.

@JulioKelle I'm Protestant too, not Catholic. I do think that there are some incorrect teachings in Catholicism, so this is certainly something you want to pray about. If you decide to keep going there, I don't think that's a bad idea either! I do believe there are many Catholics going to heaven because they truly put their faith in Jesus as Jesus has commanded. But yeah, this is something you certainly want to pray about!

@JulioKelle Of course, take my words with a grain of salt

@Anonymous Okay, I don’t even know what it means to be catholic. I just made sure to pass the tests so then I could receive the body of Christ and so then the other thingy (I forget). But my boyfriend is Christian and I think it’s called 7th day something? Idk, but he’s been teaching me about how Catholics go off by tradition and not necessarily the Bible. Which I was like, yeah I don’t really remember reading from the Bible😭

@Anonymous The Christian way has brought much more value and understanding to how amazing God is. I guess for me is like I’m not sure how to start. So I guess trying to find a church? I go to one near school with my boyfriend but I don’t have one near home:/ I have the Bible app and it helps me learn as well as set up plans for me.

@JulioKelle Is it 7th day adventist? Anyway, I believe that what matters is one's belief in Jesus, the trinity, and accepting Jesus's sacrifice to save you; it doesn't matter quite as much what you identify as, it matters if you are right with God. As the Bible says in 1 Cor 3: "For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." And James 1:27 says: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." I don't belong to any particular denomination, but my beliefs align with Protestant beliefs. My top recommendation is to read the Bible! And pray that God will guide you and show you the truth. Having a church is great and desirable too, but spending time with God is what you need to do primarily. I love the Bible app! I read NIV while listening to the audio Bible

@Anonymous This moved me a lot. Thank you truly. I want to follow in God the best way I can. I want to find peace and this educated me on so many levels. I guess I just gotta do my studies and such. I was gonna ask you about tips on like the proper steps I guess😂. Thank you for helping me. How did you find the Bible group?

@Anonymous And yes 7th day Adventist

@Anonymous Also what does it mean to not belong to a denomination?

@JulioKelle The desire to follow God is very great! "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom [or, in other words, respecting God], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) My answer to the proper steps is that there is none. There is no "true steps" for someone to take. And unfortunately there are some people who put all their faith in rituals, even among Christians; but in Mark 7, some people who focused too much on rituals were told this: "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions." So, there aren't any specific rituals that you need to follow, or specific steps that you need to take. Not any specifc ones, anyway. The steps you take are less rigid and set in stone, but much more spiritual. James 4 says, "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you." The steps you should take are the ones that bring you closer to God. After all, you're not getting a driver's license, you're building a relationship with Jesus, right? The key word there is relationship. I would certainly recommend reading the Bible, or listening to an audio Bible, and doing that frequently. There is no set amount that you need to read, but the more the better! I try to aim for a chapter a day, but each person is different. For you, plans might be right up your alley. And of course, take all my advice with a grain of salt

@JulioKelle The Bible group I found was at my college! I was super surprised to see one, since I'm not even going to a Christian college!

@JulioKelle What I mean by "I don't belong to a denomination" is that I don't claim to be 7th day adventist, methodist, or anything like that -- all I claim to be is a follower of Jesus. So, my beliefs are probably pretty similar to a lot of denominations' beliefs, such as methodist and 7th day, but I don't claim to be one denomination or another. I just read my Bible and believe in Jesus!

@Anonymous Ohhhh ok! Makes sense!

@Anonymous Yeah I think this is important for me to know. I struggle with knowing if I’m genuine enough or if what I’m doing is right. Coming now to realize this is up to me and my relationship with him. I guess this is weird for me because I’m so used to having to go to school and then I just learned about him. It didn’t really matter how I felt towards him. So this dynamic is different but it’s a journey I guess?

@Anonymous Oh sweet! Ok:)

@Anonymous I think my bf and a few people in his dorm area do it so I’ll have to try that!

@JulioKelle A journey is a good way to put it. I think we all struggle with feeling like we are good enough. In fact, one of my biggest obsessions was that the things I was doing in my daily life could be sinful! Ephesians 2 says: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." What this is saying is that we aren't saved by anything we can do, but by what Jesus already did. Salvation isn't something earned -- it's a gift from God. In a way, our actions will never be "good enough" to get to heaven and to have a relationship with God by our own accord, but "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

@JulioKelle And that would be a fine idea! The church isn't just the building you go to on Sunday -- the church is God's people. Back in the early years after Christ was risen, they didn't have church buildings; Christians just met at each other's houses to worship!

@Anonymous Yessss, this is what me and man do! Okay I feel a bit more directed!

@Anonymous This made me teared up. I find myself worrying about this as well, but this was beautifully said so thank you so much.

@JulioKelle No prob! It's an easy thing to forget too, unfortunately. Mark DeJesus is a good YouTuber that talks about OCD and Christianity, and Mike Winger is a YouTuber that I like that talks about the Bible in a very logical sense. I'd recommend checking them out, if you're interested

@Anonymous Yes thank you sm

@JulioKelle Also, I thought I heard that 7th day adventists generally emphasize keeping the sabbath holy. Is that correct?

@Anonymous Yes they do, and it’s Saturday instead of do sunday

@JulioKelle Yes, that's what I thought! :) My beliefs are less strict about the sabbath, and I don't believe that it is a requirement to follow the sabbath in a specific way to be qualified as a saved Christian. I just thought that was worth mentioning, since it is probably a difference between your faith and mine.

@Anonymous Yeah, even I’m not sure what that entails tbh. But even I am learning what Sabbath even means. I just grew up “go to church on Sundays” “uhhh ok”

@JulioKelle Yeah, growing up, some things become a habit, and we don't know what reason we do them for! I think that the sabbath was supposed to be a sign between Israel and God. Israel had a lot of rules they needed to follow. Still, being called God's special treasure must have been nice for them. I can't help but feel that there are differences between Jews and Gentiles, just as there are differences between men and women within the body of Christ

@Anonymous You are far more knowledgeable than me, which is amazing. Maybe I’ll get like that too! That’s actually interesting concept that you brought up though.

@JulioKelle Thanks! I'm really not that knowledgeable. I'm just an average guy. But I have no doubt that you will learn as much as I know and far more! Keep being "on fire" for God, and ask for His wisdom, and it won't be long before you can teach me a thing or two!

@Anonymous Yeah thank you, I’m gonna try my best:)

@JulioKelle Just checking in. How are you doing?