Depression and confusion

[Destroyer2000]

Hey guys. I'd like to asik some prayer for myself - this past week, or I'm not sure how long, I've been slowly falling away from God and becoming depressed. I don't like this - I want to feel close to Him again. I was to grow in His grace and knowledge, and become a stronger servant to him. Also, I've recently heard a lot of talk about the end times, and the end of the world, relating to one of the candidates. I haven't seen any political threads on here, so I won't open that can of worms, but some people say one of the candidates might be the Antichrist. I'm not ready for Christ to return, to be perfectly honest. I want to be excited, to be able to think ahead to the day when He does, but it scares me to death. And I want to grow up, and have a family as well. So, yeah, all this talk bothers me.
Feeling distant from God is a horrible thing; to doubt your salvation, and to wonder if you are really living for Him. Latley, in school I've been trying to set an example for those around me; I'm blessed in the fact that I'm not the only Christian in some of my classes. In any case, I want to serve God in a way that He will be pleased with.
To sum it all up: I'm scared. I don't want to feel distant from Him, I want to grow closer to Him and be a stronger Christian. I want to feel genuine passion and joy in my life at the thought of His Kingdom, and I want to live in a manner that would please Him. So I ask prayer, and also, a question: do any of you have any suggestions for me to follow to become closer to Christ? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever been in this postion. I thank you in advance.

[Tsukuyomi]

I'll be praying that all works out for you Just take it one step at a time

[Prince Asbel]

I could tell you about the candidate end times bit, but I'll do that via PM. That is, if you wish. Let me know, okay?

If you doubt your salvation, I would have a few questions for you. What is the gospel? And is the gospel you understand today the one that was preached to you before?

I think the major problem here stems from Arminianism. I don't know if you know what that means, but I'll spare the lecture. Basically, if you think it's up to you to maintain a spiritual integrity worthy of salvation, you will NEVER feel ready for Christ's arrival. NEVER. This may sound odd, since you asked how to improve spiritually, but once you recognize that there is nothing in you that can get you out of spiritual death, I'm sure you will feel better spiritually, and psychologically. I'm sure you struggle against sin like any other Christian, but one of the fundamentally basic teachings of the Bible is that man deserves hell, and that without Christ, you could never get to heaven no matter how hard you try. Arminianism blurs that truth, and teaches you can lose your salvation. Well, that's just simply untrue.

So that's what I have to say about that. I will pray for you, and I have two answers to your question. Seek spiritual help from a close acquaintance. Even if it means resorting to someone on the internet. Obviously you have to obey the Bible, but you must also seek another person to discuss this sort of thing with. And STUDY. I don't mean getting up every morning and reading the Bible day-to-day from one end to the other. STUDY it. Look it up on the net, research it. Talk to pastors, read Christian books. Go to a Christian bookstore and find a book on how to live a Christian life. Listen to audio clips, podcasts, debates, lectures. Let it influence your life in that way. And try to find someone who does the same.

I hope that helps. I'll be praying for you, Destroyer2000.