Sinking Christian

This Bible passage is when Jesus walked on the water to meet the boat with the disciples on it.
But straight way Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.  And He said, Come.  And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying Of a Truth Thou art the Son of God.  Matthew, Chapter 14, verses 27-33.

After God allowed me to experience the miracle of losing 80+ pounds of excess weight, my church was having a garage sale.  I looked at my big clothes and thought I probably should keep them in case I gained all the weight back.  The thought was in my head that I didn’t trust God to take care of me.  I was virtually saying, “God I’m going to keep these big clothes just in case you don’t continue to take care of my weight problem.”  This realization made a major difference in my life.  I decided to get rid of the big clothes immediately.  I definitely don’t want to be a Sinking Christian just like Peter did when He wasn’t trusting Jesus to take care of him.

Here is a related passage:
*And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you.  Matthew, Chapter 17, verse 20.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Positive Influence Christian

Another parable spake He unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.  Matthew, Chapter 13, verse 33.

I’m not really sure what this means but will explain what it makes me think of.  It reminds me of an office that I worked in for the government, some years ago.  When I first started working there, the group of ladies I had break with, spent a lot of time complaining and harping about unproductive issues.  After I felt more comfortable and mentioned my faith in Jesus, I found that some of those ladies opened up about their faith, as well, and the tone of our breaks seemed to change.  They seemed kinder to each other and our discussions weren’t focused around unproductive issues and griping.
I think Christians have the ability to be a positive influence through their example, even though it may seem insignificant at the time.  As a Positive Influence Christian, you may set the foundation for spiritual growth in someone, similar to how the flour grew from a little bit of yeast.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Choose My Timing Wisely Christian

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 6.

When I was in high school there were lots of different groups of kids.  Well, they called one of these groups the “dopers” mainly because their lives revolved around recreational drugs, losing sight of all else.  As a Christian, I value my faith in Jesus above all else (my pearls.)  I could have walked into the crowd of “dopers” and told them that Jesus has positively influenced my life in ways that I would like to share with them.  Do you think I would get a warm response?  You’re right; they would tell me to get out of there and give me a hard time, not being open to any of the things that I wanted to share with them.
My faith in Jesus is better shared with those who might possibly be open to listening to me.  Now that doesn’t mean that I am not to share my faith with those who use recreational drugs or have worldly lifestyles.  I can choose my timing wisely and approach those people one-on-one, at a time where I think they might be more receptive.  If I really want to share my relationship with Jesus, I will try to be more of a Choose My Timing Wisely Christian to maximize my potential of successfully doing this.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Control Freak Christian

These are some of my most favorite Bible verses.  In fact, I love this passage so much that I asked the minister to say this at my wedding.  It is long but it’s wonderful!
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?  or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)  for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 25-34.
This passage has been instrumental in a major change in my relationship with God.  Most people have some type of vice.  Various people drink, some have affairs, others use drugs, but mine is my need to be in control.  It’s really difficult for me to not be in total control of all aspects of my life, as well as, other situations that arise.  I remember how I used to plan, calculate and budget every single cent.  I would do this a month in advance, fretting over my finances the rest of the month.  Although, this might be good for someone who spends too much money, it wasn’t good for me because I wasn’t letting God be in control of my life.
I think people with control issues are probably great people to have on committees, because they make sure all the details are taken care of.  It’s not always a blessing to be that much in control of things.  When I’m in total control of everything in my life, I’m not trusting God to take care of me because I’m too busy trying to plan everything.  It’s kind of like I’m saying, “Wait in the wings, God.  Let me see what I can do first and if I can’t figure it out, then I’ll turn to You for help.”  Everything I read in the Bible states repeatedly that God wants me to turn to Him for everything.  That’s why I’m writing this book.  It’s to show people that God doesn’t say, “God helps him who helps himself.” God wants us to turn to Him in all things (paraphrased).
Control also played a part in my eating problem.  I used to be around 70-80 pounds heavier.  I always figured that I could lose the weight if I went on my “good diet” and stuck with it.  I joined about every weight loss group around and several times, at that!  I went on my “good diet” and found it wasn’t productive either.  Then I sat down in my bedroom one day and said, “I give up, God.  I’m always going to be heavy.  God, if you want me to ever be thin, You’ll have to take care of it because I can’t,”…and you know what, He did!
From that moment on, the desire for sweets and great quantities of food were taken away from me.  I didn’t do anything, in and of myself.  God did it all!  This all happened because I asked God to take care of it.  I guess this was probably one of the first times I had really given up my control.  The reason I said this prayer wasn’t because I was expecting God to take all my weight away.  I was just giving up and was turning it all over to God because I didn’t want to worry about being heavy anymore.  He used this miracle to turn my life around and to show me that He needs to be the One in control of my life, not me.
If God takes care of things in nature, He will surely take care of me and all my needs.  I find that when I’m not spending so much time being a Control Freak Christian, trying to be in control of situations and people, I have much more time to spend focusing on God and my family.  That’s because I’m trusting God to take care of situations that arise.  Now, this isn’t to say I don’t slip into that control mode, at times.  It’s my vice.  I think Satan knows that anytime I’m in my control mode, I’m using the “I’s” and “Me’s” to make things happen.  In other words, I’m controlling situations, which means I’m not focusing on God.  I’m glad God takes the time to keep reminding me that I need to turn to Him in all things.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
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