Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [wealth, riches and possessions]. Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 24.

I have tried to be a “Have My Cake and Eat It Too Christian,” but it just doesn’t work that way. I thought I could balance my faith like a teeter totter, with Jesus on one side and getting ahead in my job, having nice things and a decent bank account on the other side. Well, what I have found is that when my focus is on getting ahead in my job, possessions and wealth; the worldly end of the teeter totter goes up. I was pleased by the growth I saw in these worldly areas, but when I looked back on the other side of the teeter totter, I saw Jesus sitting there at the bottom of my priorities. Although I’ve tried various ways to maintain a balance to have my cake and eat it too, it just doesn’t work. I need to make the necessary changes to have Jesus on top as my primary goal. When I do this, the job, possessions and wealth are at the bottom of my priorities which doesn’t really seem to matter much, because Jesus provides for my every need.

But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. Luke, Chapter 12, verses 9-10.

Sometimes I feel awkward talking to others about my faith in God. I’m afraid they will shy away from me the same way I want to hide in my house when a particular religious group that has a belief that isn’t compatible with mine, comes knocking on my door. I hate it that God sees all the times I’m afraid to risk on His behalf. I want to be a strong Christian He can depend on, not the “Self-serving Christian” who is worried about what others think.

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. Proverbs, Chapter 4, verses 26-27.

I remember walking with a friend on a dirt road that ran along the far side of my elementary school. I was rambling on about something as I walked, only to be stopped by the squeals of delight from my walking partner. She had found a silver dollar in my tracks.
I had been so busy focused on something else, that I hadn’t watched where I was walking, as she had. If I had paid attention to what I was doing and where I was going, I would have been the person who found the treasure.
Well, Christians also have to watch where they are going and whether the choices they are making are leading them astray. The worldly things in life can lead us off our path of faith. If we focus on God’s will for us, as stated in the Bible, we are more apt to find the treasure of Salvation at the end of our road.