How does your christian faith look like?

[Aino]

OK, I just wanted to make a thread where everyone could share how becoming christian has changed their lives and ways of living. Has your way of thinking become different? Do you think differently of people around you? Do you do things differently? Or is there something you used to not do but have started doing now you're christian? Was there something you stopped doing? What about your character - how's God changed you character wise? Is there something you'd wish God would work on next? On the other hand, do you think it's easy for others to realize that you're christian? Do you get asked for your motives for doing stuff the way you do often? Ha, lots of questions. Answer as you wish and what you wish.

 

[Kixa]

My way of thinking completely changed!
I used to always ask myself, "What's wrong with this?" And, "What will I gain?"
But as God worked in my life in a lot of ways. He humbled me and showed my that this 'all about me' way of thinking was wrong; and to make my life joyful and purposeful I had to change. Now, I feel confident int my faith! In just this past year my faith has grown tremendously! I still struggle with many things, but now I impulsively think, "How will this glorify God more?" And, "What can I give to others?"

 

[JordanDaniel]

I was raised Christian, my mother protected all unholy things from even reaching my 5 senses. Once I got into elementary, (now that I look back at it) God helped me out a lot. I was always the best...smartest student. Fastest kid too! Negativity would try to get to me through bullies and what not,I was so close to God it would barely affect me. Then....I decided to watch pornogrophy because of a report on the NEWS!!!(nothing good comes from the news channels). Everything seemed to go downhill there.

Around the age of 8-10 my Dad left to his hometown(200 miles away). That is when I forgot how to sleep... From bad deprivation of sleep I got sick a lot and had to drop out of elementary. Then around 12..my mother died. Worse than 9/11 to me... I had to live with my clinically depressed Dad who could barely take care of himself. From about 4-6 years, I went from a spiked haired kid to a stoner long hair guy who shreds guitar and get any chick he wanted. It's no fun bein that guy. In those years I became addicted to pot,cigarrettes, girls and porn. I was so far away from God. One night my dads family tried to pull an intervention kinda thing after I got home from a party. Ran away, then came back once everyone was gone and I realized I had no other place to go.

The next day my mothers sister came in and saved me from that hellhole. Ever since then I've had an insatiable urge towards the search of my true Parent, my one and only TRUE Father. I have asked for signs and He has shown me through the first shooting star I've ever seen, (almost right after I asked Him for a sign) and thru my family I have seen his work.

I battle the urge for Pot everyday, I have no access to it..so I replace every urge with a cigerrette. It's wrong I know... I hope the Lord forgives me. I have preached to my sinner friends(makes me feel hypocritical,since I was smokin pot.forgive me lord...) I'm only 16, I hope I can mature. When I lived with my dad I ha to take antidepressants, which didn't work, I was so negative cursing at everything,

When you chase the narrow path of god, he changes you,inside and out.

 

[JoanOfArcInvestigator]

I am interested in the lives of saints other than just St Joan and like theology. I am more loving. I am capable of rational thought in winter and autumn. I like learning new prayers and I pray more. I want to do most is serve God well and I am trying to please Him with my actions and thoughts. My goals are centered around God now.
On the bad side my OCD has taken hold of my dislike of sin and I am now a perfectionist with scrupulosity and I always worry that I am not scrupulous enough but I really am too scrupulous and it is definitely not helping me be a better person or Christian.

 

[forest flower]

I am learning to rely on God more and am having Him open my heart to love others more. I have a hope and joy now that nothing can destroy.

 

[siralex172]

Faith for me is redemption and through day to day life its made me more discpline my mind in overcoming things while trying to be steadfast. Faith is my backbone God keeps my paths on course so long I remain seekful, hopeful for the lord.

 

[grandvizier1006]

I was raised Christian, my mother protected all unholy things from even reaching my 5 senses. Once I got into elementary, (now that I look back at it) God helped me out a lot. I was always the best...smartest student. Fastest kid too! Negativity would try to get to me through bullies and what not,I was so close to God it would barely affect me. Then....I decided to watch pornogrophy because of a report on the NEWS!!!(nothing good comes from the news channels). Everything seemed to go downhill there.

Around the age of 8-10 my Dad left to his hometown(200 miles away). That is when I forgot how to sleep... From bad deprivation of sleep I got sick a lot and had to drop out of elementary. Then around 12..my mother died. Worse than 9/11 to me... I had to live with my clinically depressed Dad who could barely take care of himself. From about 4-6 years, I went from a spiked haired kid to a stoner long hair guy who shreds guitar and get any chick he wanted. It's no fun bein that guy. In those years I became addicted to pot,cigarrettes, girls and porn. I was so far away from God. One night my dads family tried to pull an intervention kinda thing after I got home from a party. Ran away, then came back once everyone was gone and I realized I had no other place to go.

The next day my mothers sister came in and saved me from that hellhole. Ever since then I've had an insatiable urge towards the search of my true Parent, my one and only TRUE Father. I have asked for signs and He has shown me through the first shooting star I've ever seen, (almost right after I asked Him for a sign) and thru my family I have seen his work.

I battle the urge for Pot everyday, I have no access to it..so I replace every urge with a cigerrette. It's wrong I know... I hope the Lord forgives me. I have preached to my sinner friends(makes me feel hypocritical,since I was smokin pot.forgive me lord...) I'm only 16, I hope I can mature. When I lived with my dad I ha to take antidepressants, which didn't work, I was so negative cursing at everything,

When you chase the narrow path of god, he changes you,inside and out.

Stay strong, brother. You've been through so much and survived, don't ever give up

 

[grandvizier1006]

As for me, it's a very long story. Put simply, I had so much pain in my adolescence which I masked by being snarky, argumentative and foolish, while claiming to be wise. It all came from loneliness. I was a weird and very ungrateful kid...

And the craziest part that most of it was self-inflicted. Not physical--I've never self-harmed--but just mental and emotional. And the person causing all of the pain was myself, and for a long time I didn't know why. And people really didn't hate me at all--to them I was just quirky.

But a few months ago, the agony and shame of who I had been in the past and who I was in the present was unbearable. I think the average unbeliever might look at me and say, "You're not THAT bad. A little weird, sure, but not hate-able." That would have been true, but from where I stood my sins and my attitude were condemning me to a life of misery. And it seemed like no one at all cared, although they did.

God gave me a hug and told me everything was ok on October 6th of last year. He told me that He loved me in spite of all that I was and had been, even though I thought that someone with a "defective brain" like mine wasn't worthy of being grafted to Christ. But He did it anyway, showing me that He did, in fact, have a place for me. A place I will gladly fulfill.

Ever since then, I've found myself having an intense desire to comfort people, and I feel like I understand my faith much better than I did before. The journey is a long and arduous one, but I will be able to handle it.

 

[BrokenWarrior]

Well, I was a blithering idiot who sinned.

Now God has made me into an entirely new being. My Flesh and Spirit are still at war, and I occasionally try to step in and cause the Flesh to get a good punch in. But I keep on keeping on, Trusting in Christ every step of the way.

-The Current Lowest Servant

 

[forest flower]

Seeing as everyone's confessing on here, I will share with you too. The above is true. Anyway, I was also raised a Christian. I was weird and though I had some friends I did get bullied in primary school, that changed in high school but I still didn't really have friends until last year.

Onto my life with god, when I was 11 I had a big fight inside myself about surrendering to God's will, as you do after you've read the book of martyrs, I ended up picking God regardless of any potential suffering on my part. Most of early high school I had a curiosity about love and sex, ending on Cosmo, bad, then some Christian marriage blogs which gave me healthy views at the start of last year before winding up almost addicted to erotica (please don't search it, it's basically written porn, 50 shades etc.) after mid last year. I told a few close people from my youth group around Christmas as I'd stopped using it so much, then I told most of my youth group on a youth camp over new years. I thought it was over but it's been a struggle even to getting back into old habits last week. Most of my family don't know and no-one at school knows (I'm the innocent Christian girl for the most part) but I do have support from my youth group and I'm very thankful for that.

Now I hear true the phrase, those forgiven much love much. I don't want anyone to be trapped in any sin, and I'll love and support them as much as possible because that's what I needed. I'm so thankful for God's endless grace. So there you have it, the real me, we're all struggling.

 

[grandvizier1006]

Seeing as everyone's confessing on here, I will share with you too. The above is true. Anyway, I was also raised a Christian. I was weird and though I had some friends I did get bullied in primary school, that changed in high school but I still didn't really have friends until last year.

Onto my life with god, when I was 11 I had a big fight inside myself about surrendering to God's will, as you do after you've read the book of martyrs, I ended up picking God regardless of any potential suffering on my part. Most of early high school I had a curiosity about love and sex, ending on Cosmo, bad, then some Christian marriage blogs which gave me healthy views at the start of last year before winding up almost addicted to erotica (please don't search it, it's basically written porn, 50 shades etc.) after mid last year. I told a few close people from my youth group around Christmas as I'd stopped using it so much, then I told most of my youth group on a youth camp over new years. I thought it was over but it's been a struggle even to getting back into old habits last week. Most of my family don't know and no-one at school knows (I'm the innocent Christian girl for the most part) but I do have support from my youth group and I'm very thankful for that.

Now I hear true the phrase, those forgiven much love much. I don't want anyone to be trapped in any sin, and I'll love and support them as much as possible because that's what I needed. I'm so thankful for God's endless grace. So there you have it, the real me, we're all struggling.

I know what that lust struggle is like, I've gone through it too. Hang in there.