I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Turn Toward What Matters
Around 957 B.C., after King Solomon spent years planning, building, and, finally dedicating the temple that his father, King David, had longed for—God made Himself known by sending fire down from heaven and filling the temple with His presence.
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night, explaining how He’d heard his prayer and chosen his temple—reminding Solomon how the Israelites should respond when they encounter hard things. He said:
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
Though this specific message was given to a specific people at a specific time in history—humbling ourselves, seeking God, and turning from our sins are timeless actions that we should continue to live out.
True humility, honest prayer, and genuine repentance are the keys to intimacy with God.
And we can’t fake it. We can’t just go through the motions. We can’t merely pretend to “look” humble and repentant … and we can’t do these things on our own.
We need to come to God in order to receive His help. We need Him in order to maintain a posture of humility, prayer, and repentance.
So if you’ve found yourself feeling distant from God, trying to do things your own way, or intentionally running in the opposite direction of your Creator—it’s not too late to turn around.
You can still come to God, admit that you can’t go through life alone, and seek His help. He’s a loving, forgiving, and healing Father who specializes in making all things new. He never stops inviting us to draw near to Him.
Luke 11
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity...
Remember What God Has Done
Remembering what God has done is an important part of Jewish worship...
After God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, He instructed the people to remember His words. He told them to diligently teach His commands, and to talk about them in their houses, when they walked, when they were lying down, and when they got up in the morning (Deuteronomy 6:7).
The Israelites were told to constantly remember what God had done, who God was, and what He had said.
And so, in Psalm 85:2, the Psalmist engages in an act of remembrance by reflecting on God’s forgiveness:
“You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.” (ESV)
The Israelites had sinned against God many times, and many times over God forgave them. The author of Psalm 85 didn’t want Israel to forget God’s great kindness, so he crafted a Psalm that would remind anyone who repeated it of God’s mercy, forgiveness, power, and love.
The Psalmist appeared to know that purposefully remembering what...
