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.
Be Prepared
Throughout His ministry, Jesus often used illustrations when giving instructions, compelling His listener to consider a deeper meaning. And when empowering His disciples, right before sending them out into the world, Jesus told them:
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 ESV
What do a bunch of animals have to do with Jesus’ directions? Here are a few things to note:
First, Jesus didn’t romanticize the disciples’ mission. He didn’t entice them with comfort, luxury, or a false sense of security. Instead, He prepared them for what was ahead by warning them of pending danger—of “wolves” who would try to destroy them.
Second, Jesus compared His disciples to sheep. Not power-hungry and dominant animals like lions, tigers, or bears, but obedient and humble animals like sheep. And sheep need to stick close to the Shepherd—and to each other—for protection and progress.
Third, Jesus advised His disciples to be wise like snakes, yet innocent like doves. To use their brains while also keeping tender hearts. To not forsake their intuition while also keeping themselves pure. To leverage their wit while also remaining blameless.
And even though Jesus gave this particular message to the disciples that were with Him face to face, His words still apply to His followers today.
We live in a good-yet-fractured world. A world where evil is allowed to exist—for a temporary allotment of time. But, despite the wickedness we see on the news and in our own neighborhoods…
We have been sent into the world—to be wise and righteous, to be smart and tender, to be truth and grace.
So be prepared for resistance—because we have a real enemy.
But remember who you are—because you’re a child of God.
And don’t forget to use your brain and your heart—because God gave you both.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...
