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.
A Gift Worth Receiving
After Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for almost four decades, the religious Jews were angry with Him. This may seem strange, because healing is a good thing, but Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath—the day of rest. In the Old Testament, God gave believers a long list of rules to follow in order to stay right with Him, and these rules included honoring the Sabbath.
But in the New Testament, Jesus was sent to change our relationship with the Father. By sacrificing Himself on the cross, He gave us access to a relationship with God—so that long list of rules was no longer needed. Throughout Jesus' life, He shows people the nature of this new relationship. But because it didn’t line up with what the religious establishment believed, they were angry with Him.
In John 5, Jesus justifies these changes through revealing His true authority. By calling God His Father, He shared that He was equal to God. This angered the religious Jews, but it gives us a deeper look into the relationship between the Father and Son.
Jesus tells us that the Father and Son are united in love. The Son does not ‘work’ for the Father—instead they work together, and the work Jesus does perfectly reflects the will of His Father.
This relationship reveals that Jesus has authority to give us eternal life with Him.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 5:24 ESV
When we hear God’s Word and believe in Jesus, we have access to a relationship with Him that will last forever. Unlike the Jews in the Old Testament before this new covenant, we don’t have to follow strict laws perfectly to gain salvation.
All we have to do is accept the gift Jesus has given us through His authority.
There's No Peace Without His Presence
Moses was standing in the middle of a desert—both literally and spiritually. The people had just rebelled against God by building an idol of a golden calf, and now their future felt uncertain.
Yet in this moment of deep tension, Moses makes a bold request: If God’s presence won’t go with them to their destination, Moses says, he’d rather not go at all.
It’s not that Moses didn’t want the promised land. But more than the land, more than progress, more than answers, Moses wanted God Himself. He knew that no amount of success, comfort, or direction could ever replace the nearness of the Lord.
There are seasons in life when we find ourselves in our own wilderness: confused, dried up, uncertain of the next step. In those moments, it’s easy to crave clarity. But what we truly need is God's presence, not just answers.
Peace doesn’t come from knowing the plan. It comes from knowing He is with us in it.
God's presence is our distinguishing mark. ...
