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.
Jesus Upholds the Law
Jesus was considered a great teacher of the Torah (the first five books in our Old Testament). His ability to teach those books amazed even the most educated priests and Pharisees.
In Matthew 22, his apostle writes about when He was in Jerusalem talking with the spiritual leaders of His day and handling the hard questions they asked. Jesus had just settled a question asked of Him by the Sadducees (a spiritual sect), and was now facing the Pharisees who wanted to test and trap Him.
One of the Pharisees asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Jesus answered them by saying:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39 ESV
If anyone could sum up the law of God it was Jesus. He made it clear that those who believe in God will first love Him with their whole selves, and second, love those they come in contact with as themselves. This was what the law depended upon.
The only way we will love other people well is if we first devote ourselves to loving God and allow ourselves to be loved by Him. Growing in love for God involves intentionally spending time in His Word, having honest conversations with Him, and reflecting on His character every day, throughout the day. Showing love for God looks like doing what He commands—and that includes loving the people around us the way that God loves us.
So in what ways do you already love God with your heart, soul, and mind? And what steps can you take to love those around you today?
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, ...
Fulfillment of God’s Promises
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the people of God were in trouble.
They were stuck in life, unable to help themselves, and perhaps beginning to doubt that God would save them. Have you ever felt the same way? If so, you might relate to the original audience of this verse—the exiles in Babylon.
The Babylonians conquered God's people and land, sending them hundreds of miles away. Maybe they thought that God had abandoned them, or that He couldn’t hear their cries. But God is always close—especially when His people call on His name.
Isaiah let his people know that God would provide a way out of Babylonian captivity. And God kept His promise, allowing His people to return home.
Generations later, many of God’s people saw themselves as being in a new exile. They were home, but all was not well. So they remembered this verse and its promise—that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, God is able to provide a path out of brokenness, ...
