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.
Your Unique Gifts and Talents
Did you know that God made you unique from everyone else?
There are abilities you have that many do not. You have talents and skills in areas that others do not have. God did this so you could use the life and talents He gave you to serve Him and others.
Since God designed us with unique gifts and talents empowered by the Holy Spirit within us, He intends for us to use those to serve and love others.
Another place God gifts us is in our life experiences. All of us have unique life experiences that give us the knowledge to help others.
God has gifted each of us with so many abilities and talents that we can use to love others. You have probably experienced this in your own life. Has anyone ever gone out of their way to help you, provide unique knowledge, or assist you in a difficult task? They were using their distinct gifts and life experiences to serve God by serving others.
What gifts or talents has God given you? Do you have unique abilities that others do not have? What life experiences have you had that others can learn from? Make a list of these things, and spend some time thinking about who you can help. These are God’s free gifts to us that we are to use to serve others.
Sacrificial Love
Jesus, all powerful and completely perfect, chose to give up His life for us. He willingly went to the cross to be crucified, the most painful death imaginable, because He loved us so much.
And He invites us to do the same.
1 John 3:16 tells us, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
How can we demonstrate this kind of sacrificial love in our own lives? How can we give our time, attention, or resources to help someone in need? Are we intentional to listen and be present for others, even when it's not easy or comfortable? Are we willing, if it comes down to it, to give up our lives for the sake of God and others?
This kind of love is challenging. It asks us to look beyond our own needs and to see the needs of others. It calls us to be selfless. The good news is, Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything for someone else that He wasn’t willing to do for us first. He knows ...
“And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or no? But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Cæsar's. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar's, and unto God the things which be God's. And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.”
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