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.
Honoring the Poor
How different would our world, communities, and homes look if we committed to helping the hurting around us?
The writer of Proverbs, typically considered to be King Solomon, penned these words:
“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!”
Proverbs 19:17 NLT
There are those who are financially or materialistically poor. Maybe they were born into a cycle of poverty, have hit hard times, or are physically or mentally sick. But there are also those—like Jesus mentioned in Matthew 5—who are poor in spirit.
Giving generously to those in need, caring for the vulnerable, and living an open-hearted life is the call of every believer.
Jesus echoed this theme in Matthew 25, explaining that good works like feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, showing hospitality to strangers, and visiting the sick or incarcerated will not go unnoticed. In fact, when we do such things, we're actually serving Jesus (Matthew 25:40).
How wonderful would it be to end poverty, stop hunger, and witness the day when the world is entirely at peace? Eventually, Jesus will make all that is wrong right, once and for all. But until then, we get to keep serving Him and loving others every chance we get.
No one can do everything, but we all can do something.
Genuine followers of Jesus will be compelled by His Spirit to love the people He’s created. And if that’s not enough, we can believe Him when He says that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
John put it this way:
“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?”
1 John 3:17 NLT
When we serve God’s people out of obedience, we're serving Him!
The Best Plans
Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that’s often slapped onto journals, etched into coffee mugs, and printed on t-shirts.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
And God does have a plan for you.
God does want to bless you.
God does want to give you hope and a future.
But, we should also pay attention to the original context …
In this case, God was speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah—people who’d recently been exiled to Babylon for 70 years.
The Jewish people were banished to a foreign land because of their insatiable appetite for sin. In fact, for 23 years Jeremiah had been warning them to stop rebelling against God or prepare to face the consequences.
God is patient, but He is also just.
In other words, the Jews were sent to timeout. And as you can read in the preceding chapters, God made a case against His ...
