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.
Pray to Hear God’s Voice
There's nothing better than hearing God's voice through His Word and responding in obedience.
The third chapter of 1 Samuel records the story of a young boy named Samuel who heard a voice calling to him in the night. The voice was God's, yet to Samuel, it sounded like his mentor, Eli. It was only after Samuel asked Eli about his experience that he considered he might be hearing God's voice. What does this mean for us?
Like Samuel, we may not recognize God's voice at first. It might take time, patience, and the counsel of others to help us discern what we're hearing. Listen for Him with eager expectation. One way to do this is to take some time of silence during prayer and ask, "God, is there anything you want to show me or bring to mind?"
If you start praying consistently each day and still find it hard to hear God's voice, don't give up. Keep pressing. Keep believing. Keep praying. Keep studying God's Word so that when He does speak, you will know it's Him! It might be a thought that drops into your mind, a Scripture that suddenly seems to leap off the page, or the "coincidental" timing of something you hear around you.
If we're listening expectantly and persevering patiently, God surprises us, helping us notice things we might have missed. May we be like Samuel, the servant, and declare to the Lord, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” That's a promise worth remembering and persevering to see fulfilled!
Don’t Lose Heart
As we start getting older, our bodies begin to change.
Muscles might ache. Hair might gradually turn gray. Vision and hearing might eventually get less sharp. And we, or someone we love, might even struggle with significant or devastating health challenges.
The apostle Paul once offered some ageless wisdom to the believers in Corinth, Greece, which can still be helpful for us today:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
Paul knew what it was like to face hard things; he’d been beaten, shipwrecked, snake bitten, and imprisoned.
Earlier in the letter, he’d said, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV)
The ripple effects of sin’s existence in the world might frustrate us physically, but it ...
