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.
The Simple Gospel
When it comes to understanding the gospel message of Jesus, Romans 10:13 is a great place to begin:
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:13 NIV
The gospel of Jesus is the message that Jesus lived a perfect life and died for our sins on the cross so that through His death and resurrection we can experience true and everlasting life. We can choose to believe in Jesus, and through faith experience Jesus’s undeserved gift of forgiveness and love.
The simplicity of the gospel is also what can make it controversial: We don’t have to work for or earn our salvation. It is given to us freely as a gift of God through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).
If you choose to believe in Jesus and put your faith in Him, that's it. You are saved.
If you’ve ever questioned whether or not you’re saved, then this promise can encourage you. The way to Jesus is simple. If you trust in Jesus then you are truly saved and don’t need to question it. All that is left is to continue to believe in and follow Jesus every day.
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...
