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.
Walking Through Trials
Let's start by debunking a myth: nowhere in Scripture does God promise us a perfect life, free from troubles. In fact, many, many times in the Bible, Christ-followers find themselves persecuted, under attack, or facing trouble of all kinds.
In a letter from James to first-century believers, James informs them about the various trials that they will experience in life:
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
James 1:12 NIV
When we see trials as a means of becoming more like Jesus, then we’ll be blessed by them.
Maybe you can think back to a difficult season of life. Looking back, you might be able to point out how God refined you coming out of it. God is often at work behind the scenes deepening our character and enlarging our capacity, even when we don't see it.
Maybe you're going through one of those difficult seasons right now. Take this passage to heart! You can persevere knowing there is a promised reward for us in heaven. While rewards on this side of heaven are not promised, looking towards our final destination with Jesus gives us hope to endure the trials in the present.
If you’re walking through a difficult season of life, spend some time meditating on the promises of God. He promises to never abandon you or leave you, but to walk alongside you through trials. And at the end of the trial, you’ll be more like Christ.
Take a moment to thank God for His faithfulness and love in your life.
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 ...
