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.
Say “Yes” to What Matters
Peter sat in grief and darkness. He had publicly denied knowing Jesus just before Jesus was crucified. And for a couple of days, Peter had to process his guilt without expecting it to go away. But on the third day, Jesus’ tomb was found empty and the stone rolled away.
Not long afterward though, Peter was out in a boat with several other disciples doing what he was trained to do before he met Jesus: fishing.
It’s as he’s doing this that Jesus appears. But instead of letting Peter continue to live with the shame of his past, Jesus pulls him aside and asks him a question that propels Peter into his purpose:
“Do you love me?”
Three times Jesus asks Peter this—one for each time Peter denied him. This wasn’t a passive-aggressive question: Jesus was inviting Peter to reaffirm the relationship he’d previously denied.
Every time Peter responds with, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus re-commissions Peter by calling him into the role of church builder and shepherd.
Jesus’ resurrection meant that Peter didn’t have to be defined by his mistakes. He could still embrace the call on his life and become the leader Jesus knew he could be.
Like Peter, you also have the opportunity to say “yes” to loving Jesus and being loved by Him. No matter how dysfunctional your life looks, or how far from Jesus you feel, there is nothing that can separate you from His love.
Your past mistakes or current problems do not dictate your purpose when your life is rooted in Christ.
God has given each of us access to a free gift we don’t deserve: a free gift that is available when we choose to love God and receive His relentless, sacrificial love for us.
The resurrection reassures us that no situation or mistake is impossible for God to redeem. There is no fear Jesus cannot conquer and no life He cannot heal. No darkness can stand against the power of the risen God who conquered death on our behalf.
There is nothing our God can’t do, and no one our God can’t redeem.
Today, say “yes” to Jesus and allow Him to reveal His deep, unending love for you.
Remembering God
Have you ever been awestruck by a sunset? Or left speechless by the meticulous details of the living cell, the human eye, the mysterious ocean, or the vast universe? How often do you think about what God has made, or the ways that He has worked?
The psalmist Asaph, wrote:
“I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy, What god is great like our God?"
Psalm 77:12-13 ESV
One of the best things we can do is remember God—how He gives good gifts, writes the best stories, and is constantly making beauty from ashes. He created us, pursued us, and even gave His own life for us.
But remembering God takes intentionality.
Remembering God doesn't happen on accident, which is why we have to intentionally commit to reflecting on Him each day. Purposefully remembering God’s bigness helps us recognize our smallness. Deliberately recalling His goodness helps us understand our deep need for Him.
Pondering God’s work and meditating on ...
“And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, ...
The Mission of God
All of our lives are spent on something. Most people spend their days focused on growing a family, building their career, or amassing possessions.
While none of those things are necessarily wrong, they can become distractions from our ultimate goal in life.
In the book of Acts, we see Paul’s transformation in Christ. As a result of meeting Jesus and being changed by His grace, Paul spends the rest of his life preaching the good news of Jesus.
For Paul, God’s grace and salvation are so great that nothing on this earth is as important as God’s work.
Paul says that nothing in His life matters as much as telling others about God’s grace. His goal in life was to finish his own race well by faithfully accomplishing as much of the mission of God as possible:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Acts 20:24 NIV
The mission ...
