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.
Even There
David, who was Israel’s king around 1000 BC, is the contemplative soul who wrote our verse for the day:
“… even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Psalm 139:10 ESV
Note: Any time a verse seems to start mid-sentence, it’s wise to investigate the broader context of the story. In this case, David is exploring the mind-blowing fact that he can never escape God’s presence.
David realizes that it doesn’t matter if he’s sitting down or standing up, traveling abroad or resting at home, up in heaven or down in the grave, speaking his mind or keeping his thoughts to himself, or even if he somehow ends up next to the most remote ocean on earth.
It’s then that David continues:
“… even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Even there, even here, even everywhere—God is always present to lead and guide, to strengthen and support.
Even if we try to avoid God, or run from His calling on our life, He’s patient to pursue us, to correct us, to direct us.
One thing is certain: He will never leave us.
So, when you’re scrubbing dishes, scrolling on your phone, or sorting through a difficult decision; when you’re hard at work, lazy at home, or soaking up time with the people you love; when you’re heartbroken, when you’re joyful, when you’re doubtful, when you’re hopeful, and even when you’ve made a horrible decision …
“… even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Wherever you find yourself today, know that you’re not alone. You’re not stuck. You’re not without someone who cares, and who’s able to save. Thank God, there’s no escaping His presence.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...
