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.
Who Are You Trying To Please?
Have you ever struggled with people-pleasing? With caring more about what a human being thinks of you than what your Creator thinks of you? With wanting to honor God, but also wanting to be loved and respected by people?
Writing to believers in Galatia, Paul had a message for those deciding if they should trust the stand-alone grace of Jesus, or add rules and regulations to Jesus’ finished work. He said:
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10 NIV
Every day and every moment, we have a choice: to seek human approval or God’s approval.
And if we genuinely desire to please God, how do we do so?
Contrary to many other religions, it’s not by doing enough good works to tip the scales in our favor. But as Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it’s impossible to please God…” The only part we have to play in our salvation is having faith in the One who saves.
Faith is essentially trust, so think about it: Who do you trust? Who are you trying to please? Who are you hoping notices you and accepts you and is proud of you?
If you’re interested in evaluating your own motives—which can sometimes be difficult—you can ask yourself these questions:
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Am I influenced more by cultural trends, societal pressure, and the opinions of others—or by the Word of God?
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Am I trusting that there’s nothing I can add to the finished work of Jesus, or am I believing the lie that Jesus plus something else is required?
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Am I committed to trusting God, even when I might get canceled, blocked, fired—or even killed?
If popularity is your goal, living for Jesus might be a challenge. But if you’re committed to trusting God, then He calls you to live differently. He invites you to embrace His approval by showing others unconditional kindness, patience, grace, and love.
At the end of this life, you will stand before an audience of One. So who are you trying to please?
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...
