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 Miracle of New Growth
This scripture shares the important truth that new growth is coming. What is unique is the growth isn’t coming from a vibrant tree, but from a stump! A stump is the remains of something that once was vibrant and full of life, but is now seemingly dead.
But what appears to be dead is instead going to produce a “tender shoot,” meaning a young, new growth, and out of that new growth the branch will bear fruit.
For Christians, this verse is talking about the coming Messiah, Jesus, who will come from the family line of Jesse. A family that seemingly was done and cut off to just the stump. Yet, he came as a “tender shoot,” as a baby in a manger, and lived a life to bear fruit for his father and ultimately pay the sacrifice for all our sins on the cross.
This verse also points to an important application for us—that God can take things that look dead in our life and cause new growth to appear. Even when it all seems done and dead, the miracle of growth is always possible.
There's No Peace Without His Presence
Moses was standing in the middle of a desert—both literally and spiritually. The people had just rebelled against God by building an idol of a golden calf, and now their future felt uncertain.
Yet in this moment of deep tension, Moses makes a bold request: If God’s presence won’t go with them to their destination, Moses says, he’d rather not go at all.
It’s not that Moses didn’t want the promised land. But more than the land, more than progress, more than answers, Moses wanted God Himself. He knew that no amount of success, comfort, or direction could ever replace the nearness of the Lord.
There are seasons in life when we find ourselves in our own wilderness: confused, dried up, uncertain of the next step. In those moments, it’s easy to crave clarity. But what we truly need is God's presence, not just answers.
Peace doesn’t come from knowing the plan. It comes from knowing He is with us in it.
God's presence is our distinguishing mark. ...
