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.
One Great Purpose
While Mary and Joseph were still finalizing their guest list and picking out a wedding cake, she startled him with some unexpected news—she, a virgin, was pregnant.
Assuming she’d been unfaithful, Joseph was poised to cancel the engagement. But while he was still considering his exit strategy, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream—telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, for the child inside her was from the Holy Spirit.
“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 NLT
This miracle was the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies—God-inspired predictions about the Messiah, Savior, or “Chosen/Anointed One”—recorded in the Old Testament.
From conception, Jesus’ purpose was made known: to save His people from their sins. Because even before God created the world, His plan was to save it.
Isn’t it interesting that you didn’t choose the time, place, body, or family in which you were born? But God has you here, right now, on purpose.
You’ve been grafted into an ongoing story playing out since the beginning of time. And this timeless offer, to be saved from the shackles of your sin and freed from a debt you could never pay, has been extended to you.
What is sin? Sin is choosing our way instead of God’s. Sin is rebelling against His design and His plan. And we’ve all done it—we’ve all fallen short of God’s righteous standard.
But that’s why He sent Jesus—because He loved us that much.
And then, Jesus gave His life for the sake of the world.
If you’ve never accepted the free gift of salvation, today can be your day, and this moment can be your moment. There’s nothing you can do to earn it, but you can come to Him—just as you are.
A Gift Worth Receiving
After Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for almost four decades, the religious Jews were angry with Him. This may seem strange, because healing is a good thing, but Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath—the day of rest. In the Old Testament, God gave believers a long list of rules to follow in order to stay right with Him, and these rules included honoring the Sabbath.
But in the New Testament, Jesus was sent to change our relationship with the Father. By sacrificing Himself on the cross, He gave us access to a relationship with God—so that long list of rules was no longer needed. Throughout Jesus' life, He shows people the nature of this new relationship. But because it didn’t line up with what the religious establishment believed, they were angry with Him.
In John 5, Jesus justifies these changes through revealing His true authority. By calling God His Father, He shared that He was equal to God. This angered the religious Jews, but it gives us a ...
