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.
From Fear to Courage
Have you ever had questions or doubts that you felt you had to figure out on your own?
Sometimes, we’re embarrassed to ask our questions because we think we should already know the answers. But Jesus invites us to bring all of our doubts, fears, and questions to Him.
In John 3, we see Nicodemus, a respected, religious man of influence, come to Jesus privately one night to ask him some questions.
Many people think Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he was afraid the other Pharisees, who were always looking for ways to get rid of Jesus, would see Nicodemus and judge him.
As a Pharisee, Nicodemus had spent his entire life studying Scripture. But he still didn’t have all of the answers. Instead of relying on his own abilities and knowledge, Nicodemus set aside his pride and status and went to Jesus.
While Nicodemus may have been afraid of the Pharisees’ judgment, Jesus didn’t judge him. He welcomed Nicodemus’ questions and answered him with the truth.
In Jesus’ response to Nicodemus, He says this: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
Jesus is saying that whoever lives by the truth and follows Him, lives in the light. Those who don’t live like Jesus, run away from the light and live in darkness.
Nicodemus approached Jesus at night out of fear of what others might think. But Jesus challenged him to live in the light and follow Him. This encounter with Jesus changed Nicodemus’ life. He no longer followed Jesus in the shadows. In John 7, he defended Jesus to the other Pharisees, and in John 19, he was there to bury Jesus’ body.
Just like Nicodemus, when we choose to walk with Jesus, we move from darkness to light and from fear to courage. And when we come to Jesus, He meets us where we are and guides us toward His truth.
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...
