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.
Safe with Him
When life feels overwhelming or the world seems extra dark, there's an ultimate security that comes from trusting God.
King David, the author of Psalm 16, faced all kinds of physical, emotional, and spiritual stressors throughout his life. And yet, he had an overwhelming sense of peace and joy—knowing that His soul was safe in God's hands.
He wrote...
"No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave."
Psalm 16:9-10 NLT
Scripture tells us that—because of sin—our temporary bodies can bleed, our bones can break, and these physical shells can (and will) eventually wear out. But praise God, even death and the grave will not get the final say! Because Jesus has already paid the ultimate price (giving His own life) to redeem us, and because He refused to stay dead, He has cleared the way for us to have eternal life.
In the following verse and final declaration of Psalm 16, David went on to say...
"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever."
Psalm 16:11 NLT
Jesus was and is the long-awaited Messiah, the Perfect One, God in the flesh—who lived the life we couldn't, died the death we should've, and even did the impossible by conquering the grave. When we accept the grace and love that He offers, not only will He never abandon us, but we'll also be empowered by His Spirit and given access to forever with Him!
So if you're looking for ultimate security, know that you can't be good enough, successful enough, or amazing enough to earn it for yourself. God alone is the keeper of your soul, and you can be confident in Him.
Power, Love, and Discipline
One of the miracles of salvation is that when we have faith in Christ, God not only saves us—He also gives us the power to live according to His will. Your life in Christ is one that is empowered by the Holy Spirit living within you.
This is a great gift, but a big shift. It often takes time to change how we think and act. We may have bad habits that take hard work to correct, or patterns of thought that are challenging to break.
Thankfully, God promises to be with us and to empower us to make these changes in our life. When Paul is writing to his mentee Timothy, he encourages him to continue to develop the gift that God has given to him. While we are saved in an instant, it takes a lifetime to develop and work out what God is doing inside of us.
Paul reminds Timothy that God’s Spirit does not give us fear or cowardice. Those things are tools of the devil who is trying to keep us from God. But the Spirit of God empowers us with confidence in Him. He gives us the ...
