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.
A Powerful Statement
Have you ever watched someone’s poor decisions—even your own—wreak havoc? Have you ever known the heart-wrenching sting of death? Have you ever paused long enough to notice …
This world is beautiful, but also brutal.
It is full of life, but also loss.
The apostle Paul once wrote a letter to the believers in Corinth, Greece, reminding them that it’s because of sin (falling short of God’s standards) that death has ravished the world. But Paul didn’t stop at death and decay. He went on to say:
“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT
To say we can have victory over sin and death—two of our greatest enemies? That’s a powerful statement. It almost sounds too good to be true … except it’s not.
The foundation of Christianity is not only that Jesus died for the sins of the world, but that He was raised to life for the sake of the world. Because of Jesus, death won’t get the final say. Because of Jesus, this isn’t the actual end. Because of Jesus, victory has already been granted to those who trust in Him!
People in Corinth were preaching that there was no life after death—no resurrection from the dead. Yet Paul had the courage to refute their lies with truth.
In the same chapter, Paul points out that everything about the Christian faith hinges on Jesus’ resurrection. If Christ had not been raised, faith is useless and there is no hope. But because Jesus had been raised from the dead, and hundreds of people witnessed His post-resurrected self, everything was different.
Scripture tells us that Jesus is the first of many who will be raised to life again. Imagine the future reunion with other believers! Can you fathom swapping stories with the disciples and other heroes of our faith?
Jesus has already conquered death. And, at the appointed time, death will die forever and every tear will be wiped away. For those of us who believe in Him, there is so much more to come.
Today, we can live from a place of victory!
The Way of Life
The letter from James, found in the New Testament, is overflowing with practical wisdom for our daily lives. James was the brother of Jesus, and his writings are full of teachings similar to how Jesus taught in the Gospels.
James 4:17 provides us with a very simple definition of sin. James says that sin is when we know what we ought to do and we do not do it. It’s when we have knowledge of what's right, but we deliberately choose not to do it.
There are many ways that we learn what the right thing to do is. When we read Scripture, we are constantly learning how God wants us to live, and what He wants us to do with our lives. We also have the Holy Spirit within us who guides and teaches us.
We have no excuse for not knowing the right thing to do in almost every situation—because God has told us how He's designed things to work and how we should act. So when we decide not to live according to God’s ways, we are sinning.
But the beauty of the gospel is that when we sin ...
