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.
What Do You Crave?
Every day, multiple times a day, little alarms are triggered inside your brain. They make your stomach growl, your mouth water, or your mind become fixed on that which you crave.
God gave us physical needs that mirror our spiritual needs. Needs that must be met to stay healthy and alive. Needs that must be satisfied over and over again. In fact, food is often used in the Bible as a metaphor for our spiritual needs (it's called "our daily bread" in Matthew and the "pure milk" of the Word in 1 Peter, to name a couple.)
In the fourth beatitude, which are a series of promises Jesus made about God’s Kingdom, Jesus said this:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 NIV
Do you long for righteousness and justice? Do you desire the ways of God? Do you yearn for His kingdom to come? Do you want to be someone who chases after that which can never truly satisfy, or someone who hungers and thirsts after God?
In this upside-down kingdom where Jesus is Lord, the poor can be rich, the weak can be strong, and the empty can be filled.
Jesus Christ not only holds the keys to “living water,” but He is the “Bread of Life.” So, when you feel Him prompting your heart—to fight for justice, to love the unloved, to stand up for what’s right (even when it’s not popular)—pay attention.
He stands ready to fill you with everything you need.
Following the Way of Jesus
Discipleship is at the center of the Christian life. To be a disciple means to be a learner. It means following after Jesus, and patterning our life after His.
Jesus tells us that the starting point of following Him is to deny ourselves. Denying ourselves means we choose to put Jesus’ desires above our own. This means that we must come to recognize that we do not have all the answers, or know the right way to go through life.
Discipleship is not something we do once or twice. It is a lifestyle that must be lived out each and every day. We will spend our entire lives becoming more like Jesus.
The way of life Jesus modeled was to suffer on the cross. When we deny ourselves, we choose to humbly follow Jesus. And as we become more like Jesus, we will also need to take up our cross. We will also suffer for doing good, and for denying things that seem enticing in the moment, but ultimately keep us from God. But when we bear our suffering, we represent Christ to those...
