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.
First Things First
There are plenty of things in life that beg for our attention. Our days are filled with relationships and responsibilities, all of which take time.
In Jesus’ famous sermon in Matthew 6, He spends some time talking about the various things we give our attention to. He explains that instead of spending all of our time and energy worrying about our basic need and desires in life, we should first seek His kingdom and His righteousness. If we do that, everything else will fall into place.
So, what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness?
God’s kingdom is about God’s rule and reign over all of creation. His kingdom was unleashed during Jesus’ ministry on earth, and is now growing and expanding throughout the global Church. The work of the kingdom is to continue to tell others about the hope of Jesus, and to teach everything that Jesus has commanded.
To seek God’s righteousness is to desire to live the way God intended. It's to live according to God’s commands, which requires that we make decisions that align with God’s Word.
Jesus says that if we do these two things—seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness—then He will provide us with everything we need. When we don’t prioritize God’s desires first, then we'll end up worrying about things that are temporary; the things that won't last.
Living a life according to God’s Word should be our greatest concern—because God’s Kingdom will last forever.
Think about how you spend your time. Do you constantly worry about things that are outside of your control? Consider how you can live for God’s kingdom rather than the things of earth. In what ways can you reprioritize your life in order to seek righteousness? Rather than worrying about things you can’t control, pray for God to be present and to meet your everyday needs.
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 ...
