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.
Loving Others Well
Do you know what love means? Many people grow up with imperfect pictures of love. It can be difficult to think about when we may not have ever experienced true love. It can be even harder to love others when we aren’t sure what that means.
Jesus spoke a lot about love, and He also commanded His followers to love people. More than that, Jesus modeled love in His life and ministry. He gave us a picture of what pure love looks like.
Jesus instructed His disciples multiple times to love one another. The Old Testament also contains commands to love others. Jesus’ command is new, not because it was the first time it had ever been said, but because He uses Himself as the standard.
He doesn’t command us to love people until we’re tired. He doesn’t say to love others until we don’t feel like it. He says to love others in the same way He has loved us.
Jesus loves us unconditionally. He does not hold anything back from us. Instead, He gave His entire life up for us. And He didn’t do this to please other people—but because He loved His Heavenly Father, and His Heavenly Father deeply loved us. It was unconditional love that led Jesus to the cross.
Jesus cares about the quality of our love toward others, and the measure of the quality of our love is Jesus, not people. We shouldn’t compare our acts and thoughts against other people, because the only person we are called to be like is Jesus Himself.
Think about the past few days and reflect on how loving you were toward other people. Did you go out of your way to help someone? Were you selfless in showing love? Consider a few practical ways you can love others the way Jesus loves you. Spend some time in prayer, and then take a step toward showing someone love.
Worshiping a Good God
At the time of Isaiah writing this verse, God had already done so many things for the nation of Israel. He brought them out of Egypt, rescued them from some evil nations and kings, blessed them with some great leaders (and challenged them with some not-so-good ones). And that was just the beginning of His providence and provision. Israel had a lot to be thankful for.
As readers of this passage now, thousands of years in the future all across the globe, we can confidently say that God has done and continues to do wonderful things, especially sending His Son, Jesus, to die and rise again, saving us and giving us eternal life.
Even in the face of unimaginable tragedies, fear, anxiety, depression, and whatever else the devil throws at us, we still have a lot to be thankful for. Because God will never stop doing wonderful things—that’s just who He is. And He who called us is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV).
