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.
The Mission of the Church
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he spent 40 days on earth ministering to people and preparing His disciples for life without Him. Jesus planned on leaving earth and ascending to heaven, but before doing so, He gave His disciples a mission found in Matthew 28:19-20. We often call this mission The Great Commission.
The Great Commission begins with getting up and going to places where people need to hear about the good news of Jesus. This doesn’t mean you have to leave your country—there are people in your own neighborhood and workplace that need to hear the hope of Jesus.
The ultimate goal of the Great Commission is to make followers of Jesus. So as we go about sharing the good news of Jesus with people, we're to show people how Jesus has changed our lives, and invite them to discover Jesus for themselves.
Jesus also instructs us to baptize new believers. Baptism is a symbol of someone’s incorporation into the family of God. It is their public display of their new faith in Jesus. Baptism is such an important part of the Christian life that Jesus made sure to include it in our mission.
It can be easy to think that making disciples and baptizing believers is the responsibility of our church pastors and ministry leaders. While those things certainly are part of every church’s mission, Jesus intended for every believer to be making disciples.
So take a moment to think about someone in your own life who helped you grow spiritually. Ask God to bring to mind someone you can help and disciple. Then, allow God to give you the courage to share the hope of Jesus with those around you.
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...
