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 Good Life
Everyone on earth is searching for a good and meaningful life. We all want our lives to matter—to be filled with purpose and fulfillment. But we often search for fulfillment and meaning through things that cannot fulfill us.
Many people try to find purpose in fame and admiration from other people. Others try to find fulfillment through material possessions. Still others pursue a good life through working hard and building security through wealth.
Unfortunately, none of those methods will bring true happiness or fulfillment in life. There will come a time when fame and fortune fades, when material possessions lose their charm, and when our security is no longer there.
Jesus says this is the way the enemy works. The thief tries to steal our attention away from what truly matters by distracting us with earthly things that we think will satisfy. But this way only ends in death and destruction. Jesus says there's another way to find the good life...
In John 10, Jesus compares Himself to a good shepherd who cares for and feeds the sheep in His pasture. Jesus says that He is the gate for the sheep to enter into the courtyard. While speaking in metaphors, Jesus is saying that anyone who wants to gain true access to salvation must come through Him.
Jesus also says that it is through Him that we will find true life. It is only through trusting in Jesus and following Him that we can experience life to the fullest. Fulfillment and meaning come through following Jesus as our Shepherd, rather than following the world around us.
Take some time to think about the way you’re searching for fulfillment and meaning in your life. Are you finding it through material possessions, relationships, or success? Or are you following Jesus and trusting in Him to produce meaning and purpose in your life?
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He wants to lead you into a fulfilled, abundant life. So continue to trust in Him and follow Him, because abundant life can only be found in Jesus.
“After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all:...
“In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; at the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?”
Isaiah 20:1-6 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/isa.20.1-6.KJV
Justified by Faith
Paul, the writer of the letter to the church in Rome, covers the details of what is known as “the Gospel message”—a message that was handed down to them. It's packed with deep theological truths that are meant to shape the way Christians live.
One of the central components to the Gospel is that salvation comes through faith alone. That means we are saved by the power of God through believing and trusting in Jesus. Every Christian comes to God through faith—not through good deeds or by trying to earn salvation.
Paul says that we have peace with God by our faith in Jesus. Prior to that, we were considered ungodly and unrighteous—because we would live our lives in our own power, doing our own things. This led to separation from God.
However, by faith in Jesus, we are justified before Him. This means that through Jesus’ own right-living, we are made right before Him. Even though we still make mistakes, we can stand innocent before God because of Jesus.
It’s ...
