Happy New Year from Dawn & Buddy. God bless you!
Archive | December 2020
God of Comfort, Psalm 34:18
Sometimes I don’t know what is frightening Buddy. Lately he has not been wanting to take his nightly walkie patrol around our condominium complex. Something is spooking him that causes him to turn around and return to our home prematurely. I certainly do not rebuke him for it but, rather, cuddle him for reassurance that he’s loved and safe.
God is mindful that we are weak and fragile beings (Psalm 103:14-15). Even though He is God Almighty, ruler of heaven and earth, He is mindful of us and has compassion when we are suffering.
“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”—Apostle Peter, 1 Peter 5:7
If you’re feeling down and out this holiday season—or even scared because of the coronavirus or the economic hardship it’s caused—God in Christ wants to hear from you. “The Lord is near to those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18).”
But He wants you to be honest. After all, you cannot hide even one thought from Him (Psalm 139:4). So pour out your heart. Tell Him how you really feel and what is causing you anxiety.
If you are born-again, you can be certain that He’s listening, wanting to comfort you.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).”
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).”
But He is not going to strengthen you—in my experience—if you insist on fretting and worrying and “spazzing out” or throwing temper tantrums, instead of praying with sincerity.
So give your Heavenly Father a chance. Ask Him also to help you bring “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5),” so that your thought life doesn’t pull you down into the depths of despair. (It’s a long process to change imbedded thought habits, so be easy and patient with yourself.)
God bless you this holiday season. Hope you have a better year in 2021.
Love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. His promises to comfort His children. Though He may be listening, He is limited in communicating with you if you are not born again. To be born again means that the Holy Spirit is living within you. Therefore, the Holy Spirit can work within the heart and soul of a believer to bring comfort and strength.
But if you do not have the Spirit of Christ—another name for the Holy Spirit of God—you are limiting God in His communication with your soul. You are still separated from Him by sin, which is another way of saying that you are in rebellion against His authority.
Giving my life to Jesus made a huge positive impact on my life. Did it make life easier? No, bad things keep happening but now I live with a hopeful spirit, making obstacles easier to face.
Please give your life to God. He loves you. Confess your sins and accept Him as Lord Who sent Jesus to die for your sins, so that you don’t need to suffer His wrath. Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to take on human flesh to dwell amongst His creation.
“In the day of trouble I shall call upon You, for You will answer me (Psalm 86:7).”
We’re All Sailing On The Titanic, Colossians 1:13-14
Buddy was not at all affectionate when I first rescued him from an abusive situation. He still will not sit on my lap or snuggle up to me, preferring to lie down near me or by my feet at the foot of my bed. However, two years he started pressing his nose into my calf and accepting caresses. It’s his way of showing that he loves me.
The problem most people have today is that they’re totally unaware that they need rescuing. As a human race, we have all sailed on the Titanic and have hit the great iceberg of sin. Everyone is tossed into the icy water, yet don’t know that they are drowning.
Drowning in regret, drowning in fear, drowning in unforgiveness, drowning in bitterness, drowning in anger, drowning in sexual licentiousness, drowning in envy,..
If you’ve seen the monster hit “Titanic” with Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet, the scene where they are both freezing in the icy water is unforgettable. Some lifeboats turn around to pluck a few survivors out of the water. Kate’s character makes it, DiCaprio’s, amongst many others, does not.
Picture Jesus as the captain of a lifeboat, searching for people to rescue out of the icy waters of sin. Yet, when he reaches out His hand to rescue someone drowning in the frigid water, they bat His hand away and swim off in the opposite direction—to freeze and die eternally.
Multitudes of times, Jesus reaches out His hand to pull someone into His lifeboat of grace, forgiveness and everlasting life, and multitudes of times His preferred hand is rejected and is pulled back into the warmth of the boat, empty.
Most people continue swimming in Satan’s treacherous water, hoping they won’t drown or freeze to death. (Matthew 7:13-14)
If you’re that person, swimming in the icy water, please reach out for the loving hand of our Savior Jesus Christ. His hand is ALWAYS reaching out to you. You just need to accept it.
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”—Apostle Paul, Colossians 1:13-14
God bless you this Christmas season.
Love from Dawn and Buddy.
***
If you are ready to be rescued, please pray the below:
Dear Lord, I am sorry for my sin and rebellion. I’ve hurt myself and others. I need to be rescued. I’m ready to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Forgive my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, God Who came in the flesh to die for my sins, and believe in my heart that God resurrected Him bodily from the grave. Grant me the gift of the Holy Spirit so that I have the power to live for you. I give my life to you wholeheartedly. In the might name of Jesus Christ, Amen. (Romans 10:9-10)
Congratulations if you were humble enough to confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Please find a Bible-based church or godly TV or Internet ministry, if you must quarantine. But even if you’re locked in, God is with You. No door can block His entrance—except the door of a heart that refuses His mercy.
Buddy Was A Bad Boy Today, John 3:16-17
Buddy was a bad boy this morning. Apparently he did not approve of the breakfast that I’d given him, because I discovered that he had tipped his dish over while I was at Bible study. I returned to find every last crumb laying beneath his food hutch.
But did I punish him? No. Spoiled runt got a fresh dish of food with some of the chicken mixed in that I’d cooked the night before. Obviously hungry, he wolfed it down.
Why didn’t I punish him for shoving his nose under the dish till he tipped it? (I’ve seen him work it like that before.)
Because I love him.
He deserved punishment, but got mercy instead—a new dish of yummy food heated up in the microwave.
We have “all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Apostle Paul, Romans 3:28). Yet instead of punishing us and destroying the human race which turned its back on their Creator, God sent Jesus into the world on that Bethlehem night, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus drank the cup of wrath we deserve for our sins (John 18:11, Revelation 14:10-11) after living a perfect life, obeying all of the Father’s righteous laws.
Why? Because He loves us. God could not bear that His creation was separated from Himself, walking in their own counsel and being distressed by the devil, so He found a way to satisfy His just anger at our waywardness by punishing Jesus on the Cross instead of us.
“‘For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies’ declares the Lord God. ‘Therefore repent and live.’” Ezekiel 18:32
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Apostle John, John 3:16-17
All He asks in return is that we humble ourselves, acknowledging Him as our rightful Lord to counsel us on what is right and wrong behavior, to believe that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins as God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), and that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead, proving that He was God.
In other words, you don’t work for your salvation: You need to humble yourself—rejecting your pride that you’re a good enough person who can earn their way into Heaven—and believe.
You don’t need to get your act together firstly, but, rather, acknowledge that you DON’T have your act together.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God.” Apostle John, 1 John 3:1
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit love you. If you haven’t received Their love, please call out to the Lord tonight. I have never regretted doing so.
Love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. Been a bit awol as I still need to buy a new computer. A bit wonky using the app on my smart phone. Take care. Thanks for reading and not abandoning me and Buddy.
Meditations About God and Buddy 