Christians, Who Are You Listening To? Psalm 1:1

What is he thinking?

Buddy will usually come when I call him, because he knows that I love him and will protect him. He’s wary of strangers, however, due to past abuse by a prior owner’s husband.

Psalm 1:1 says: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.”

There is a lot of misinformation in the media. In fact, Apostle Paul warned that deception would increase in the End Times before Christ’s return. There would be false doctrine and a rejection of godliness.

So, bearing in mind that Psalm 1:1 is a warning not to listen to the wicked, as their voice will lead you astray:

Where are you getting your news and information from that you are basing your opinions and choices upon? People who are born again and are attempting to walk in obedience to Christ, knowing that “every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36)”?

Or are you getting your information from worldly people, who don’t believe that they are accountable to God for their behavior on Judgment Day? Who are not basing their opinions and judgments on the Word of God?

Or even from anonymous news sources or fact checkers, whose moral values you have no clue about?

Are you basing your opinions on abortion, euthanasia or other controversial topics based on Bible-based Scriptures? Or what other people are saying in our culture or the media?

Christian reader, I ask you once again:

Are you walking in the counsel of the wicked?

Please ask God to reveal to you any false belief or opinion that you have. And which voices you should listen to—or reject.

Because every day, “the world, the flesh and the devil (Ephesians 2:1-3)” are working to deceive you.

God bless you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy

***

If you think that you cannot be deceived—you ARE deceived. I try to pray the following every morning. This was suggested by pastor Dr Charles Stanley, in my own words:

Lord, please guard me from deception. Reveal to me where I’m deceived and help me replace it with truth. Reveal to me anyone who is trying to deceive me or is unintentionally deceiving me, being deceived themselves. Help me to discern truth from error and fact from fiction. May the Holy Spirit sift anything coming through my mind, ear, eye and heart gates. Help me to hear Your leading and guiding, as in accordance with Psalm 23, and grant me the grace to listen and repent and obey immediately and follow You. Thank you for your kindness in helping me. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.

The Problem Isn’t Anger, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Buddy

I’m patient with Buddy, even when he’s being a bad boy, because I love him. I don’t want to punish him or curse him out. I don’t even want to raise my voice or do anything to cause him to cringe with fear. Sometimes I even laugh at his efforts to get away with something that he knows I don’t want him to do.

Occasionally Buddy is a little monster—but I love him anyway.

I recently lost my temper and cursed someone out—when they couldn’t hear me. After calming down, I was embarrassed at my behavior. I didn’t use bad language but my attitude was distinctly bad.

In prayer God revealed to me that my problem wasn’t my temper—but a lack of love for the person that I cursed.

I don’t lose my temper with Buddy because I love him too much to hurt him. I try to remember to pray every morning that I “love the Lord with my whole heart, soul and mind, and…love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39).”

As Apostle Paul stated in his famous passage defining what love is: “Love is…not provoked (1 Corinthians 13:14-15).”

I was definitely provoked when I was cursing someone out.

So I have a love problem, not an anger problem.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I’m going to work on that.

Happy Valentine’s Day, from God and Buddy

***

Thank Goodness that God doesn’t want to punish us for our sins but punished Jesus instead, by casting all of His wrath upon Christ on the cross of Calvary. If you don’t know God, why not accept His love by choosing Him to be your Lord and Savior right now?

Please pray this prayer of salvation as worded by Dr Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries: Heavenly Father, I confess that I have sinned against You and need Your salvation. Please forgive me. I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, fully trusting in the work He accomplished on the cross on my behalf. Thank You for saving me and adopting me into Your family. Help me to walk in close step with You. Amen

I add, please repeat: “You promise to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask You. I’m asking for His presence to make me a new creation in Christ. By faith I accept that I’m born again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, congratulations, you are an adopted child of God. Please find a Bible-based church to attend. If you cannot, these are great online ministries: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org or http://www.BadicGospel.net

God bless you.

The Importance Of Last Words, John 19:30

Buddy chastising me.

When I leave Buddy alone for what he considers too long a time, he chews me out when greeting me upon my return. But he quickly forgave me this instance above when he sniffed out the lunch meat in one of the grocery bags I’d brought into our home.

I recently had to rush to Chicago in the dead of winter to witness my uncle pass away in the hospital. Since there was no hope of recovery, he was permitted visitors. (However, to protect us from the coronavirus, we were confined to his room.) He was unable to speak the final day before his death, but remaining lucid till the end, could nod “Yes” or “No” to questions.

However, the day before he could speak with difficulty. His final words were, “I am fortunate.” He knew that he was loved by his family and friends, because he was a kind man who served others without complaint. He cared for his ailing mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife for many years. And when he needed help, his friends, family and neighbors gladly stepped in.

Before He gave up His Spirit on the cross, Jesus also had some final words to speak, which reflected the completion of His mission on earth: “It is finished (John 19:30).”

Jesus had stated that to enter heaven, “you are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:30).” That must’ve struck terror into the hearts of His listeners for who is perfect but God alone?

Any honest person knows that they’re not perfect. Especially after driving in heavy traffic.

Perhaps back then it was chariot drivers cursing at their recalcitrant horses that kept a person humble?

The Jewish people were forbidden to do work on the Sabbath. During the Exodus, they were instructed to gather double the amount of manna that God provided them to eat as they were not allowed to obtain any on the Sabbath day. This rule was a foreshadow of the true Sabbath rest embodied in the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:1-2).

Just as the Jewish people were to rest from their works, so those who believe in Jesus are to rest from their works: righteousness is now a gift given to believers by faith rather than earned by good works.

The Apostle Paul reprimanded the Galatian church for mixing works, ie. good deeds, with faith to be declared right with God (Galatians 3). In facts, he called them “foolish (vs 3:1) for trying to earn God’s approval through good works. Faith alone in Christ and His works, not ours, satisfies God’s requirement for perfection.

When Jesus cried out with His final breath, “It is finished,” He was declaring that He had perfectly fulfilled the requirements for righteous living: He had met the standard for being declared “good” enough to earn the right to enter heaven into the presence of a holy God.

And when He was raised bodily from the dead, it demonstrated that His sin sacrifice was accepted by the Father.

There is no way you or I or anyone can earn our way into heaven. The standard is perfection. I know I’ve blown that standard today with my words and thoughts, and likely also by what I should have done but didn’t.

If you’re an honest person, you know you’ve blown it at least once this week. If you don’t believe that, ask your family member or friend if you’re perfect.

Once they’ve stopped laughing, you might not want to hear their answer!

I hope I’ve made it understandable that Jesus has done it all to earn a spot for you in heaven. He lived a perfect life for you because you cannot. He suffered for your sin at the cross when He died in your place, so that you don’t have to pay the price for your own sin—separation from God’s love for eternity. The price of sin is death and Jesus paid it for you (Hebrews 10:12-19).

Jesus is “the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).” If you haven’t been born again, please ask Him for the faith to believe. He loves you and is just waiting for you to ask.

You don’t need to clean up your act first—it’ll never be clean enough to earn His favor.

“It is finished!” Jesus earned your spot in heaven for you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy