What Are We Being Saved From? Colossians 1:13-14

Buddy is always observing me.

When I picked Buddy up at the Enumclaw Fair where his foster mom was showing dogs, Buddy had no clue that he was being rescued. He fought against me, wildly bucked and pulled against his leash in a mad effort to free himself from accompanying me to my car. He resisted improving his life for the better out of fear of an unknown future with me.

When Jesus tells us that “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15)”, yet many people ignore the admonition. “Why should we?” “What are we being saved from?”

Apostle Paul makes it clear in his epistles:

From death “in your trespasses and sins”—Ephesians 2:1;

From walking “according to the course of this world”—Ephesians 2:2;

From “having no hope and without God in the world”—Ephesians 2:12;

From walking “in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding”—Ephesians 4:17-18;

From exclusion “from the life of God”—Ephesians 4:18;

From “the old self, which is being corrupted with the lusts of deceit”—Ephesians 4:22;

From “the wrath of God”—Ephesians 5:6;

From “the flaming arrows of the evil one“—Ephesians 6:16;

From enslavement to past regrets, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching toward what lies ahead”—Philippians 3:13;

From condemnation for “there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus”—Romans 8:1;

From “a spirit of slavery leading to fear”—Romans 8:15; and

From eternal separation from God in Hell because of your sins—Isaiah 59:1-15, Luke 12:5.

Jesus saves people from enslavement to Satan, the world and our own corruption. What He offers is freedom to love, and live, better.

All He asks is that we “repent and believe in the gospel.”

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

What is the gospel? Gospel means good news. Some Christians falsely portray it as bad news, that you have to clean up your act to be acceptable to God.

The truth is that we cannot clean up our act. We are born in trespasses and sins. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, there is no one who does good, not even one. Jesus said that “No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:18)”.

Please admit to God that you’ve displeased Him by disobeying and sinning, ask Him to forgive your sins and grant you eternal life, and fill you with His Holy Spirit.

“Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)”.

Jesus, as God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23) had to die for your sins because only a perfect man could satisfy God’s punishment for sin. He died “once for all”. Confessing Jesus as Lord means that you acknowledge that He is the boss and has the right to rule over your life.

If you insist on determining right and wrong for yourself, you are acting as your own god, breaking the first commandment to worship God alone. He defines right and wrong, good and bad.

Since He is good and kind, please don’t reject Jesus. His rule is benevolent and He offers you eternal life if you’ll believe and repent.

Buddy nearly rejected me and the good life he has been living the past 10 years because he didn’t realize that the best was yet to come.

These ministries will help you in your walk with Christ: http://www.BasicGospel.net, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.LTW.org. All three have podcasts that make it easy to listen anyplace. God bless.

Saint Patrick: The Power of Forgiveness, Matthew 18:21-35

Fluffed Buddy’s fur for fun.

Anyone who owns a dog quickly becomes amazed at how forgiving they are. I’ve dropped something on Buddy’s head multiple times, because I’m a klutz, but he never bites me or takes revenge. However, he finally learned (mostly) not to stand too closely to me. He’s always loving, never holding a grudge against me.

According to the History Channel website (link below) St. Patrick died March 17th, about 460 AD, which is the reason the day was chosen to honor him. He grew up in Britain but was captured by Irish traders and spent six years in captivity in Ireland till he escaped six years later. Purportedly, as a lonely, enslaved shepherd, he turned to the Lord for solace, converting to Christianity.

However, Saint Patrick was not embittered against the Irish for his lengthy captivity. Instead, obeying God’s request through an angelic vision, he trained for 15 years to become a priest and returned to Ireland to strengthen the native Christians and convert many to Christ.

Some say that the Irish Church subsequently saved Christian civilization.

Because he was willing to forgive, Patrick was greatly used by God and celebrated for his Christian devotion.

On the other hand, an unforgiving spirit damages our Christian witness to an unbelieving world.

Jesus compared refusal to forgive as being “handed over to the torturers (Matthew 18:34). God promises that “if you do not forgive…from your heart (verse 35),” God Himself will place you in mental torment.

Why would God do this?

Jesus uses a parable (Matthew 18:23-35) to explain to Peter and the apostles the necessity to forgive without limit. God considers our sin debt against Him, the Great King, to be far greater than any sin mere mortals commit against us. Jesus paid the price on the Cross so that God could forgive our sin debt, an immeasurable sacrifice.

And doesn’t it feel like torment to be angry, bitter and unforgiving? I am just as guilty as everyone else. But I feel much lighter in my spirit after Jesus helped me to identify anyone I was angry at and to forgive. It feels great and I want you to share this wonderful release from dark emotions.

My pastor describes unforgiveness as someone hitting you on the head with a hammer, then taking that hammer out of their hands and continuing to hit yourself repeatedly on the head after your attacker is long gone. Those angry feelings and thoughts do nothing but bring harm to yourself and your relationships with others. No one likes being around a bitter sourpuss.

Ultimately, it’s up to you whether to continue to shoulder the heavy weight of bitterness, slowing down your forward walk in life.

But please remember: God promises that you will be in torment till you repent and forgive.

And just consider, if you forgive: Perhaps after your death you will be fondly remembered as someone who loved greatly.

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”—Jesus, Luke 6:27-28

https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick

Much love from Dawn and Buddy.

***

Saint Patrick’s Irish captors didn’t deserve to be forgiven. Love motivated the great saint to return to Ireland. So, too, Jesus came to die for our sins, not because humans deserved it, but because God loves us and wants to fellowship with sinful beings.

All humans are born incomplete because we were originally triune beings till Adam and Eve chose Satan’s authority over their lives, rejecting God’s sovereignty. The Holy Spirit left the human race at that time. So we are born only with a body and soul, no Spirit of God indwelling us.

We are all “dead in (our) trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).” Salvation is acknowledging that we offend God by our sin and need His authority over our lives, to stop being our own gods who decide what is right and wrong, and live by His rules. A person must admit that they are a sinner, that it’s impossible to be good enough to meet His righteous standards, and ask for forgiveness. Jesus, God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), died for the sins of all humankind, taking the punishment we all deserve. Only a perfect human could die for the sins of others.

So, please, ask God to forgive your sin, to grant you the Holy Spirit to lead your heart, and accept that Jesus, God incarnate, took your punishment. Your salvation is a free gift—if you’re humble enough to ask Him for it.

“For by grace you have been saved by faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 2:8-9

Just A Quick Comment

Hi. Just wanted to say that I go onto WordPress to read content or look at photos. If I want to watch videos, I go onto other social media platforms. So if you’re posting videos, I likely won’t watch them. Please don’t take offense, but I have my preferences.

God bless.

Whatever Happened To The Golden Rule? Matthew 7:12

Buddy looks up at me in expectation.

I cannot imagine myself hurting Buddy intentionally. I’m a bit of a klutz, so he’s learned not to stand too close to me in case I accidentally drop something on him.

As our Western culture drifts further away from God (paddling away furiously, it seems at times), our culture has become increasingly unloving. “God is love (1 John 4:8),” so He defines what love is.

Jesus, Who was God in the flesh, summarized God’s commands as follows during His Sermon On The Mount (Matthew 7:12): “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Do you want to be listened to, to have your opinion matter?

Then love declares it’s not OK to “cancel” another person.

Would you want your book banned?

Then love declares it’s not OK to ban someone else’s book.

Would you like to be denied an education or employment because of your personal beliefs?

Then love says it’s not OK to deny these opportunities to someone else. (This behavior was practiced by the Nazis during their rise to power.)

Would you want to be yelled at or screamed at because you disagree with someone? Or have someone spread lies about you publicly?

Then love says it’s not OK to yell at someone else who disagrees with you. Or slander someone publicly.

Would you want to be censored on YouTube, Google searches, Twitter or YouTube?

Then love says that you do not censor others.

Would you want your business burned or shut down?

Then love says you do not burn down or shut down someone else’s business.

Would you want someone to punch or kick or murder you?

Then love says you do not punch, kick or murder another person.

Jesus made it easy for us to figure out how to love and treat other people.

I’m not claiming to be perfect in my love for others. I lose my temper before thinking how it affects another person, insist on my own way at times or forget to look at a situation from another person’s point of view—because I’m a member of fallen humanity.

But thank God, because Jesus loved perfectly and fulfilled the commandments of God’s Law for me, I escape His wrath on Judgment Day by placing my faith in Him and His work on the Cross.

But, till that great day arrives, I hope to learn to love others more and be like Jesus.

Much love, from Dawn and Buddy.

***

God loves you. There is no way that you can be perfect enough to earn His love. He wants to fellowship with you but you must do something for that to happen. You must admit that you’ve sinned, which means that you’ve fallen short of His righteous standards, and want to repent by following God’s rules and not your own, giving Him His rightful place as Lord in your life. Jesus met God’s standard for a perfect life, so He was good enough to take the punishment for the sins of the human race. As God in the flesh, He was able to do that.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 10:9-10

He wants to meet you right where you are. You don’t have to clean up your act firstly. He already knows you’re a mess. He knows everything about you yet loves you.

Why not ask God to help you enter into a love relationship with Him?