YOU, Dear Christian, Are Important, Matthew 5:14

Buddy likes to patrol the perimeter of our condo complex most nights. Sometimes he insists on walking around the back of our building before completing his rounds by pulling me toward the fountain in the nearest courtyard. But two steps lead to the fountain and sometimes Buddy stumbles into the corner of the stairs in the dark if I don’t catch his change in direction in time.

Jesus proclaimed in His famous “Sermon On The Mount” that His followers were:

“the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)” and instructed us to “let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven (vs 16).”

Many pastors have commented that if you switch on a light in a dark room, the light ALWAYS prevails. The darkness never snuffs it out.

You are important, dear sister or brother in Christ.

Most people in this world are “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18).”

You may be one tiny light in this world. But you might be the only light in the room. Your light is preventing the darkness from winning total victory in your sphere of influence.

Look up at the cloudless sky at night. Each star pierces the darkness. Most people focus on the stars, no matter how few, and not the inky black surrounding them.

Think about the skies which reflect less artificial light of this world. More heavenly stars are visible and shine even brighter.

You are that heavenly star, shining some light into an area that otherwise would be totally consumed by this world’s darkness.

So don’t despair, if you don’t shine as brightly as the bigger stars. God loves us all and has you here where you are right now, according to His will, “for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).”

Shine little star, shine the love of Jesus in your dark corner of this wayward and despairing world.

Your light is important.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

In the eighth century BC, the prophet Isaiah prophesied regarding the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, that:

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”—Isaiah 9:2

Jesus declared that He was “the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).”

What the average person doesn’t know is that they are in bondage to Satan until Jesus calls them “out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).”

Free will is an illusion. We are either under the influence of the devil or Jesus.

But Jesus loves every person and stands at the door of each heart, knocking, asking each person to allow Him into their life (Revelation 3:20). He wants to give everybody supernatural and eternal life and “destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).”

If you’re tired of self-destructing with foolish behavior, would you please consider asking the Lord into your life, to be your Good Shepherd Who leads you into the “paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3)”?

I’ve never regretted making this decision.

Bring a Christian doesn’t mean you become a perfect person, but the Holy Spirit will indwell you to help you make better choices.

If you’re ready to give your life to Christ Jesus, please repeat the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all my sins—past, present and future. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re a born again child of God. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand. And join a Bible believing church or Bible Study. Ask the Lord to lead you to good fellowship. Also, get baptized.

If that’s not possible right now, please check out these three ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled till you know the Bible fairly well.

God bless you as you begin your eternal life with God through Christ Jesus. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

Be Strong In The Lord, Ephesians 6:10

During Buddy’s last physical, his vet said that Buddy was unusually muscular for his age; a good thing. Likely because he’s decided that the loft is his doghouse, he’s frequently climbing up and descending the staircase.

The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Ephesians church, admonished (Ephesians 6:10): “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.”

So how can we be strong in the Lord?

The number Seven is the Biblical number of completion, per scholar Louis A. Brighton, so let’s look at seven ways:

1. Read the Bible and think about what you just read: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a stream firmly planted besides streams of water,”—Psalm 1:2-3

2. Rest in the grace given us through faith in Jesus Christ, not trying to earn His favor or salvation through good works: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of bondage.”—Galatians 5:1

3. Keep your eyes set on the future return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”—Hebrews 12:2

4. Accept and seek the encouragement of fellow believers: “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted we were comforted about you through your faith,…”—1 Thessalonians 3:6-7

5. Closely related to #4, Regularly attend a Bible-believing church or Bible Study: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day (Lord’s return) drawing near.”—Hebrews 10:24-25

6. Stay strong in prayer: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”—James 5:16

7. Submit to God by resisting the devil and temptation, confessing your sins: “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”—James 4:7

In summary, trust In Jesus and His word and power, not in the fleeting opinions of people and our culture.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

*NASB version of the Bible is usually the one I quote.

***

Jesus appeared to “destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).” Until you give your life to the Lord Jesus and accept Him as the authority for your life, you remain under the power and influence of the kingdom of darkness. You try to be good, but you can never be good enough to meet God’s perfect standards of behavior to earn your way into His heavenly forever home.

If you’d tired of trying to do the impossible and want to accept Jesus’ rescue plan:

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”—Colossians 1:13-14

Please repeat the below prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all of my sins: past, present and future. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Reveal to me how much you love and cherish me. Help me learn to follow You as my Great Shepherd. Transfer me out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light of Your beloved Son. In the wonderful name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. I recommend starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand. And join a Bible-believing church or Bible Study and get baptized. Christians are never meant to be lone wolves.

However, if that’s not possible right now, I suggest these three ministries: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.AndrewFarley.org. They also have apps if that’s your preference. There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled till you know the Bible fairly well.

God bless you, my new friend. May Buddy and I see you in heaven one day.

Hearing From God, 1 Samuel 3:1

Is he really listening to me?

Buddy gets his food, shelter, clothing, companionship and personal care from me, which isn’t free but I give joyfully out of my love for him. You’d think he’d be eager to listen to me, as a result.

Nah.

Buddy listens when he wants to.

It’s understandable why Christians are eager to hear from God directly as we have so many decisions to make every day. And some are quite consequential, involving our future and finances.

When I was first saved, a well-meaning Christian gave me an autobiography by a woman who seemed to not only easily recognize God’s voice, but heard frequently from the Holy Spirit. The problem became that I thought that was the norm for Christians.

The Holy Spirit clearly spoke to me during my born again experience. It was a strong impression of speech in my mind. But that was pretty much it. The only other time I’m certain I heard God clearly speak to me is when I was in rebellion as a young Christian, still struggling with prior behavior patterns and ways of thinking.

I became really confused for decades because I am blessed with a highly creative and vivid imagination. Was God speaking to me or was it my imagination?

So I asked God to speak to me through His Word.

Turns out, according to Pastor Charles Stanley at InTouch Ministries, that was exactly the correct prayer request.

When you really start to dig into the details of the Old Testament, even the great prophets didn’t hear from God that often.

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days.”—1 Samuel 3:1

Odd, since the Lord’s ark was in His temple in Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit resided.

The Lord called out to the young boy Samuel from the ark then appeared physically to speak to him (1 Samuel 3:10). God appeared to Moses and spoke to him face-to-face as a friend (Exodus 33:11). He also spoke to Gideon, Ezekiel, Isaiah and others.

But when I dug into the book of Ezekiel, for instance, God didn’t have a running daily conversation with the prophet. God spoke directly to him when it was necessary.

The book of Ezekiel begins with God speaking to the prophet in the eighth month of the second year of Israel’s exile under the Persian King Darius. Then doesn’t speak again for another three months in the eleventh month. The word of the Lord doesn’t come to Ezekiel for a third time till about two years later, in the ninth month of the fourth year.

In the third appearance the Lord gives several prophecies about Jesus, future blessing for the nation of Israel and the End Times judgment to come.

Then the prophet’s book ends.

Now, it could be that the Lord spoke to Ezekiel on many more occasions and the conversation wasn’t important enough to write down and pass on. But I believe the Bible reflects what our normal interactions should be with God.

The last book of the Bible, Malachi, was written in 420 BC, then there was no prophetic communication with God’s people till an angel appeared to Zecharias to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his elderly wife, Elizabeth. There was no direct recorded communication between God and His people for over 400 years till then.

Jesus, God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23, John 1:1), began His earthly ministry at age 30 for only three-and-a-half years. It was a rare time that people had the opportunity to daily communicate with God face-to-face and hear His voice clearly.

So what am I saying?

In the Biblical Books of Ruth, Esther and Nehemiah, there is no direct communication with God recorded, yet the people were faithful to follow God’s written word, pray and act according to His instructions on how to conduct themselves. They praised the Lord and trusted in His love and faithfulness. They were directed by God’s principles and trusted that He was with them if they acted accordingly.

And how do you discover God’s will?

Read the Bible and memorize Scripture.

You know it’s never God’s will to cheat, lie or steal to get what you want. You know you’re supposed to love your enemies and not be greedy. You know you’re supposed to be kind and encourage others, not tear them down. You know you’re supposed to stand against evil. And to be salt that helps preserve good in a culture and light that shows God’s ways. You know you’re not supposed to be selfish and greedy, that you should share with others. You work hard for what you want and don’t tear someone down when competing for a job or promotion.

In other words, the Bible tells us how to conduct our behavior.

Now, I’m not saying that God won’t make a strong impression upon your spirit to warn you away from a particular action or person, or encourage you toward a particular move. But that takes time as you learn to be sensitive to His guidance. Nehemiah did state that “I did not tell anyone what God put into my mind to do (Nehemiah 1:12), but he likely knew about God’s promise to return a remnant of the Jewish people after seventy years of exile. He wasn’t rebelling by trying to return earlier than was prophesied.

When I was planning my trip to London, I thought I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to wait. But I thought I was just being fearful and proceeded. Then had to cancel all the plans I’d made because of the pandemic. I couldn’t foresee our first true global pandemic since 1918, but God did.

But I challenge you, as you read the Old Testament, to note how often God spoke to His prophets or chosen leaders. It wasn’t frequent.

A lot of times when I pray, I’ll remember something I should do or had forgotten, as if God is helping me out by reminding me.

So in most cases, I believe it’s through the Word of God and the meditating on the Word during our prayer time that God usually speaks to us and directs us.

Which is why it’s so vital to be read the Bible and pray every day to remain in communication with our Lord.

But we can never put God in a box! After all, He created the heavens and the earth and calls all the stars by their names (Psalm 147:4).

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy.

***

And so this blog was interrupted by Buddy clearly demanding to be fed, particularly with some of my chickie that I was planning for my own dinner.

***

If you are not in a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, there is only one message you’ll hear: Repent of your sin to receive new life through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is always knocking on the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20), but He never forces Himself on anyone. He wants to be your Father and friend, but He wants you to willingly love and obey Him. He lets you make that choice.

If you’re ready to make Jesus your Lord, meaning that He is the boss and has the right to define right and wrong, please pray the following:

Heavenly Father, I want to get to know You. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all my sins and give me a new heart and spirit. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and direct me in Your path and ways. I give my life to You. Reveal Your loving heart to me. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

If you said that prayer with sincerity, congratulations, you’re a born again child of God. Please read the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand. Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study and get baptized.

If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org and http://www.AndrewFarley.org. Each has a different emphasis. There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled till you know the Bible fairly well. There are also good-hearted pastors who don’t always preach the entire gospel. I want you to get started in your eternal life on the right foot.

God bless you. May Buddy and I see you in heaven.

Happy Independence Day!

Buddy and I wish our fellow Americans a Happy Fourth! God bless you! Hope you’re enjoying the holiday!

Why Do I Need My Sins Forgiven? Leviticus 11:44

I adore Buddy. We’ve been together 12 years. But he’s a little monster at times. I might’ve spoiled him a teensy bit to make up for the 3 years he was abused by a former owner. To get attention, he’ll knock something over or “go to town,” digging away at the bag of shredded paper.

To be my companion, I don’t demand that Buddy be perfect in his behavior.

However, the Creator of our universe is different.

“‘For I am the Lord Your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.’”—Leviticus 11:44

God cannot tolerate sin and must punish it. So only holy people can enter into His presence. The prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5) and the Apostle Peter (Luke 5: 8) were both mortified when they realized they were in God’s presence, recognizing their sinfulness. They knew that a holy God cannot overlook sinful behavior and must judge it.

“Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully.”—David, Psalm 24:3-4

I’d like to say that I’ve never told a lie or my heart is pure, but I know I struggle with contentious thoughts and other ungodly attitudes. No way would I declare myself holy enough to approach a perfect God and not expect to be zapped.

When Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority, the Holy Spirit left the human race. We were once triune beings, as we are made in God’s image: body, soul and spirit. Born in sin, separated from God as we’re all descendants of the original couple, we are incomplete, devoid of God’s presence. We are no longer triune in nature.

But God desires to be back in fellowship with His created beings. He wants to be our Father and brother and best friend.

We cannot be complete without the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. But the Spirit is holy—and we are not. (Tell me you’re holy and I’ll prove that you’re arrogant.)

So God had to come up with a plan to make us holy, so that the Holy Spirit can once again inhabit people, making “our body a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19)” of God’s presence.

Jesus died for our sins so that we can be declared righteous and holy before God. When we die in our sins, we are eternally separated from the Lord. He doesn’t desire that.

“‘For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,’ declares the Lord God. ‘Therefore repent and live.’ (Ezekiel 18:32)”

By admitting that you are unholy, accepting that God alone is the Creator Who has the right to declare what is right and wrong, you can clothe yourself with the holiness of Jesus instead.

“For Christ died once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).”

In summary:

1. God is holy and cannot tolerate evil.

2. We are unholy.

3. Somehow our sin must be taken away so that we can be declared perfect in righteousness to receive the spiritual life of the Holy Spirit.

“He (God) has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:10-12).”

By living a perfect life, Jesus could die for the sins of others as He didn’t have any sin of His own to be punished for.

An easier way to understand it is that you could not afford a ticket to Heaven. But Jesus had pity on you and bought that ticket for you with His blood. He gives every believer a ticket for free they could never buy if they just humble themself to ask Him for it.

“All things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).”

So, are you forgiven of your sins and trusting in the ticket Jesus bought for you with His suffering on the Cross to enter Heaven?

Or are you declaring yourself good enough to buy that ticket to heaven with good deeds—while still being tainted with your sin?

Remember, a holy God cannot allow unholy people to live with Him in heaven.

“No one is good except God alone (Jesus, Mark 10:18).”

Hoping you gave me the correct answer:

I’m trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins.

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He (God) has now reconciled you in His (Jesus’) fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:21-22).”

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

So do you have your ticket to heaven, made out of the suffering of Jesus and stamped red with His blood, verifying you are holy?

Or are you still trying to do the impossible? Trying to prove that you are good enough by doing more good deeds than bad ones, hoping that God forgets the bad things you’ve said,done and thought?

You see, you’ve probably heard bad theology most of your life. That God grades on a curve.

If God grades on a curve, where’s the cut off point? And is it fair if someone has one more good deed and gets to go to heaven but the guy with just one less good deed goes to Hell?

Does grading on a curve really seem fair to you?

Not to me. I’d never feel saved, wondering where I was on that curve. And whether I’d done enough good deeds or not. I’d die, terrified of Judgment Day.

But the wonderful truth is:

“There is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).”

God doesn’t grade on a curve. There is one way to Heaven and it’s the same for everybody: perfection.

No curve. One way to get to heaven: The death of Jesus as punishment for our sins and His resurrection to give us eternal life.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:8).”

Are you ready to stop trying to earn your way to heaven and accept God’s free gift? If so, please pray the below.

Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sins, because I can never be good enough to earn Your love. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I acknowledge You alone are Lord and define right from wrong. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Thank you for loving me so much that Jesus died for my sins, taking the punishment I deserved so that I can be declared holy and enter into fellowship with You. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you are born again. Please start reading the Bible, as it’s your soul food. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand. And please find a Bible-believing church or Bible study and get baptized.

If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these three ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.AndrewFarley.org and http://www.LTW.org. There are other godly ministries, but when you don’t know what the Bible teaches very well, you can get misled.

You’re starting a wonderful new journey in life. God bless. May Buddy and I see you in heaven.