Salvation And God’s Love, Part 2, 1 John 4:18-19

It really hurts my feelings when Buddy cringes as I reach down toward him. My intent is to lovingly pat him on the head, but due to past abuse before his adoption, he often still acts as if I want to hit him.

Anyone who knows me also knows that I adore Buddy and would not beat on him.

The Apostle John appears to have addressed this same issue of how we perceive our Lord in his first epistle, 1 John 4:18-19:

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But he who fears has not been perfected in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”

(Please note: My NASB translation of the ancient Greek reads “punishment” but the New King James version (1982) reads “torment”.)

If you fear that you’ll lose your faith and, therefore, your salvation, your love for God is incomplete. If you think there will be a big screen review of your life’s sins on Judgment Day, then your love for God is incomplete.

Because you are still fearing God will punish you in the afterlife, it’s impossible for you to fully love God. You cannot trust someone you believe wants to punish you.

Fear and love cannot reside together.

So please search your heart.

Do you truly believe that the Lord Jesus always wants the best for you? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28)”.

Because if you’re afraid of pending punishment, the Apostle John states that you are like Buddy, cringing and pulling your head down in fear, when Jesus really wants to give you a loving pat on the head.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

PS. I’m visiting family so am posting a briefer blog tonight. I promised two more posts on the topic of salvation security; this touches on the topic but isn’t the two I’d planned. Please watch for posts #3 and #4 in the future.

***

The Lord Jesus promises that anyone “who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”—John 5:24

The Lord loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to the earth to be born as a baby to grow up and live amongst imperfect, unholy people. The human race is made in God’s image; He cherishes human life so much that part of the Godhead was incarnated then died to take the punishment for the sins we’ve committed. Because Jesus lived a perfect life, He didn’t need to pay for His own sins, so He could pay for ours, instead.

You can choose to reject Christ’s offer of forgiveness, but it’s like having a million dollars in your bank account that could bring you joy, but you never collect it.

The reason I post these blogs—take the time—is because Jesus changed my heart. My life is better, not because the world has changed, but because I am no longer so self destructive; over time, the Lord has been healing me of wrong beliefs and attitudes. I want this same blessing for others. My own salvation is NOT dependent upon whether or not someone else believes.

If you’d like a new beginning—within your soul, please pray the following, out loud if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and failures. Please forgive me. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Grant me the gift of the Holy Spirit to give me new life. I give my life to You. Please show me how much You love me. Thank you that Jesus took the punishment for my sins and was raised from the dead, so that I don’t have to be afraid of You, but can love You. I ask in the name of your holy Son, Jesus, and thank You for answering, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible every day as it’s your soul food. The Holy Spirit speaks to your heart and mind through this supernatural book. Just as your body needs daily nourishment, so does your soul.

And start attending a Bible based church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get caught in legalism or bad teaching till you get to know the Bible fairly well.

Ask the Lord to guide you to the correct church or study. He promises to lead and guide you (Psalm 32:8) and to grant you wisdom if you ask for it (James 1:5).

May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

God bless You as you start your new life in Christ.

The Ticking Clock, Psalm 145:18-19

Buddy being unusually cooperative.

Buddy loves to be the center of my attention—when he wants it. When he demands attention, I’d better give it to him. If I am busy and ask him to wait a few minutes, he’ll walk off and find something to knock over to draw my attention. The louder the bang when the selected item hits the floor, the happier it makes him. I have to leave the top off of my paper shredder when I’m not using it, as the machine makes a wondrously loud bang when the top hits the tiled floor of my dining room.

God makes a promise to His children to always be attentive to their call or cries for help.

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of all those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them.”—Psalm 145:18-19

I started thinking about this verse earlier this week when I was doing my stretching exercises. I have to hold each stretch for fifteen seconds.

At first I whispered the standard, “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three…” up to fifteen Mississippis. But after a few sessions, that rapidly got redundant.

Then I realized that this clock in the photo was not only within viewing distance (without my eyeglasses) while stretching, but the seconds ticked off quite loudly. So I began silently counting the seconds up to fifteen.

Much easier.

I continued this practice. Starting one session this week, I realized that I couldn’t hear the ticking, even though the clock was within hearing distance.

The ticking got lost in the cacophony of noises within my living room—until I consciously focused on listening to the ticking sound. Suddenly, I could hear the clock with no problem, loudly clacking out the seconds.

I think that’s a metaphor for our relationship with the Lord Jesus. He’s always there, leading and guiding us (Psalm 23:3) and walking alongside us (Psalm 139:5), but we remain unaware of His presence most of the time. His voice and presence gets lost in the noise and business of our daily lives.

Unless we’re consciously focused on Him through prayer, praise, reading the Bible or in fellowship with other Christians.

So I encourage you to spend time with Him every day. And to ask Him to open your eyes to focusing on the blessings He showers upon you with every day, to guard you against discouragement and despair.

After all, the Lord saved you because He wants to enjoy your company for all eternity.

Why not enjoy Him now?

Every day.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

If you are not born again, you are not in union with God’s Holy Spirit and walking in union with Him. Sure, you can live an entire lifetime without acknowledging God’s existence—billions do, but your life will be emotionally enriched when you come to know how much the mighty King of the Universe loves you. He loves us so much that His Son took on human flesh. Do you realize how that shows how much He values human beings?

If you’re ready to walk with God and learn to fellowship with your loving Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please take my hand and walk with me throughout my life. Forgive my sins, because Jesus died on the Cross for my sins so that I don’t have to suffer eternal separation from the one true God. I believe He rose from the dead to give me life, so I ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me and give me a new heart, to renew a right spirit within me. I give my life to You. Please show me how much You love me. In the name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible, as it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul need to feed daily on the Word of God.

And, please, join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two online ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: 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 get misled by legalism or bad teaching till you know the Bible fairly well.

God bless you as you walk with the one Lord—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

Is Salvation Merely A Belief? 2 Corinthians 5:17, Part 1

Buddy has his focus on me, because I’m the one who provides for his physical and emotional needs, with the Lord’s help. His relationship as my pup is secure, because I chose to adopt him into my family, a decision that is not revocable. My home is his furever home.

If having faith is just a belief, then you can lose your salvation. Beliefs can change, depending upon a person’s circumstances or mood. But is Christianity merely a belief in Jesus?

Or did something miraculous happen to your soul when you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

I’m bringing up this topic up because of the church I joined after I moved to Arizona. The people are loving and wonderful and enjoy studying the Word of God. But we disagree on one major doctrinal point: The leaders teach that you can lose your salvation.

It’s my observation that this denomination understands HOW a person gets saved, but not WHAT happened when they got saved.

Now because you don’t completely understand your salvation, doesn’t mean a Christian is not saved. (Although some claim if a person doesn’t believe like they do, they aren’t saved. I think the church is too eager to declare people in the body of Christ heretics.) As Apostle Paul exhorted in 2 Corinthians 13:5:

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”

The Apostle Paul pointed out that a believer in the faith has the Holy Spirit of Christ within their spirit.

Salvation is not just a belief or belief system; it is a miraculous transformation of person’s life.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”—Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, we also,…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”—Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus is the author of your faith and promises to complete that work in your lifetime.

Which is also echoed in the following passage from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:6 (caps for emphasis, mine):

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you WILL COMPLETE it until the day of Christ Jesus;…”

As a believer in Jesus, do you want to sin? Do you wake up every morning declaring, “I’m really eager to rebel against the Lord today. I’d really like to sin as much as possible today!”?

Of course not. Why?

Is it because you’re such a wonderful, godly person? Ha!

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”—Apostle Paul, Romans 3:23

When you asked Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, He gave you a new heart! You just didn’t declare that you had a new belief system: You became a brand new person!

The changing of a person’s heart was predicted by the prophet Ezekiel, who lived during the Babylonian exile of the nation of Judah circa 593-571 BC (emphasis mine):

“I will give you a NEW HEART and put a NEW SPIRIT within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put MY SPIRIT within you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep my commandments and do them.”—Ezekiel 36:26-27

Jesus also prayed to the Father that this spiritual union would occur, our union with God, which gives us new life.

“I do not pray for these alone (the apostles), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent me.

“And the glory which You gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”—John 17:20-23

So, is Jesus a liar when he said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”?—Hebrews 13:5

And also from the Book of Hebrews, 10:14-17: (emphasis mine):

“For by one offering He has perfected FOREVER those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

“‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’

“then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’”

If I haven’t yet convinced you, I’m planning two more posts on this topic, so as not to have too long a blog post.

God bless you. Thanks for reading.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

OK. Being criticized sucks. I don’t like it either. But the prophet Ezekiel declares that an unsaved person has “a heart of stone”. I don’t like thinking of myself that way, either, before I became born again. But I believe that the Bible is the Word of God and does not lie. My heart was stony to God’s Spirit and influence till He made me a “new creation”.

You may be sensing that something is wrong with your life. I did in the past. I was fortunate to hear the evangelist Reverend Billy Graham on local TV, calling me to repentance and into a relationship with the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

If you’re ready for a new start in life—which is NOT promising an easier life, necessarily—but into a walk with Jesus, please repeat the below prayer, out loud, if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I want a relationship with You which is only possible through Your Son Jesus Christ, Who died on a Cross for my sins and was resurrected from the dead to give me new life. I want that new life. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive my sin. I give my life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and give me new life and a fresh start. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the holy name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again spiritually and are a “new creation”. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy and strong, so does your soul. 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, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).

God bless you as you start your new journey in life.

May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

Moral Confusion, 1 Corinthians 15:33

Buddy considering his next move.

Buddy shocked me when he walked over to my artificial Christmas tree and knocked my manger scene ornament off the tree. He chose that one particular ornament to flip to get my attention.

He got it.

Now Buddy is a creation of God, but he doesn’t know about Jesus and His manifestation in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), which Christian believers celebrate on Christmas Day. It’s probably just a coincidence that he chose that particular ornament, as it was within reach of his nose, rather than a secular ornament. It’s unlikely that his goal was to show God disrespect.

This winter, I’ve been thinking about who Jesus hung around with. Yes, He loves everybody and sat at the table to share meals with sinners—people who weren’t following the Lord—and with self righteous sinners who thought they knew God.

But who did Jesus spend His private time with? And most of His personal time with? His 12 disciples, the 72 others who served Him, and the women following Him and offering financial support. Not people who had no interest in serving, or knowing, the Lord.

The Apostle Paul issued a warning in his letter to the Corinthian church, whose members were struggling to overcome various sins:

“Do not be deceived; ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”—1 Corinthians 15:33

This story about Abraham’s nephew, Lot, particularly distresses me. Abraham had a discussion with God, begging Him not to destroy the city of Sodom if only ten righteous men lived within the city (Genesis 19:32). Abraham was concerned about the welfare of his nephew, Lot, who lived in the city limits of Sodom. So God sent two angels to visit Sodom.

Lot met the two men and “urged them strongly (vs 3)” to spend the night in his home and not stay in the city square, as it wasn’t safe. When the men of the city learned that Lot harbored guests, they knocked on Lot’s front door, insisting that he open up and let them have sex with his guests.

Lot refused, rightly so. But he demonstrated his moral confusion by offering his two virgin daughters, in the place of his guests, to be raped.

As a woman, it really bothers me that Lot considered his only two offspring, his daughters, to be treated like cheap meat to be abused then disposed of.

Lot moved into the vicinity of Sodom because there wasn’t enough grazing land for his livestock and his uncle’s, but then he moved his family progressively closer to the pagan city till he lived within the city limits and participated in its civic life.

After God rescued Lot, because ten good men couldn’t be located in the city, Lot lived in a cave with his two daughters. Apparently the pagan culture also influenced Lot’s family, as each daughter got their father drunk, slept with him, and became pregnant. They lacked the faith to trust God to care for their needs, so they took matters into their own hands to ensure their family line continued.

(Now their offspring became the nations of Moab and Ammon, who caused the nation of Israel quite a bit of grief later in the history of Abraham’s own offspring.)

Now I’m not saying that Christians shouldn’t be friends with unbelievers. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:9-12, that we’re not to avoid associating with unbelievers, as we have to live in society. But not to associate with believers who are engaged in immoral behavior.

When I first got saved, my close friends were unbelievers. Their behavior greatly influenced my character, beliefs and behavior till I grew strong in the knowledge of God’s Word, the Bible, and developed close Christian friendships through the church.

The Apostle Paul also admonished that we should “not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”—2 Corinthians 6:14. We should not marry, nor own a business, with nonbelievers as they can skew our moral compass in the wrong direction. (If you get saved while already in these relationships, you’re not to break your contract with them (2 Corinthians 7:10-16).

So, in conclusion, we need to be in contact with unbelievers to help point them toward a relationship with the Lord, without making them feel like they have targets on their backs. We’re to love them, just as God loves them, showing them kindness and respect. But our closest friendships should be with godly people who can influence us for good and gently correct us when needed. We need people in our lives who’ll help keep us on the good Shepherd’s path (Psalm 23:3). Who have a moral compass pointed in the direction of Jesus and not the worldly culture.

Because we already have a daily battle with the world (1 John 5:5), the flesh (Galatians 5:17), and the devil (Ephesians 6:11). Our close friendships should be with those who help us to conquer.

God bless you.

Thanks for spending your time reading my blog post.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

You may start each New Year with the best of intentions, yet find yourself falling flat on your face once again, having difficulty breaking old habits.

No surprise! But some habits are more difficult to overcome than others.

As above, every person has three ungodly enemies trying to push each person into bad decisions: the world, the flesh and the devil. But Jesus died on the Cross, taking the punishment for our sins, “once for all (Hebrews 10:10),” to free us from the enslavement to sin (Romans 6:17-18). For the believer who has faith in the finished work of the Cross and has become born again by the Spirit of God (1 John 3:24, 4:4), the power of sin is broken. A believer can break bad habits (although some are overcome with more time and effort in cooperation with the Holy Spirit than others). This is called the sanctification process: over time, God’s Spirit gradually conforms a believer’s moral character to be more like Jesus (Romans 12:2, 1 John 5:1-5).

If you’d like a new start in life by becoming born again spiritually, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible.

Dear Heavenly Father, I’d like a new start in life. I ask Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive my sins and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please show me how much You love me and bring godly people into my life to disciple me. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of your Son, Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Just as your body needs daily nourishment, your soul needs daily food; the Bible, which is your soul food. Please start reading it regularly. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand.

Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).

May Buddy and I see you in heaven one day.

Have a great year as you begin your new relationship with the living and almighty Lord God.

Happy New Year!

Have a blessed year! Much love from Dawn and Buddy