When I first left Buddy to stay for a few days with my parents, I was concerned he’d become their pet and not return home with me to our condo.
Turns out that he stares at the front door for hours, waiting for my return. Buddy does not forget that he’s my best pal.
My parents love Buddy and he’s fond of them, but he loves me the “mostest”.
The Apostle James reminds Christians not to forget who they are:
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”—James 1:23-24
Once you were “dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1),” “slaves to sin (Romans 6:20)” and “the powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13),” until you believed in the Gospel and became born again.
You were a sinner who sometimes did good deeds.
But now you are a saint who sometimes sins!
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 6:18
You are no longer a dirty worm. Nor a reformed sinner.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”—Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 5:17
You are a saint! You want to act saintly.
Or you grieve the Holy Spirit within you and become miserable.
It’s vitally important that you remember who you are! What is now your natural bent!
You were dead; now you’re spiritually alive!
The author CS Lewis got it correct in his Narnia book series:
You are now a prince or princess. You now wear the royal garments of Christ Jesus.
Look into the mirror which reflects back “Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).”
Buddy can rest in the privacy of his cube knowing that he is loved and cared for. When he became my fur pal, it was for life.
I want to return to the prodigal one more time and milk a new point that I haven’t heard from preachers before.
You might be familiar with this parable Jesus told: A father had two sons. The younger son asked for his inheritance early; although such a request was dishonorable in that culture, his father honored the request. The younger son ran off to waste his money on “loose living (vs 13).” After impoverishing himself to the point of near starvation and demeaning, employment, he returned home, expecting to be treated by his father as a hired employee and disowned.
However, the father was so overjoyed that his son repented of his wicked behavior and showed new respect, that he threw his once wayward son a party.
The older son had been laboring away in his father’s field, not living it up; he was building up his father’s estate and his future inheritance. In anger he refused to accept his father’s invitation to the party to celebrate his brother’s return home.
“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours…but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’”—Luke 15:29-30
Get to the point, Dawn! We already know the story!
The older son believed he was more worthy of his father’s love because he worked for it. He believed he had earned his father’s love, but his younger brother hadn’t measured up. This passage is often preached on as a contrast between the legalistic believer who thinks he earns his salvation through good works, verses the person who realizes his salvation is through grace alone and cannot be earned, and that our Heavenly Father loves those with repentant hearts.
But also…
The older brother wasn’t the only one hard at work in the fields. He wasn’t taking care of his father’s estate and property by himself: The father had “hired men (vs 17).”
The older brother was equating his hard work with his worth in his father’s eyes.
But there were other men laboring hard for his father, also.
But the difference in the workers wasn’t how hard they were laboring, but their status in the father’s eyes.
You see, my dear reader, your value in the Heavenly Father’s eyes isn’t dependent on how hard you labor in his field.
You’re valuable to the Father because you’re His child,…
regardless of how you think your work is measuring up compared to those “superior” older brothers.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”—Apostle John, 1 John 3:1
Hope you find this message encouraging.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Maybe you’re unhappy because you’re trying to live life apart from the loving embrace of your Heavenly Father who has rules of living to protect people. After all, He’s the one Who created us and knows the instruction manual.
Jesus is omniscient and omnipresent. He sees the future. What seems the right course of action to a person may actually be leading toward disaster. Only God knows where a chosen path will lead.
Jesus died to pay for your sins. He lived a perfect life as a human being so that He could pay for the sins of others, having no sin of His own to be punished for. After His crucifixion, He rose from the dead to prove that He is also God, that He has the power over death.
You don’t have to continue living a life of regret and defeat. But becoming a Christian doesn’t guarantee health and wealth, as false preachers claim, but does set you onto a new path leading away from self-destructive behavior.
A new Christian is like a baby: You’ll crawl, then totter on wobbly legs till you learn to walk steady. I’m encouraging you to give your life to Jesus, because it’s wonderful to be in relationship with God. But I also want you not to get discouraged after doing so. It takes time to learn about God’s love for you and how He works.
Are you ready to make Jesus your Savior from sin and your Lord, the God Who rules your life? If so, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness. I call on Jesus to be both my Savior and Lord, my moral authority. I give my life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. And teach me how much You love me. I want to learn to trust You. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. You should begin to experience new attitudes and a desire to obey Jesus as you’ve been given a new heart by the power of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. You’re starting to walk a new path in life, so please be patient with yourself as you learn and grow in the knowledge of the Lord.
Please start reading the Bible daily. And join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend 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). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by legalism or false teaching until you know what the Bible teaches fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
Right now it’s mineral water spiked with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.
The grapefruit are picked from the trees in my parents’ neighborhood. The fresh squeezed juice is not bitter or sour like the juice from cartons or bottles.
When the juice is mixed with mineral water, it’s like having a soda without the sugar.
When Buddy ran off last year, he was too quick to capture. I couldn’t run fast enough. Fortunately, he stopped to sniff a bush and I was able to convince him to jump into the car for a ride.
The Lord Jesus told His disciple, Peter, during the Last Supper before His arrest that:
“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
“But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail;…”—Luke 22:31-32
If Jesus prayed that Peter would not lose his faith after falling away for a brief time, do you think He isn’t willing to do the same for you?
Indeed, there are two clear promises regarding the faith of God’s children.
For Jesus is:
“the author and finisher of our faith.”—Hebrews 12:2
And:
“He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 1:6
Rest assured that the Good Shepherd doesn’t bring sheep into His pasture and then allow them to wander away.
He’s going to continue His sanctifying work within His children till the Return of Christ, His Second Coming.
Hi, readers. I’m one of those people who understand only specifically the products and techniques I specifically require to do my tasks/projects. Is this about the WordPress website hosting sites that has nothing to do with our usual blogging functions, like this one?
As you all know by now, Buddy is a bit of a spoiled brat because I was reluctant to discipline him after his adoption as he had spent three years in an abusive situation. But no matter how big of a stinker he is at times, I still adore my furpal and would never give him up.
Pastor Andrew Farley has been speaking quite a bit this year about how the modern church is treating the gospel as a “self-improvement program,” focusing Christians’ attention on themselves, rather than on their Savior.
So that got me thinking.
Concurrently, I started reading a book from the library on the perfectionism epidemic in modern Western culture called, The PerfectionTrap, by Thomas Curran.
Mr Curran discusses the research of the past few decades into the exploding, and rapidly rising, trend in perfectionism. It’s particularly difficult for the generations growing up under the influence of social media.
Culture, and families, are pushing unrealistic expectations onto people to be more, do more, accomplish more, excel more. It’s creating depression, stress, and anxiety.
There’s pressure to look better, be more fit, be more healthy, be more relaxed, be more confident, be more educated, be more organized, be more cosmopolitan—just always striving to be more!
You cannot just relax and be yourself.
Enough is never good enough!
You must always be improving!
People are manifesting this pressure in several different ways: overwork, or trying to be like someone else, or not trying, or procrastinating out of fear of failure.
Parents want their kids to be all stars and get into the best colleges, even if it means bribing people. Kids want to be influencers and make lots of money on social media.
And, it seems to me that the modern Church is mirroring our culture by putting the same expectations on people, turning the Good News into Bad News.
Many new Christians hear the message: The Law of Moses showed you that you were incapable of meeting God’s righteous standards, so, congratulations, you’ve realized your need for Christ. Now that you’re born again, the Holy Spirit will help you keep the Moral Law.
Now you can, dear Christian: be more, do more, excel more.
But what did the Apostle Paul write to the Church in Ephesus:
“…He chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His Grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”—Ephesians 1:4-6
The Apostle Paul was highly educated and can sometimes create massive sentences, but did you catch his conclusion?
That Christians are “accepted in the Beloved.”
After I prayed to give my life to Christ, the Holy Spirit told me three things, and I surely wish I’d meditated these past 33 on the third much more: “Although I know every sin you’ve ever committed, I still love you very much.”
I was so thrilled that God was real and loved me that I was smiling with excitement nearly 24/7. At that time I worked with the public, and nonbelievers would ask me, “Why are you so happy?” And I’d respond, “Because Jesus loves me!”
Knowing me for some time, they wouldn’t criticize, but mumble, “OK,” and walk away.
Then I heard two legalistic sermons the same day that stole my joy. Since Jesus declared that “the truth sets you free (John 8:32),” I should’ve figured something was wrong with the teaching. But I was a new Christian, so who was I to question these two preachers with massive audiences and worldwide influence?
What was that false teaching that stole my joy and placed the chains of legalism around my heart for decades?
That some Christians were more acceptable to God than others. Christians who worked hard enough and met a certain standard (whatever that is) got to sit at the banquet table with Christ.
And those who didn’t meet that standard—lesser Christians—got to heaven but weren’t seated at the table with those superior Christians.
So I fell out of the joy of knowing Jesus loved me…
…and hopped onto the hamster wheel of trying to be acceptable to God through works.
In other words, the gospel of: do more, be more, achieve more.
And then, we’re saturated with examples of the super Christian, the one who makes us feel we’re failing because we aren’t as good, or kind, or humble, or doing enough amazing works like this phantom superstar.
So, some give up, walking away from Christ and the Church because they can’t meet THE STANDARD.
When they were already humble enough to admit they couldn’t meet God’s STANDARD of righteousness and gave their lives to Him.
You see, Pastor Farley is correct: the Church has Christians focused on themselves and their performance,…
…instead of…
…on Jesus and His performance,…
…His finished work on the Cross.
Dear Readers, Jesus said, “It is finished (John 19:30).”
King David, of the ancient kingdom of Israel and Judah, understood this truth. He was forgiven the sins of murder and adultery because he understood the grace of God.
“Oh my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.’”—NKJV Psalm 16:2)
Relax. Focus on Jesus and His righteousness…
…on God and His unbelievable love and kindness.
He loves you so much that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Jesus, Luke 12:7).”
And, please, pray for the grace to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
And don’t stress about your focus!
You are totally “accepted in the Beloved.”
And the joy of the Lord will begin to bubble out of your soul.
“Praise the Lord!”—Psalm 147:1 (and others!)
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”—Psalm 136:1
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
The gospel about Jesus really is Good News.
God loves you and sent His Son to die for your sins, so that you don’t have to meet His standard of perfection to enter heaven (Matthew 5:48).
No one can meet God’s standards, not even the kindest and most sacrificial of Christian teachers.
What God wants is for you to humble yourself enough to admit that you’re a sinner and need a heart change, to submit to His moral authority.
If you realize you want to experience God’s marvelous love and acceptance by becoming one of His children, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive my sins. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I believe He died for my sins and was resurrected bodily to give me new life. Please give me Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please reveal to me how much You love me. 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; just as your body needs daily food to be nourished, so does your soul.
And 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) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).
You can see that Buddy wasn’t feeling cooperative when I asked him to pose with a lightbulb. Since he’s totally dependent on me for his welfare, you’d think he could do this little favor for me.
Nope.
Why is Jesus the only path to eternal life and heaven (John 14:6)?
An easily understood metaphor is to see everyone as a lightbulb.
Lightbulbs exist but are not fully functional until they’re connected to an electrical power source.
They can be in boxes, on a self, and even screwed into a light socket…
But as long as the electrical switch is turned off, or the fuse in the electrical box isn’t functioning properly, then the bulb won’t shine with light.
There’s no power to come to life!
The potential to come to life is present in the bulb, but it needs electricity to shine.
Likewise, every person needs to be plugged into the power of the Holy Spirit to operate properly spiritually.
A person may appear to be plugged into that spiritual socket, attending church or expressing “spirituality” by following some other teacher than Jesus, but there’s no spiritual life flowing through their soul, resurrecting their dead spirit.
After Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority over their lives, every person has been born spiritually dead.
And the Holy Spirit is only sent to indwell a person after they accept Jesus as their Savior, Who died for their sins and was resurrected bodily to give them life.
This spiritual electricity, the Holy Spirit, is free!
You don’t have to pay a power company to provide this spiritual electricity.
But we are all totally dependent on God to give us spiritual rebirth.
You gotta ask for it.
Jesus said:
“If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”—Luke 11:13
Don’t be a dead bulb. Ask Jesus into your life.
And if you’ve already become born again, trust that your heavenly power source, the Holy Spirit, will help you shine.
Hi. I try to post the regular longer blogs on Friday evenings, but I had a big project due this Tuesday (Am I crazy to go back to school and worry about getting my homework in on time?) and was feeling exceptionally cranky Friday night. I’m still not proficient in some popular graphic arts programs and miss being able to draw mostly by hand.
So, I’m just as human as everyone else. And have days I feel great, or not so great. Am joyful, thankful, and elated—or am crabby, worrying, and critical.
Thank goodness, just as I love my spoiled and demanding Silky terrier, Jesus still loves me—even on my bad days.
Just as the love Buddy and I have for one another is unconditional, so is the love of my God and Savior.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!”—the Apostle John, 1 John 3:1
I write these posts, not because I think I’m holier than others or the most knowledgeable, but because the best thing that’s ever happened to me is to become born again by the love of Jesus.
I want that same wonderful relationship for everyone.
I know my furpal. If another dog walked into my home who wasn’t Buddy, I’d immediately wonder why and who its owner was.
Because that dog does not belong in my home.
But we don’t use that same discernment in the church. We just assume that everyone who sits in the pews is a born again believer or is interested in knowing more about Christ, or that anyone who preaches has the Spirit of the Lord.
But there is an event in the Bible that warns this is not necessarily true.
“Then He (Jesus) went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths….Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him,…”—Luke 4:31, 33-35
Not only was there an opponent and enemy of God hanging around in the congregation of sincere followers of God, but who also wanted nothing to do with Jesus.
The demonically possessed man was also perfectly capable of speaking openly and emphatically within a group of believers gathered together.
This is a warning not to assume everyone knows, loves, and obeys the Lord who attends or teaches in a church. Always use discernment and evaluate their teaching. If they disobey, or reject Jesus’ clear teachings, do not follow them. And do not allow them to influence you to disregard what God teaches in the Bible.
Please be respectful, as everyone is made in God’s image and He loves them.
But there might be a time to reprove or bring false teaching to the attention of leadership.
And if it’s the leaders who disobey God’s Word, leave the church.
Not everyone who walks through the doors of a church building is owned by Jesus.
Meditations About God and Buddy 