The Power of Words, Proverbs 18:21

I felt badly recently when I became impatient with Buddy and yelled at him as he kept whining when I was trying to solve a problem. His wince made me realize that words, just like a fist, can punch and hurt.

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”—Proverbs 18:21

Our words can inspire people to try harder or to accomplish great things.

Or our words can discourage people and drive them to despair.

Great leaders are often remembered, not just for their great deeds or accomplishments, but also for their inspiring oratory.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”—JFK

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only love can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”—Martin Luther King Jr

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”—Abraham Lincoln

Sometimes it can be discouraging to blog regularly, yet not many people read what took hours to create. But does that make my words or message any less worthy? Do numbers or recognition determine the value or a person or thing?

Or do we all have intrinsic value apart from recognition or financial success?

YES! We’re all made in God’s image, therefore we all have value as He created each of us for His own purposes (Genesis 1:27, Philippians 2:13).

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”—British playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Is one of the most famous quotes of all time, outside of Biblical quotes.

Yet, this same playwright and novelist is also remembered for penning one of the most wretched opening lines to any novel:

“It was a dark and stormy night.”—Opening line of his novel Paul Clifford

This same man who is lionized for one amazing line is also lampooned as an atrocious novelist. In fact, there’s even a contest to write the worst novel opening in Mr Bulwer-Lytton’s honor, the Bulwer-Lytton competition:

https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Ironically, the site uses the same word: “atrocious”.

Guess what I’m saying is what the Apostle James admonished:

“But no one among mankind can tame the tongue… from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.”—James 3:8,10

So, in summary, no one is perfect. Don’t beat yourself up for saying stupid or hurtful things. Ask forgiveness, if necessary. But we must all be careful to guard our words. They can inspire revolutions or success, save or destroy lives.

And don’t despair, either. You may not be remembered just for foolish talk…

But also be loved for being that one person who makes one life better by encouraging them not to despair and give up.

Or to use your words to pray for them and God to move mountains for the spread of the gospel.

Just be faithful.

“For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man…”—James 3:2

Thank the Lord for His grace which covers all our sins.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Jesus said: “But the things that come out of the mouth, come from the heart…”—Matthew 15:18

That’s why the Apostle Paul states:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”—Romans 10:13

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord Who came in the flesh to die for your sins, and rose bodily from the dead, your words reflect faith is in your heart.

Please call on Jesus to save you. There’s no neutral ground: You’re either in the kingdom of darkness, dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) or in the kingdom of Light, spiritually alive.

If you call out to Jesus, He will enter through the door of your heart to give you new, and eternal, life.

If you’re not ready to take this step in faith, please ask the Lord to help you. Or please remember to call on Him when you’re ready for a life change.

If you’re ready now, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus is the Lord God Who died for my sin and rose bodily from the grave. I’m sorry for my sins and ask You to save my soul and forgive me. Please grant me Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me. In the name of Your holy son, Jesus, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily and join a Bible believing church or Bible study so that you can understand your salvation and get to know Who God is.

If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: Leading The Way and The Grace Message at the below links:

https://www.ltw.org/

or

https://andrewfarley.org/

God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

God Wants To Hear From You, Psalm 55:17

I want your dinner! Are you listening to me?

When I was a teenager, I’d walk my poodle, Penny, and talk to God for at least an hour. Sometimes poor Penny sat on the bed with me as I poured out my teen angst and concerns to the Lord. Although I wasn’t born again nor understood who Jesus was yet, I believed there was a God Who heard me.

That poor dog!

Over a decade later I became born again. And although I accepted Christ was the Lord God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), I then started talking to God like a holy person was supposed to: interceding for people and making other mighty requests that an Almighty, caring God could answer.

And expressing thanks, of course, trying to focus on the silver lining of life and its events.

But over the years I’ve had one problem after another. My pastor talks about the valley every Christian will have to go through eventually. But I’d like to get out of the valley once in a while! Some of us just seem to stay there in the desert without understanding why and if we get out of the valley, we’re right back in another with little rest!

Even when not engaging in any willful disobedience.

So this past holiday season I asked God: “What’s up with that? Why can’t I get a break from things going awry?”

Psalm 55:17 provides an answer:

“Evening and mourning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice.”

What, Dawn? Have you lost it?

I sensed that God was trying to pull me back into a true friendship with Him. To not see Him just as The Big Guy Who answers prayers, but also as my friend Who wants to hear from me. Who wants to be the Heavenly Father Who listens to his child talk about her day, her feelings, her concerns, and her worries.

To engage with Him and not just talk to Him.

So I think God trying to coax me into opening up my heart to Him once again as I used to as a teen. After all, when everything’s going great, I don’t have much to complain or murmur about.

God wants a true relationship with us, to be a friend and not just a Guy Who Answers Prayers.

Now it’s OK to make requests. In the verse before, 16, David cries out:

“As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me.”

But I have to remember that He’s also my best friend Who knows me more intimately and completely than anyone else ever could, Who understands me better than anyone else ever could, and is always there to call out to when no one else can always be there for me.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”—Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6

Please say “hello” to your best friend every day.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Even though I spoke for hours upon hours to the Lord as a teenager, pouring out my heart to Him, it was a one-way conversation as I was not yet born again, filled by God’s Spirit.

Only His sheep hear His voice (John 10:27).

If you’re unsaved, generally the Lord will have only one message for you to hear: Follow Me. Become born again by My Spirit. Come to Me for life (Matthew 16:24, John 3:3, 5:40).

God wants to be your Heavenly Father and best friend. Will you please accept His invitation to enter into relationship with Him?

“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 10:13)

The Lord’s name is Jesus, the God Who came in human flesh (Mathew 1:23) to die for your sins so that you don’t have to, and rose bodily from the dead to give you resurrection life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you believe this?

If not, will you ask Him for the faith to believe?

If you’re ready to enter into a love relationship with God, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I call on Jesus to be my Savior and God Who died for my sins. I’m sorry for my disobedience and humbly ask for Your forgiveness. Please be my friend and Father and constant companion, my Good Shepherd Who will lead me and guide me now and forever. Please give me Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the 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 nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand, and reading forward.

Also, 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).

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

May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

Weirdly, I didn’t Like My Favorite Movie When I Saw It In The Theatre

What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

Still from The Mummy, 1999, photo from Imbd.com

I’ve watched the 1999 version of The Mummy many times as it’s one of my favorite movies, yet I didn’t enjoy it that much in the theatre.

I was expecting a scary movie, not an action adventure film.

So the film wasn’t the issue but, rather, my expectations.

When I watched it a second time on a movie channel, I became entranced: It’s a perfectly written movie with a great mix of humor, action, romance, and good-looking people.

It makes me wonder, sometimes, if having false expectations in other areas of my life might be coloring my viewpoint of people or events.

My other favorites that I’ve nearly overdosed on:

Jurassic Park

Independence Day

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

John Carpenter’s The Thing

Alien and the sequel Aliens

Camelot

My Fair Lady

Fiddler On The Roof

Pride & Prejudice (Kiera Knightley version)

and

It’s A Wonderful Life.

For anyone who knows me personally, my favorite, lifelong TV show should come as no surprise:

the original Star Trek.

Yes, I love musicals, scary monsters, comedy, and action adventure.

Thanks for reading.

Please check out my latest Buddy Brief:, my mostly weekly blog posts:

https://meditationsaboutgodandbuddy.wordpress.com/2024/03/13/too-lovey-dovey-buddy-brief/

Too Lovey Dovey? Buddy Brief

If you read my blog regularly, you know Buddy was rescued out of an abusive situation. Because he was so terrified of me, I didn’t enroll him in an obedience class.

Now he sometimes acts like a spoiled little brat. For instance, demanding I give him my chicken lunch through continual whining and fussing, even after gobbling down his own portion in his dish.

I was thinking about this verse recently, something Jesus said, recorded in Matthew 10:16:

“‘Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.’”

There seems to be an expectation in the Christian community that every leader, even politicians, should always be sweet and loving.

Lovey dovey.

But the Bible has multiple examples of leaders who were quite outspoken, bold, loud, even obnoxious at times.

The Old Testament prophets Elijah and his successor Elisha, and John the Baptist in the Gospels, were fiery, aggressive orators; definitely not men you’d call sweet and kind.

Elijah mocked and taunted the false prophets of Baal and even ordered to have them slaughtered (1 Kings 18:40).

Elisha cursed the “youths” mocking him and calling him names, so he “pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youth (2 Kings 2:24)”. Because you don’t show disrespect to God’s appointed prophets!

And John the Baptist “saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’ (Matthew 3:7)”

Even Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple in Jerusalem, and took a whip of cords and chased the money changers and their animals out of the building.

There seems to be a theme here:

Sometimes you gotta act “not nice” when confronting evil.

In summary, God uses all sorts of personalities to accomplish His will.

Please don’t discount someone as a servant of God because their manner is more brash or forceful than yours.

Acting like a dove means avoiding sin but, also, sometimes knowing when to show grace to a sinful person.

But, in my opinion, sometimes being shrewd means knowing when to stand up and confront evil with strong words and actions.

Because some hearts are too hard; evil’s strong grip on a soul may require a good yank.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

PS. Please check out this great sermon by pastor Dr Charles Stanley. It’ll bless you.

https://www.intouch.org/listen/radio/when-we-feel-burned-out-part-1

Substituting their righteousness for His, Romans 10:3

Buddy was unhappy about being confined to the loft, so he pouted by staring into the mirror. He is losing his depth perception and must wait for me to pick him up and carry him down the staircase to the main living area. He would rather roam freely in our condo, doing what he wants when he wants.

The ancient Jewish religious leaders–the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes–rejected Jesus because they believed that their own works made them righteous in God’s sight. Although they diligently searched the scriptures about the coming Messiah, they missed recognizing Him when He stood in front of them, although He’d performed many miracles and fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies. They were awaiting a Messiah Who would rescue them from oppression by the Roman Empire; they weren’t looking for a Savior Who would rescue them from their sins.

Their pride prevented from realizing they weren’t righteous enough to earn their way to heaven. God’s standard for holiness is perfection (Matthew 5:48). They believed that because they kept the Laws of Moses, they had God’s favor.

But they didn’t.

Their self-righteousness caused them to reject the very Messiah they eagerly awaited.

“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”–Apostle Paul, Romans 10:3

Today it’s still pride that keeps people from recognizing their own need for a Savior. They think they can earn their way into heaven by being good enough, whatever “good enough” is. They create their own moral code, neglecting to realize that they aren’t little gods who get to write the laws of the universe.

Satan also believed that he could replace god and write his own rules of behavior. Because he wanted to be worshipped and make the rules, he rebelled against God, falsely believing that He could knock the Almighty off of His throne (Isaiah 14:12-17).

It surprises me that people believe they can reject God’s rules, create their own moral code, and live however they want, then believe God must accept them into heaven to live with Him for eternity when they’ve rebelled against Him their entire lives. They don’t realize that the rules they hate still apply in Heaven, and the people they despise who follow the Lord and attempt to obey His rules will be in Heaven.

In other words, Heaven would be Hell for people who think they’re good and can create their own moral code. And don’t need to listen to some Almighty God telling them what to do.

Satan must’ve been a great speaker as he persuaded a third of the angels to rebel against their Maker.

Similarly, our postmodern Western culture has persuaded many to believe that there is no Almighty Creator and that they can make up their own rules of what good behavior is, what’s right and wrong.

We’re seeing right now how poorly that’s working out as our culture continues to disintegrate and technology increasingly threatens our liberty and freedom to move freely, to think and speak freely, and to protest against corruption and tyranny.

Or as Pastor Brandon Holthaus describes it: “Our Western culture is circling the drain.” (https://youtu.be/Hu-sL5iwKxo?si=5nmPDPFoZwwo1HQy)

Just as the ancient religious leaders rejected Jesus as a Savior from their sins, sadly, many also do the same today.

But this lesson also applies to Christians in this way:

You can never be good enough through your own works righteousness. You need to remind yourself frequently that Jesus has clothed you with His robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). It’s never about how good you are, but how good He is. Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sins–all of them–because we can never be good enough to please Him. We want to please Him because our spirit is united with Christ through the Holy Spirit, and we now have an undying love for Him (Ephesians 6:24). But thinking we have to be perfect keeps us running on the hamster wheel of works righteousness till we exhaust ourselves emotionally; therefore, physical and spiritual exhaustion follows. He wants us to rejoice in how sweet, kind, and gentle He is.

“For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”–Jesus, Matthew 11:30

Rejoice today in how much Jesus loves you.

It’s not about being perfect, but how much He loves you by wanting to live with you forever. And to hear your prayers. He’s the only friend Who always has time to listen.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Maybe you’re unhappy because you’re trying to be your own god instead of submitting your life to the Lord and trusting in His guidance.

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.

Today’s My 35th Birthday!

35 years ago I became born again!

I sensed something was wrong with my life.

I felt like it had to do with me, not life itself.

At that time we had a limited number of TV channels, and on one of the local channels was the Billy Graham Crusade, live.

I called the number on the screen to speak with one of their counselors, a kind woman, who listened to me, explained who Jesus was, and led me in a prayer of faith.

Shortly after hanging up, I was praying and a spirit swooped into my body near my sternum.

Scared the crud out of me, until the Holy Spirit told me Who He was.

This is one reason I emphasize that becoming saved is more than forgiveness of sin.

It’s also being given new life through the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

Christians never told me what becoming born again meant. I’d hear one gal say that her “body was the temple of the Holy Spirit,” so she would keep herself sexually pure.

But no one explained that being saved meant being given new life.

I was taught by the false religion I was raised up in, that the Holy Spirit was just a force in the universe,…

…but not God Himself, the third person of the Trinity.

In any case, I’m so thankful that Jesus never gave up on me.

CS Lewis claimed that God dragged him kicking and screaming into His Kingdom.

Jesus just kept prodding me along till I finally woke up.

Thanks for reading.

God bless.

Dawn

Does God Want Christians To Look Miserable? Buddy Brief

I feel happy when my beloved Buddy smiles. It shows that he enjoys living with me. After three years of being abused by his former owner, he’s loved sharing thirteen-and-a-half years with me now, someone who loves and dotes on him.

God is called “Our Heavenly Father (Matthew 6:26, 32),” yet sometimes Christians are presented with a solemn, joyless image of Jesus in movies and pictures as if being miserable or unhappy is the preferable Christian personality.

Does your earthly father want you to be miserable? (If mentally healthy, he doesn’t.)

Or, too often, pastors tell us that joy is independent of circumstance, meaning that you’re not supposed to feel or be happy, as if a smiling countenance means you’re not thoughtful or taking your faith seriously. That you can be cognitively happy, but to actually be happy is an unrealistic expectation.

Please ask yourself: Does a happy, energetic joyful person attract you more or less than a solemn, frowning person?

Jesus told His disciples:

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”—John 15:11

I believe Jesus wants us to be authentic people. To be honest with Him when we talk with Him. To cry when we’re suffering, to smile when we’re happy, to laugh when we think something’s funny.

Jesus said:

“I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”—John 10:10

After all, who invented laughter?

As the Bible says, and modern scientific research continually confirms:

“A cheerful heart is good medicine.”—Proverbs 17:22

Go ahead and enjoy life.

Giving thanks to our loving Father Who has created a beautiful world full of wonders.

After all, who should be the happiest people on earth than Christians who know that all these worldly sufferings are temporary and in no way comparable to the eternal joys of heaven (Romans 8:28) prepares for us by a loving God?

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

PS. I realize pastors are trying to deal with human suffering, but is that how God wants our lives to be? Nothing but suffering without overcoming? To focus only on unhappiness? Even cops use gallows humor to defuse stressful situations.

Yes, to an extent.

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

I believe that God is moving all events to lead to the rise of the Antichrist and the return of Christ.

But I also believe that we can delay these events by taking action to fight against evil.

I do believe that we have an appointed day to die (Psalm 139:16). But how we choose to live can determine if we remain healthy our final years or suffer unnecessarily.

Yet, genetics also can determine our fate, making life easier or more difficult.

Also, where and when we are born is not our decision. Nor what we look like. Or the government over us. So in a sense, part of our fate is out of our control.

Yet, within these parameters we still exercise a lot of control.

It’s said recently that the average person makes 30,000 decisions a day. (How they’ve figured this out is a bit baffling.)

Life is kind of like a big slide: I can determine the speed and how I move along, but I’m forced to remain within those guardrails.

Thanks for reading!

Two Questions Unbelievers Need Every Christian To Answer, John 5:40

Why are you waking me up?

I can totally relate to Buddy not wanting to be awakened at 10am this morning. After all, he woke me up at 6:30am to take a walkie and to do his business.

Similarly, one benefit of not being raised in the Christian religion is that I have an understanding of the outsider’s perspective. And I have not had dogma drilled into my mind without questioning it.

Not that the dogma is necessarily incorrect, but when you’re used to hearing something for many years, it’s usual not to mull over it much.

And sometimes we should.

There are two questions that would be very helpful to unbelievers if Christians could answer them.

1. Why did Jesus have to die?

2. Why is Jesus the only way to heaven?

The usual response to number one is: He had to die for your sins because, as God in the flesh, only Jesus could live a perfect, sinless life. Having no sin of His own to die for, He could die for the sins of others.

Great response. But then the unbeliever asks: Why do I need my sins forgiven?

Because God cannot inhabit a dirty vessel!

We require sanctification, to be declared righteous, wiped clean of our sins, for the Holy Spirit to indwell a person as God cannot tolerate sin in His presence:

“Because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”—1 Peter 1:16

The second question has a similar answer: Jesus is the only way to heaven because only Jesus can give a person new life. A person is spiritually dead until they become born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus can give a person new life by resurrecting their dead spirit and freeing their spirit from bondage to sin.

Generally, the Church understands how to get saved, but not what happens when a person gets saved.

A saved human spirit is transformed, crucified with Christ on the Cross and resurrected with Christ.

Not just crucified with Christ.

But also resurrected into eternal life with Christ.

Before becoming born again:

A person sins because they’re a sinner.

A person isn’t a sinner because they sin.

The sin comes out of an unredeemed heart.

The unbeliever is:

“Darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 4:18

In summary, the nonbeliever needs to understand that they are spiritually dead and need to repent of their sins. Eternal life only comes when a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that He is “God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23),” died for their sins, was crucified on the Cross, and rose bodily from the dead.

Jesus warned the religious leaders in ancient Israel that pride in their good works was blinding them to the truth of their need for a new heart, an internal spiritual transformation:

“You are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”—John 5:40

So dear reader, please be prepared to answer these two questions.

Because it’s a matter of eternal life or death.

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Do you have eternal life? You cannot earn God’s favor; it’s impossible to meet His perfect standard of behavior (Matthew 5:48). It’s a gift. You need to ask for it, however, as Jesus won’t force you to accept Him as your Lord. He wants you to voluntarily invite Him into your life.

Are you willing to ask Him now? If so, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:

Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sins and want new life. Please forgive me. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please give me your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. And reveal to me how much You love me. In the mighty 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 nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.

And please 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).

God bless you as you start your new life.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy