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.
Is Buddy still haunted by memories of the abusive behavior of his prior owners? He’s much more relaxed and demanding than he used to be, but when he’s whimpering and twitching during sleep, is he having normal doggie dreams or bad memories? Only God knows what’s in his mind.
Asaph begins Psalm 73 by reassuring himself that the Lord loves his nation and blesses the righteous:
“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart (verse 1).”
But then his focus shifts to lamenting that the wicked and selfish seem to prosper, are able to bless their children with an inheritance, and suffer no punishment for their wicked behavior (verses 2-12).
What possibly could God have in mind by allowing the wicked to have happy lives yet continue cause so much harm to others?
I can relate. When I focus on world events and on US politics, it seems that wicked people are blessed: They continue to prosper although they murder the innocent, feather their beds with corruption, and spew lies and hatred. It seems their evil is not restrained at all. It’s easy to become angry and discouraged.
It’s as if I’m living in a haunted house, filled with ghouls and angry spirits and I cannot escape. The wicked appear to have free rein in this world, and there’s seemingly nothing good people can do about it.
And then I shift the focus to my own life and realize that God doesn’t give me what I deserve for my sin, but, instead, is gracious to me and permits me the time to grow and become a better person.
Asaph shifts the focus to himself, also, but wonders what’s the use of being a good person, when it seems evil people have blessed lives while he, trying to serve the Lord, suffers misfortune (verses 13-16, 21-22). He became embittered and angry.
And then he enters God’s house, which was the ancient Jewish temple where the Spirit of God rested above the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies:
“Then I perceived their end (verse 17).”
Entering into the Lord’s house reminded him that his service ultimately was not in vain. As Christians, we need to keep an eternal perspective. This world and its material blessings are temporary. The haunted house that we currently live in will one day crumble in decay and be destroyed. People who refuse to acknowledge the Lord are choosing to spend eternity with the enemy of our souls.
Unbelievers will one day discover, to their dismay, that there is an eternal price to pay for their temporary happiness.
“For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You (verse 27).”
Asaph comes to his senses and stops feeling bitter for his suffering. He shifts his focus from his present circumstances to the future:
“With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory…My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (verses 25-26).”
Like Asaph, it’s easy to get dismayed at the present state of this world and wonder where God is. Why is He allowing evil to triumph while good people with the courage to stand for God and what’s right keep losing ground? It seems like America—and Western Civilization—continues its downhill slide into nihilism and self-destruction, while privileged elites prosper from corruption and oppression.
But Asaph reminds us to shift our view from our present time to the future. Jesus has already won the victory over sin and the devil at the Cross. And was resurrected to prove that He is God and can give eternal life to those who ask for it, desiring to be in His kingdom under His authority.
Jesus promised to return (John 14:1-3). Evil will not continue to prosper. God has a plan and will fulfill it.
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”—the Apostle Peter, 2 Peter 3:9
God is working events to bring as many people to repentance as possible. And, unfortunately, it appears that many won’t repent till He allows the full expression of human evil to prevail to demonstrate our world’s need for Jesus to rule.
Stay strong. Jesus is returning.
Evil will be punished when God determines the time is right.
God bless.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy.
PS. I often feel unworthy to minister to you. Daily I fail and fall short, and am reminded that I am still Jesus’ work in progress. Failure reminds me to be humble and how blessed I am to be a child of the Great King.
***
Do you want to live forever in God’s house in heaven?
You see, many people believe that they can rebel against God’s rules their entire life and then knock on heaven’s door and demand entrance.
Heaven would be hell for them, as they don’t want to live under His rules.
The truth is, Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, asking you to give Him permission to enter (Revelation 3:20). He wants you to voluntarily enter into His kingdom under His rule—because He’s the King! The Lord God Almighty!
Which side of the door Jesus stands on is decided in this lifetime.
If you’ve read this far, you hear God knocking on your heart asking permission for His Holy Spirit to enter. Will you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior right now?
Please don’t delay.
I’ve never regretted asking Jesus to be my Lord.
If you’re ready, please say the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I open the door to my heart and invite Jesus to enter. I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness and a new heart. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please grant me Your Holy Spirit. I want to live for You. Teach me how much You love me and how precious and valuable I am to you. Thank you for hearing my prayer and that Jesus gave His life on the Cross so that I could have new life. 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.
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) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are many other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by legalism or false teaching till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
When Buddy and I visit my parents, they have to hide the bag of paper slices produced by their paper shredder. When Buddy got upset, he’d head into their den and tear open the bag of shredding, then spread it all over the room. It was cute, watching him “go to town” in the pile of shredded paper—yet quite inconvenient to clean up. Fortunately, there was no permanent damage to anything but the black garbage bags.
We are living in scary times. I’m often realizing that I’m thinking SPOOKY thoughts; I’m imagining conversations that are not real, like transparent ghosts, because I’m fretting over foolish, ungodly, or ignorant attitudes of people I know.
And I imagine discussing with them why these attitudes are wrong.
But what does the Bible say?
“Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”—King David, Psalm 37:8
What I’m engaging in are imaginary thoughts with imaginary people. Just like Buddy playing in the pile of shredded paper, I’m prancing around in shredded thinking. My imaginings are NOT changing anybody’s minds or attitudes, because my conversations are not real. I’m engaged in wishful thinking of what I might have the courage to say and speculating about what the other person might say.
I’m fretting.
And the Bible proclaims that it “only leads to evildoing.”
Firstly, I’m disrupting my thinking which could be focused, instead, on praying or whatever task is at hand. I’m wasting valuable mental energy that could be better engaged elsewhere.
I’m also damaging my body, causing stress reactions in my brain and, particularly, my shoulders and back which begin to clench up, creating soreness.
Secondly, I’m not only sinning against myself, but others.
I’m unintentionally thinking haughtily toward others. I know they’re deceived by the media and our culture. They’re not bad people. But I can treat them arrogantly if I don’t guard my attitudes.
Also, the wrong thinking can create the “simmering teapot” effect, where I can become impatient with others, and perhaps even explode in anger, because my internal pressure is already near the boiling point. Just one or two more degrees of aggravation and off blows the whistle.
So, if you’re struggling like me with spooky thinking, please read Psalm 37. Because David reassures us that evil does not last forever, nor evildoers. At least, not in their earthly existence.
I have to remind myself about Palm 37:8 and that, no matter what happens in this world, God’s got this. Nothing that’s occurring has caught Him by surprise.
“The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”—King David, Psalm 103:19
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Do you want to have confidence that God is with you?
Yes, we cannot see God. The Father is spirit and His Son Jesus, Who came in the flesh (Matthew 1:23) over 2,000 years ago is at the Father’s right hand (Mark 16:19) till it’s time for His return.
But we can see the effect of His presence. Like the wind, we cannot see the Holy Spirit of God Himself, but we witness His impact on our lives and this world.
Jesus changed my life for the better, and I want that same blessing for you.
If you’ve read this far, I believe that the Lord is calling to you. Please accept His invitation to enter His kingdom and into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to “clean up your act” firstly. God knows you cannot meet His perfect standards. Jesus came to earth to take the punishment all our sins deserve. As the only perfect God in human form (John 10:30), He didn’t have to be punished for sin as He had known. So He was qualified to take it for us.
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 8:1
Are you ready to accept Jesus as Lord, Who has the authority to define right and wrong, and as your savior from punishment for your sin?
If so, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sin. Jesus died for me so that I can be forgiven forever and have eternal life. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. And fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Because Jesus was resurrected bodily from the dead, I am able to receive Your resurrection life. I give my life to You. Please help me understand how much You love me. In the marvelous name of Jesus, Your Son, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul; the Bible is your soul food. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand, and reading forward.
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) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by bad teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well. Sadly, I’m speaking from experience.
God bless you as you begin your journey in life with Jesus as your companion.
For some reason, Buddy thinks it’s ok for him to sneak off by himself and have a snooze. But I’m not permitted to leave our home for even an hour. He raises a ruckus, barking and chewing me out for being away when I return. Even an hour’s absence is not permitted.
There is no peace till Buddy is satisfied that he’s made his point clear.
Every Christian I’ve met will say that they can read a particular passage of Scripture multiple times without thinking much about it and then, suddenly, those verses will pop out as if highlighted in bold or reveal new meaning. This happened to me this week as I read Proverbs 16:7:
“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Since many nonbelievers are unashamedly hostile toward Christians without direct provocation nowadays, I wasn’t quite sure how this proverb could be true. But the Holy Spirit must’ve granted me insight as I read the following three verses in the same chapter.
Verse 21: “…Sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.”
Verse 23: “The heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips.”
And verse 24: “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
When nonbelievers rebuke, mock or ridicule Christians, we can choose to respond defensively, rudely—or God’s way. It suddenly occurred to me that God “makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” means that, when we choose to respond kindly or gently, we’re responding God’s way. And reacting God’s way will prevent unnecessary conflict.
A few examples may help illustrate.
I sat in the lunchroom at work many years ago reading my Bible. A coworker walked in, noticed what I was doing and sneered, “I thought you’d have that memorized my now.” Instead of getting angry, I smiled and calmly said, “Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
If I’d responded defensively, I may have damaged my relationship with him. Instead, he laughed. And we remained on good terms.
Another time, the Holy Spirit clearly took over when a woman, whom I thought was a friend, started shrieking at me and calling me horrendous names because I didn’t vote for the candidate she chose to support. I calmly responded that I still loved her but had reasons for my decision. I have no doubt that God assisted by taking over my emotions, preventing a bad situation from spiraling into something truly nasty.
Now, I’m not claiming that I never lose control and speak defensively. My family, who know which buttons to push, can easily claim I don’t always respond calmly. But the more I understand how Jesus loves me, the more I comprehend what loving behavior is and what behavior to model. I’m far from perfect, but the Holy Spirit is keeping His promise to sanctify me (Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 5:10,
A Christian on Twitter lamented that a coworker mocked him as “Holy man” or something close to that. He asked his followers if he should rebuke or ignore his taunter. I suggested that he “be gentle instead”. I hope he took my advice. Because, ultimately, we never accomplish anything positive by speaking rashly and inconsiderately.
Apostles Paul, James (the half-brother of Jesus), and Peter all admonished:
Be “kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead (1 Peter 3:9).”
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
As you know, our words are vitally important. The Apostle Paul states in Romans 10:8-9:
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
To confess “Jesus as Lord” is to admit that Jesus is God (Matthew 1:23), Who came in the flesh to die for your sins. That you can never be good enough to earn your way into heaven. The devil and the demons believe in God, but don’t accept Him as their Lord, ie. their boss.
If you’re ready to accept Jesus as your great Shepherd, please repeat the following prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive my sin. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Teach me how to live a life loving You and others. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations. For God promises to save those Who call on Him (Acts 2:21) and send the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer (Luke 11:13).
Please start reading the Bible, which is your soul’s food. Your soul needs daily feeding, just as your body does. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.
Also, please join a Bible-believing church or study group. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these three ministries, which also have apps if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.AndrewFarley.org. There are other great ministries, but as a new believer, you can get led astray by bad teaching till you know what the Bible teaches.
I’m patient with Buddy, even when he’s being a bad boy, because I love him. I don’t want to punish him or curse him out. I don’t even want to raise my voice or do anything to cause him to cringe with fear. Sometimes I even laugh at his efforts to get away with something that he knows I don’t want him to do.
Occasionally Buddy is a little monster—but I love him anyway.
I recently lost my temper and cursed someone out—when they couldn’t hear me. After calming down, I was embarrassed at my behavior. I didn’t use bad language but my attitude was distinctly bad.
In prayer God revealed to me that my problem wasn’t my temper—but a lack of love for the person that I cursed.
I don’t lose my temper with Buddy because I love him too much to hurt him. I try to remember to pray every morning that I “love the Lord with my whole heart, soul and mind, and…love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39).”
As Apostle Paul stated in his famous passage defining what love is: “Love is…not provoked (1 Corinthians 13:14-15).”
I was definitely provoked when I was cursing someone out.
So I have a love problem, not an anger problem.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, I’m going to work on that.
Happy Valentine’s Day, from God and Buddy
***
Thank Goodness that God doesn’t want to punish us for our sins but punished Jesus instead, by casting all of His wrath upon Christ on the cross of Calvary. If you don’t know God, why not accept His love by choosing Him to be your Lord and Savior right now?
Please pray this prayer of salvation as worded by Dr Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries: Heavenly Father, I confess that I have sinned against You and need Your salvation. Please forgive me. I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, fully trusting in the work He accomplished on the cross on my behalf. Thank You for saving me and adopting me into Your family. Help me to walk in close step with You. Amen
I add, please repeat: “You promise to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask You. I’m asking for His presence to make me a new creation in Christ. By faith I accept that I’m born again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Meditations About God and Buddy 