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.
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).”
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.
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.
After our first Silky terrier, Buster, died, my life was devoid of a pet dog for 1.5 years. He passed away while lying next to me on my bed. I wept till I could cry no more, although his incipient death from kidney failure was not unexpected.
But my life felt empty without a furry welcome of rejoicing when I entered my house. As many say, “A house without a dog is not a home.”
Buddy isn’t my whole life—Jesus is.
But Buddy makes my life whole.
Just as the Holy Spirit of God awakens my dead spirit and fills that emptiness in my soul, Buddy fills an empty place in my life.
When I didn’t believe that Jesus is God Who was manifested in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), Christians tried to explain the gospel to me, but they made it too complex. As a result, after being saved, I’ve often considered how to make the truth easier for nonbelievers to grasp.
Here is one summary of “What Life Is All About”:
Choosing the god you will spend eternity with after you take your last breath.
There is enough heaven on earth to reveal that a powerful and creative God exists Who loves beauty and variety.
And enough hell to reveal that there is an evil force in the universe who delights in death, destruction, horror and trouble.
The Apostle Paul explained his mission given to him by the resurrected Jesus when he stood before King Agrippa as a prisoner making a defense for his freedom:
To open the blind eyes of nonbelievers by declaring the truth about who Jesus is, “so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”—Acts 26:18
Every day every single person makes a choice: Choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and spend eternity with Him.
Or choose to reject Jesus as your God and remain spiritually dead, in bondage to Satan’s will—and spend eternity in Hell with the enemy of your soul.
Psalm 139:16 declares that we have an appointed day to die when God creates us. Of course, we don’t know the exact timing, even when seriously ill. Only God knows.
I’m hoping, dear reader, you’ve made the right choice and will go to Heaven, spending eternity with the Lord Who loves you and loved ones who are awaiting your arrival…
Including your fur pals.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
I’m hoping that my blog posts are helpful, either helping Christians clarify the gospel in their own minds, or will help someone give their life to the Lord. If just one person comes to the Lord because a reader has been able to lead someone to Christ because of my blog, or a reader gives their life to Jesus, then these years of posting have not been fruitless.
Or if it’s encouraged my fellow saints to hang in there.
Love you all.
Dawn
***
So, dear reader, have you chosen Heaven as your eternal destination? If you haven’t given your life to Christ yet, don’t believe Satan’s lies that you’ll lose your freedom if you do. The devil wants you to remain enslaved to his will and purposes for this world.
But with Jesus:
“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”—John 8:36
You may not feel like you’re in bondage, but when you are alone and quiet, you likely sense an emptiness in your soul. It’s because you’re incomplete until the Spirit of Christ resurrects your spirit and frees you from slavery to the world, the flesh, and the devil (James 3:15).
Are you willing to choose to spend eternity with Jesus as your Lord and God? You don’t need to clean up your act first, as it’s impossible to meet His standard of perfect behavior. You need to humble yourself by admitting your need for His life and guidance, a willingness to admit that you’re a sinner. If you’re willing, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to go to heaven. Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and grant me resurrection life. I want to live for You. Please teach me how much You love me. And please replace the lies I’m believing with the truth. In the mighty name of Jesus, 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 biblical scriptures are soul food.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. Please ask Jesus to lead you to the right place.
If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two Christian 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 or fall into legalism if you don’t know the Bible fairly well.
I banished Buddy to the balcony one afternoon to keep him out of the way as I was moving furniture around. He thought he was being punished and glared at me through the glass door. He certainly wasn’t being punished, but was isolated to prevent him from being harmed.
In the past my life felt like Buddy, glaring at what was going on through a dim window. Something FELT wrong in my soul, but I didn’t know what it was.
Fortunately, in those days, your viewing options were limited unless you could afford cable television—or to have it hooked up to all the TV sets in your home. Without cable, you watched what those rabbit ears could “hear.” I flipped on a local rabbit ears station and Billy Graham was preaching. I decided to call the number on the screen and spoke to a volunteer counselor, who led me in the sinner’s prayer to give my life to Jesus Christ.
I was raised in a nonChristian religion which didn’t believe in the Trinity. Jesus was not God and the Holy Spirit seemed to be an amorphous, not a personal, spiritual force. So, when I was praying and thanking God after the phone call, it was an enormous shock when the Holy Spirit swooped into my body. At that very moment, March 7th, 1989, I became born again (John 3:5-8) by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, united with Christ (John 17:20-26).
I was frightened for a few moments till I experienced the overwhelming loving Presence of Jesus Who told me Who He was. Then told me three things:
1. The Bible is true (1 Timothy 3:16);
2. those who don’t know Jesus Christ are lost (John 3:18; and
3. although He knew every sin that I’d ever committed, He still loved me very much.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),…”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 2:4-5
Something felt wrong in my soul, because I was spiritually dead. I did not have the life of God in me. But once I became born again by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, I was made alive spiritually, all my sins were forgiven (Hebrews 8:12) and I received eternal life (John 3:16).
Has my life been easy? No, but I now follow a good Shepherd Who strengthens and leads me through the dark valleys (Psalm 23:4), comforts (1 Peter 5:7) and strengthens me (Isaiah 40:31), and gives me wisdom (James 1:5).
I’ve been composing and posting these blogs since 2017 with the goal of encouraging and exhorting my fellow Christians, but also with the hopes that someone will realize their need for Christ and surrender their life to Him, stepping out of death into everlasting life.
I’ve never regretted becoming born again—only that I didn’t do so at least 15 years sooner to escape so many bad decisions and wrong thinking during those lost years. (I would want some years apart from the Lord to understand what being one of the living dead is like.)
So, dear reader, if you’ve read this blog and have not yet committed your life to Jesus, please do so now. I’m not promising you’ll have an easier life—but you’ll get eternal life with a wonderful Lord Who loves you and will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5-6).
May God bless you richly.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
If you want to become alive spiritually, please pray the below:
Dear Heavenly Father, I realize there’s something wrong with my soul and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I want the power of sin broken in my life, so with all my heart I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Help me to walk daily in faith in Your son Jesus Who died for my sin on a cross and was resurrected to give me life. Please teach me Your ways and how much You love me. 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 spiritual food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, your soul needs soul food, the Word of God. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.
Also, please join a Bible based 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). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled till you know what the Bible teaches fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
When Buddy wants attention, he’ll sometimes head for the bag of paper shredding in my parents’ den and live it up by kicking shredded paper everywhere. I don’t want him to inhale any paper shavings, so I’ll interrupt his fun. But no matter how he misbehaves, he’s still the perfect dog for me. We have a great partnership.
I had planned a different topic tonight but felt the need to write something encouraging again. Yes, I’m going to squeeze more “juice” out of the Adam and Eve story. (Some claim it’s apple juice, but that claim cannot be confirmed.)
Adam and Eve were declared “very good (vs 1:31),” not only because humans were designed in “God’s image (vs 1:27),” but because they were perfect. Flawless. The very best of God’s creation. They were complete.
And God had created a beautiful world for them to live in, full of delicious foods and animal companions that they could speak to.
But they bought the devil’s lie that they were incomplete, that they didn’t measure up. That they could be more.
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:5
Adam and Eve didn’t accept themselves as created. There was something more and better that they could be, Satan said. They were inadequate as they were. They didn’t measure up. They needed to be wiser and more knowledgeable like God. They were blind to their true potential.
As you know, they disobeyed God by eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and fell from their glorious perfection. They became dead spiritually, when they were once alive and in perfect union with God in their spirits. They also began to age, when their bodies were created beautiful and magnificent.
By buying Satan’s lie, they became seriously flawed.
Modern Western culture, and sadly the church, is swallowing the bitter apple Satan offers: That they are not good enough.
Christians are declared, once accepting the blood sacrifice of Jesus to atone for their sins, “holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:22), and can “stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 1:24).”
Even the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, described our future cleansing from our sins by the one time sacrifice of Jesus in Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”
And King David of ancient Israel, who also prophesied about the coming Messiah, said in Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.”
Yet many Christians confuse their spiritual condition (blameless and forgiven) with their lifelong process of sanctification. They feel dirty and undeserving before a holy God, rather than rejoicing they are a beloved child. They believe they need to earn the Father’s love by trying to be as perfect as possible, rather than resting in the finished work of Christ—Who already fulfilled the Law—that God already loves them perfectly, that His love doesn’t need to be earned by being “good enough.”
God knows we’re flawed beings, which is why Jesus had to come to save us from our own self destructive behavior.
And unbelievers cannot accept themselves either, as they were created. They wish they were another sex, another race, had a different metabolism or body shape, were smarter or had different skills or talents, etc.
They often accept the devil’s lies through another person or our culture that they are not lovable or acceptable unless they look a certain way, achieve certain goals or status, or health, or have certain talents and interests.
Instead of viewing their current sex, or race, or body type or intelligence or talent or physical appearance as a gift from a loving God who designed them to follow a particular path in life, they reject themselves for who they are.
If you discover as a child that you have one amazing skill—can play football, build things or dance—it’s pretty easy to find your life path.
But if you’re multi-talented, it can be a bit more difficult to figure out which path is the best one, or how to fit all the different pieces together.
Or it’s not so obvious, and a person needs to work a little harder to discover what they’re naturally gifted at.
Most often, I believe, it’s not that the person doesn’t know what they’re good at or naturally interested in, but they don’t believe that talent or skill is important or special enough.
I also believe that some of our interests are God-given. And Science is proving that we’re born introverts or extroverts, that our basic personality can only be modified so much (note the book, “Quiet, by Susan Cain). As David declares in Psalm 139:13-16, He lovingly creates us, even forming “our inward parts,” ie. our personality.
God made you in His image.
You are NOT an accident of the universe.
You were deliberately designed to be loved…
By an amazingly patient and loving God.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
I viewed a short clip online by a young woman, tricked out in piercings and tattoos and risqué clothing, who commented that God wasn’t real because He wasn’t zapping her for being blasphemous.
I responded, “He isn’t punishing you because He loves you and wants you to repent and come into relationship with Him. He doesn’t want you to go to Hell.”
Jesus said in John 3:17:
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
We’re made in God’s image, but fall short of His glory spiritually because we’re born dead in our sins (Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1). He wants to give everyone the spiritual life we were designed to have, but don’t, because Adam and Eve decided to believe Satan’s words rather than His word.
If you realize you feel incomplete and acknowledge only Jesus can give new birth to your spirit, please pray the following:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me so much that You want to be in relationship with me. I realize that I need You in my life. I’m tired of feeling inadequate and not enough, because of other people’s criticism or my own self condemnation. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive my sins and wash me white as snow. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Help me to stop believing the lies of my culture and other people by revealing to me how much You love me. May the Holy Spirit guide me into all truth. In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, 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 your soul needs God’s holy word to be healthy. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these godly ministries, in order of my personal preference: http://www.AndrewFarley.org and http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way). They also have apps, if that’s your preference. There are other godly ministries, but they can sometimes be legalistic and you need a firm foundation in the truth to recognize when law and grace are being mixed together.
Buddy will listen to me speak to him, but doesn’t understand most of what I’m saying. Experts claim, however, that the average dog has a vocabulary of 75 to 165 words, but there is a border collie named Chaser who can actually understand 1022 words (https://dogsservices.com/words-can-a-dog-understand/).
I’m pretty sure, based upon observation, that Buddy does not understand the word: No!
Most Christians understand that Jesus came down from heaven and became God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23) to die for our sins, “at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6)”. The first verse most of us memorize is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Jesus died for our sins because only a perfect person does not have to suffer the penalty of eternal punishment for being a sinner. Having never sinned, Christ could therefore pay the penalty for sinners.
But as the Basic Gospel ministry emphasizes, that’s just half the gospel.
Our sin had to be paid for so that we could enter into fellowship with a holy God.
But Jesus also came that we “may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)”.
The reason every person sins is that we are born “dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1)”. Every single person (Romans 3:10-12).
We are all born spiritually dead, devoid of God’s spirit. We have souls and bodies but because of our lack of spiritual life, we cannot fellowship with God or expect to spend eternity with Him.
But Christ was resurrected “from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:4).”
Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected to give us spiritual life. Which is why He told Nicodemus, a religious leader of the Jewish people that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).”
This seems to have been an issue, also, in the early church.
“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:14-16).”
“Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ‘No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-2).’”
Perhaps the problem with the modern church is that many believers are not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. They may either be “quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19)” through willful disobedience or don’t realize that they were given spiritual life upon confessing Christ and are now “alive from the dead (Romans 12:13)” and “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).”
Let’s not take the supernatural out of Christianity.
God bless you.
Let’s also remember that: “We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that Christ was raised from the dead…we too may walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)” in the power of the Holy Spirit Who gives “life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).”
Your sins have not only been forgiven by the death of Christ on your behalf, but you are spiritually alive through the power of the Holy Spirit because Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Buried with Christ in His death and resurrected with Christ into eternal life.
“The word of faith that we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9).”
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
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All of us were born dead spiritually. It is why you feel incomplete. We were created to be triune beings like God: body, soul and Holy Spirit. But when Adam and Eve rejected God’s authority over their lives, the Holy Spirit left the human race. Therefore, everyone is born incomplete because the Holy Spirit does not dwell in their spirit.
Nothing can fill this empty space. Only God can. People try. They become addicted to material objects, entertainment, gambling, food, drugs, celebrity worship, etc, but since nothing earthly can fill this void, there is never enough of anything to feel satisfied or complete.
If you’re ready to let Jesus fill this void in your life and accept that He is God, the authority in your life, please repeat the below:
Dear Heavenly Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all my sins. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. I want new life and to be whole. Shower Your love and grace upon me. In Jesus name, I thank You for answering my prayer, amen.
If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born again. Ask God to make Himself real to you, to sense His presence. Also, as your body needs regular meals to be healthy, your soul requires soul food to be healthy—the Bible. Jesus is called the “Word of God”. To know Him, please read the Bible daily. I recommend starting with the book if Luke which details the Christmas story and Christ’s incarnation.
Buddy has total freedom—within boundaries. He’s permitted to go anywhere in his home where it’s safe, which means he’s not allowed in the cupboards under the kitchen and bathroom sinks where cleaning agents are kept. The only time he’s restricted is when we leave the safety of our condo, because he, being car stupid, could easily come to harm if I am not vigilant.
Communism, Fascism and Socialism have two things in common: a disdain for religion (except to worship the state and its leaders) and a lack of respect for the individual. They are totalitarian, collectivist philosophies: the individual is disposable to protect the group and its elitist rulers.
God is a lover of freedom and the individual.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”—Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 3:17
We are made in God’s image. Yet He allows us the freedom to choose to serve Him or not. When a nation rejects Jesus, the people are rejecting freedom and His love and protection.
Western nations have traditionally had the most freedom and liberty because of their foundations based in Biblical principles and belief in Jesus Christ.
Additionally, besides political freedom that respects the rights of individuals to develop their potential, Jesus offers freedom from the bondage of sin, of behaviors destructive to ourselves and others.
The more people in a society who are born again and ruled by laws based upon Biblical principals, the more liberty that society will cherish and promote.
Please don’t listen to the devil: a society that loves Jesus loves liberty.
A society that rejects Jesus is in bondage to sin and the tyranny of Satan.
“All those who hate me love death (Proverbs 8:36b).”
God bless you.
Love from Dawn and Buddy
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Jesus saves. Saves you from lies, self-destruction and the power of the devil. Do you want true freedom? You’ll only find it in Jesus, because only He is the source of spiritual life.
If you’re ready to accept the authority of God in your life, experiencing a personal love relationship with Him, please repeat the following prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins on the Cross. Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me understand how much You love me. I give my life to You. Help me because I need You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born again. You either just experienced the presence of God coming into your spirit or you will gradually come to an awareness of His presence.
Being born again means that you are now whole, the way humans were meant to be: body, soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are all born incomplete till Jesus personally enters our lives.
Just as your body needs to be fed daily, so your soul needs soul food: the Bible, also called the Word of God. Please begin reading this great book daily. I recommend starting with the book of Matthew in the New Testament as it’s easy to understand and interesting. Even a few verses is better than none at all.
And please join a Bible-based church or Bible study to grow in the knowledge of God and to develop godly friendships. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps if that’s what you prefer: www. BasicGospel.net, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.LTW.org.
God bless you. Buddy and I look forward to seeing you in heaven one day.
Meditations About God and Buddy 