What’s Life All About—Really? Acts 26:18

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.

God bless you.

May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.

Are Some Christians Going To Hell? Romans 10:9-10

Tonight Buddy believed I was holding out on him. He thought I made myself a better dinner than I’d given him. I let him sniff my bowl of black and green beans, onions and pumpkin seeds. He agreed that I wasn’t holding out on him.

I wasn’t deceiving my furry pal when I told him he wouldn’t want my dinner. But many decent people deceive themselves. How?

Apostle Paul gave a simple summary in Romans 10:9-10 how to be saved (be born again):

“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.”

So the Apostle Paul is saying that a person needs to believe that Jesus is God (Matthew 1:23) and that He was raised from the dead after being crucified, right?

Wrong.

And a lot of people who profess to be Christians believe this.

And are not saved (born again).

You see, Satan and the demons (fallen angels) know that Jesus is God and saw Him crucified and rise from the dead.

“Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’”—Mark 3:11

“The demons also believe, and shudder.”—James 2:19

The devil and evil spirits believe in God but do not make Him their Lord. This is the same sin that some so-called Christians share with Adam and Eve: They believe God exists do not submit to His authority as Lord.

Repeating myself from other blogs here, but Satan tempted Adam and Eve to be their own god and lord, to decide right and wrong for themselves.

And many people proclaim to be Christians but refuse to submit themselves to God’s authority to define what is right and wrong.

Now, I’m not talking about perfect obedience to God’s rules (Law) as that’s impossible. Jesus was incarnated as a human to live the perfect life we cannot live so that He could pay for our sins. If He had sinned, He couldn’t do that; He’d have to die to pay for His own sins.

But His resurrection from the grave proved that He did live a perfect life, so death could not hold Him in the grave. His death sacrifice was declared acceptable payment for our sins.

What I’m talking about are Christians who decide what is morally right apart from how God defines it in the Bible. They cherry pick what they like or don’t like to obey in the Bible, or decide the rules were just for ancient cultures and don’t apply in today’s modern society. Or they just don’t want to obey because sin feels fun for the time being, forgetting that some consequences take time.

Many so-called Christians want to be their own god and lord.

If you think you can go to Heaven and live in the Father’s house, but don’t need to obey His rules of behavior, you’re fooling yourself. Who wants to invite someone to live with them long term who doesn’t want to obey the house rules?

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven will enter.”—Jesus, Matthew 7:21

I’m not writing this to be mean, but to warn you. Christians sin in word, thought and deed—and what’s been undone but should have been said or done—every day. But a born again Christian has the Holy Spirit within them to convict them of sin; true believers are submitted to God’s authority as the “King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15)”. Spirit-filled believers feel remorse when they do what is wrong or someone points it out to them that it’s wrong. Or they are disciplined by God as their loving holy Father if they refuse to repent (Hebrews 12:5-8, Psalm 23:3).

If, like Adam and Eve, you don’t want to obey or consult the Bible on what sin is or not—what behavior the Lord defines is acceptable or not; if you want to follow what your culture or Professor says is right and wrong—and not God, then it’s highly likely you’re not saved.

You’re deceiving yourself.

Please repent. Because I don’t want to hear the Lord Jesus tell you on Judgment Day:

“‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”—Jesus, Matthew 7:23

God bless you.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Nobody can perfectly obey God. He’s so holy that only He is good (Mark 10:18). But once we give our lives to God and ask Him to be our Lord, the Holy Spirit enters our inner being to make us a “new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)” who wants to listen and obey Him. God is our Creator and we’re made in His image (Genesis 1:27). He has an instruction manual to guide our lives called The Bible.

If you’re ready to submit to God’s authority, admit that you’re a sinner that needs His guidance to help you understand right from wrong, please pray the below prayer:

Dear God, I want you to be my Heavenly Father. I want to live with You in Your house forever. I’m tired of living life my way and not Your way. 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. In the mighty name of the resurrected Jesus Christ, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations; you’re born again. God promises to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13).

Please start reading the Bible. I suggest starting with Matthew as it’s easy to understand. Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study to grow spiritually strong in your faith and knowledge of God. And get baptized. 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 godly ministries, but until you get to know what Bible teaches, it’s easy to be misled.

God bless you.

May Buddy and I greet you in heaven one day.

Why Did Jesus Have To Die? Hebrews 9:22 (The First Half of the Gospel)

***

Buddy irritated with me.

Buddy is basically a good dog. And I tell him that he’s the cutest, best pal in the world; no, the universe.

Is it true that he is the bestest dog ever?

At times Buddy acts like a little monster or does foolish things. He snaps up dried toadstools when we’re taking a walkie so that his panicked human has to snatch it out of his mouth before he swallows it. He sometimes pees on the pad in front of the door, instead of telling me he has to go outside, when he’s angry at me. He even surprised me yesterday by sticking his nose into my pita sandwich to grab the meat wrapped inside (as if I starve him to death).

But to me, he’s the best dog in the universe because he’s my pal, part of my family.

I can overlook Buddy’s bad behavior out of my love for him, but the Lord cannot overlook our sin. The human race rebelled against His authority when Adam and Eve decided to choose for themselves what was right or wrong. Since then, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)”. God is loving, but He also loves justice and must punish sin.

God does not grade on a curve. Everyone sins, so everyone must be punished. “There is no partiality with God (Romans 2:11).”

So that puts God into a bind, because He must punish sin yet loves us immensely. He wants sinful people to repent of their rebellion and enter into a love relationship with Him.

So God sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth, God born of a virgin (Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14), to live a perfect life as a man. Because Jesus never sinned, He never had to be punished for His own sin. As a result, He could die in the place of sinful people.

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).”

Because an innocent God-man died for our sins, we don’t have to bear the punishment of eternal separation from a holy God. Only God is perfect, so only God Himself could live a perfect life. We can enter into a relationship with a holy God through faith in Christ’s death for our sins.

As the Apostle Paul explains in his letter, Colossians 1:19-20

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him (Jesus) and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His Cross;”

Because Jesus shed His blood for our sins, “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified…And their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:14, 17).”

Jesus’ last words before He died on the Cross were, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), because the punishment for our sins were paid for by His death.

Just like I overlook Buddy’s bad behavior because he is a part of my family, so God sees us as righteous and holy if we accept His invitation to join His family through faith in Jesus.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (John 1:12).”

God bless you as you celebrate God’s love for us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

PS. The Bible teaches that there is one God in three Persons, which Christians call the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nonbelievers may not know that the Trinity is actually described in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah 9:6 and is clearly present in the New Testament at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17.

***

You might look around you and think, “I could never be as nice as that person.” Or, “I need to clean up my act to please God before He’ll accept me.” As stated above, God doesn’t grade on a curve. Even our best efforts to behave, He condemns as “filthy rags” because only He is perfect—and we never can be.

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment (Isaiah 64:6).”

So don’t think God will reject you for not being “good enough”. No one is. He just wants you to be willing to come to Him for forgiveness of your sins. Then you’ll work together to clean up your act. He wants to help you do that by giving you the Holy Spirit to live within your heart (or spirit, I’ve heard it said different ways; it’s mysterious). It’s what “born again” means.

If you’re ready to change your life, please repeat the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that Jesus was born into the human race to die for my sins. I don’t understand much right now, but I ask Jesus to be my Lord God and Savior. Forgive my sins, because Jesus took them away at the Cross. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations you’re born again. Just as our bodies need daily nourishment, so your soul also needs soul food—the Word of God. The Bible is a supernatural book, so please read it daily and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand and you’ll learn about Jesus.

Also, please join a Bible-based church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these ministries: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.AndrewFarley.org. There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be deceived by bad teaching till you know the Bible somewhat. These three ministries are unique in their approach and will give you a broad understanding of what the Bible teaches.

God bless you. May Buddy and I see you in heaven.

Dead People Don’t Go To Heaven, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Buddy in the bathtub

I recently had problems getting enough hot water flowing through my shower faucet, so I had to bathe Buddy in the tub at my parent’s home. So-called sailor showers were adequate for me, but not for my dog. Merely wiping at his fur with a wet washcloth would not get Buddy clean enough.

Most people don’t understand why it’s necessary to have faith in Jesus Christ to enter heaven. Sadly, many Christians do not either and an increasing number believe that there are multiple paths to heaven.

As the Apostle Paul explained in his first letter to the Corinthians, 15:21-22:

“For as by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

As several ministries have pointed out (Basic Gospel, People to People, InTouch, The Grace Ministries), Christianity is not just about getting your sins forgiven. People sin because they are sinners—the problem is that we are all born spiritually dead. Jesus died for our sins, but was resurrected to give us life (Romans 8:11). We have sinful hearts that need transformation.

Jesus warned that people needed to come to Him “so that you may have life (John 5:40).”

Jesus was speaking to a crowd of walking, breathing beings. They had physical life but were spiritually “dead in (their) trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).”

Because we are spiritually dead, there is only one way to obtain spiritual life: to be made a “new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)” through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The prophet Ezekiel prophesied about the gift of transformation from death to life by the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 11:19-20:

“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them.”

We all need more than a simple washing of our outer life. A mere washcloth isn’t enough to cleanse our heart of its sinful desires.

This is why I stated that “dead people don’t go to heaven.” The truth is that only living souls can enter heaven; souls dead in their sins cannot. And only through faith in Jesus Christ is the heart transformed so that the human soul naturally loves God and others and desires to obey God.

Jesus declared that He was the source of life when He was preparing to physically raise Lazarus from the dead in John 11:25-26:

“I am the resurrection and the LIFE; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

Jesus made it clear when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6).”

“This is eternal life, that they may know You (the Father), the only one true God, and Jesus Christ whom You (the Father) have sent (John 17:3).”

If you want to be spiritually alive, Jesus is the only power in the universe who can give you that life.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

We are all made in the image of God. That desire to do good is evident in many religions. But following rules can never give you life. It can make life easier and more pleasant. But only the Holy Spirit can give you a new soul birth.

If you’re ready to be born again, please repeat the below:

Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sins. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and transform my heart. I give my life to you. Give me eternal life. In Jesus’ name, amen

When you pray according to the Father’s will, He promises to answer your prayers (1 John 5:14-15). Congratulations. You are born again.

Just as your body needs food daily to be healthy, your soul needs soul food—the Word of God. Please begin reading the Bible. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.

And please find a Bible based church and/or Bible study to fellowship with other believers and grow stronger in your faith. It’s not easy to stand alone in a culture that is turning away from God. If that’s not possible for you right now, I suggest the following three ministries, which also have apps: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org and http://www.AndrewFarley.org. There are other good ministries, but as a new believer, you can be lead astray till you know enough to be discerning.

God bless you as you enjoy your new life.

Buddy and I will see you in heaven.

Warnings About Evil People In The Book of Proverbs, Proverbs 1:4

Some critter was crawling through my air vents last night, spooking me. Sadly, Buddy could not hear its rustling and scrambling noises as he’s 14 years old—his hearing is not as sharp as it used to be. It’s been quiet since late last night so the creature might have moved on. If I hear it again, I’ll try to find a nonlethal pest control company. (I called the local humane society for recommendations but they had none, but said I could find one.)

Before I knew Jesus, I was naive about evil. Yes, my family members and I sinned but did not plot or plan evil. We enjoyed that spontaneous kind of ungodliness! However, if I’d been a student of the Biblical Book of Proverbs, I’d have been far wiser about the true nature of people. Like most youth, I thought people were good at their core.

Unfortunately, some pretty hard life lessons knocked that notion out of my head.

The author of Proverbs (likely King Solomon) bluntly declares in 1:4 that the one purpose of the book is “To give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion.”

So what warnings does Proverbs teach about wicked people (NASB translation)?

1. The will entice you to do evil (1:10).

2. They hasten to do evil (1:16).

3. They hasten to shed blood (1:16).

4. They ambush their own lives (1:18) bringing about their own death (1:19).

5. They refuse God’s counsel (1:24-25, 30).

6. They speak perverse things (2:12).

7. They walk in darkness (2:13).

8. They delight in doing evil (2:14).

9. They are crooked and devious (2:15).

10. They are treacherous and lose their inheritance/land (2:22).

11. They are violent (3:31).

12. Their dwelling is cursed by God (3:33).

13. Are not content till they can cause someone to stumble morally (4:16).

14. They can sound good but can turn quickly to cutting words (5:3-4).

15. Are unstable and do not ponder the path of their life (5:6).

16. Can cause someone to lose their physical health and vigor (5:9).

17. Can lead someone into poverty (5:10).

18. Can cause someone to die whom they lead astray (5:23).

19. Are liars (6:19).

20. Can be very charismatic or attractive, but can cause you great heartache (6:24-26).

21. Will lead you into sexual immorality (7:13-22).

22. Their sexual enticement can give you an STD or deadly disease (7:23).

23. They are proud and arrogant (8:13).

24. They scoff at, insult and dishonors others, particularly those who try to reprove them (9:7).

25. Are hateful (9:8).

I could go on as there are many more warnings. But in summary: Not everyone you meet has your best interest at heart. There are selfish, hateful people in the world who delight in doing evil and want to drag you down into the mud with them.

So be cautious. Not everyone you meet is good-hearted.

God bless you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy

PS. There are 31 Proverbs. I recommend reading one for each day of the month, doubling up on those 30 day months by reading both 30 and 31. If you have teen or college-aged students, encouraging them to do the same could make them more wary of choosing the wrong crowd to run with—if they’ll heed Solomon’s warnings.

***

You may feel convicted after reading that list of the attributes of the wicked. But do not despair, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” One of the greatest Christian apostles, Paul, who wrote a large portion of the New Testament of the Bible, used to persecute Christians, rejoicing in their deaths, till an encounter with Jesus changed his heart.

God knew that we could never be good enough to earn our way into heaven, so He sent His Son Jesus to earth to die for our sins. As God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), only Jesus lived a perfect life, earning the way into heaven for every person who is willing to humble themself to admit they need someone to pay for their sins.

Your moral failures prove that you need the Lord in your life. No one is worthy of God’s mercy. It’s a gift for anyone who wants to receive it (Ephesians 2:8-9). You don’t need to clean your act up first to ask Jesus into your life, because it’s impossible to clean our act up without His help. Sure, you can do better, improve a bit, but that inner emptiness won’t go away because you were designed to be filled with God’s presence. Until you admit you need His guidance, His presence, your soul will remain incomplete.

If you’re ready to invite God into your life, please repeat the following:

Dear Holy Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive my sins. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations: You are born again. The Holy Spirit has come into your life. Please start reading the Bible daily, which is your soul food. Also, find a Bible-based church or Bible study to grow in a knowledge of Jesus and to understand the new life you’ve just begun. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.BasicGospel.net.

You’re starting the adventure of a lifetime. God bless you. Buddy and I will see you in heaven.

And don’t forget to read your proverb for today!

Are You A Christian Enslaved to Satan? Hebrews 2:14-15

Buddy and I just returned from a trip to Lake Havasu, Arizona. During that time, Buddy often took a protective stance, guarding me from danger. But the truth is, he is too little to truly protect me from harm, other than to bark out a warning. When we walked down toward London Bridge and the lakefront, I picked Buddy up and carried him several blocks to protect him from the oncoming traffic, which was heavy in that area.

Buddy probably still felt like he was my protector.

Christians do the same thing—and I’m no exception. We think we’re in control, that we can take care of things, but the truth is: Life events are often too big to handle and are out of our control. We forget that we need Jesus to protect us from those big objects hurtling towards us.

There is one big object hurtling toward every person in which many Christians are faltering in their testimony. Hebrews 2:14-15 describes what that is:

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself (Jesus) likewise also partook of the same (Matthew 1:23), that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all of their lives.”

To restate: God came in the flesh to take the punishment for our sins so that those who become His children through faith no longer need to fear death, because believers will go to heaven to be with Him forever.

Apostle Paul also stated that heaven is so wonderful that it’s beyond our wildest dreams to imagine.

Because of my faith in Jesus, I don’t fear death. My sin is forgiven so I don’t need to be afraid when I stand before God on Judgment Day (2 Corinthians 5:10). “As far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).” Death is a release from this life of sorrow and loss into eternal happiness (Revelation 21:4). However, I do fear the manner of death. Only masochists relish slow death from cancer or the sudden crushing pain of a heart attack.

Yet how many Christians really act as if they don’t fear death? How many Christians don’t seem to behave any differently than unbelievers regarding their potential demise?

And, therefore, give a poor testimony of their faith.

According to the book of Hebrews, anyone who fears death is still living under Satan’s influence.

That’s not a great place to be.

So if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, yet fear death itself, please ask yourself why. Confess your fear and ask the Lord to reassure you of your salvation, His love for you, and the great reward that awaits you in eternity.

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”—James 4:7

God bless you.

Love from Dawn and Buddy

Also, note that life is a gift from God. We are made in His image. Though we should not fear death, we are not supposed to actively seek our death through careless behavior or suicide. If you are struggling with dark thoughts or addictive behaviors, please tell a Christian friend or family member and seek godly counsel. Don’t fight this battle alone. God will help you as He wants you to be free.

PS. My blog writing was just interrupted by Buddy asking for cuddles. We are emotional creatures. I believe God is OK with us asking for reassurance of His love and presence in our lives. He wants us to stand strong and not fail in our faith walk with Him. He values honesty.

***

Maybe you fear death because you don’t know Jesus. Sin separates us from God because He is 100% holy and cannot tolerate evil, even a tiny bit. But Jesus came to earth—God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23)—to take the punishment of all the evil deeds and thoughts that humanity has committed (Hebrews 10:10) so that we can appear before Him as holy in His sight (Jude 1:24).

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”—Hebrews 10:14

When you confess that you are a sinner and accept Jesus’ death on your account, the barrier of sin is removed and you can have fellowship with God. But this takes humility. You have to admit that you aren’t good enough to earn your way into heaven. That someone else had to be good enough to buy that ticket to heaven for you.

If you’re ready to humble yourself to enter into God’s kingdom, please pray the following:

Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me enough to send Jesus to die for my sins so that I can live with you forever. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. I give my life to you. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.

If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born again. The Holy Spirit is now present within you. But just as the body needs food daily to be healthy, your soul needs daily and regular soul food—the Bible. Start reading the Bible, beginning with either the book of Matthew or John. Also, please join a Bible-based Church or Bible study. Avoid any teaching that picks and chooses from the Bible, in other words, a self-styled buffet Christianity. If you can’t meet in person right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps: http://www.BasicGospel.net, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.LTW.org.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”—Jesus, Luke 12:32

If You’re A Butterfly, Why Aren’t You Flying? 2 Corinthians 5:17

My adorable pal

I dropped the leash this afternoon and allowed Buddy to run down my staircase instead of yanking on me, risking a fall. Apparently he was feeling spunky from just surviving his weekly bath and kept running off around the corner of the building while I excitedly called his name and attempted to catch up to him. Fortunately some landscapers were taking down a large tree and one of them caught and held Buddy’s leash when he stopped to investigate—then decorate—one of the branches laying on the ground. I gratefully, and profusely, thanked the worker.

Although Buddy was running toward the golf course, rather toward the main road, I have seen coyotes roaming the grounds during the daytime, also large raptors and an occasional owl. Buddy would be no match for these creatures—nor a speeding golf ball that goes astray. (I saw two wayward golf balls during our subsequent walk, far afield of the course.)

You have to wonder if God created the caterpillar to demonstrate to us how significant the change is in a person’s soul when they give their lives to Christ. Just as the caterpillar emerges from its cocoon totally transformed, so the soul of a person is totally renewed—born again—by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

As Apostle Paul described it in his second letter to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:17): “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” NASB. Other versions translate the original Greek as “creation” rather than “creature”.

We were created to fly like a butterfly, to fly free in the power of the Holy Spirit by God’s grace and in His love. But oftentimes we find ourselves with broken wings or crawling around on the ground.

The problem is, as Walter Martin said in his sermon “Spiritual Warfare,” we’re often unaware that we changed sides in a war when we came to Christ. God “rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 2:13-14).”

We are no longer caterpillars, members of Satan’s army and kingdom, but have become butterflies, free to fly in God’s grace, love and liberty.

But Satan doesn’t like to lose soldiers. Even though we are no longer members of his demonic realm, he wants to keep us living in the old ways, in the darkness of our former sins, instead of serving God and walking in love and truth.

Apostle Paul describes our spiritual life a wrestling match (original Greek) or a struggle in Ephesians 6:12. (Paul was apparently fond of sports as he often used sports allusions in his letters.) That suggests hand-to-hand combat with evil. If we are not alert to the devil’s schemes, we can be deceived into believing, or doing, wrong.

We can often forget that we live in enemy territory, that we’re walking a “narrow” path that “leads to life” while the majority of people around us are walking a “broad” path “that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13-14). We have the world (culture), flesh (our own sinful desires and thoughts) and Satan warring against our desires and attempts to do, and think, what is right.

We can forget that we are butterflies and get the mud of sin and discouragement caked on our wings, weighing us down and causing us to fall to the ground or flutter about erratically.

Jesus warned His followers to “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).”

The Apostle Peter described Satan as: “Your adversary, the devil, (who) prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).”

Wrestling match, adversary, roaring lion: Sounds like we have quite a struggle in life, doesn’t it? So much happens in life to discourage us and then we have to deal with our own failings and other people’s sins against us, making our lives more difficult.

But remember, there is another mighty lion, the Lion of Judah, who defeated Satan, sin and death at the Cross for us. Jesus, God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), died for our sins and crushed our enemy. We have been given spiritual weapons to enter into the victory our King has won for us.

We can “resist (Satan) firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:9)”, pray for deliverance from temptation and evil (Matthew 6:13), and discern the difference between right and wrong, what God’s will is, by reading the Bible (Philippians 1:9). Thankfulness, singing praises to God, and the encouragement and godly advice of Christians can also help us shake that mud off of our wings.

Please remember: If you get the cake of mud on your wings, don’t give in to sin and discouragement. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).” Don’t run away from God. He loves His children. Confess your sin to God and ask Him, in the name of Jesus, to give you the power to repent. Accept God’s forgiveness, don’t wallow in the mud of guilt, and start flying again.

PS. There are consequences to sin. “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7)”. And God will discipline His children for their own good so that they’ll get back onto the path of righteousness (Psalm 23:3, Revelation 3:19). (I’ve been spanked and it hurts.) So don’t take sin lightly. God doesn’t want His children living in bondage to Satan and sin, or harming themselves or others, but walking in the liberty of His love. Consequences are an act of love from God, so that we won’t keep straying off His path and reap the whirlwind.

Much love from Dawn and Buddy

***

Sorry to tell you but the Bible teaches that there is no neutral territory: You’re either walking the path of life with Jesus or the path of destruction with Satan. Jesus claimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6).” Now you are free to choose to believe what Jesus said or not. God doesn’t force anyone to love or believe Him. He wants us to freely choose to recognize that we cannot live life without Him. He wants our love and trust to be freely given.

If you are ready to declare that you’d like to follow the path our Good Shepherd Jesus is leading, please pray the below:

Dear Holy Father, I’m sorry for my sin. Please forgive me. I want to walk Your path and not this world’s path. Teach me right from wrong. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to live for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations: You are now a child of the Living God. But just as our bodies need daily food to be healthy, so our souls need spiritual food to be healthy. Please start reading the Bible, as it’s your soul food. I recommend starting with the book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand. And always ask the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding as you read, so that you’re acknowledging your dependence on Him.

Also, you cannot stand alone in this spiritual battle: the lions separate and go after the lone zebra. You must fellowship with other born again Christians at church or a Bible study. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.BasicGospel.net. And please ask God to guard you from legalism, to keep you walking and learning about His grace through faith, which is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God bless you.

What Do You Think About This Interpretation? Revelation 14:13

Buddy

Buddy often stares at me and I have no clue whether I am interpreting his thoughts or needs correctly or not. We’ve been together almost eleven years and my furry pal is still a mystery to me.

The Apostle John in Revelation 14:13 states: “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!” ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.’”

I was lamenting to my fellow cartoon illustrator friend, Valerie, that I have spent most of my life developing my artistic talent, but would that talent continue in Heaven? Would the particular style I developed be lost forever when I die?

But it turns out that we have both been considering this passage from Revelation, independently.

We believe that our talents follow us to Heaven, just as our good deeds do. That the skills we strive to perfect during our earthly lifetimes will continue, as we have already started walking the path of our eternal lives when we became born again.

I’ve sometimes pictured Michelangelo up in Heaven, painting frescoes in the mansions that Christ said were waiting for us. And others may be sculpting or weaving marvelous rugs and tapestries or carving lovely balconies. Or embroidering garments with gold thread and jewels in glittering patterns.

Perhaps Jesus is explaining how things work to Isaac Newton?

It’s obvious, from observing nature, that God loves beauty. I’m frequently awestruck by the striped sunset of red, purple and gold framing the mountain behind my home.

So, what do you think? Are Valerie and I engaging in wishful thinking?

Or do our talents follow us to Heaven?

God bless you. Love, from Dawn and Buddy

***

You may be a Creative, also. Do you want assurance that your life will continue after death? Our sin separates us from a holy and perfect God. But, because He loves us, Jesus came down—God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23)—to take the punishment for our sin that we deserve. If we accept this sacrificial gift and desire to make God our Lord, in other words, acknowledge that He’s God and the boss, not us, we can fellowship with Him for eternity.

If you’d like to become born again, accepting Jesus as Lord, please pray the following: Dear Holy Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed with sincerely, congratulations, you’re a child of God. Please find a Bible-believing church to join. And begin reading the Bible, one of the ways God communicates with us, besides during prayer.

If that’s not possible for you right now, please check out these three ministries, which also have apps: http://www.InTouch.org, http://www.LTW.org and/or http://www.BasicGospel.net. There are other great ministries out there, but these are my three favorites.

See you in Heaven!

The Problem of Evil—My Perspective, Psalm 100:3

Buddy

When I adopted Buddy nearly eleven years ago, I promised to love and take care of him, to give him a forever home.

As humans, we cannot understand why an omnipotent God, Who is supposed to be perfect and loving, allows great suffering. Not only do animals chase down, tear apart and eat those weaker than themselves, but humanity suffers from sickness, warfare and all sorts of evil.

People often refuse to come to Christ because they cannot understand why God allows children to suffer cancer and die. Why didn’t God prevent the Holocaust? Or even today, prevent the Communist Party in China from bulldozing hundreds of Christian churches? Or prevent children from being maimed during their Cultural Revolution? Why do famines occur because of drought, causing the poorest to suffer even more greatly? Or Ebola to ravage Africans?

Dr Michael Youssef, in his excellent book, “Counting Stars In An Empty Sky”, has an interesting perspective on the suffering of Job.

God declared Job to be the best of all people at that ancient time: “For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil (Job 2:3).” In fact, God listed Job as one of his all time top three people, along with Noah and Daniel (Ezekiel 14:20). Yet, He permitted Satan to kill Job’s children, thieves to steal his livestock and murder most of his servants, and afflict him with a disfiguring and painful disease. On top of that, his angry wife wished Job dead and well-meaning friends accused and discouraged him with false accusations. Basically, Satan was permitted to destroy Job’s family, relationships, wealth and health.

Totally unfair treatment for an honorable and god-fearing man.

Dr Youssef postulates that Job, by refusing to turn away from God despite suffering hellish treatment, was an object lesson to Satan and his demonic followers. “If a mere flesh-and-blood man like Job could remain obedient in the face of so much suffering and the silence of God, then the rebellious angels who had seen God face-to-face were without excuse (Page 123).”

The pastor makes a great point.

But poor Job was totally left into the dark as this supernatural lesson was in play.

Many persons over the centuries have postulated and mused over the problem of evil. I’m not claiming to be more intelligent, or as brilliant, as those who have gone before me. But after many years of consideration concerning the problem of evil, I’ve come to a conclusion that works for me.

I could be correct—or totally off base. But this is my perspective.

Satan and the demons had the very best God had to offer—not only life in heaven, but the ability to communicate face-to-face with the Lord. Life with no disease, no war, no tears, no suffering at all. Every need was perfectly met. Satan also had a top leadership position, being one of the three archangels with Gabriel and Michael, just below the Trinity in authority.

Satan was also beautiful and favored: “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…You were the anointed cherub… (Ezekiel 28:12, 14).”

Satan had it all.

Yet it wasn’t enough. He wanted to be his own god, not obey and trust the Lord. And for some odd reason, he was able to convince a third of the angels to follow him into rebellion.

Because of evil, we don’t have it all. We are suffering on this planet because people rebel, and have rebelled, against God. Human greed and selfishness cause horrendous suffering, such as the Holocaust, warfare and poverty. Jealousy, self-righteousness, sexual immorality, envy, covetous and other sins cause unnecessary suffering.

Because the first couple rebelled against God’s authority, the Holy Spirit left the human race. All of Creation was subjected to the result of our Fall and rejection of God’s indwelling presence. Sickness, pain and murder entered the world.

Because we’re living in Hell now, we can appreciate heaven. Those who choose to accept Jesus as their Lord, will enter His presence one day with great rejoicing: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying or pain…There will no longer be any curse (Revelation 21:4, 22:3).”

Because we’re suffering now, we will realize how blessed we are to be in heaven under the Lord’s rule in His presence. We won’t reject God’s best because we will have suffered a lifetime of what life is like in a world in rebellion against Him.

Those who receive Him as the Lord now have an eternity of joy and bliss to look forward to.

The Apostle Paul wrote the following two passages, a man who suffered greatly to tell people about salvation through faith in Christ Jesus in Roman times:

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).”

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).”

That’s the best that I can do, to explain the problem of evil.

Is it fair that some suffer so terribly? No. Life is not fair. God never promises a problem-free life.

Ultimately, we’re commanded to trust in God’s ultimate plan, His goodness and to submit to His authority.

“Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He Who made us and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:3).”

Hope you find my solution helpful—or a jumping off point for your own contemplation on the problem of evil.

God bless you. Love, from Dawn and Buddy

***

Heaven is God’s house. To live in His house, which is Heaven, you have to submit to His authority. No one who rebels against Him will be permitted to remain in His presence after the Great Judgment.

Please consider making Him your Lord so that you can join with millions, perhaps billions, who will enjoy a future of His very best.

If you’re ready, please pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I call on Jesus to be my Lord and savior. Forgive me all of my sins. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. In Christ’s name, Amen.

If you prayed sincerely, congratulations. You’re born again. Please find a Bible-based church or Bible Study group to grow in a knowledge of God and His word. If that’s not possible right now, the following are three great ministries, which also have podcasts: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way with Dr Youssef’s teaching), http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.BasicGospel.net.

See you in heaven!

Judgment Day: The Cure For Fear, Proverbs 24:19-20

Buddy with his cracker at his condo doorway.

Buddy and I moved to an older building without an elevator. Most often he hop skips down the steps on his own; if he is going too quickly, I let go of the leash as he doesn’t run off but scouts out the nearest bush. But he stands at the bottom of the staircase when he wants to return to our condo and waits for me to pick him up. Because he’s a middle-aged dog, I thought it was too hard for him to climb up that high; turns out, he runs up when he really wants to. He’s tricked me into carrying him up the staircase by feigning helplessness.

Unlike Buddy, who apparently is just spoiled, the truth is that we are all helpless to climb the staircase to Heaven on our own. We need someone to carry us up the stairs, Jesus Christ.

Now how does this relate to overcoming fear?

It seems like the demons of Hell are working against our Western culture and American society. Evil seems to prevail and it’s easy to lose heart. However, God doesn’t want us to be cowards but to stand up against evil (see blog post dated June 26, 2020, Proverbs 25:26).

God wants us to trust that He’s in control, even when the world around us seems to be spinning out of control.

“Do not fret because of evildoers…; for there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” Proverbs 24:19-20, King Solomon of Israel/Judah

Those who reject the sacrifice of God’s son for their sins DO have to worry about Judgment Day.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who sat upon it,…And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds…And if anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15

Like Buddy who trusts in me, his master, to carry him safely up the staircase and into his home, so we can trust that our living God will get us safely up the staircase to heaven and into our eternal home.

When a believer trusts in Jesus Christ alone for his/her salvation, they are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). God has forgiven a believer’s sins and sees them as perfect in His sight, a child of God, accepted and loved. 

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy.” Jude 1:24

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 (King David of Israel/Judah)

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach…” Colossians 1:21-22, Apostle Paul

Christian leaders who teach that Christians need to fear death because God will present a slideshow of all their sins are clearly contradicting the teachings of the Biblical Scripture. I believe they do this (consciously or not), because they do not trust the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide a believer (Ephesians 3:20), so they use fear to keep the flock under control. Their motive is good, trying to help believers be an example to a dying world and not conform to this world’s ungodly philosophies and teachings.

“Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1, Apostle Paul, emphasis mine

Fear is not a lasting motivator. A real life example was when two journalists were captured by Isis; they were forced to convert to Islam as a condition of their release. Apparently they were convincing actors because they pretended to believe, but quickly recanted the moment they returned to safety. True believers don’t need a pastor to scare them into behaving because their hearts have been transformed by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 11:19-20). Anyone who is born again is being led by the Spirit; if a believer is recalcitrant and stubbornly insists on disobeying God, God will discipline that Christian to help them return to “the path of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3).

So the question is: Should you fear standing up against evil?

The wicked person is going to perish in the lake of fire. Unless you help them to recognize that they are evil and need repentance.

Or will you stand with God, Who will welcome you into a future too wonderful to even conceive?

Will you choose fear and cowardice–or fear of God and love for the unbeliever who needs to hear the gospel?

“But just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.'” 1 Corinthians 2:9, Apostle Paul

If you live in America, have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday.

Love from God and Buddy

***

If you’ve read the blog post above and realized that you are bound by fear because you haven’t come to faith in Christ, please know that Jesus can help relieve your fears. Now, everyone has a different experience when they become born again: some people are immediately delivered from bondage to whatever is enslaving them and some, like me, have to go through a gradual learning process to get free. So I cannot promise immediate relief from fear, if your life is presently characterized by it. But faith in Christ can remove the fear of death, for Jesus conquered death when He rose from the grave and promises eternal life to His disciples.

If you’d like to begin a journey into freedom, please pray the below.

Dear Lord God, I have offended you by sinning, by deciding right and wrong for myself. It has only given me a life of fear and inner emptiness. I want you to be my Lord and be my Great Shepherd. I want to follow you. Please forgive my sin. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, God in the Flesh (Matthew 1:23) and rose bodily from the grave. I invite the Holy Spirit into my life to give me a new heart that follows You. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Please find a Bible-based church or Bible Study. Or if you’re confined at home right now, start reading the Bible. It’s best to begin with the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, because it’s easy to understand. There are also many godly ministries on the radio, TV and internet. I highly recommend Dr Charles Stanley’s ministry at http://www.Intouch.org, Dr Michael Youssef at http://www.ltw.org and Pastor Bob Christopher at http://www.BasicGospel.net.