Buddy’s the sweetest little guy. Even though injured recently through negligence at a grooming shop, he still trusts in my protection and willingness to bless him.
I think there’s a lot of confusion in the Church about Christians who sin.
There’s some who seem to believe it’s a sign that a person is not really saved if they struggle with sin.
But the difference between a Christian and non-Christian is that a believer is “a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).”
A person who is not born again does not have the Spirit of God convicting them when they willfully disobey God. This is why we’re baffled when someone engages in what seems blatantly wicked behavior without any remorse.
A Christian will be tormented and convicted by the Holy Spirit until he or she repents. God hates sin and our Great Shepherd is going to chase down a wandering sheep and return His child back to the sheepfold.
It’s why the Apostle John can confidently state in 1 John 5:18:
“We know that everyone who is born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who is born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (BSB)
Please note: The Apostle John recognizes that we’re human and sin, but will notcontinue to sin.
A friend’s daughter was living with a man. I asked my friend if the daughter was born again. Since she confirmed that the daughter was indwelt by the Spirit, we prayed the Holy Spirit would make her miserable till she repented.
She did repent within a few months and soon after met and eventually married a godly Christian man who was a better role model for her children.
But God couldn’t bring the right man into her life till she was willing to repent of her disobedience.
So please don’t assume that someone sinning isn’t a believer. Everyone is at a different stage in their Christian walk. Even the Apostle James stated that “We all stumble in different ways (James 3:2).” Every believer has wrong thinking that needs changing and it’s usually a lifetime process.
And not all sin is obvious. We all have sins of attitudes and thinking that aren’t loving.
Pray for the repentance of a believer with confidence. The Holy Spirit will answer that prayer and work within them.
Buddy looks like a giant Yorkie. He’s even oversized for a Silky terrier. But despite his larger breed style, he’s incapable of protecting himself; he’s totally dependent upon me for his needs.
The Old Testament prophet, Jonah, preached the lamest sermon ever. Most people, even if they’ve never read the Bible, have heard the story about Jonah and the Whale, about how he was swallowed and lived within the giant sea mammal for three days and nights.
However, most people don’t know that Jonah was swallowed by the whale because he disobeyed God and hopped a ship going into the opposite direction of the city of people God wanted him to preach to. After his horrendous incarceration, Jonah obeyed God and traveled to the Assyrian city of Nineveh to preach repentance.
Jonah hated the Ninevites and wanted God to kill them, not save them.
Although Jonah finally obeyed God, his attitude sucked. He preached the lamest sermon ever!
“And Jonah began to enter the city on his first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown!’
“So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them…”—Jonah 3:4-5
The king made a decree that everyone was to fast, even their animals, and “turn from his evil way and the violence that is in his hands (vs 3:8).”
Because the people of Nineveh repented in faith, God relented and did not punish them.
My point is: Just as Buddy is totally dependent upon me, Christians are totally dependent upon the Almighty God and His power. We cannot change a person’s heart nor can we force anyone to believe in Jesus.
Because repentance doesn’t depend upon our charisma or powers of persuasion—or even how knowledgeable we are.
On the other hand, it doesn’t matter how weak or pitiful we think our testimony or words are.
Our responsibility is merely to obey and tell people about Jesus.
And the power of the Holy Spirit will do His work.
Cone on! You cannot preach a worse sermon than Jonah did!
And because God’s power was already working on the hearts of the people, they repented anyway.
God bless.
Thanks for reading.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. Please check out my latest Friday blog post if you have time. Thanks!
Life is simple for Buddy. Take walkies. Snooze. Eat treats. Beg for food. Occasionally pay attention to your human.
Actually, human life is similarly simple. All of life boils down to one simple answer.
Want to know what it is?
What life really is all about?
Enough suspense yet? Here’s the answer:
Our life here on earth is all about choosing which god you’re going to spend eternity with.
That’s it in a nutshell.
The secret to this chaotic, rollercoaster, sometimes thrilling, sometimes awful life.
“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”—Jesus, John 12:46
Every day a person can choose to remain in Satan’s “domain of darkness” and “perish in their sin” (Colossians 1:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:10,) or choose to spend eternity with Jesus.
“For He (God) rescued us 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 1:13-14
The choice is yours.
Jesus hung on the Cross between two thieves. One continued to hurl insults at Jesus, demanding that He come down from the Cross and rescue them from crucifixion.
The other humbled himself, admitted he was a sinner, and asked that his soul be saved. And Jesus answered him, saying:
“‘Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”—Luke 23:43
Eternity with Jesus or Satan.
Everyone makes that choice.
It’s truly what life is really all about.
Thank you for reading!
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. So next time someone asks you, “What’s life all about?”—you have an answer.
***
Maybe you’re unhappy because you’re trying to be your own god instead of submitting your life to the Lord and trusting in His guidance.
Jesus is omniscient and omnipresent. He sees the future. What seems the right course of action to a person may actually be leading toward disaster. Only God knows where a chosen path will lead.
Jesus died to pay for your sins. He lived a perfect life as a human being so that He could pay for the sins of others, having no sin of His own to be punished for. After His crucifixion, He rose from the dead to prove that He is also God, that He has the power over death.
You don’t have to continue living a life of regret and defeat. But becoming a Christian doesn’t guarantee health and wealth, as false preachers claim, but does set you onto a new path leading away from self-destructive behavior.
A new Christian is like a baby: You’ll crawl, then totter on wobbly legs till you learn to walk steady. I’m encouraging you to give your life to Jesus, because it’s wonderful to be in relationship with God. But I also want you not to get discouraged after doing so. It takes time to learn about God’s love for you and how He works.
Are you ready to make Jesus your Savior from sin and your Lord, the God Who rules your life? If so, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness. I call on Jesus to be both my Savior and Lord, my moral authority. I give my life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. And teach me how much You love me. I want to learn to trust You. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. You should begin to experience new attitudes and a desire to obey Jesus as you’ve been given a new heart by the power of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. You’re starting to walk a new path in life, so please be patient with yourself as you learn and grow in the knowledge of the Lord.
Please start reading the Bible daily. And join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by legalism or false teaching until you know what the Bible teaches fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
Buddy’s so adorable when he’s a big fur ball, but about three times a year he gets professionally groomed. When he’s trimmed, as above, I nickname him “Fruity,” because his trimmed face resembles a fruit bat.
Fruit bat image from Doi.gov
(I tried to find a tan bat but couldn’t locate the best one to illustrate my point.)
Although Buddy looks very different trimmed, we still love him and consider him adorable. Even when he acts like a little stinker (or smells like one on occasion), he’s still a beloved member of our family.
King David trusted that, even though God knew he was a sinner, his Heavenly Father could still be counted on to deliver him from his enemies in a time of need:
“O God, it is You who knows my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You….Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; according to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me, and do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; answer me quickly.”—Psalm 69:5, 16-17
Because we’re born again, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), we greatly desire to obey and please Jesus. But although our spirits and hearts have been renewed, we still have minds programmed and influenced by the world, the flesh, Satan, and our past history. It’s why the Apostle Paul exhorts Christians to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).”
Because we’re aware of our sin, we sometimes balk at bringing our prayer requests before the Lord, because we feel unworthy. We want to clean up our act firstly before coming to Him.
But here’s the BIG TRUTH many Christians forget or legalism prevents us from considering:
WE’RE NEVER WORTHY.
It’s why Christ had to die to atone for the sins of humanity (John 3:16), because only a spotless lamb was an acceptable sacrifice for sin (Exodus 12:5, 1 Peter and 1:19). We are never seen as spotless, free of sin, before we confess our sins and come into relationship with Jesus. Then, clothed with the blood sacrifice of Christ, we become beloved children of God (Galatians 3:26).
The Apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian church for their sinful behavior: drunkenness at communion, tolerating incest, dividing into camps based upon which apostle they followed rather than Christ, etc. They were immature in their behavior and not doing a good job of submitting to God in the sanctification process.
Yet, the Apostle Paul begins his two letters to the Corinthian church greeting them as saints: 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 2:2 and brethren (1 Corinthians 2:1, 3:1, 2 Corinthians 1:8) and, also:
“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; you are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”—2 Corinthians 3:2-3
He gently rebukes them for their sin, calling for repentance, reminding them that they are God’s children who are to love others and shine the light of Christ into this dark world.
But he continues to love them and call them fellow believers—because they are born again by the Holy Spirit of God.
My dear brother or sister in Christ, always call upon Jesus in your time of need. He knows that it’s impossible for you to meet the perfect standard of righteousness that the Law requires (Matthew 5:48).
Call on Him with humility and sincerity as He loves you.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”—Apostle John, 1 John 4:10
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Everyone is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), but only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and become born again are His children:
“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: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”—Apostle John, John 1:12-13
You may not have heard this before as our culture teaches that every person is a child of God—but it isn’t true. Only those in relationship with the Father through the Son are children of God.
Every human is made in His image, which gives precious value to everyone. So treasured are humans that He sent His Son to live a perfect life, taking on human flesh, then die on a cross to take the punishment for our sins instead of us. He rose bodily from the grave on the Third Day, proving that He is God and can give eternal life to those who repent and ask Him to be their God.
If you believe this but haven’t joined God’s family yet, will you please pray the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please change my heart and life by granting that Your Holy Spirit lives within me. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Your Son Jesus Christ, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations: You’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your spiritual soul food. Just as your body needs food every day to stay healthy, so does your soul.
And please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by bad teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you as you make a new start in life. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
Is Buddy still haunted by memories of the abusive behavior of his prior owners? He’s much more relaxed and demanding than he used to be, but when he’s whimpering and twitching during sleep, is he having normal doggie dreams or bad memories? Only God knows what’s in his mind.
Asaph begins Psalm 73 by reassuring himself that the Lord loves his nation and blesses the righteous:
“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart (verse 1).”
But then his focus shifts to lamenting that the wicked and selfish seem to prosper, are able to bless their children with an inheritance, and suffer no punishment for their wicked behavior (verses 2-12).
What possibly could God have in mind by allowing the wicked to have happy lives yet continue cause so much harm to others?
I can relate. When I focus on world events and on US politics, it seems that wicked people are blessed: They continue to prosper although they murder the innocent, feather their beds with corruption, and spew lies and hatred. It seems their evil is not restrained at all. It’s easy to become angry and discouraged.
It’s as if I’m living in a haunted house, filled with ghouls and angry spirits and I cannot escape. The wicked appear to have free rein in this world, and there’s seemingly nothing good people can do about it.
And then I shift the focus to my own life and realize that God doesn’t give me what I deserve for my sin, but, instead, is gracious to me and permits me the time to grow and become a better person.
Asaph shifts the focus to himself, also, but wonders what’s the use of being a good person, when it seems evil people have blessed lives while he, trying to serve the Lord, suffers misfortune (verses 13-16, 21-22). He became embittered and angry.
And then he enters God’s house, which was the ancient Jewish temple where the Spirit of God rested above the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies:
“Then I perceived their end (verse 17).”
Entering into the Lord’s house reminded him that his service ultimately was not in vain. As Christians, we need to keep an eternal perspective. This world and its material blessings are temporary. The haunted house that we currently live in will one day crumble in decay and be destroyed. People who refuse to acknowledge the Lord are choosing to spend eternity with the enemy of our souls.
Unbelievers will one day discover, to their dismay, that there is an eternal price to pay for their temporary happiness.
“For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You (verse 27).”
Asaph comes to his senses and stops feeling bitter for his suffering. He shifts his focus from his present circumstances to the future:
“With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory…My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (verses 25-26).”
Like Asaph, it’s easy to get dismayed at the present state of this world and wonder where God is. Why is He allowing evil to triumph while good people with the courage to stand for God and what’s right keep losing ground? It seems like America—and Western Civilization—continues its downhill slide into nihilism and self-destruction, while privileged elites prosper from corruption and oppression.
But Asaph reminds us to shift our view from our present time to the future. Jesus has already won the victory over sin and the devil at the Cross. And was resurrected to prove that He is God and can give eternal life to those who ask for it, desiring to be in His kingdom under His authority.
Jesus promised to return (John 14:1-3). Evil will not continue to prosper. God has a plan and will fulfill it.
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”—the Apostle Peter, 2 Peter 3:9
God is working events to bring as many people to repentance as possible. And, unfortunately, it appears that many won’t repent till He allows the full expression of human evil to prevail to demonstrate our world’s need for Jesus to rule.
Stay strong. Jesus is returning.
Evil will be punished when God determines the time is right.
God bless.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy.
PS. I often feel unworthy to minister to you. Daily I fail and fall short, and am reminded that I am still Jesus’ work in progress. Failure reminds me to be humble and how blessed I am to be a child of the Great King.
***
Do you want to live forever in God’s house in heaven?
You see, many people believe that they can rebel against God’s rules their entire life and then knock on heaven’s door and demand entrance.
Heaven would be hell for them, as they don’t want to live under His rules.
The truth is, Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, asking you to give Him permission to enter (Revelation 3:20). He wants you to voluntarily enter into His kingdom under His rule—because He’s the King! The Lord God Almighty!
Which side of the door Jesus stands on is decided in this lifetime.
If you’ve read this far, you hear God knocking on your heart asking permission for His Holy Spirit to enter. Will you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior right now?
Please don’t delay.
I’ve never regretted asking Jesus to be my Lord.
If you’re ready, please say the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I open the door to my heart and invite Jesus to enter. I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness and a new heart. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please grant me Your Holy Spirit. I want to live for You. Teach me how much You love me and how precious and valuable I am to you. Thank you for hearing my prayer and that Jesus gave His life on the Cross so that I could have new life. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are many other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by legalism or false teaching till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
I’ve never tested this out, but I’d guess that if I called out “Buddy!” to a crowd of dogs, only my Buddy would respond, even though the name is common. (I didn’t get to name him as he was adopted as a three-year-old.) The other Buddys would be listening for the unique voice of their own master.
I was hoping that my dad’s neighbor would lead him to Christ one day, as they get along so well that you’d swear it was the same guy talking but duplicated. They have a great, budding friendship.
But when speaking to this neighbor a week ago, I was distressed that he claimed to be a Christian, yet likely is not.
Jesus spoke about people who believed they would enter heaven but would be surprised to be denied entrance, as His disciple Matthew recorded in Matthew 7:21:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.’”
Sadly, there are going to be many people who will have an unpleasant surprise on Judgment Day.
Now, it’s between a person and Jesus to know what’s in their heart.
And what is the Father’s will in order to be saved? Jesus explained this, also, as recorded by the Apostle John in John 6:28-29:
“Therefore, they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’”
The people denied entrance into heaven, as described by Jesus in Matthew, protested that they had done good deeds and performed many wonderful works in His name (Matthew 7:22). They deserved to enter heaven!
How did Jesus respond to their protestations and justifications of good works?
“I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”—Matthew 7:23
God is so holy, there is not one person who can meet His standard to enter His presence in Heaven, which is perfection (Matthew 5:48).
God doesn’t grade on a curve. The cutoff point is perfection to enter heaven or not perfect to go to Hell.
Pretty harsh, right?
But think how unfair it’d be if He did grade on a curve? For instance, say a person lies 99 times and is admitted into Heaven, but another lies 100 times but is sent to everlasting Hell. Is that fair? Out by one lie?
My dad’s friend alarmed me because he believes there are other ways to heaven than through Jesus; you just have to be a good person.
But that’s not what Jesus taught.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.”—John 14:6
If you could earn your way into Heaven by being good, then how good do you need to be? How do you know where the cutoff point is? How can you ever have the peace Jesus promises to give His followers (John 14:27) that eliminates fear?
You couldn’t.
And if you could earn your way into Heaven, then why would Jesus need to die for our sins? He could’ve avoided the excruciatingly painful death on the Cross and just let us try to be good, with His guiding principles.
Jesus declared Himself to be “the life,” because it’s only through Jesus that your dead, sinful spirit can be resurrected to supernatural life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit alone is your ticket into Heaven.
And He gives His supernatural resurrection life to those who ask.
Because it’s impossible to be good enough to meet the Father’s standard of perfection.
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;”—the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 64:6
One ticket to enter Heaven.
And freely available to everyone who is humble enough to ask, whether a toddler or a man dying and gasping out his last breaths.
As the thief on his own cross, crucified next to Jesus, who acknowledged his sin and declared his faith in Jesus as he was dying. And Jesus promised he would be in Paradise that day with Him (Luke 23:43).
If you’re running on the hamster wheel of good works, trying to earn God’s love: relax. You already have it if you’ve confessed your sins and acknowledged Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Rest and rejoice in His love as one of His children.
If you think you can earn your way into heaven—you’re deceived. You can never be good enough. Which is good news, because you don’t have to clean up your act first to get saved. Just pray the prayer below the ***.
Don’t cross that great divide thinking you’re good enough. Not even Job met the standard, and God declared him to be the most righteous man on the earth (Job 1:8). When Job tried to justify himself before God, claiming that he didn’t deserve such punishment, the Almighty rebuked him.
In summary: There is only one ticket to heaven.
Not good deeds.
But the Holy Spirit, given freely to those who ask.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”—Jesus, Luke 11:13
God bless.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
To receive resurrection life you must:
Admit you are a sinner.
God is the boss, not you.
Jesus is your Lord, God in the flesh, who died for your sins and was resurrected bodily from the grave on the third day to give you life.
If you’re ready to start a new path in life, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sin. Thank you for sending Jesus to take the punishment that my sin deserves. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit. I give my life to you. Show me 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; it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.
Also, please join a Bible-believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled by bad teaching or legalism if you don’t know what the Bible teaches fairly well.
Buddy truly is the strangest fur pal I’ve ever lived with. He comes up to me to say hello, then runs away when I bend over to hug or pet him. His predecessor, Buster, loved being held or carried. When I had abdominal surgery, he crawled up onto the couch without any encouragement to lie next to me until I recovered. I still treasure the photo of us lying together on the couch.
What likely caused the difference in their reactions to my attempts at expressing my love to them?
Their puppy years.
Buster was adopted at eight weeks old. He was a bit of an instigator, leading the other puppies into trouble, so his owner released him two weeks early to my family. Buster knew only hugs, cuddles, kisses and affection as he grew into adulthood.
However, Buddy was mistreated for three years till I adopted him from his foster mom who had rescued him from an abusive situation. Based upon Buddy’s behavior, he must’ve been kicked whenever he stood still or his food was snatched away before he could eat it. He still won’t eat his food if anyone is looking at him, as if fearful it’ll be taken away.
Which is weird as I’m the one buying his expensive, healthy food, snacks and other supplements to ensure his health is as good as possible.
Similarly, the majority of people run away from God, even though He’s the Creator of everything, and every sentient being, that exists. Every breath is a gift of life from Him.
The Apostle John put his finger on one of the major issues with accepting His love:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.“—1 John 4:18
Two dogs with the same loving owner, yet with two very different reactions when that love is expressed.
Unfortunately, God is often misrepresented by the church. People are told, “You cannot measure up to God’s perfect standard, so Jesus died to pay for your sins to meet that standard for you…”
Then, after they’ve asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, they’re told: “Now that you’re saved, you better behave at all times AND your motives better be right too, or God will punish you. He’s standing there with a big stick, waiting to smack you one if you get out of line.“
Christians are taught to be afraid of God, because they’re still fearing punishment. And maybe they’ll even lose their salvation if they cross that line, angering God one too many times.
In other words: You cannot keep the Law before you were saved, but you can keep it now with the Holy Spirit’s help.
So, Christians try really hard to behave and when they eventually fall short, they get discouraged and give up “trying to be good,” or fall prey to Satan’s condemnation, because our enemy always loves to kick us when we’re down. Or, they put on the self-righteous smiley face, hoping they are fooling everybody with how good they are at obeying God, while knowing deep down they’re really hypocrites who cannot measure up, while others think they’re hypocrites because nobody’s perfect.
But what is the cure for being afraid of God?
“We love Him because He first loved us.”—1 John 4:19
God sent His Son Jesus to live amongst sinful, imperfect people for over 33 years. He came, not only to pay for our sins, voluntarily suffering a humiliating and excruciatingly painful death on the cross, but also, I believe, because we just couldn’t “get Him.”
The ancient Israelites could never truly trust that God loved and wanted to bless them. One example is that He delivered them from Egyptian bondage then took them on a roundabout route to the Promised Land so that they wouldn’t encounter warfare too soon. He even sent them out, loaded with gifts from the Egyptians, but they still grumbled and refused to enter the Promised Land when He asked them to. Eventually, they entered and were given an abundantly blessed land, with vineyards, fields, and homes already built by those God helped them displace, yet they continually rebelled against His rule and followed other false gods, even sacrificing their children to Molech.
Jesus became God incarnate (Matthew 1:23) to demonstrate His love for us. He healed the sick, fed thousands, comforted sinners, cast demons out of people, and suffered for our sins. He showed how much He loves us imperfect people.
God isn’t eager to punish us when we get out of line. Jesus already took our punishment. It’s been my experience that the Holy Spirit convicts me and warns me to change a certain behavior. He only allows consequences reluctantly if I don’t change course. He’s not eager to “bring down the hammer” on me. He gives me time to repent. It’s my own stubbornness and rebellion that brings me trouble.
Now, I’m not advocating that personal experience replace Biblical teaching, but I believe my experiences confirm what the Bible teaches, not that I get my theology from experience. (Which is likely pastors often warn not to get your theology from the Book of Acts as it’s a history.)
“But God, Who comforts the depressed…”—Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 7:6
It’s also my experience that God is mindful of our emotions. He doesn’t crush my spirit by slamming me with a list of my sins and expect me “to clean up my act all at once”. He reveals them one by one, peeling away my sins like peeling away the layers of an onion. I deal with one, then He reveals something else to work on. In fact, if I ever succumb to proud thoughts, such as, “I’m doing pretty good this week,” the Holy Spirit will point something out and then I’m horrified. I’m never “good” compared to a Holy, perfect God.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 4:30
I loved Buster dearly and I love Buddy, despite their faults. I would never reject either of them. I look forward to seeing Buster and all my fur pals in heaven one day—and maybe even being raptured with Buddy, if the Lord returns soon.
The Lord doesn’t want us to grieve Him by acting sinfully, as it brings harm to us and others.
But we are “sealed for the day of redemption”. God will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He’s not going to reject His imperfect children.
We don’t need to be afraid of God. Or run away from Jesus, fearing He’s out to get us.
We can find forgiveness, help, comfort, encouragement and loving correction from a Father Who loves us.
God bless.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. Once again, I intended to be brief. But I guess it’s difficult for me to do so!
***
We’re living in an age of grace. God’s love is freely available to everyone who accepts it. But He won’t force a relationship with you. He wants you to voluntarily ask Him to be your God and Savior. He desires you to accept His authority in your life, because then you’ll leave the kingdom of darkness for His kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:13-14). Which is greatly to your benefit.
There’s so much more that could be said, but are you willing to accept God as your Father, Who guides, comforts, corrects and loves you?
If so, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I want to live in the light of Your love and leave the kingdom of darkness. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please grant me Your Holy Spirit. I want to live for You. And show me how much You love me. Teach me not to be afraid of You, even when you’re forced to correct my behavior. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the name of Jesus, Who took the punishment my sins deserved, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s good for your soul. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible Study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled or bound by legalism till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
(A bit of a delay in posting as Buddy is demanding butt scritches, which is very unusual.)
Recently Buddy has begged to go outside, but doesn’t want me to put on his harness firstly. He wants to run free and not be leashed up.
Many people believe they are free to make their own choices—but they’re not. It’s a lie of the devil that there’s neutral moral ground—there isn’t. Every human being is under the authority and influence of Jesus Christ—or the god of this world*.
Adam and Eve were born triune beings made in God’s image. But they were given a choice whether to obey God or not, and they chose poorly. God warned that:
“The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’”—Genesis 2:16-17
The ancestors of the human race didn’t die physically, but they died spiritually. The Holy Spirit, His authority in their lives rejected, fled the human race.
What occurred is that Adam and Eve chose Satan to be the spiritual and moral authority of the human race.
It’s important to remember this so that we have mercy on unbelievers. Every person is born in bondage to Satan.
“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”—2 Timothy 2:24-26
Nonbelievers are not only spiritually dead and influenced by Satan, but the Apostle Paul also reminded the Corinthian Church in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4:
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world* has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God.”
I can verify the Apostle Paul’s comments about being spiritually blind. I had read the Bible many times but somehow was not convinced that Jesus was God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23). It was if there was a fuzzy mental block keeping me from understanding who Christ was. But once I became born again, I see Christ’s and His apostles’ claims that He is God all over the New Testament. Yet, somehow, I couldn’t “see” it before.
Jesus declared that He came to “release the captives, (give) recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,”—Luke 4:18
When we become Holy Spirit indwelt Christians, we become bond slaves of God. In other words, we still have the capability of sinning, but it’s no longer fun. It feels like we’re wearing a ragged, itchy and dirty garment that no longer fits us anymore. Sin stinks and we feel badly afterwards. At some point we finally give in to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and repent.
“But thanks be to God that though you WERE slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart…and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness…now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God…”—Romans 6:17-18, 22
To summarize: Before people give their lives to Christ, they are spiritually dead, captives to sin and the devil’s influence. Even as we shake our heads in sadness at their self destructive behavior, we need to remember that we are all born dead till given new life through the mercy of God. It’s a gift no one has earned or deserves.
As I too, sometimes need to remind myself how I was once captive till Christ gave me new life. And to try my best not to react with anger at their foolishness and wickedness and, instead, offer to help lead them into the light of God’s love through Christ Jesus.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Many people think they’ve sinned too much to ever earn God’s mercy. Well, here’s why the Gospel is called good news:
“There is no one righteous, not even one…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 3:10,23
No one is good enough in God’s eyes to earn or deserve His mercy. He doesn’t grade on a sliding scale. In fact, would that be fair? Where would the cut-off point be? Someone who told one more lie than somebody else goes into hellfire but the person who told one less lie goes into eternal bliss?
So God makes the entrance to Heaven a free gift of love, bought with the blood of Christ. Jesus died on the Cross “once for all (Hebrews 10:10)” people for all their sins committed and then rose from the grave on the third day to prove He is God and gives resurrected life.
It’s a gift that cannot be earned (Ephesians 2:5). Every single person needs to accept that gift, however.
When you ask Jesus to be your Lord, you’re doing the opposite of what Adam and Eve did: You’re rejecting the authority of Satan over your life and accepting the moral authority of God in your life. It’s up to you to decide which Spirit you want to follow in your life—and spend eternity with.
“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 10:9
If you’re ready to enter God’s kingdom of truth and love, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and ask Your forgiveness. I invite Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I believe He is God Who loves me so much that He died to take the punishment for my sin so that I don’t have to. I believe that He rose bodily from the dead. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me. In the name of Your Son Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment, so does your soul. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.
And please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. It’s difficult to stand alone in an ungodly culture. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by false or legalistic teaching till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
I took this photo this afternoon. While I was doing my back exercises, Buddy lay in his bed while keeping a watchful eye on me. When I had to leave the room to make lunch for my mother recovering from surgery, he got up to investigate where I’d gone. He likes to keep a watchful eye on me.
When I adopted Buddy, he became my furever friend. I’d never abandon my pal—willingly. If death suddenly claims me would be the only cause.
Which is why his prior owner placed Buddy for adoption: She was dying of cancer and was unable to prevent her husband from mistreating Buddy.
Can you imagine a man so callous?
I cannot imagine mistreating my pal, although I’ll admit to rate moments of not speaking nice when I’m frustrated, for which my pal always forgives me. (I’ve had a few things to forgive Buddy for, also. After all, he is a terrier.)
I guess there’s an advantage to not being raised Christian, as I haven’t been exposed to Christian memes my entire life. (I was saved from Satan’s kingdom at age 28, for which I’ll always be thankful.) One widely repeated phrase is that if you’re nice, you can get a person’s attention so that you eventually win the right to preach the gospel to them.
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and, if necessary, use words.”—St Francis of Assisi
Which is sort of a work’s righteousness attitude, that one’s good works can win someone to Christ, rather than the Gospel. Or, as Apostle Paul said,
“How then will they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him Whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”—Romans 10:14-15
Okay, please follow me here. You can note above a Christian meme repeated often, yet is not true.
It’s the Gospel that shatters the stubborn, flinty heart of pride (Jeremiah 23:29).
So back to being nice—or not.
Jesus called the religious, legal and political rulers of the Jewish people: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”—Matthew 23:33
Jesus wasn’t exactly being “nice,” was He?
In fact, in the section of Scripture described as the “Eight Woes” in the NASB translation, Jesus calls them (Matthew 23:13-36):
“Hypocrites”—verses 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, and 29. (Seems like Jesus is trying to make a point here.)
Are hell bound—verse 13, sons of hell—verse 15.
Blind guides, fools—verses 16 and 17.
Prevent others from entering heaven—verse 13.
Take advantage of widows, pray long prayers for show, and are condemned—verse 14.
Reject justice, mercy and faithfulness—verse 23.
Full of robbery and self-indulgence—verse 25.
Murderers—verses 34-35
But, the gentle Jesus spoke kindly to the common person: tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, adulterers, the sick and lepers, children, etc. He seemed to have enormous patience, also, with his disciples.
Jesus spoke harshly to those who were misleading the children of Israel and hindering the saving work of God’s kingdom, denying that Jesus was their awaited Messiah, the Christ.
In fact, the only time it’s recorded that Jesus spoke harshly to the disciples is when Peter tried to convince Jesus not to give His life as a sin sacrifice on the Cross, temping Jesus not to fulfill His mission:
“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me;’”—Matthew 16:22-23 (Interesting that Peter still acknowledged Jesus was the Lord, yet was telling Him what to do. Don’t all of us Christians do the same at times? I do.)
So, my point is: There are times when it’s appropriate to rebuke people, yet do so without hypocrisy (2 Timothy 4:2). When someone is in a leadership position, they can influence many ordinary, or powerless, people in the wrong way. They may be misguided (Nicodemus repented) or wickedly misleading people into ungodly behaviors.
Evil sometimes needs to be called out for the benefit of others.
It takes courage to “speak truth to power.”
If you lack courage, wisdom or opportunity to do so, then please pray that the Lord guide you how to respond properly toward evil leaders.
Or support those willing to do so, just as the army of Israel initially was afraid but followed David into battle after David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17).
Please remember: Evil persists till it’s challenged.
Even God challenges evil: It’s called “consequences”. So that people repent.
Hope this prompts some contemplation.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
PS. Jesus did pay a consequence for challenging the Jewish leaders. They convinced the Romans to crucify Jesus, a man Pontius Pilate knew was innocent (Luke 23:4). Be certain that you’re prepared to suffer the consequences of standing against evil leadership.
***
Yes, it’s scary to stand up against people who have power over you. But there is a Creator Who loves you Who has already defeated evil in this world by dying on the Cross for your sins and then was resurrected from the dead on the third day to give you His resurrection life (Romans 5:8, 6:4).
It doesn’t matter what sins you’re guilty of. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” Every person is born spiritually dead in their sins and needs God to forgive them. Not one single person is good enough to earn their way into heaven by their good deeds (Matthew 5:48).
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13).”
Are you willing to accept God as Your Lord, your moral authority? To recognize that He sent His Son Jesus, “God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23),” to die for your sins so that you don’t have to?
If so, please say the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin. I ask You to please forgive my sin and I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I ask the Holy Spirit to fill me and seal me for eternity as Your child. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me, so that I can love others like You do. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you are born again. Please start reading the Bible daily, as it’s your spiritual food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew as it’s easy to read.
And please join a Bible believing church or Bible study group. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest the following two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled by false or legalistic teaching until you know the Bible fairly well. Pastors Max Lucado, Chuck Smith and Chuck Swindoll also wrote excellent books.
Meditations About God and Buddy 