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 was unhappy about being confined to the loft, so he pouted by staring into the mirror. He is losing his depth perception and must wait for me to pick him up and carry him down the staircase to the main living area. He would rather roam freely in our condo, doing what he wants when he wants.
The ancient Jewish religious leaders–the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes–rejected Jesus because they believed that their own works made them righteous in God’s sight. Although they diligently searched the scriptures about the coming Messiah, they missed recognizing Him when He stood in front of them, although He’d performed many miracles and fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies. They were awaiting a Messiah Who would rescue them from oppression by the Roman Empire; they weren’t looking for a Savior Who would rescue them from their sins.
Their pride prevented from realizing they weren’t righteous enough to earn their way to heaven. God’s standard for holiness is perfection (Matthew 5:48). They believed that because they kept the Laws of Moses, they had God’s favor.
But they didn’t.
Their self-righteousness caused them to reject the very Messiah they eagerly awaited.
“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”–Apostle Paul, Romans 10:3
Today it’s still pride that keeps people from recognizing their own need for a Savior. They think they can earn their way into heaven by being good enough, whatever “good enough” is. They create their own moral code, neglecting to realize that they aren’t little gods who get to write the laws of the universe.
Satan also believed that he could replace god and write his own rules of behavior. Because he wanted to be worshipped and make the rules, he rebelled against God, falsely believing that He could knock the Almighty off of His throne (Isaiah 14:12-17).
It surprises me that people believe they can reject God’s rules, create their own moral code, and live however they want, then believe God must accept them into heaven to live with Him for eternity when they’ve rebelled against Him their entire lives. They don’t realize that the rules they hate still apply in Heaven, and the people they despise who follow the Lord and attempt to obey His rules will be in Heaven.
In other words, Heaven would be Hell for people who think they’re good and can create their own moral code. And don’t need to listen to some Almighty God telling them what to do.
Satan must’ve been a great speaker as he persuaded a third of the angels to rebel against their Maker.
Similarly, our postmodern Western culture has persuaded many to believe that there is no Almighty Creator and that they can make up their own rules of what good behavior is, what’s right and wrong.
We’re seeing right now how poorly that’s working out as our culture continues to disintegrate and technology increasingly threatens our liberty and freedom to move freely, to think and speak freely, and to protest against corruption and tyranny.
Just as the ancient religious leaders rejected Jesus as a Savior from their sins, sadly, many also do the same today.
But this lesson also applies to Christians in this way:
You can never be good enough through your own works righteousness. You need to remind yourself frequently that Jesus has clothed you with His robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). It’s never about how good you are, but how good He is. Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sins–all of them–because we can never be good enough to please Him. We want to please Him because our spirit is united with Christ through the Holy Spirit, and we now have an undying love for Him (Ephesians 6:24). But thinking we have to be perfect keeps us running on the hamster wheel of works righteousness till we exhaust ourselves emotionally; therefore, physical and spiritual exhaustion follows. He wants us to rejoice in how sweet, kind, and gentle He is.
“For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”–Jesus, Matthew 11:30
Rejoice today in how much Jesus loves you.
It’s not about being perfect, but how much He loves you by wanting to live with you forever. And to hear your prayers. He’s the only friend Who always has time to listen.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Maybe you’re unhappy because you’re trying to be your own god instead of submitting your life to the Lord and trusting in His guidance.
Jesus is omniscient and omnipresent. He sees the future. What seems the right course of action to a person may actually be leading toward disaster. Only God knows where a chosen path will lead.
Jesus died to pay for your sins. He lived a perfect life as a human being so that He could pay for the sins of others, having no sin of His own to be punished for. After His crucifixion, He rose from the dead to prove that He is also God, that He has the power over death.
You don’t have to continue living a life of regret and defeat. But becoming a Christian doesn’t guarantee health and wealth, as false preachers claim, but does set you onto a new path leading away from self-destructive behavior.
A new Christian is like a baby: You’ll crawl, then totter on wobbly legs till you learn to walk steady. I’m encouraging you to give your life to Jesus, because it’s wonderful to be in relationship with God. But I also want you not to get discouraged after doing so. It takes time to learn about God’s love for you and how He works.
Are you ready to make Jesus your Savior from sin and your Lord, the God Who rules your life? If so, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and ask for Your forgiveness. I call on Jesus to be both my Savior and Lord, my moral authority. I give my life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. And teach me how much You love me. I want to learn to trust You. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. You should begin to experience new attitudes and a desire to obey Jesus as you’ve been given a new heart by the power of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. You’re starting to walk a new path in life, so please be patient with yourself as you learn and grow in the knowledge of the Lord.
Please start reading the Bible daily. And join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by legalism or false teaching until you know what the Bible teaches fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
I felt like it had to do with me, not life itself.
At that time we had a limited number of TV channels, and on one of the local channels was the Billy Graham Crusade, live.
I called the number on the screen to speak with one of their counselors, a kind woman, who listened to me, explained who Jesus was, and led me in a prayer of faith.
Shortly after hanging up, I was praying and a spirit swooped into my body near my sternum.
Scared the crud out of me, until the Holy Spirit told me Who He was.
This is one reason I emphasize that becoming saved is more than forgiveness of sin.
It’s also being given new life through the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Christians never told me what becoming born again meant. I’d hear one gal say that her “body was the temple of the Holy Spirit,” so she would keep herself sexually pure.
But no one explained that being saved meant being given new life.
I was taught by the false religion I was raised up in, that the Holy Spirit was just a force in the universe,…
…but not God Himself, the third person of the Trinity.
In any case, I’m so thankful that Jesus never gave up on me.
CS Lewis claimed that God dragged him kicking and screaming into His Kingdom.
Jesus just kept prodding me along till I finally woke up.
I can totally relate to Buddy not wanting to be awakened at 10am this morning. After all, he woke me up at 6:30am to take a walkie and to do his business.
Similarly, one benefit of not being raised in the Christian religion is that I have an understanding of the outsider’s perspective. And I have not had dogma drilled into my mind without questioning it.
Not that the dogma is necessarily incorrect, but when you’re used to hearing something for many years, it’s usual not to mull over it much.
And sometimes we should.
There are two questions that would be very helpful to unbelievers if Christians could answer them.
1. Why did Jesus have to die?
2. Why is Jesus the only way to heaven?
The usual response to number one is: He had to die for your sins because, as God in the flesh, only Jesus could live a perfect, sinless life. Having no sin of His own to die for, He could die for the sins of others.
Great response. But then the unbeliever asks: Why do I need my sins forgiven?
Because God cannot inhabit a dirty vessel!
We require sanctification, to be declared righteous, wiped clean of our sins, for the Holy Spirit to indwell a person as God cannot tolerate sin in His presence:
“Because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”—1 Peter 1:16
The second question has a similar answer: Jesus is the only way to heaven because only Jesus can give a person new life. A person is spiritually dead until they become born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus can give a person new life by resurrecting their dead spirit and freeing their spirit from bondage to sin.
Generally, the Church understands how to get saved, but not what happens when a person gets saved.
A saved human spirit is transformed, crucified with Christ on the Cross andresurrected with Christ.
Not just crucified with Christ.
But also resurrected into eternal life with Christ.
Before becoming born again:
A person sins because they’re a sinner.
A person isn’t a sinner because they sin.
The sin comes out of an unredeemed heart.
The unbeliever is:
“Darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 4:18
In summary, the nonbeliever needs to understand that they are spiritually dead and need to repent of their sins. Eternal life only comes when a person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that He is “God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23),” died for their sins, was crucified on the Cross, and rose bodily from the dead.
Jesus warned the religious leaders in ancient Israel that pride in their good works was blinding them to the truth of their need for a new heart, an internal spiritual transformation:
“You are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”—John 5:40
So dear reader, please be prepared to answer these two questions.
Because it’s a matter of eternal life or death.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Do you have eternal life? You cannot earn God’s favor; it’s impossible to meet His perfect standard of behavior (Matthew 5:48). It’s a gift. You need to ask for it, however, as Jesus won’t force you to accept Him as your Lord. He wants you to voluntarily invite Him into your life.
Are you willing to ask Him now? If so, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sins and want new life. Please forgive me. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please give me your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. And reveal to me how much You love me. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations: You’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it’s your soul food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.
And please join a Bible believing church or Bible study, and get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).
Buddy can rest in the privacy of his cube knowing that he is loved and cared for. When he became my fur pal, it was for life.
I want to return to the prodigal one more time and milk a new point that I haven’t heard from preachers before.
You might be familiar with this parable Jesus told: A father had two sons. The younger son asked for his inheritance early; although such a request was dishonorable in that culture, his father honored the request. The younger son ran off to waste his money on “loose living (vs 13).” After impoverishing himself to the point of near starvation and demeaning, employment, he returned home, expecting to be treated by his father as a hired employee and disowned.
However, the father was so overjoyed that his son repented of his wicked behavior and showed new respect, that he threw his once wayward son a party.
The older son had been laboring away in his father’s field, not living it up; he was building up his father’s estate and his future inheritance. In anger he refused to accept his father’s invitation to the party to celebrate his brother’s return home.
“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours…but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’”—Luke 15:29-30
Get to the point, Dawn! We already know the story!
The older son believed he was more worthy of his father’s love because he worked for it. He believed he had earned his father’s love, but his younger brother hadn’t measured up. This passage is often preached on as a contrast between the legalistic believer who thinks he earns his salvation through good works, verses the person who realizes his salvation is through grace alone and cannot be earned, and that our Heavenly Father loves those with repentant hearts.
But also…
The older brother wasn’t the only one hard at work in the fields. He wasn’t taking care of his father’s estate and property by himself: The father had “hired men (vs 17).”
The older brother was equating his hard work with his worth in his father’s eyes.
But there were other men laboring hard for his father, also.
But the difference in the workers wasn’t how hard they were laboring, but their status in the father’s eyes.
You see, my dear reader, your value in the Heavenly Father’s eyes isn’t dependent on how hard you labor in his field.
You’re valuable to the Father because you’re His child,…
regardless of how you think your work is measuring up compared to those “superior” older brothers.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”—Apostle John, 1 John 3:1
Hope you find this message encouraging.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Maybe you’re unhappy because you’re trying to live life apart from the loving embrace of your Heavenly Father who has rules of living to protect people. After all, He’s the one Who created us and knows the instruction manual.
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.
You can see that Buddy wasn’t feeling cooperative when I asked him to pose with a lightbulb. Since he’s totally dependent on me for his welfare, you’d think he could do this little favor for me.
Nope.
Why is Jesus the only path to eternal life and heaven (John 14:6)?
An easily understood metaphor is to see everyone as a lightbulb.
Lightbulbs exist but are not fully functional until they’re connected to an electrical power source.
They can be in boxes, on a self, and even screwed into a light socket…
But as long as the electrical switch is turned off, or the fuse in the electrical box isn’t functioning properly, then the bulb won’t shine with light.
There’s no power to come to life!
The potential to come to life is present in the bulb, but it needs electricity to shine.
Likewise, every person needs to be plugged into the power of the Holy Spirit to operate properly spiritually.
A person may appear to be plugged into that spiritual socket, attending church or expressing “spirituality” by following some other teacher than Jesus, but there’s no spiritual life flowing through their soul, resurrecting their dead spirit.
After Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority over their lives, every person has been born spiritually dead.
And the Holy Spirit is only sent to indwell a person after they accept Jesus as their Savior, Who died for their sins and was resurrected bodily to give them life.
This spiritual electricity, the Holy Spirit, is free!
You don’t have to pay a power company to provide this spiritual electricity.
But we are all totally dependent on God to give us spiritual rebirth.
You gotta ask for it.
Jesus said:
“If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”—Luke 11:13
Don’t be a dead bulb. Ask Jesus into your life.
And if you’ve already become born again, trust that your heavenly power source, the Holy Spirit, will help you shine.
Bud is admittedly spoiled. Which greatly concerns me as he’s willful and doesn’t like to listen to me. A family member let him slip out the front door this afternoon, so I panicked, knowing that Buddy wouldn’t listen to me call for him to return to the house. However, he was more interested in following me back through the doorway to safety than running away.
If Bud ran off, he’s too quick for me to catch him.
Some people won’t like this post. But if I’m only repeating what’s already posted out there on the internet ad nauseam, then why bother? I could just post links directing people to other material.
Many Christians have memorized Psalm 23; some have even read the excellent book, “A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23” by W. Phillip Keller; and many follow the Shepherd of our souls; but how many “sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:3)” actually trust Him?
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want… He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake.”—King David, Psalm 23:1, 3
Jesus made it clear several times what His attitude toward His flock is.
1. If they wander off, He goes in search of them:
“What do you think? If a man had a 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the 99 and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he souls find it, assuredly, I say to you , he rejoices more over that sheep than over the 99 that did not go astray?”—Matthew 18:12-13
Jesus doesn’t just wave goodbye when one of His children stray away from the faith. He takes action and goes in search of that Christian to return them to the fold.
2. The Good Shepherd leads His sheep in the paths of righteousness for “HIS namesake” (Psalm 23:3).
Jesus takes action to correct His wandering sheep because His reputation is at stake when someone claims to be born again but is willfully, or deceived by Satan, disobeying.
3. Jesus promises that we’re united with Him through the Holy Spirit once we’re born again. As a result, He will never abandon us to evil nor can anyone or anything separate us from Himself.
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”—John 10:27-28, 30
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word (the Apostles); that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me…I in them, and You in Me…”—John 17:20-21, 23
So, if you believe you can lose your salvation, you may not either understand what being born again means and your salvation—or you are trusting in your own works and efforts to maintain your relationship with Him. You are not trusting Him to seek his wandering sheep and return those sheep back into the safety of His flock.
You don’t have temporary life until you die. You are promised eternal life if you are in Christ Jesus (John 3:16, John 10:27).
Apostle Paul strongly admonished the Galatians about this teaching in his letter, Galatians 3:1-3:
“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your eyes Jesus was clearly portrayed as crucified? I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
Christ’s crucifixion put to death all human self effort. You’re either one with Christ or not, trusting in Him or yourself.
So you have a choice, dear brother and sister in Christ: standing on sifting sand or on the rock of Jesus Christ; trusting in Him to keep you—or in your own shifting, unstable efforts and moods (Matthew 7:24-26).
Your salvation is not at stake.
But, rather, your ability to rejoice in your salvation and truly feel grateful for being delivered out of slavery in the kingdom of darkness to becoming a sheep in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:13).
You can exhaust yourself with fear on the hamster wheel of insecurity or…
Dance with joy, little sheep, trusting in His work on the Cross, not your works.
He promises to “never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)”.
So who is your shepherd?
You?
Or Jesus?
***
Please trust in Jesus for your eternal life. Only He can send the Holy Spirit to indwell you and resurrect your dead spirit into eternal life. Other religions can teach you how to behave better, or experts can guide you in self-improvement programs, but only Jesus can give you life (John 5:40).
I spend the time to write these blogs because I waited till I was twenty-eight-years-old to give my life to Jesus. I only regret not doing it sooner. Becoming born again is the most wonderful experience—to know that God is real and loves you—and I want this for you too.
Please, heed my plea and give your heart to Jesus now.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed to any of us.
Repeat the following prayer out loud, if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and for being my own worst enemy. I call on Jesus Christ to be both my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please change my heart and teach me how much You love me. Thanks for hearing my prayer. I ask 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 both your soul food and God’s letter to you. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul.
And join a Bible believing church or Bible study, and get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).
There are other godly ministries out there, 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.
Buddy often expects me to share my meals with him. He has zero concern whether I’m hungry or have enough. I’m happy to share, however, a small amount but must be careful how much protein he eats to protect his aging kidneys.
It can be discouraging to listen to news reports of how increasingly unanchored from reality GenZ seems to be. Truth is just an intellectual concept and there’s no objective reality.
There’s a reason the Scientific Method arose from Christian civilization: Descartes and others believed that a benevolent God would not deceive His creation and that He created an orderly universe with laws that could be discovered.
Sociologists declare that each succeeding generation is increasingly secular and atheist in their beliefs. And many church leaders declare that, because of the imminent return of Jesus Christ, believers can only expect continual cultural decay and worsening spiritual collapse.
However, we can only speculate when Christ is returning. Certainly, although He declared we cannot predict the exact time (Mark 13:32-33), He did state that we can know when it’s near, like the budding green leaves that sprout from wintertime tree limbs (Like 21:29-30), announcing the arrival of springtime.
But the Bible itself describes two instances during which the Jewish people repented and returned to the Lord. The first is the ancient nation’s return to their land after 70 years in exile.
But I’d like to focus on the first return to the Lord.
“For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation which did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”—Psalm 78:5-9
Quite a mouthful, isn’t it?
Now someone stated, not me, that pessimism comes naturally.
It’s easy to become disheartened by this wicked world.
But we have to remember that the world has always been wicked and needs God.
The Book of Exodus details how God performed mighty miracles to deliver the ancient Jewish nation of Israel out of bondage to slavery by performing ten mighty judgments against the Egyptians, yet simultaneously showing favor and preference to the Jewish people. The humbled Pharaoh finally permitted the Jewish people to leave, the Egyptians even showering them with lavish gifts as they scooted out the door.
And when Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued the nation of Israel to force them to return to their former slave status, God drowned the mighty Egyptian army in the Red Sea, while parting the waters to permit Israel to escape.
Yet, despite experiencing mighty miracles of God’s clear favoritism and protection, the nation rebelled and refused to enter the Promised Land, forgetting that the Lord was perfectly capable of performing miracles to defeat their enemies.
So, because the nation refused to obey God and enter the land, He declared:
“The carcasses of you who have murmured against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered…from twenty years old and above.
“Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.
“But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.”—Numbers 14:29-32 (NKJV)
The nation wandered in the desert wilderness for forty years till everyone in the unfaithful generations had died, except for the two leaders who believed Israel could take the land, as they trusted fully in God’s word: Caleb and Joshua.
Even Moses died before the nation could enter the land and the younger leaders, Joshua and Caleb, who replaced him, succeeded in bringing the nation into the Promised Land.
But just consider for a minute: The younger generation had the faith to enter the land, but their rebellious and unbelieving parents and grandparents did not.
Certainly, the faith-filled leadership of these two mighty men made a difference, Joshua and Caleb.
We don’t have to assume that the children and grandchildren of a disbelieving generation will necessarily continue to reject the Lord. Forty years of living in brutal conditions, yet protected by God, turned their hearts toward trusting Him.
As the younger generations wander in the desert of a decaying and lifeless culture, they “may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”—Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 2:26
Particularly during the pandemic and post pandemic, there have been some surprising public conversions of youthful, public figures.
Let’s not give up on the upcoming generations in our nations, but continue to tell them about the love and mercy found only through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So that they don’t have to continue wandering in the desert of sin.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
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“Some wandered in desert wastelands…They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.”—Psalm 107:4-6
If you feel like life isn’t working for you, or feeling hopeless, please don’t despair. The Lord is kind and is willing to transfer you out of the kingdom of darkness and bring you into His kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13) through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
“For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 10:13
God doesn’t play favorites. No matter where you are in life, or whatever you’ve done, God is willing to embrace and transform your life if you’re willing to repent of your sin and acknowledge that He can guide your life more successfully than you can.
If you accept Jesus as your Savior, Who lived a perfect life and died for your sins so that you don’t have to; and that He rose from the dead, proving that He is God and has the right to rule over your life, you can become one of His loved children and be given eternal life.
Are you willing to call on the name of the Lord and be saved? If so, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m tired of wandering in the wilderness and am sorry for my sin. Please forgive me. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. And show me how much You love me. Break the chains of darkness in my life. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily. Just like your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul. The Holy Scriptures are your soul food.
Please, also, join a Bible believing church or Bible study, and get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).
God bless you as you begin your new journey with Jesus.
Meditations About God and Buddy 