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.
When Buddy and I visit my parents, they have to hide the bag of paper slices produced by their paper shredder. When Buddy got upset, he’d head into their den and tear open the bag of shredding, then spread it all over the room. It was cute, watching him “go to town” in the pile of shredded paper—yet quite inconvenient to clean up. Fortunately, there was no permanent damage to anything but the black garbage bags.
We are living in scary times. I’m often realizing that I’m thinking SPOOKY thoughts; I’m imagining conversations that are not real, like transparent ghosts, because I’m fretting over foolish, ungodly, or ignorant attitudes of people I know.
And I imagine discussing with them why these attitudes are wrong.
But what does the Bible say?
“Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”—King David, Psalm 37:8
What I’m engaging in are imaginary thoughts with imaginary people. Just like Buddy playing in the pile of shredded paper, I’m prancing around in shredded thinking. My imaginings are NOT changing anybody’s minds or attitudes, because my conversations are not real. I’m engaged in wishful thinking of what I might have the courage to say and speculating about what the other person might say.
I’m fretting.
And the Bible proclaims that it “only leads to evildoing.”
Firstly, I’m disrupting my thinking which could be focused, instead, on praying or whatever task is at hand. I’m wasting valuable mental energy that could be better engaged elsewhere.
I’m also damaging my body, causing stress reactions in my brain and, particularly, my shoulders and back which begin to clench up, creating soreness.
Secondly, I’m not only sinning against myself, but others.
I’m unintentionally thinking haughtily toward others. I know they’re deceived by the media and our culture. They’re not bad people. But I can treat them arrogantly if I don’t guard my attitudes.
Also, the wrong thinking can create the “simmering teapot” effect, where I can become impatient with others, and perhaps even explode in anger, because my internal pressure is already near the boiling point. Just one or two more degrees of aggravation and off blows the whistle.
So, if you’re struggling like me with spooky thinking, please read Psalm 37. Because David reassures us that evil does not last forever, nor evildoers. At least, not in their earthly existence.
I have to remind myself about Palm 37:8 and that, no matter what happens in this world, God’s got this. Nothing that’s occurring has caught Him by surprise.
“The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”—King David, Psalm 103:19
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Do you want to have confidence that God is with you?
Yes, we cannot see God. The Father is spirit and His Son Jesus, Who came in the flesh (Matthew 1:23) over 2,000 years ago is at the Father’s right hand (Mark 16:19) till it’s time for His return.
But we can see the effect of His presence. Like the wind, we cannot see the Holy Spirit of God Himself, but we witness His impact on our lives and this world.
Jesus changed my life for the better, and I want that same blessing for you.
If you’ve read this far, I believe that the Lord is calling to you. Please accept His invitation to enter His kingdom and into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to “clean up your act” firstly. God knows you cannot meet His perfect standards. Jesus came to earth to take the punishment all our sins deserve. As the only perfect God in human form (John 10:30), He didn’t have to be punished for sin as He had known. So He was qualified to take it for us.
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 8:1
Are you ready to accept Jesus as Lord, Who has the authority to define right and wrong, and as your savior from punishment for your sin?
If so, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sin. Jesus died for me so that I can be forgiven forever and have eternal life. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. And fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Because Jesus was resurrected bodily from the dead, I am able to receive Your resurrection life. I give my life to You. Please help me understand how much You love me. In the marvelous name of Jesus, Your Son, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul; the Bible is your soul food. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand, and reading forward.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to be misled by bad teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well. Sadly, I’m speaking from experience.
God bless you as you begin your journey in life with Jesus as your companion.
I used a bathtub to wash Buddy when I lived in Washington State, but we only have a shower at our current home in Arizona. I haunted the bath shops until I found what I thought was an acceptably sized plastic bin to wash Buddy in. I used it a few times with a jumbo cup to rinse him with.
Then it hit me. The big, forehead slapping moment.
I rushed back to the home and bath shop and purchased a new shower head that included a detachable rinsing hose.*
Made washing Buddy much quicker and easier.
I was so accustomed to washing my dogs in a tub that it didn’t occur to me initially that there were other ways to do it. I was doing it “the same old way” because that’s how I’d always done it.
I’d love to visit the ancient churches in India that were founded by the Apostle Thomas. But have been praying for revival, a return to a reliance on the Biblical Scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As with many religions, the people can begin to rely upon church membership or traditional forms of worship but miss entering into a relationship with the Living God.
I believe this is why many mainline churches grow cold toward God: They begin focusing upon good works and traditional church service performances and leave “their first love” as the risen Christ warned the Ephesian Church in Revelation 2:4.
The Apostle John composed The Revelation of Jesus Christ about 95AD while exiled on the island of Patmos. Since the Christian church was birthed on Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, the likely date being 30AD, it took the Christian Church only 65 years to begin to drift from sole reliance upon the Bible and Holy Spirit into rote practices.
God expressed His concern through the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah:
“Because these people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,…”—Isaiah 29:13
The tendency of people to drift into mindless worship has been a problem for millennia. I’m sure you can think of church denominations who now denounce the authority of Scripture, yet still go through the routine of their traditional church services.
It’s the same problem with legalism: Trying to please God through behavior. Trying to obey the rules never hits the mark.
Because obeying laws or just following routines doesn’t change the human heart. Only faith in Jesus and His work gives spiritual life.
It is “God, Who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist (Romans 4:17).” Following traditions or rules doesn’t make a person born again. Traditions can be followed, as Isaiah stated, without any heart or mind engagement with Jesus. And the Laws of God only show how wicked we are, incapable of obeying God perfectly.
The Pharisees thought they were godly leaders because they followed all the rules of the Old Testament—plus many they added that God didn’t command. But Jesus pointed out that you can outwardly follow the law, looking good, but fall short in your heart attitudes or spirit:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”—Matthew 5:27-28
I’m not speaking about those times when we’re tired and go through the motions, but we still actually “believe,…sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).”
I’m referring to people who think church attendance or being good or going through certain rituals makes them right with God.
ONLY the blood of Jesus brings a person into fellowship with God through faith (John 3:16).
The Apostle Paul emphasized the importance of Biblical Scripture to lead someone to saving faith in Christ:
“The sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God…”—2 Timothy 3:15-16
In summary, it’s okay to have traditions or to do good deeds, but when rote worship or helping people replaces reverencing God and studying His Word, then the Church will become a zombie haven for the living dead—the pews filled with people who claim to be Christians but are devoid of the Holy Spirit of God.
And sometimes I wonder this is why the younger generations are fascinated by zombies, because, subconsciously, they know there’s a lot of spiritually dead people walking around in Western culture nowadays.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
*I was pretty excited to successfully install my first shower head by myself.
***
If you’ve read the above blog post, you now understand that attending church and going through the motions or doing good deeds won’t bring spiritual life to a person. There’s more to serving God or being a Christian. These aren’t bad things, but only faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross can give you the “abundant life (John 10:10).”
Apostle Paul explained to the Romans (10:8-9):
“(That is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Confessing Jesus as Lord means that He is your moral authority and has the right to define right from wrong. And is the Boss, your Creator.
Believing that Jesus was raised from the dead, means that you accept He paid the price for your sins on the Cross and was raised from the dead, proving that He is God. And has the power to give you eternal life.
Before I became a Christian, no one explained to me what being “born again” meant. When you give your life to God, He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell you, to be your life, guide and helper.
If you’re ready to join God’s eternal family, please repeat the below prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I call on Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I believe Jesus died for my sins and was raised from the dead. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me*. In the mighty name of Your Son Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding. The Scriptures are your soul 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 understand.
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) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled by legalism or false teaching until you don’t know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
*I believe a person learns to love others the more they understand how much God loves them.
Once again, life has proven that a person cannot predict what a day will bring. I was walking Buddy Thanksgiving morning in the nearby green belt as we’ve done many times. But, apparently, two visiting dogs escaped from one of the townhomes. The chow was not aggressive, but for some reason the standard poodle was determined to harm Buddy.
The poodle ran half a block and snapped at Buddy, injuring his back right side as I lifted him up into the air. Buddy struggled and I feared he’d hurt his long back. The poodle ignored me but kept jumping upward to attack my pal. I love dogs and didn’t want to hurt it, so I kept kicking it flat footed against its chest. But it would not back off.
The poodle was tall. Neighbors heard my screaming and invited me into their home to wait till the aggressive dog left the green belt. It was quite a challenge to keep Buddy out of reach as I ran into the home. A few minutes later, it appeared that it was safe to leave. I thanked Maria and her mother.
It wasn’t safe.
The poodle saw us leave and scampered back to attack. I ran between two homes and placed Buddy onto a fairly tall HVAC condenser, while yelling and kicking the aggressive dog away. A resident of one of the homes came outside, saw what was happening, and began picking up rocks and throwing them at the dog. The poodle finally ran off. Fortunately, I was only about a hundred yards from my parent’s home and was able to get us both to safety.
With my heart pounding loudly in my chest.
The attack was unprovoked. Yet that poodle was determined to harm Buddy.
The next day I was able to get Buddy to his vet who cleaned the wound, shaved the fur away and prescribed antibiotics. Although my mother used hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound and neosporin to prevent infection, I was concerned that his fur would cause an infection. I didn’t sleep well that night!
After calming down a few hours later, I realized that I’d been singing and praising Jesus out loud and giving thanks just before the attack. The dog’s persistent aggression certainly ended my praise.
Was it a coincidence or an attempt by Satan to silence my praise? I cannot say definitively as the spiritual world is invisible.
Many born again Christians I know has at some point told me a story about a demonic attack against them. Mostly the encounters are unseen, but, occasionally the victim has seen an entity.
Now, my desire is not to frighten anyone. I just want to arm you with a few strategies in case you have an encounter.
My number one warning is: NEVER think you’re an expert in spiritual warfare. And be suspicious of anyone who claims to be an expert. The demonic has been around for thousands of years and has far more intelligence and experience than you’ll ever have. They are deceitful spirits (1 Timothy 4:1) and have had plenty of practice at it.
My number two warning—and this is very important—is never stray from God’s word in spiritual warfare. Do not go by someone’s experience but by what God’s word says. Any deviation can get you into trouble.
And, thirdly, you must be a true Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The seven sons of the Jewish chief priest Sceva were severely attacked by one man possessed by one evil spirit (Acts 19:11-17) because they tried exercising spiritual authority which they did not rightfully have.
Now, between screams I prayed for God to help and protect Buddy. He normally uses people (as does the devil) to accomplish His will. I truly believe that those two neighbors were God’s way of helping us.
But the type of attack I’d like to address in this blog is that spirit of oppression, which often feels like you’ve suddenly been draped with, or encapsulated by, a suffocating presence. You have trouble thinking, or speaking or moving. Often this may occur after you turn out the lights and attempt to sleep. Why darkness matters, I don’t know.
I don’t claim to be an expert!
If you cannot speak, you must at least pray to Jesus in your mind and ask for help and His deliverance. Once you can speak any words at all, cry out to Jesus, even if just to say His name. For it’s only in the name of Jesus that “every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).” Only the name of Jesus is given “the name which is above every other name (Philippians 2:9).”
Once you’ve cried out in the name of Jesus, keep crying out till the oppression eases. Then take authority by saying, humbly, “In the name of Jesus, and covered by His blood, I command you to leave.”
ALWAYS do so in the name of Jesus and under His blood covering. Not to do so is to be presumptuous, that you have the power over evil. You don’t; it’s given to you by God alone. Only in the name of Jesus must every power bow down.
Jesus wants you to know: “the exceeding greatness of His power toward those who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,”—Apostle Paul, Ephesians 1:19-22
Then begin singing praises to God. Evil hates hearing Jesus, our Lord, thanked and praised. He wants us to blaspheme and curse God (Psalm 139:20).
I also suggest turning on the light and keep praying and praising God till you’re certain you’re delivered.
Those are your weapons of warfare: prayer and praise and the blood of Jesus (Revelation 12:11).
As Jesus said in Luke 10:19-20: “I have given you authority…over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Two further caveats: “Trouble will come to him who seeks evil (Proverbs 11:27).” I highly advise not seeking out spiritual warfare opportunities and don’t watch ghost hunting shows. And stay away from witchcraft and fortune telling and all forms of the occult (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). Stay out of the devil’s domain. If you’ve been involved in these activities, ask God to forgive you and turn away from them. As my Pastor, Jon Bjorgaard, says, “God has Satan on a leash; so stay out of the devil’s reach.”
Secondly, repent from known sin. But, please, don’t be paranoid about it. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” Nobody is perfect. We all have sin to confess and faults we struggle with to overcome. But if you’re engaging in sexually immoral behavior, for instance, don’t count on Jesus to protect you. He may, because He’s kind and loves all of His children, but don’t presume upon His assistance. He may choose to withhold help till you repent of something you know He’s been telling you to repent from but are refusing to do so.
This is definitely not the topic I was planning to blog about tonight, but the unprovoked aggression against Buddy got me thinking about how evil can suddenly attack without warning.
So be ready. Use God’s weapons.
“You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.”—Psalm 115:11
Hope this is helpful.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
If you are not born again, which means you’re indwelt by God’s Spirit, you don’t have authority over evil spirits. They may trick you into thinking you do—through casting spells or giving peace offerings—but you don’t. They will cooperate in any way to keep you from seeking Jesus and His protection.
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”—Apostle Paul, Romans 10:9
You see, everyone is born spiritually dead, devoid of the Holy Spirit of God, because our first ancestors rejected God as their moral authority. When you confess Jesus as Lord, you’re reversing that first rebellion against God, by asking Him to be your moral authority and your Lord. You’re asking Him to deliver you “from the kingdom of darkness and translate you into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).” In other words, you’re confessing that God is the boss, not you.
If you’re ready to invite Jesus into your life, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please forgive all my sin. I invite the Holy Spirit into my life and give my life to You. Help me to repent and free me of those sins I struggle with. Thank you for my new heart. In the powerful name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible, as it’s your spiritual food. Just as your body needs daily nourishment, so does your soul. I suggest starting with the Book of Luke as it begins with the Christmas story.
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) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org. There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled by legalism or false teaching till you know the Bible well enough.
God bless you. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
You’ve probably guessed by now that I adore my Silky terrier, Buddy. We’ve been together for over eleven years now. Sometimes he acts like a little devil, but I still love him. He’s my best pal—after the Lord.
Whether Buddy acts like a sweet angel or little rascal, he still has a place in my heart. However, I warned last week that it’s critical to test the spirits. Satan is a liar (John 8:44) and a deceiver, he “disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)”.
Apostle John warned believers in Christ to be on their guard regarding supernatural beings in 1 John 4:1-3 (NASB):
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
The Apostle John made several important points:
1. Spirits are real—the supernatural is real.
2. There are good spirits and bad spirits.
2. Don’t believe every spirit.
3. Some spirits serve the omnipotent and loving God (angels) and some do not (demons/Satan).
4. These supernatural beings can influence us.
5. Therefore, test the spirits to determine if they should be listened to or not.
6. The Holy Spirit and angels will testify that Jesus came to earth in the flesh: “Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23)”. Demons will deny that God came to dwell amongst us; (Gnosticism is an example). Jesus is not an angel, or an enlightened being, or merely a good teacher. He is God (Luke 9:20, John 1:1-3, John 5:18, John 9:38, John 11:27, Colossians 1:19, many etceteras).
7. Deceiving spirits will deny Jesus.
8. False prophets will deny Jesus. Don’t believe everything someone says, just because they claim to be a Christian.
9. These falsehood teachings exist now.
Additionally:
1. Satan and anyone influenced by him will deny the truth of God’s Word (Genesis 3:1). They will teach that the Bible is not true, or just some parts are true and some don’t apply in today’s culture—you can pick and choose your own buffet style Christianity. Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 3:16) and Apostle Peter (2 Peter 1:20-21) advised that all of Scripture was inspired by God and beneficial for our lives.
2. You can disobey God with no consequence—not true. You reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8), are disciplined by God as a Christian if you refuse to repent (Hebrews 12:5-11), or suffer in Hell if you die in unbelief (Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:13-15). God’s rules are for our benefit and protection, not to harm or restrict us.
3. They will hate God’s people—Jewish and Christian (1 John 4:19-21). “God is love (1 John 4:8)” and teaches us how to love others. Anyone who claims to be a Christian but hates those who believe in the Bible—and Jesus—are deceived or deceivers.
4. Deny that they sin or are sinners (1 John 1:8). Any philosophy that denies the sin nature of humanity is a false teaching and leads to bad outcomes for an individual, relationship, culture and society.
My born-again experience (see blog post dated 10/21/21) passed the test. Not being raised Christian, I was surprised when Holy Spirit rushed into my body after giving my life to Jesus. He reassured me Who He was, so that I wouldn’t be frightened to death. He told me three things:
1. The Bible is true;
2. Anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus is lost;
3. And, although He knew every sin I’d ever committed, He still loved me very much.
So that is why I take the time to write these blogs, because I know without a doubt that God is real, loves us and Jesus came to deliver us from evil. I want you to have abundant, and eternal, life too.
And one final warning: Please take this to heart. The Bible never advises us to seek angelic encounters or to pray to angels. Every angelic encounter in the Bible was initiated by God. There is a good reason for that: Because, as stated above, Satan and his followers will try to deceive you. Jesus has “all authority…in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)”. Jesus is our only “mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5,” John 14:6). Pray to God in the name of Jesus only (John 14:13-14). Jesus is all you need.
God bless you.
Love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Satan led humanity into rebellion against God’s authority in our lives. Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) and to bring us back into relationship with the Lord. Adam and Eve wanted to determine for themselves what is right and wrong, not listen to God. As a result of being rejected, the Holy Spirit left the human race so that we are all born incomplete: born just body and soul, instead of as a triune being.
So we all sense an inner emptiness, which we try to fill in our own unique way: with drugs, food, alcohol, pleasure, distraction, relationships, shopping, sex, knowledge, etc. But we never get enough of whatever that filler is, because that hole can only be filled with God’s Spirit.
If you’d like to become whole, accepting God’s authority and presence in your life, please pray the following:
Dear Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus came in the flesh, is the Lord and died for my sins. Please forgive my sins because Jesus already paid the price for me at His death on the Cross. I give my life to you. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I invite the Holy Spirit into my life. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus’ might name, Amen.
If you prayed with sincerity, congratulations, you are born-again. You’ll become aware of the presence of God in your life. (Remember to test the spirits. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the clear teachings of the Bible.)
Like your body needs food daily to function properly, your soul needs soul food—The Bible. Please begin reading it daily. I suggest starting with Matthew as it’s easiest to understand. Some also suggest the book of John, firstly, as it focuses on God’s love for us.
And find a Bible-based church or Bible study to fellowship with other believers and to be strengthened in your faith. You have joined the family of God; families gather together. If that’s not possible right now, these are my three favorite ministries, which also have apps if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org, http://www.InTouch.org and http://www.BasicGospel.net.
God bless you. Buddy and I will see you in heaven.
This story starts with another dog, far different in character than my beloved Buddy.
My mother and I traveled to the UK and split our stay in the city of Liverpool, spending one night before moving on to a private tour of Wales and Chester the following morning. Then returning for another two nights at another hotel, due to cost, to explore the hometown of the Beatles and the port that my great grandpa traveled to the New World from.
Though we enjoyed visiting the lovely city and its friendly citizens, we will never return, due to the frightening experiences we had at both hotels.
In the middle of the night at a remodeled brick hotel, sleeping in a loft room, I awoke to a suffocating presence. The air seemed oppressive, as if it thickened somehow, making it difficult to breathe. I sensed the strong presence of a Bull Mastiff sized black dog, sitting between my and my mother’s twin beds. Recognizing it as a demonic presence, I earnestly began praying and praising God, being particular to mention the most powerful name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God in the flesh Who defeated sin and death for us.
Do you believe me? You see, I feared waking my slumbering mother, so I prayed in hoarse whispers. I continued praying until I sensed that the presence had left, which seemed an eternity but was likely about twenty minutes.
The next morning, I discovered that my mother had also been awakened and was praying quietly, trying not to wake me. She also sensed the presence of a large, black dog sitting between our beds.
We also had a bad supernatural experience at the other hotel: We both sensed/saw a dragon like figure.
Neither presence exuded the loving presence of God, Who is love (1 John 4:8).
Why we had these experiences, I cannot say. Only that we’ve been to the United Kingdom twice, visited several cities, yet only had these negative experiences in Liverpool.
How do I know that these spirits were not from God?
I was not raised in the Christian faith. And the Christians who witnessed to me during my college years never explained to me what being born-again meant. Nor was it explained that those without Jesus are spiritually dead. I didn’t understand why I felt so empty inside and incomplete.
So it was a total shock when, after I gave my life to Christ through talking to a volunteer with the Billy Graham organization, the Holy Spirit swooped into my body. Being kind, God immediately reassured me Who He was. I was filled with the amazing sense of God’s presence, of love that is indescribable.
I had a “born-again” experience.
Which was totally unanticipated. And could not, therefore, have just been a product of my imagination as I had zero knowledge this would occur.
I became a new creation through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Now I had read through the Bible a few times, but a lot did not click or make sense. Yet, after becoming born-again, I became aware that there are many passages in the Bible that declare that a true Christian had the life of Christ within themselves:
“We know by this that He (God) abides in us, by the Spirit He has given us.”—Apostle John, 1 John 3:24
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,”—Apostle Paul, Galatians 2:20
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”—Apostle Paul, Colossians 1:27
“Guard, through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us,”—Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 1:14
Next post I’ll explain more about testing the spirits to discern if it’s from God (1 John 4:1) or Satan, masquerading as “an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
But can I leave you with this advice: Don’t listen to the atheists. They are dead wrong about the supernatural. It’s real.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
What I didn’t understand as a nonbeliever is that every person is born spiritually dead. Because our ancestors (Adam and Eve) rejected God’s authority to tell them right from wrong, the Holy Spirit left the human race. All of their descendants were, thereafter, born incomplete. Made in the image of God, we were intended to be triune beings: flesh, mind/soul and Spirit of God. If you sense that there is an inner emptiness that cannot be filled, you are correct. No amount of pleasure, drugs, sex, food, possessions, or money can ever fill this empty space in your soul: only the life of Jesus can.
If you’re ready to give your life to God and become born-again, please repeat the below prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Lead me, guide me and teach me to discern right and wrong. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. N the mighty name of Jesus I pray, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations: You are a born-again child of God. You may have a dramatic experience of the Holy Spirit or come to a gradual awareness of His presence within you.
As your body needs food daily to be healthy, your soul needs daily feeding through the Word of God. Please begin reading the Bible. I recommend starting with the New Testament book of Matthew as it’s easy to understand.
Meditations About God and Buddy 