Buddy’s veterinarian has nicknamed Buddy “The Energizer Bunny” because he’s quickly adapted to being lame. In the photo above he’s acquired a stance that stabilizes him while eating.
Despite the critics, I have found Pastor Norman Vincent Peale’s books very helpful and inspirational. When I ran Cross Country in high school, a teammate gave me a copy of his book, “You Can If You Think You Can.” I wasn’t raised in a Christian religion, so the book was not only the first Christian book I’ve ever read, but was also the first book that presented Jesus, and God, in a friendly light.
But I believe his broadly applied application of Philippians 4:13 is not quite correct.
“I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”
I can repeat this verse out loud as my own personal mantra, but in my heart of hearts, I know that not only I cannot do all things, but God hasn’t designed me to do all things.
I not only have limitations, but God has created me with certain skills and heart desires to guide me in a particular direction. And no one person can do all things. The Church praises the superstars, but most Christians are part of a group accomplishing great things for Christ.
I think Pastor Andrew Farley has the correct interpretation, based upon verse 12, preceding the oft quoted verse 13:
“I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”
Pastor Farley says verse 13 is not about being enabled by God to accomplish a particular goal, but is about God walking alongside us to face every circumstance of life.
The Bible has multiple verses about our Great Shepherd leading and guiding us, the most famous being Psalm 23:4:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”
When interpreted correctly, Philippians takes the pressure off of me that God has the expectation that I can be a Super Christian and accomplish spectacular results with Christ’s help.
It’s freeing to realize that Christ actually promises to help be through whatever circumstances this life throws at me.
And as we know, “The truth sets you free (John 8:32).”
I think this takes the stress off our shoulders to accomplish spectacular deeds or achievements, and reassures us of God’s attention to survive or thrive during our sojourn here.
Hope this helps you as it did me.
God bless.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
The best thing that’s ever happened to me was to give my life to Jesus, to accept Him as Lord—God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23)—and Savior: Who died for all our sins.
Won’t you please give your heart to Jesus now? And experience the joy of knowing that the God of the Bible is real?
If so, please repeat the below, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to forgive my sin and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I’m sorry for my sin and want new life in Jesus. I ask Jesus to be both my Lord and Savior. Please give me Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
If you’ve prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible as it’s your soul food and the main way God speaks to you. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew 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) or http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message).
God bless you as you start your new walk with Jesus. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
Buddy has been my fur pal for over thirteen years now. I almost always know what each unique look communicates, even when Buddy is not making any sound to emphasize his point.
I grind my own beans since I have the time to do so. I dipped some fresh grounds into the paper sleeve of my coffee machine Monday afternoon but still had some residual left in the grinder. I swiped my fingers around the inside and tipped the machine over the coffee filter, but didn’t hear anything. Did the grounds drop into the filter?*
I looked inside the grinder and the grounds were gone, so apparently they dropped into the filter but I didn’t hear anything.
God doesn’t usually shout that He exists. The Apostle Paul said everyone is without an excuse not to believe there’s a God, because everyone can see the evidence of a Grand Designer in nature (Romans 1:20).
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.…There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.”—King David of ancient Israel, Psalm 19:1, 3
When I’ve recently read about how complex the human heart is or how many functions the liver performs, it shocks me that there’s still people in our modern world who deny God’s existence.
After our first Silky terrier, Buster, died, my life was devoid of a pet dog for 1.5 years. He passed away while lying next to me on my bed. I wept till I could cry no more, although his incipient death from kidney failure was not unexpected.
But my life felt empty without a furry welcome of rejoicing when I entered my house. As many say, “A house without a dog is not a home.”
Buddy isn’t my whole life—Jesus is.
But Buddy makes my life whole.
Just as the Holy Spirit of God awakens my dead spirit and fills that emptiness in my soul, Buddy fills an empty place in my life.
When I didn’t believe that Jesus is God Who was manifested in the flesh (Matthew 1:23), Christians tried to explain the gospel to me, but they made it too complex. As a result, after being saved, I’ve often considered how to make the truth easier for nonbelievers to grasp.
Here is one summary of “What Life Is All About”:
Choosing the god you will spend eternity with after you take your last breath.
There is enough heaven on earth to reveal that a powerful and creative God exists Who loves beauty and variety.
And enough hell to reveal that there is an evil force in the universe who delights in death, destruction, horror and trouble.
The Apostle Paul explained his mission given to him by the resurrected Jesus when he stood before King Agrippa as a prisoner making a defense for his freedom:
To open the blind eyes of nonbelievers by declaring the truth about who Jesus is, “so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”—Acts 26:18
Every day every single person makes a choice: Choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and spend eternity with Him.
Or choose to reject Jesus as your God and remain spiritually dead, in bondage to Satan’s will—and spend eternity in Hell with the enemy of your soul.
Psalm 139:16 declares that we have an appointed day to die when God creates us. Of course, we don’t know the exact timing, even when seriously ill. Only God knows.
I’m hoping, dear reader, you’ve made the right choice and will go to Heaven, spending eternity with the Lord Who loves you and loved ones who are awaiting your arrival…
Including your fur pals.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
I’m hoping that my blog posts are helpful, either helping Christians clarify the gospel in their own minds, or will help someone give their life to the Lord. If just one person comes to the Lord because a reader has been able to lead someone to Christ because of my blog, or a reader gives their life to Jesus, then these years of posting have not been fruitless.
Or if it’s encouraged my fellow saints to hang in there.
Love you all.
Dawn
***
So, dear reader, have you chosen Heaven as your eternal destination? If you haven’t given your life to Christ yet, don’t believe Satan’s lies that you’ll lose your freedom if you do. The devil wants you to remain enslaved to his will and purposes for this world.
But with Jesus:
“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”—John 8:36
You may not feel like you’re in bondage, but when you are alone and quiet, you likely sense an emptiness in your soul. It’s because you’re incomplete until the Spirit of Christ resurrects your spirit and frees you from slavery to the world, the flesh, and the devil (James 3:15).
Are you willing to choose to spend eternity with Jesus as your Lord and God? You don’t need to clean up your act first, as it’s impossible to meet His standard of perfect behavior. You need to humble yourself by admitting your need for His life and guidance, a willingness to admit that you’re a sinner. If you’re willing, please pray the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to go to heaven. Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and grant me resurrection life. I want to live for You. Please teach me how much You love me. And please replace the lies I’m believing with the truth. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul. The biblical scriptures are soul food.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. And get baptized. Please ask Jesus to lead you to the right place.
If that’s not possible right now, I recommend these two Christian ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled or fall into legalism if you don’t know the Bible fairly well.
Buddy’s nearly 16 years old, so his kidneys are starting to weaken. An ER veterinarian recommended the probiotic supplement, Azodyl, to bring down his BUN and creatinine levels. I’ll find out if the treatment is effective when he has his next yearly checkup.
Fortunately, the supplements are small. But Buddy is clever. I cannot say the word “pill” as he knows what that means. I attempt to trick Buddy into eating the three pills a day by hiding them in shredded chicken bites.
Still, he often discovers the deception and spits them out.
About a decade ago, most of us wouldn’t know what “fact checkers“ referred to. We trusted that the news and information we received from so-called trustworthy sources were accurate.
If not, free debate and public discourse would reveal the error.
But, nowadays, too many people and, unfortunately including Christians, rely upon “fact checkers,” rather than open discourse, to verify the truth of news, information or other statements.
Here’s what deeply disturbs me: Too many people and, again sadly Christians, rely upon these self-proclaimed fact checkers to be truthful—which are nearly aways ANONYMOUS.
At least in a newspaper there is a byline identifying the article writer. But most fact checkers don’t identify the source so that the moral worldview of the writer can be researched. Or who is funding the fact checkers or own the fact checking resource.
In other words, too many Christians are accepting as fact information that may be filtered through a deceptive and ungodly worldview.
Before you accept a source as fact, please identify the specific person WHO is providing the information and research if they believe they are accountable to God for being truthful, rather than deceitful, and aren’t deliberately misleading to promote an unholy worldview.
Too many people don’t have a Christian background and have been taught “situational morality” in the public schools; in other words, the ends justify the means. If that means skewing the information or withholding the truth, it’s justifiable in their worldview to promote a particular behavior or action.
“Now He spoke a parable to them, ‘A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?’”—Jesus, Luke 6:39
Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”—John 8:12
Will you learn the truth by following blind guides?
Or by obtaining your information from those striving to walk in the light?
The Apostle Paul praised the Berean church for fact checking his claims by turning to the Scriptures to verify whether he was proclaiming the truth or not. (Acts 17:11).
Follow in the footsteps of the Bereans by testing the source. Don’t trust anonymous sources of information.
You might be believing disinformation.
Or spreading slander, which God hates (Roman’s 1:30).
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Are you following Jesus today? Or attend you wandering in the darkness?
Jesus dispels the emptiness in your soul by filling your spirit with His light.
“In Him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men.”—Apostle John, John 1:4
The human race was made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27)—body, soul, and spirit—but when our ancestors rejected God’s moral authority, the Holy Spirit abandoned humanity, and our spirits died.
Jesus is the only way to resurrect your dead spirit (John 14:6), so that you feel alive deep inside.
Are you ready to accept Jesus as your Lord with the right to help you discern right from wrong? To guide you along the path of life (Psalm 32:8)?
If so, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin. Please forgive my sin. Because Jesus died on the Cross for my sin and was raised bodily from the dead, I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please give me Your Holy Spirit and grant me eternal life. I want to live for You. Teach me about your love for me and others. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it feeds your soul. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand, and read forward.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. You need the companionship of other Christians to grow in your faith and to resist the pull of our unholy culture. 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 false teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well.
Buddy’s nearly 16 years old, so his kidneys are starting to weaken. An ER veterinarian recommended the probiotic supplement, Azodyl, to bring down his BUN and creatinine levels. I’ll find out if the treatment is effective when he has his next yearly checkup.
Fortunately, the supplements are small. But Buddy is clever. I cannot say the word “pill” as he knows what that means. I attempt to trick Buddy into eating the three pills a day by hiding them in shredded chicken bites.
Still, he often discovers the deception and spits them out.
About a decade ago, most of us wouldn’t know what “fact checkers“ referred to. We trusted that the news and information we received from so-called trustworthy sources were accurate.
If not, free debate and public discourse would reveal the error.
But, nowadays, too many people and, unfortunately including Christians, rely upon “fact checkers,” rather than open discourse, to verify the truth of news, information or other statements.
Here’s what deeply disturbs me: Too many people and, again sadly Christians, rely upon these self-proclaimed fact checkers to be truthful—which are nearly aways ANONYMOUS.
At least in a newspaper there is a byline identifying the article writer. But most fact checkers don’t identify the source so that the moral worldview of the writer can be researched. Or who is funding the fact checkers or own the fact checking resource.
In other words, too many Christians are accepting as fact information that may be filtered through a deceptive and ungodly worldview.
Before you accept a source as fact, please identify the specific person WHO is providing the information and research if they believe they are accountable to God for being truthful, rather than deceitful, and aren’t deliberately misleading to promote an unholy worldview.
Too many people don’t have a Christian background and have been taught “situational morality” in the public schools; in other words, the ends justify the means. If that means skewing the information or withholding the truth, it’s justifiable in their worldview to promote a particular behavior or action.
“Now He spoke a parable to them, ‘A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?’”—Jesus, Luke 6:39
Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”—John 8:12
Will you learn the truth by following blind guides?
Or by obtaining your information from those striving to walk in the light?
The Apostle Paul praised the Berean church for fact checking his claims by turning to the Scriptures to verify whether he was proclaiming the truth or not. (Acts 17:11).
Follow in the footsteps of the Bereans by testing the source. Don’t trust anonymous sources of information.
You might be believing disinformation.
Or spreading slander, which God hates (Roman’s 1:30).
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Are you following Jesus today? Or attend you wandering in the darkness?
Jesus dispels the emptiness in your soul by filling your spirit with His light.
“In Him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men.”—Apostle John, John 1:4
The human race was made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27)—body, soul, and spirit—but when our ancestors rejected God’s moral authority, the Holy Spirit abandoned humanity, and our spirits died.
Jesus is the only way to resurrect your dead spirit (John 14:6), so that you feel alive deep inside.
Are you ready to accept Jesus as your Lord with the right to help you discern right from wrong? To guide you along the path of life (Psalm 32:8)?
If so, please repeat the following prayer, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin. Please forgive my sin. Because Jesus died on the Cross for my sin and was raised bodily from the dead, I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please give me Your Holy Spirit and grant me eternal life. I want to live for You. Teach me about your love for me and others. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
If you prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible daily as it feeds your soul. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand, and read forward.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. You need the companionship of other Christians to grow in your faith and to resist the pull of our unholy culture. 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 false teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well.
When you’re dealing with the elderly, whether dog or human, it can be frustrating as their hearing is diminished. Often I believe I’m being listened to—but I’m not. When I call Buddy’s name, if he sits up or looks toward me, then I know he’s heard me. I request that my parents acknowledge they heard me, because, too frequently they didn’t hear me speaking or were distracted and, therefore, didn’t listen.
A leader in my church has often complained about the bias in our modern day news media. But when we were growing up, newscasters and journalists, even if they weren’t Christians, were still greatly influenced by Christian culture. Deliberately lying or misleading others was frowned upon. And although it’s impossible to avoid all bias, because even selecting which news is important enough to discuss within a half hour newscast or included within the allotted pages of a newspaper, there generally was a desire to strive for objectivity.
I recall when “The Seattle Weekly” ran a special issue on abortion. Planned Parenthood presented their position and then their views were counterbalanced by an equally lengthy article by Feminists Against Abortion. The reader was trusted to form their own opinion after absorbing the information from both articles. (I recall the issue clearly because of its impact on me.)
Freedom of Speech is one of the foundational principles undergirding the United States. Our forefathers believed that in open debate, when both sides are given an opportunity to present their viewpoint, the truth emerges through the clash of ideas.
But, I’m supposing here, that with the very nature and idea of truth being questioned in Western Post Christian culture, how a person uniquely perceives the world is now “their truth”. And, it’s therefore valid to push an agenda for “the good of others” based upon their definition of truth.
That’s why it’s critically important to distinguish which voices are speaking from a godly point of view—and which are not.
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no god.’”—Psalm 53:1
When you listen to a newscaster, read or listen to an opinion piece, or news or magazine article, please ask yourself: Is this coming from a person who believes in the existence of objective truth? And, of utmost importance, is this information originating from a source that believes in THE TRUTH, Jesus Christ?
“Jesus said to him (Thomas), ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”—John 14:6
Although he knew Jesus was innocent of any crime deserving death, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to the horrendous punishment of crucifixion. Jesus claimed to be the voice of truth. But Pilate, apparently steeped in the humanistic teachings of Greek philosophy, asked “What is truth? (John 18:38)” Pilate listened to the voice of the populace and the Roman government, not what he knew was the right thing to do.
Regardless of how highly we regard a person, they’re either living under the influence of the Lord—or the enemy of our soul, the “liar (John 8:44).”
Psalm 53 continues to elaborate on the character of the soul that denies the existence of the Lord:
“They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good…Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;”—Psalm 53:2-3
The Book of Proverbs issues multiple warnings against following in the path of, listening to, or associating with, fools:
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”—Proverbs 16:25
“With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,”—Proverbs 11:9
“With the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.”—Proverbs 10:14
“The heart of fools proclaims folly.”—Proverbs 12:23
Now I’m not saying that nonbelievers are always maliciously misleading people. They can sincerely strive to try to be good and to do right, but we believers know how God feels about that:
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.”—Isaiah 64:6
As Proverbs 16:25 above states, you can be sincere but sincerely wrong. The information, or path, the nonbeliever advocates may seem right to them, but any actions not based upon God’s wisdom (the Bible) is leading them—and anyone who follows—down the wrong path.
What I’m advocating is:
Be aware the belief system of the person you’re listening to.
Obtain news and opinions from people who love Jesus and believe in the truth. Or Jewish people who honor the Old Testament teachings.
If the information source is from a nonbiblical perspective, be aware of that. Science, itself, is mere data, but humans interpret that data through the prism of their belief system.
I, personally, enjoy reading books about the importance and influence of storytelling from a Liberal nonbeliever. Her work highlights, for me, the reason why Jesus conveyed so much of His moral teachings through parables. And her books discuss the latest brain science on how the brain retains information and is influenced. But I’m also paying attention to when, and how, she’s expressing her personal beliefs and not just blindly accepting every statement as fact.
God promises to instruct us, counsel us, and teach us in the way we should go in Psalm 32:8. And Jesus claimed that His “sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me,” in John 10:27. So we don’t need to ask God to lead us or speak to us, because He’s promised to do so. I acknowledge by faith what He’s already promised to do. But I ask Him to enable me to listen and the grace to obey, at least try to, daily.
So the bottom line is: Do you want to listen to fools?
Or to those, though still imperfect, are influenced by Jesus and believe truth exists?
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy.
“Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”—Jesus, Matthew 15:14, equating spiritual blindness to walking physically blind in the world
***
Life is difficult to navigate. But even more difficult without God’s guidance. God is often described in the Bible as our refuge, someone we can turn to for comfort and a listening ear in distress.
But if you are separated from a perfectly holy God Who cannot tolerate even the teeniest sin in His presence, you cannot find comfort in His presence. Only conviction of your moral imperfection.
But here’s the real GOOD NEWS: God knows we’re incapable of cleaning up our act. Even our good deeds fail to meet His standards, but He loves us so much that He found a way to reconcile sinful people to Himself. He punished His son Jesus on the Cross for all the sins of humanity, instead of punishing us. Jesus died “once for all (Hebrews 10:1-23).”
Jesus paid the price for your sin. Because there’s no way you can meet the standard of perfection God demands to stand in His presence (Matthew 5:48).
A now deceased pastor described our salvation as a gift that God has placed into everyone’s bank account, but not everyone goes into the bank and asks the desk clerk to give them their deposit: eternal life. Every person has to ask God for that gift.
How do you claim your spiritual deposit? By accepting Jesus as both Lord and God Who has the right to determine what’s right and wrong. You must accept His authority and His path to eternal life: confess your sin and need for Christ. You can never be perfect enough to earn God’s love, but you don’t need to: just ask for his free gift of salvation.
Are you ready to leave the land of spiritual blindness and become truly awake?
If so, please repeat the following, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin and willfully living my life apart from Your guidance. Please forgive my sins. I call on Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I believe He died for my sins and was resurrected bodily from the grace on the third day to give me eternal life. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Please teach me how much You love me and grant that I grow in my faith. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In the mighty name of the Lord 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 and reading forward, as it’s easy to understand.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. If that’s not possible right now, I suggest these two ministries, which also have apps, if that’s your preference: http://www.LTW.org (Leading The Way) and http://www.AndrewFarley.org (The Grace Message). There are other godly ministries, but it’s easy to get misled by false teaching or legalism till you know the Bible fairly well.
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.
I suppose, as a result of being abused before I adopted him, Buddy excels in picking up visual cues. He knows that a suitcase means someone in his family is leaving for a time. In his doggie world, that is NOT permitted.
The modern church emphasizes the love and mercy of God. But King Solomon, the likely author of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, warns in verses 12:13-14 that there are consequences to rejecting God’s love.:
“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.”
The modern Church neglects to warn people that there is a consequence to rejecting Jesus as their Lord. When was the last time you heard a sermon about Hell? In fact, my autocorrect changes hell to he’ll; even software designed by people rejects the reality of hell. People go about their daily lives, totally neglecting the multitude of clues nature demonstrates that God the Creator exists.
Proverbs, mostly a collection of this same King Solomon’s wisdom, also warns that nothing escapes God’s notice in Proverbs 15:3:
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”
The saddest news is that no one has to go to hell as the Apostle Peter said in his second letter, 2 Peter 3:9, God desires that: none “should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Why would anyone repent when they think there’s no consequence for continuing to reject God’s love and mercy? If life seems to be going fairly well, there’s no motivation.
So why not “Eat, drink and be merry,” the Apostle Paul asks, “If the dead do not rise?”—1 Corinthians 15:32
But they do rise.
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God (Revelation 20:12)” in heaven on Judgment Day.
Please, don’t be part of the silent church.
It’s the duty of the church to warn people.
Life has consequences.
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
Jesus died for your sins and then rose from the dead, proving that He is God Almighty Whom death cannot hold (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Acts 3:24). You don’t have to die in your sins, separated forever from a holy God Who hates sin. If you are willing to swallow your pride, acknowledge you’re a sinner Who needs God to direct you in defining what’s right or wrong, that Jesus died for your sins as it’s impossible for you to please God by your own efforts, then please pray the below prayer of repentance. This could be the best day of your life, discovering Jesus is real and loves you. He rejects NO ONE willing to come to Him in sincerity (John 6:37).
Are you willing to acknowledge Jesus as your Lord? If so, please pray the below, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for my sin. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to pay for my sins on the Cross, then to rise on the third day to give me resurrection life. Please forgive my sin. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You. Show me how much You love me and help me to grow in faith and a knowledge of Jesus. In the name of the Lord 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. It’s also God’s primary means of communicating to you. I suggest starting with the book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand.
Also, please join a Bible believing church or Bible study. 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 be misled by legalism or false teaching till you know the Bible fairly well. (Heck, I still get bound in legalism at times.)
Buddy is normally a good boy—till the passion for chickie overcomes him. Then he becomes demanding, disrupting my meal till I give him some chickie from my plate.
But a little chickie is not enough to satisfy Buddy’s desires. He’ll keep barking at me till he’s convinced that I’m not hiding any chickie from him on MY plate.
This wasn’t my planned topic today, but last night I watched a YouTube video about musicians who are openly glorifying Satan. Several top, well-known performers acknowledged openly during interviews that they had “sold their soul” to the devil for fame and money.
But can a person sell their soul to the devil?
Some may disagree, but I emphatically state, “No!”
Why is that?
If someone asked me how much I would pay for Buddy, I’d asked, “Are you nuts? I’ve already been my dog’s owner for nearly 13 years now. Why would I pay you for a longtime pet who already belongs to me?”
A person cannot sell to Satan something he already owns, lays claim to.
Here’s how the Apostle Paul explained the lost person’s condition to young pastor, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:24-26:
“The Lord’s bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all…with gentleness correcting those 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 from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
People who aren’t born again Christians are already in bondage and slavery to Satan; they already are captives to his unholy will. Satan already owns their soul.
The good news for people who think they’re hopeless and can never go to heaven is this: It’s a lie that your soul is forever lost because you “made a contract with the devil.”
What also did the Apostle Paul claim?
“And it shall be that EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord WILL be saved.”—Acts 2:21, Apostle Peter, his first sermon
And who is that name we should call on?
“Jesus said to him (Thomas), ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.’”—John 14:6
If you think you can never escape the snare of Satan, that’s a lie from the enemy of your soul. Call upon the name of Jesus, tell Him you’re sorry for your sins, and ask Him to be your Lord. Renounce the devil and his works.
Or, if you know someone who believes they’re without hope, tell them the Good News: Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus as Lord will be saved.
Hope this helps somebody out there who believes they’re without hope.
“The one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out.”—Jesus, John 6:37
God bless you.
Much love from Dawn and Buddy
***
If you’re convinced that you CAN escape the devil’s grip on your life, please repeat the prayer below, out loud if possible:
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m truly sorry for my sins and want to change, and only You can change my life forever. Please forgive my sins. I ask Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to live my life for You. Change my heart and life. Show me how much You love me. In the holy name of your Son Jesus, God in the flesh Who died for my sins*, amen.
If you’ve prayed sincerely, congratulations, you’re born again. Please start reading the Bible. I suggest starting with the Book of Matthew, as it’s easy to understand. Just as your body needs daily nourishment to be healthy, so does your soul; the Bible is your soul food.
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 be misled till you know the Bible fairly well.
God bless you as you begin a new path in life. May Buddy and I meet you in heaven one day.
Meditations About God and Buddy 