In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. I Timothy 6:13-16 NIV
According to the American Kennel Club, there are eight Royal Dog Breeds. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi originated in the 1100s and the Greyhound dates back to the 9th century. Shih Tzu’s were bred by the Chinese Court as were the Pekingese. The French court dog was the Great Pyrenees and the Japanese Chin was used to warm the ladies laps of the Chinese upper class and sent to Japan as a gift. The Royal dog of Madagascar is the Coton de Tulear and the Bichon Frise was popular in France and in Spain.
Recently, on a tour in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, our tour guide was telling the history of the city. She made the statement that Saint John had been brought into existence by the king himself. As immigrants filled Saint John, the king recognized the city and it was brought into existence. Saint John, just like the eight royal dog breeds, was favored by the king. Both have been developed and blessed for kingly purposes.
Abraham left Ur when God told him to depart from his country and his relatives and come into the land that he would show him (Acts 7:2-4). Hebrews 11:10 tells us, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham was an immigrant in the land. He was travelling to the city that God had showed him. A city brought into existence by the King himself.
We also are immigrants in this land. Hebrews 11:1-16 continues about our ancestors of the faith, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Like the Royal Dog Breeds, the King has declared us his own. I Peter 2:9 calls us a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and God’s special possession. The King himself has declared it. He has prepared for us a city of his own making. Don’t get too attached to this world as we are only passing through on our way to eternity.
Just Another Dog Devotion 