Author: justanotherdogdevotion

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.  John 3:16 NIV

Mallory and Bella appeared as Mary and Joseph this Halloween.  Duke the Chihuahua was Baby Jesus and Lainey wanted in the picture so her role was an angel.  It was an unlikely Nativity but so was the first Nativity.  

Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem while she was ready to give birth.  Arriving, every hotel was booked.  There was no vacancy but an innkeeper offered his stable.  So maybe it wasn’t so unlikely.  The witnesses to the birth of Jesus were many types of animals.  All creation rejoiced from the animals, the stars, shepherds in the fields, angelic choirs, to the wisest of men.  God had given the first Christmas gift, followed by the Magi bringing the finest of gifts.

No matter how fine the gifts we prepare for those we love during the Christmas season, we can’t out give God.  We make out our list and check it twice.  We try to find the perfect gift.  Once in awhile, someone is forgotten and we rush to find something last minute or, perhaps, you purchase a few generic gifts so you aren’t unpleasantly surprised.

You don’t have to worry about being forgotten this Christmas or anytime during your lifetime.  No one is forgotten by God.  He worked out the salvation plan from the beginning to include everyone in every generation.  John 3:16 tells us that God so loved us and everyone, that he sent his own son to draw us to him and if we believe we shall not die spiritually but have eternal life.

This Christmas when you purchase the perfect gift for those you love, remember God purchased the perfect gift for each of us. Salvation is free to all who believe that he sent his only son who was willing to pay the penalty for our sin on the cross that we might never perish but live eternally with Him.

Jesus wrapped up in swaddling clothes, came to earth as a baby, for you and me.  He was born humbly with no kingly fanfare but worshipped by the humble and those who bowed before him during that first Nativity.  Bow your heart before him today that you might truly celebrate  this Christmas.

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“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel”.  Matthew 2:6

Little Lucy isn’t really food aggressive, she just wants to make sure Big Burt doesn’t get anything first.  If he does, she manages to distract him and take it away.  

None of our dogs like carrots which I am told is a good thing for dogs to chew.  Danni liked blueberries but Burt and Lucy leave them strewn over the dining room floor.  When it comes to bread, each of our pups have their own opinion.  Some will turn up their noses and walk away while others will sniff and try a small bite and a few inhale and it’s gone.

Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, means House of Bread in Hebrew.  It is fitting that Jesus was born in the House of Bread for he refers to himself as the Bread of Life in John 6:35.  After he feeds over 5,000 people with two loaves of bread and two fish, he tells them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”. 

Jesus is also declaring that he is “I am” in John 6:35.  God himself tells us he is “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14 so Jesus is revealing that he is God.  Just as manna came down from heaven to nourish the Israelites physically, God himself came down from heaven in the form of a baby, born in Bethlehem.  He feeds us spiritually and sustains us each day as we feed on his word.

John 6:32-33 states, ” Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”.  Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). 

That first Christmas long ago, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Matthew 1:21 tells us, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”.  Mary did as she was told and gave birth to the Messiah.

The prophet Micah wrote in chapter 5, verse 2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”.  The little town of Bethlehem housed the King of Kings in a small stable one starry night long ago.

The Bread of Heaven was born in the House of Bread so that we who call upon his name might be saved.  The Great I Am will sustain you now and always as you celebrate his birth as a baby this Christmas and everyday of the year.

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“Drip down, heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, and righteousness sprout with it.  I, the Lord, have created it.”  Isaiah 45:8 NASB

Burt is picky about where he drinks.  Water bowls are not normally his first choice.  He runs upstairs, stands at the bathroom door, and barks until you come.  Burt then expects the door to open and the water faucet in the bathtub to be turned on cold for his thirst to be quenched.  He then turns and happily walks into the hall dripping water from his jowls.

I’m usually barefoot and follow Burt from his drinking hole.  I try to sidestep all the wet spots on the floor with no success.  I always end up with wet feet.

One of the definitions of drip is to overflow with or as if with moisture.  Another is to let fall drops of moisture or liquid.  Burt definitely qualifies as a drip but do you?

As you walk with Jesus daily, do you drip with the love of God?  Is the Holy Spirit overflowing from you that when others follow, they also get their feet wet?

Jesus said in John 7:37-39, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’  Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”.

Jesus longs for us to come to him to have our thirst quenched and when we do we can overflow with the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23).  The overflow of our words and actions will touch others and quench their thirst for God.

Do you ooze and drip the living water of Jesus so that others will follow and get their feet wet too?  Are you a dripping Christian?  Isaiah 48:21 tells about the Israelites journey to the Promised Land, “They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out”.

Let God lead you in your daily walk.  As you follow and are filled with the Holy Spirit, you might not just drip like Burt, but be a gushing fountain of cleansing water that will overflow to others.

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He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 NIV

Burt was attacked by another dog at doggie daycare. He was being sent to have an extra day of play because they were taking Halloween pictures. It was susposed to be fun but it turned bad quickly.

I received the call that he had been attacked and was going to the doctor for stitches and would be sedated during the procedure. They needed my authorization and would call me when he was waking up.

I waited impatiently and the veterinarian finally called. Burt had done well but drainage tubes had been inserted at the wound sites. I was told I might see a little blood draining out but not to be alarmed. The tubes would need to be cleaned and Burt and Lucy would both have to leave them alone until removal in three days. He would not be allowed to run for two weeks until the sutures were removed. I was hoping we could all be sedated for the next couple of weeks!

Surgical drainage tubes allows the fluid to flow out that collects during and after surgery. If fluids are given a chance to build up, complications and infections may occur and the wound will not heal properly.

Psalm 147 tells us that God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Sometimes we are left with a lot of drainage from these wounds. Bitterness, hurt, and hatred can swell up around the surgical site without us being aware of it. If we are not careful, infection will occur. We must let God drain us of all the ungodly leftovers so that we might truly be healed. We do not want ugly scars reminding us of things God has forgiven and forgotten.

1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. David prayed in Psalm 51:2 that he would be washed from all his iniquity and cleansed from his sin. Mark 7:15 states, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them”.

When God operates on our heart it is a thorough procedure. Nothing is left to chance. Any and all detrimental emotions must be washed away by the blood of Christ. Anything that defiles is drainage to be released from the wound and discarded. Our hearts are left clean. He heals our broken hearts and binds up all our wounds.

Make sure all your drainage is washed away by the blood of the lamb!

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"And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and obey him".  Joshua 24:24 NIV

I hold the door open while the dogs decide whether they want in or out. Sometimes, they just stand there halfway in and halfway out. They want to see if the grass is greener on the other side of the door. If it’s raining too hard, they back in in disappointment. Eventually, they have to make a decision.

Just like the dogs, we want to access our options. Joshua asked the people of Israel to do the same thing. In Joshua 24, all the tribes of Israel were called together and presented to the Lord. The Lord spoke through Joshua reminding them of their past. He told how he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how he had brought them out of Egypt and slavery. He spoke of the Red Sea and the walls of Jericho and the victories they had achieved with God on their side. Joshua told them to fear the Lord and throw away any false gods their ancestors had worshipped. He summed it up with, “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”. The whole assembly responded by saying in verse 18, “We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God”.

God doesn’t want us to serve him half-heartedly. He wants us to be all in. Colossians 3:17 states, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”. God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13 that, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”. It is pretty clear that he wants our whole heart. Revelation 3:15 states, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”. God wants his people all in.

Jesus came to earth as a baby. He grew and lived an earthly life, willingly giving up his heavenly home. He was betrayed, denied, beaten, and killed for us. He was all in for God’s salvation plan. He tells us in Matthew 22:37 to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. That’s how God loves you!

Being half-hearted is not acceptable to a God that gave his all for you!

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Our dogs have a love and enthusiasm that is contagious. They are excited to get up in the morning. They are excited to go for their walk. They eagerly get in the car knowing they are headed for ice cream or the dog park. They greet you at the door, tails wagging. It is hard to be down, when you are loved to the extreme.

As Christians, we are called to be contagious. One of the definitions of contagious is to spread an emotion, feeling, or attitude, and affect others. We have all been around people who have affected us negatively or positively. Our verse today tells us that God is the God of hope and he fills us with joy and peace as we trust him. Our joy, peace, and hope overflows by the Holy Spirit and touches those around us. We are contagious as we spread Jesus Christ to all we meet.

I John 4:16 states, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them”. I John 3:1 tells us, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him”. It is hard to be down, when we are loved to the extreme.

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God has filled you with his Holy Spirit. Let him overflow you so that others might catch what you have. Go out into the world and be contagious for Christ!

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“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'” I Samuel 16:7 NIV

We have had Lucy for eight months. We were told she was a Corgi/Shepherd mix and we could see those features in her energetic little self. I had always wanted to do DNA testing on our dogs but never did until Lucy and Burt.

The DNA results for Lucy were quite surprising. Let’s start by saying that Corgi and Shepherd are not even close. She is listed as 53% Siberian Husky, 27% Boxer, 16% Shih Tzu, 2% Plott Hound, and 2% Redbone Coonhound. I could see the Husky as she looked like a Husky puppy. She can bury a bone with her nose and her escape artist tendencies are right up there with Seneca. She has an underbite like many boxers and her size can be attributed to the Shih Tzu.

I cannot change her breed on a dog license or microchip until a veterinarian officially places it on her paperwork. It must be verified so until that is done, Lucy will continue to be a Corgi/Shepherd mix. She is what she is!

Many people have looked at us and have seen our outward appearance and traits and may assume we are a red head of Scottish descent or a blue-eyed blond tracing back to Sweden. People stereotype us by our heritage, our jobs, our accents, and many other outward traits but only our DNA and God knows for sure. We are what we are!

What we are on the inside is not always as easily detectable as our outward appearance. People have to look a little deeper and stick around long enough to get to know our heart. Of course, what is on the inside should become visible on the outside the closer we walk with God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” The bible gives us our DNA results. Galatians 3:26 says, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith”. Ephesians 2:22 tells us, “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”. The Holy Spirit of God lives in us! We are new creations! We are his children, the family of God!

God has declared who we are in the Bible. He confirms it daily by his Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Unlike Lucy, who has to wait to be seen by a veterinarian and have her test results reviewed before she will officially be a little husky mix, God has accepted us into his family the moment we accept Jesus into our hearts. Romans 10:9 puts it like this, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”.

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). It’s official. No waiting required. Live today like you are a child of the king!

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I came home from work and the dogs greeted me at the door. I went upstairs to change before walking them and went into the bedroom. In the middle of my bed was a dead rabbit. I screamed and slammed the door. I went downstairs to feed the dogs and noticed a tin can lid from their dog food was face down on the kitchen floor. I picked it up to throw away. It was crawling with ants and so was the floor. I screamed and threw it in the sink. After all the cleanup, I was afraid of the next thing I might find.

I won’t say the dogs have never beheaded anything but I can say that my children have never asked for anyone to be beheaded at my request. Mark, chapter 6, records how and why John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was beheaded. John was a tell it like it is style of preacher. He pointed out your sins and told you to repent. Not all enjoyed his style.

Verse 19 says that Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him but she wasn’t able to because Herod feared and protected John because he knew he was righteous and holy. John had been put in prison by Herod to try to appease Herodias. She was originally his brother’s wife but was now married to Herod. John had told Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife which is what put him on Herodias’ bad side.

Herodias bided her time and on Herod’s birthday they threw Herod a banquet. Herodias’ daughter danced and was so pleasing that Herod told her she could ask whatever she wanted up to half his kingdom. The girl asked her mother what she should ask for and the answer was the head of John the Baptist. The king was upset but he had promised in front of the crowd so John was beheaded.

I’m almost positive that you don’t respond to criticism by asking for someone’s head. If a friend or spouse comes to you pointing out something in your life that shouldn’t be there, you probably don’t want to kill them. Romans 12:19 states, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

How do you respond when you know you are the one with the bad attitude? When God convicts you of a sin, do you push it under the table or immediately confess it and ask for his forgiveness? Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”.

Let’s not bite someone’s head off when something we need to change is brought to our attention. Let’s offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).

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“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”.  I Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV

Perhaps you’ve heard of 1 Corinthians 13 known as the love chapter in the Bible.  In this chapter, Paul tells us what love is and also what love isn’t.  It has never been one of my favorites as I have a hard time living up to it.  It is right up there with listening to Proverbs 31 every Mother’s Day explaining the perfect wife, mother and all around woman.  These two chapters leave me feeling I have missed the mark but encourage me to depend on God and the Holy Spirit more each and every day.

Recently, I heard the country song “Black Sheep” by John Anderson.  One of the lines of the chorus tells of his father telling his mother, “Wake me up early, be good to my dogs, and teach my children to pray”.  I thought that about sums it up.  It may not be as eloquent as I Corinthians 13.  It might not have all the spiritual backing of Ephesians 5 telling wives to submit and husbands to love as Christ loved the Church giving his life for her.  It might not be a love story like Song of Solomon but it is really good advice.  You could let me sleep in but if you are good to my dogs and teach my children to pray we have a pretty good foundation for life.

How we treat others is the Golden Rule Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”.  Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it”.  Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord”.

Deuteronomy 6 instructs the Israelites to pass all of God’s commandments on to their children.  Verse 7 says to impress them on your children and talk about them at home and wherever you might be so that God and his commandments are never forgotten or taken lightly.

The next wedding you go to and you have to write down some advice for the happy couple, don’t forget I Corinthians 13 but go ahead and write down, “Wake me up early, be good to my dogs, and teach my children to pray”.  We can all benefit from kindness, love, and talking to God daily in prayer and if they aren’t dog people, love them anyway! 

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