Pearls From a Puppy- Part 2

PART TWO

I trust you found Part One of "Pearls From A Puppy" enjoyable, and I hope this concluding segment will captivate you just as much. We are truly fortunate to witness God's presence in the nature surrounding us. What a mighty God we serve! While the first part of "Pearls From a Puppy" highlighted the greatness of our Master, this section emphasizes our response to Him.

1. I Must Trust/ Follow My Master. He will guide me - Follow God fully and God will take care of you, Prov. 3:5-6. The day we took Mya into our arms she was completely lost. She had no idea where she was or how to survive efficiently. She had to trust us. At our first stop for her to go potty, she didn’t venture very far from us at all. She had no idea why she had been taken from her family, but she trusted us. That first weekend we couldn’t get two feet away from her. She trusted and followed like no child of mine ever did (heehee). Friend, think for just a minute about what your life might be like if you truly trusted and followed Christ - He is your Master! Our first step is trusting for salvation and to a certain degree that is the easy part. The true proof of our trust is when we follow our Master trusting that His way is best. We may not understand it at the time, but we must trust and follow. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has in store for those that love Him.” Another word for following is “obedience.” If it’s written in God’s Word, trust and obey then following God will only yield greatness. When you always do right, you won’t ever be wrong. May we all strive to be dependent on Him; submissive - because through submission we receive freedom (Psalm 111:10). Sister, Selah… think on that just for a few minutes. God has such wonderful things in store for you that you cannot even imagine it. Freedom comes through your Master - Trust and follow your Him!

2. I Must Have Love and Loyalty. Just at the above point illudes to, trusting God isn’t a one and done thing if we want all the blessings Christ has for us. It’s a daily, minute by minute loving, relying on, and being loyal to Him. Matt 22:37-38 tells us to love the Lord with all your heart! He must be first place in our life. Love and loyalty to Christ isn’t something that we pick up on Sunday mornings and hang up in the foyer at church until the next Sunday. Deuteronomy 7:9 reiterates that God is faithful to those who love Him and keep His commandments. There are times that this is SO hard between a frantic schedule that many of us keep, temptation around every turn, and a human sinful nature. The great news is that 2 Timothy 2:13 assures us that even when we are unfaithful, God still loves us. We must confess and we may miss out on a blessing; but His love will AWAYS be there. Recently Mya was chewing on an electrical cord. I told her 3 times, “NO." Each time she looked at me, stalled, and continued doing wrong. After the third time I swatted her bottom, and she stopped. For about 10 minutes she pouted (yes, she pouts) and there was distance between us. Then she lovingly came to me, I picked her up and held her close assuring her of my love. Sister, Christ is always waiting for you to come to Him in repentance.

3. I Must Move from Milk to Meat. Mya must learn much through trial and error with us, but this is the thing, we have the guidebook with all instruction! What is the problem then? Many Christians struggle to develop spiritual maturity, a close relationship with their master because they never move from milk to meat. Milk represents basic Biblical teachings, and meat requires a higher level of spiritual maturity to understand. 1 Corinthians 5:12-14 plainly says, “… solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Sweet sister, if your spiritual relationship is to increase, then you must feast upon God’s Word. Daily study and prayer are necessary for your spiritual health. Mya has transitioned from milk to puppy food to some fresh veggies and will continue to move to dog food and veggies. Staying on milk or even puppy food would be unhealthy for her growth and development. Where is your spiritual development? Are you growing or becoming diseased spiritually because of lack of feasting on God’s Word?

4. I Will Have Joy. All of us want joy in our lives. Happiness and joy are the desire of all humans. There is a difference between happiness and joy that we will not dig into right now but what I know is that true joy and happiness comes only through Christ! There is nothing (no even eating) that makes Mya any happier than to be resting in the arms of Darrell or myself or to be laying quietly between us. Just basking in our love is where she wants to be. What about you? Does spending time just sitting with your Master, praising Him, or reading His word bring you joy? Longing to be in God’s presence should be our desire and spending time with Him should bring us joy. Psalm 37:7a admonishes us to, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 62:5-8; Romans 14:17)

Yes, I believe that Mya is blessed to come into our family but what I KNOW is that being adopted as a daughter of the one TRUE King is the greatest blessing any of us could receive. May we all be found faithful to our Master as He guides us on this wonderful path called “life” that He has charted for us. What more could we ask for?

Verses to Meditate on: Deuteronomy 3:15-20; Psalm 28:7, 62:5-8; Proverbs 3, 111:10; Isaiah 58:11; Joshua 1:9; Matthew 22:37-38, Luke 14:26-27; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Philippians 4:4; Timothy 2:13

Prayer for the Day: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for choosing me, for loving me, and guiding me. Thank you for knowing my innermost thoughts and continuing Your steadfast love for me. Even for the consequences for my sins, I give you praise because I know that Your ways are best. You are my hiding place, and my refuge. My prayer is that when trials and temptations come my way that I will run straight to you for strength and comfort. Lord, I ask you for wisdom and strength to grow in Your ways. Help me not to be lazy and I pray that you will continually draw me to You for your good pleasure. Thank you that I can have joy in my life because of you, my Abba Father, my Savior, my Friend and so much more. I love you with all of my heart. Amen.