Dog versus Man (Part 3 of 5)

To get the context, you need to read part one here and part two here.

In part one, we discussed the qualities of abundant life and said we would discuss two of the nine qualities in each part. We will kick off with them.

1.  Friendliness. Ogies always make one feel welcome with a wagging tail, a hug, and lots of attention and compassion, offered to both us and to visitors. All dogs are not like that. If they are not treated well, they are unhappy and might be shy and aggressive, but in my experience most dogs whose masters love them are like that. If you understand the Lord’s love for you and you rest in His love and care, you have no reason not to be friendly. 1 John 4:18 declares, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” If you know you are safe in the Lord’s cocoon of love, you have no reason not to be friendly, to feel fearful and paranoid about people’s motives, and so on. The Lord looks after you, and that sets you free to love others with friendliness. There have been times when I’ve been paranoid and fearful towards certain people because of my sin and selfishness. How did I react toward them, then? I’ve been rude and abrupt because I did not trust them. The times I trusted the Lord’s love in the situation, I was able to be friendly to them as well.

2.  Goodness. As I was contemplating the goodness of dogs, the phrase “a dog is
man’s best friend” came to mind. A dog will not think twice to lay down its life for a cause. I was told the story of the rescued and adopted dog that repeatedly dragged a toddler away from a shallow pond with a newly installed water feature. When the mother heard the toddler’s screams and reprimanded the dog, the only way it could think of to make its point was to jump into the pond, where the faulty water feature caused its electrocution. Jesus said in John 15: 12-14: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. Goodness is to live for others sacrificially. You don’t have to make heroic sacrifices, but sacrificing time and effort supporting others goes a long way. It’s not natural for the selfish human nature to live for others, which is why it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit we need to make work in our lives.

Back to Ogies.

The Lord has so much in mind for us. As I have happiness in mind for Ogies and made clear to her what she is allowed to have at any given time, so the Lord pointed out to believers the conditions that precede His promises. If Ogies doesn't bring the ball to my feet and leaves it there, it doesn't get thrown so she can have the joy of fetching it again. In the same way, all the Lord's promises are conditional.

For example, the Lord gave me the following promise as a revelation from His Word from Psalm 91:14-16: “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name...” and the rest. I recognised these words, which jumped out at me while I was reading Psalm 91, as a promise to me directly from the Lord. I have memorised and prayed these words several times when I needed protection, and the Lord has been ever so faithful to me. 

However, once when I prayed it, and I got as far as "because I love you, Lord..." He stopped me and asked me in my spirit: "Why must I protect you, because you don't love me?"

"What do you mean, Lord?" I asked.

"My Word says in John 14:21: 'Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me,' and in verse 23: 'Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.' You haven't obeyed me. " Then He showed me what He was referring to, and I had to repent.

Are you meeting the Lord's conditions for His promises in the Bible? If you don't, you should know why your prayers aren't answered, or why the claims you make aren't met. The Lord is not our go-to slot machine. We are in a covenant with Him, and both parties have responsibilities.

To be continued.

Dog versus Man (Part 2 of 5)

 To get the context, you need to read part one.

In part one, we discussed the qualities of abundant life and said we would discuss two of the nine qualities in each part. We will kick off with them.

1. Peace is a direct result of this love. Ogies stresses about nothing. She knows we will look after her. All she has to do is be herself and enjoy our company. When she steps out of line and annoys us, she’s quick to repent as discussed later, and we have peace again. The Lord cares for you, and all He asks is that you should trust Him and peace will be the result. Trusting Him can be a challenge, though, for then you have to get yourself out of the way, die to self, which is often the problem. Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The words of the condition God set are “anything” and “every”, and the promise is peace that will protect your emotions and your mind. The question is whether you can get yourself to place your concerns in the hands of an unseen deity based on a promise. 
2. Patience is one of the things I learned from Ogies, as you will see in future articles in this series. Abundance comes with waiting: Isaiah 40:31, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Why ought we to wait on the Lord? Because we trust Him. If Ogies does her own thing and runs away, what is the chance of her ending up on the dump again? But because she trusts us and wants to be with us, not even attempting to leave even if the gate is open, she has abundance. Most of our messes result from moving ahead without the Lord’s consent and support.

Along with playing ball, Ogies enjoys playing rough, i.e. playing with me like she would with another dog. She would grab my arm ever so gently while I wrestle with her, and would play tug-a-war with my finger hooked behind her canine teeth, along with all the necessary growling noises.

Another favourite is to snuggle in, lying with her head on my lap.

The point I'm making is that she makes sure she gets what she is allowed to have. If she wants to play ball, her body language is unmistakable; if she wants to play rough, she starts playing; and if she wants to snuggle in, she does. When I sit, and she lies with her head on my leg, and she senses that I'm about to get up, she presses her head down to hold me down. The other day, Ogies started to climb onto my lap. I accommodate her because I enjoy having her on my lap, even though it is sometimes inconvenient, so she feels welcome to do it. I also enjoy her compassion for me, her need to touch me and show me her love in a practical way. The Lord also accommodates you, enjoys your love for Him, and your need to show it to Him practically.

To be continued