Are You An Old Dog?

Jen’s Gem:  Knowing who God really is will change your life!

Recently, I noticed that texts I was receiving from my daughter had a note underneath them – “Edited.” I inquired as to how she did this because as you know voice to text can sometimes be a bit wonky! She alerted me to this new feature, and also told me that you can delete a text if the recipient hasn’t read it.

Wow! How cool is this? I was thrilled! Now there’s an opportunity to fix those dreaded typos and eliminate those dumb messages you send when the coffee hasn’t yet kicked in – or worse – it has kicked in, but you let your fingers do the talking because you’re all up in your feelings.

I like learning new things – especially when they save me time or are simply “cool.” I remember when I learned the echo function for texts. For a whole week I was “echoing” emoji’s to everyone I knew! It takes so little to make me happy…it’s the simple things folks.

When I enrolled in Bible College years ago, this old dog had a lot to learn…and unlearn actually. Every Monday night, I was glued to my seat speedily writing down nearly every word that was being taught.  I didn’t want to miss a thing.

You see, I grew up  -and maybe you did too  – with an incorrect perception of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit and so I had to replace this “fake news” with the truth. And there was A LOT of fake news. I’ll share some of it with you.

  • God is mad at me.
  • God is mean and scary.
  • I have to “do stuff” to earn God’s love.

How about you? Did you grow up believing any of these things? More importantly – do you still believe them? If so, I’m here to tell you without a doubt that every single one of these statements is false. Every. Single. One.

Let’s debunk each of these falsehoods with God’s Word.

  • God is not mad at you. He’s mad ABOUT you! (John 3:16) He sent His one and only Son to die for you. If He was mad at you, would He do that?
  • God is not mean and scary. God is LOVE. (1 John 4:16) Someone who is full of love cannot be mean or scary. 
  • We do not have to earn God’s love. It is His gift to us – free for the taking. Free for all of His creation. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

You can see why I was so excited to toss out the misinformation I had ingrained in my brain about God. What could be better news than to discover that the Creator of the universe, the Creator of all things, of all humankind loved me just for me! 

In today’s culture, so many people are stressed out trying to earn the approval of others. They turn their lives upside down attempting to be accepted when their Father in heaven has already done so.

And guess what? When we mess up, when we do something that is against God’s perfect will, He provides a way back. A simple “I’m sorry God” will do. He doesn’t take His love away. He doesn’t give you  the silent treatment. He doesn’t cast you off. Can you say that about anyone here on earth? Nope.

As humans, we offer “conditional love” filled with rules and regulations about how to earn it and keep it. God doesn’t do that. No matter what we’ve done – or how many times we’ve done it, God will always love us. God is love so He can’t be anything else. It’d be impossible.

Does that mean He likes the dumb things we do and say? No! He wants us to be all He created us to be so we can fulfill His plan for our lives. (Jeremiah 29:11)  He wants to have a relationship with us just like any loving parent would want with their own children. 

It’s time to throw out the fake news about God so you can experience all the wonderful blessings that are in store for you. (Romans 8:8-10)

They say you can’t teach an  old dog new tricks. Well, I’m proof that you can! Woof!

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