{"id":345,"date":"2022-09-03T12:31:02","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T12:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/?p=345"},"modified":"2022-09-03T12:31:02","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T12:31:02","slug":"dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/?p=345","title":{"rendered":"Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.<\/p>Philippians 3:2 ESV<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.<\/p>Matthew 7:6 ESV<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I begin to understand the references to dogs. My dogs who appear so loyal and behaved when by my side and in my sight reveal a very different nature when left alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When left alone, the dogs root through the trash, sneak into pantries, and pull things off countertops so they can satisfy the desires of their flesh. They eat garbage and all sorts of other random things. Today it was ant traps, thankfully non-toxic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have an earthly master. Me they fear and serve when they feel it serves them, when the loyalty or fear of me is not overcome by some greater fear or greater desire (like to get at that other dog or deer or rabbit they see). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also see that desire of their \u201cother master\u201d when you are cooking or eating or rattling a bag and they stare and drool and hope to satisfy their flesh.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can be \u201cdogs\u201d in this sense. It looks like Genesis 3 when the desire for more overcame Eve and the desire to please Eve overcame Adam. It looks like Genesis 4 when Cain\u2019s jealousy and desire overcome him so much so that he murdered his brother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.\u201d\u201d<\/p>Genesis 4:7<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u202d\u202dPeople have been acting as dogs for long and long. People have been giving into their desires, hoping they will satisfy all this time. People have been trying on their own to \u201cdo well\u201d and master their desires for nearly as long. People have tried to appeal to gods to help them, but no man can serve two masters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.\u201d<\/p>Galatians 2:20-21 ESV<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Not only was there no other way in the legal sense for us to get right with God, but there is no other way to live where we are not controlled by our desires, slaves to sin and fleshly motivations\u2014dogs\u2014except that Christ, God himself, lives in us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ lives in us because he came, died, rose again, ascended, and sent the Spirit. We accept the judgement of the Father, the sacrifice of Christ, and the gift of the Spirit by faith. He is our rock. He is our shield. He is our strong tower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has the name that is above all names but he is much more than a name. He is not a magic word to be invoked. He is a person living in our house. He is a person living in our mind and our heart. He calls us to look to him in every circumstance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When desire calls, look to him. When worry walks in, look to him. When disaster strikes, look to him. When victory is won, look to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my ant trap eating, counter clearing, trashing digging dog is with me and even when he is very hungry and even when the food is right in front of his face, he will wait and watch and not eat a bite until I give him the word.\u00a0When he doesn\u2019t see me he is overcome by desire, even though I feed him regularly and well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ is always with me and with you, Christian. He provides for you richly. Fix your eyes on Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. Philippians 3:2 ESV Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Matthew 7:6 ESV I begin to understand the references […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":346,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marklandbenson.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}