August 28, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, August 28.
Bro. David is on vacation this week and is reprinting some favorite devotions. This one originally ran on August 19, 2020.
A few weeks ago, I put this message on our church sign - "Be the person that your dog thinks you are". I got a lot of positive feedback about that message. It seemed to strike a chord. There are a lot of dog lovers out there, and they are certainly loved by their dogs. My favorite dog was a black Lab named Cinder - short for Cinderella. She was a good dog. And no matter what kind of day I'd had, or how much I'd fallen short, I knew that Cinder would be there at the door with a warm, wet, tail wagging welcome.
Dogs are important to a lot of people. The Bible always has something to say about anything that's important to us. So, what does the Bible have to say about dogs? Well, brace yourself dog lovers - it's not pretty. God's Word mentions dogs over 40 times, but it's almost always in reference to something evil or dangerous.
Psalm 22:16 - Dogs surround me, a pack of evil doers encircle me.
Matthew 7:6 - Do not give dogs what is sacred, do not throw your pearls to swine.
And my personal favorite - Proverbs 26:17 - Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own, is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
We have to understand that, during biblical times, dogs weren't the domesticated pets that they are today. At best, they were working animals, tending the sheep, etc. At worst, they were vicious scavengers, just a step above wolves. How times have changed. If you've ever had a dog, you know that their love is faithful and unconditional.
That could be another message for my sign - "Love people like your dog loves you".
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
