SEND THEM TO OBEDIENCE SCHOOL

DAY 9: Our family is a magnet for stray dogs.  For the past 15 years if a homeless hound was in barking distance he somehow found his way to our front porch.  Either word is out and folks are intentionally dumping them on our street, or we are on the dog "barking chain".  Either way, time and time again we are left trying to figure out what to do with them.  One year we found an entire litter of pups abandoned on our street and we found homes for all but one. That one became my daughter's beloved companion.

I will admit, the pup is awesome.  Hannah named her Mia and she is incredibly obedient.  Anything Hannah tells this dog to do, she does - instantly.  And because Hannah can trust her, Mia gets total privileges.  She gets to be a house dog.  She goes with Hannah to the park without a leash.  She takes road trips with her.  Hannah even takes her to work at her dad's office because Mia minds perfectly. 

And then there are the two muts that showed up last summer - or the "dogs of the apocalypse" as I like to call them.  They showed up dehydrated and starving.  I gave them water.  They never left.  I tried my best to find them homes, even getting all their vaccinations and other private pet procedures complete.  Yet, after trying for over a year, no one would adopt them. Maybe if I stopped telling prospective adopters the truth about their antics I could find home, but I just can't withhold their true nature.  While they are loving and gentle, they are destructive.  If anything is left in the yard, from hammers to hockey sticks, they devour them.  They did holes. They go through our country neighborhood and steal things from other yards.  I've awakened to find found the neighbor's lawn statures, shoes, toys, inflatable holiday figures and even UPS packages shredded in my front yard.  They are bad.  They won't follow the simplest command.  So needless to say, while they do live here, they have NO privileges.  They live outside. They do not go on road trips; and I wouldn't dare take them to the park. It's not because I'm mean but because they just don't get it - the key to privilege is obedience.  If they would obey me, I would be able to offer them so much more than a blanket on the back porch.

Today, as I read both the Old and New Testament, I saw God desiring obedience so that He could offer blessing...  such a simple concept I live with everyday when it comes to my pets, yet often miss for myself. God brought them both together to show me what I could be missing.

In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to go to the mountain and sacrifice his beloved son.  I can only imagine the heart wrenching agony those words must have brought.  But Abraham, acting in full faith in the character of God, made the choice to obey God no matter the cost.  Just as He was about to slay his son, God stopped him and explained the powerful door Abraham had opened with his obedient heart.

15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

God made a promise to Abraham to bless, multiply, and give success to him and his decedents "all because you have obeyed me."  Obedience opened the doors of God's favor and blessings poured out. 

Over in Matthew 7 Jesus tells how you can tell the kind of tree, and even a false prophet, by the way they act.... "Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced." I might add "or a dog."  And then what really gives it away:

 "The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven." (v21 NLT)  "Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock." 
God whispered to me today and gave me a chance to listen. I heard, "Kim I am a giving and gracious master ready to pour out blessings to the one who obeys.  Don't settle for the porch when I want to give you a palace."

How I love my Father's voice.

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Day 9 of 365
Genesis 20
Genesis 21
Genesis 22
Matthew 7:15-29
Psalm 9:1-12
Proverbs 2:16-22

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