“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.”
–Mother Teresa
Category: devotional
Feeding the Dogs, [Choosing Holiness]
![Feeding the Dogs, [Choosing Holiness]](https://brokenbelievers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/scottiedogmagnets.jpg?w=400)
There is a story of a Native American elder who once described his own inner struggles to understand the Bible and Christianity.
“Inside of me there are two dogs. One is black, and the other is white. The black dog is mean and tries to talk me into making the wrong choices. The white dog is good and encourages me to make the right choices. The black dog fights the white dog all day.” When asked by the friend which dog wins, the elder reflected for a moment and replied;
“The one I feed the most.”
White Dog: As a believing Christian, there is a part of us that is Christ-spirited, compassionate, trusting, open, abundant and focused on helping others. We pray and are being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Black Dog: The other part is our flesh. We can be proud, evil, self-centered, greedy, manipulative, sullen, promiscuous, drunken, and only wants to he served by others.
“An analogy is made between the good white dog, our new nature in Christ, and the bad black dog, our old fallen nature. While we cannot eliminate the old nature, we can choose to feed the white dog.”
(From “The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in our Life,” by Billy Graham 1978.)
The main key for us to remember is that these two parts are in constant struggle.
Two Scriptures to help: One– “If you use your lives to do the wrong things your sinful selves want, you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit’s help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, you will have true life.” Rom. 8:13, NCV
Two– “Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.” Gal. 5:17
In thinking this through this analogy might help. I’m inclined to think that holiness is not so much like an “on and off” switch. But I think it’s more like a “dimmer” switch is turned to brighten or darken a room. I actually think there are times when we should make a deliberate decision for God. And yet other times we just need to turn up the dimmer from 30% to 80%. Maybe all the way?
I’m just thinking out loud here.
The Real Treasures, [Weaknesses]
As Christians often our theology tells us that mental illness, depression, and bipolar disorder have no place in the believer’s life. So we hide, sneaking into our sessions with our therapists, and change the subject to minimize our exposure to direct questions. We have had to hide our issues really well.
But I would submit to you that it is we who are closest to the Kingdom of God. It is far easier for us to approach the Father, in our brokenness, humility, and general lostness. We have needs; a sound mind, a healthy body and we know it. We have no illusions of wellness, nothing can convince us that we are well. We are not.
We are broken and only our loving creator can mend us.
You might say that the Church needs us. An Archbishop was given an ultimatum by the Huns who surrounded his cathedral. “You have 24 hours to bring your wealth to these steps”, the war-leader demanded. The next morning the Archbishop came out leading the poor, the blind, the lame, and the lunatics. “Where is your treasure? Why have you brought out these… people?” The Archbishop simply and quietly replied, “These are the treasures of the Church, these who are weak are our valuables. They make us rich.”
We often can value giftedness more than weakness.
I am afraid the the Western Church no longer sees its “treasures” like it should. In our pride and self-centeredness we have operated our churches like successful businesses. We value giftedness more than weakness. We definitely have no room for the desperately weak. I suppose it’s time for the Church to begin to act like Jesus.
Church isn’t where you meet. Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do. Church should be a verb. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s be the Church.
On Complete Surrender, by A.W. Tozer
“He that taketh not his cross . . . is not worthy of me.”
Matt. 10:38
by A.W. Tozer
Many of the great evangelists who have touched the world for God, including such men as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney, have declared that the church is being betrayed by those who insist on Christianity being made just a little bit “too easy.”
Jesus, Himself laid down the terms of Christian discipleship, and yet there are some among us who criticize: “Those words of Jesus sound harsh and cruel.”
But this is where we stand: Receiving Jesus Christ into your life means that you have made an attachment to the Person of Christ that is revolutionary, in that it reverses the life and transforms it completely! It is complete in that it leaves no part of the life unaffected. It exempts no area of the life of the total man and does demand nothing but all.
By faith and through grace, you have now formed an exclusive relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ. All of your other relationships are now conditioned and determined by your one relationship to your Savior. He must be preeminent.
To receive Jesus Christ, then, is to attach ourselves in faith to His holy person, to live or die, forever! He must be first and last and all!
A very basic prayer that you might simply offer,
“Lord, Your call upon my life is total. But there are times when I feel pulled in other directions that may not be pleasing to You. Give me grace and strength to keep You in first place in my life. Amen.”
From the “Mornings with Tozer,” by A. W. Tozer. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit the 43rdElement.com. Broken Believers also posts Tozer’s Daily Devotions everyday in the right column of our front page. You’ll find Rev. Tozer will build your faith and give you a more certain assurance.
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