BULLY PULPIT SYNDROME

💖 What is Bully Pulpit Syndrome? 💖

Have you ever sat in church on a Sunday morning listening to the preacher and was vilely offended by what the preacher just said?

All these years I've attended church and did not realize that I was a victim of Bully Pulpit Syndrome (BPS). I finally just stopped going to church without really knowing the reason why.

Many times I left church depressed because of the sermon. I felt viciously attacked and it hurt deeply. I was not growing nor being edified by the word, but actually quite the opposite. There was a lot of resentment built up toward pastors in general, especially their sermons.

A syndrome is a set of specific symptoms that occur together, and may or may not have a known cause. For example, you may tend to have anxiety when the pastor steps up to the podium but not know why you always feel that.

One Sunday morning I was sitting in church. As the preacher was wrapping up his sermon, he said, "I feel a heaviness in the room." I knew he was sensing my heavy heart as I sat there trying to console what I felt was a personal attack on me while he was preaching.

I have Bully Pulpit Syndrome. This is a term I came up with to define victims that have endured trauma from pastoral sermons. If you've ever left church with a heavy heart due to the sermon you just heard, you might also have BPS. Now, I need the Lord to deliver me and take it all away so I can once again thrive in a church environment.

The Lord said, "I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the places where I have driven you, and I will bring you to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive" (Jeremiah 29:14).

I have a propensity to sit and hear a sermon and then be offended with the preacher because he said something I disagreed with. This is the result of the Bully Pulpit Syndrome that's crept in because of past experiences. I've built up a well-defended fortress as a result of the personal attacks I endured from the bully pulpit. This fortress is my effort to protect myself from those attacks.

I have struggled to joyfully attend church because of this. I have enclosed myself safely inside this fortress to keep others from bullying me. When I hear something I don't agree with, a heaviness falls on me and I retreat to the fortress.

💖 The Pastor's Role 💖

Church leaders are watchmen or guardians of the community of faith, who are charged to communicate God’s word of nurture, instruction, and warning to God’s people.

Clearly, the job of the shepherds of God’s people is to provide them with the pure milk of the Word of God so they can move on to the meat and solid food in spiritual maturity (Hebrews 5:12-14).

Christians should not leave church traumatized due to pulpit bullies. The podium should never be a place to settle personal grievances — and when the preacher stands wielding it as a weapon, they are perverting ministry and grieving the heart of God. That is not how real shepherds tend their sheep.

I'm reminded of David that took care of his father's sheep. He protected them from predators like that lion and bear, and killed them for attacking his father's sheep.

Jeremiah 3:15 (KJV) And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

💖 Deep Animosity 💖

The bitterness of these pulpit attacks caused me to build a fortress around myself to protect me from mean-spirited preachers who attack the congregation from the pulpit.

Pastor John Markum says, "If you've ever been bitten you may have a tendency to see wolves in sheep's clothing, where they don't exist." Not all pastors attack in their sermons. There are times when I don't agree with what they've said and resentment towards them may rise up... seeing what does not exist. I need the Lord to transform this behavior because there has to be times of correction, and I need to receive it with a heart of repentance.

I need the Lord to heal me of the trauma of the past so I can joyfully attend church once again. I don't have unforgiveness in my heart, only a lot of ambivalence toward Sunday morning sermons. To sit in church on Sunday morning and hear a sermon is often a challenge for me. The environment itself brings up old hurts that's still lingering in my heart. When I'm engaging in a pastoral sermon, certain feelings or emotions may tend to crop up.

Proverbs 18:19 (NKJV) A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Here, Solomon sounds an alarm about the enhanced nature of conflict between "spiritual brethren." Solomon poetically compares these rifts to well-defended cities or barred fortresses. By virtue of their walls, ancient cities are difficult to conquer compared to open terrain. The only two options were a prolonged siege or suffering the losses of a direct assault. Likewise, a citadel or castle often includes bars meant to block entry. "Quarrels" that come between friends and family can be especially difficult to overcome... or insults and attacks from the pastor in his Sunday morning sermon can build distrust in other pastors preaching their sermons. These attacks are hard to overcome making it difficult to move forward.

Deep animosity is the fruit of my bully pulpit experience, and is likened in its intensity to the rigid resistance of the city gates against all intrusion. The bursting of these bars was almost impossible, because of the greatness of their strength. A believer entrenched behind the bars of their wounds, unwilling to view the matter from a Godly perspective, is equally impregnable (unable to be broken into because of the fortified walls they've built up).

Offense from those close to us — including pastors — tend to cut deeper and cause more pain than the same insults coming from total strangers.

In the church we grew up in, preachers used the word of God like a sledge hammer, to beat down God's people with it. We were given a lot of tradition that we were expected to adhere to, such as not wearing pants, and many other traditions that we assumed were sinful and ungodly. Many days these traditions were delivered through sermons from the pulpit, and in my opinion trended the Bully Pulpit Syndrome, because a lot of days we left church feeling bushwhacked.

If the sermon happens to come across the pulpit as God attacking you week after week, turn to the Father and seek Him about it.

Transformation is a process of the Holy Spirit where He inwardly renews the believer moving circumstances from one degree of glory to another until that person has undergone a complete transformation. When the transformation is complete, the believer will begin to see sermons with a whole new perspective.

💖 Arise and Return 💖

Now, by no means do I carry a shepherd's staff, but I would like to encourage a renewal in your relationship with the heavenly Father. If you know that you've left your first love or become sluggish in your enthusiasm for the faith, wrack your brain and find out what happened that turned you away, and get with the Lord about it. Pray for restoration and renewal.

Psalm 51:12 (NKJV) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

💖 Closing Prayer 💖

Lord, please deliver me from this Bully Pulpit Syndrome. Renew a right spirit within me. Give me a pastor according to Your heart that shall feed me with knowledge and understanding. Give me a heart to receive Your word like seeds falling into good soil and yielding a hundredfold crop. Let me not be offended by Your word nor by the one sermonizing it, even if I don't agree with what's being preached. Let my response be loving and peaceful with no outrage toward the offender.

Let the pain of the bully pulpit decrease and completely diminish. Then elevate a new process that becomes natural when I hear something come across the pulpit that feels like it was said as an attack on me.

Transform my way of handling sermons so I come away uplifted and edified, not with my head hung down feeling forlorned. 

Psalm 122:1 (NKJV) I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD."

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

HE WON'T ALLOW YOUR FOOT TO BE MOVED

For years now, my main fitness workout has been going for long walks. However, the sidewalks in our neighborhood are old and cracked, and I've tripped and fallen hard 3 times. A couple of days ago I came across Psalm 121:3...

I pondered, "He will not suffer my foot to be moved,

and yet I've fallen hard 3 times?"

I assumed Psalm 121:3 was a reference and symbolism of safety for someone traversing over hill country and broken sidewalks. In both a spiritual and physical sense, Psalm 121:3 encourages confidence in God's protection. Even when hardship occur, we can know that God's still in control.

Even in all that Job went through when the Lord lowered that hedge of protection, He told Satan that he would not be able to take Job's life. There was still a level of protection around Job while he endured Satan's afflictions.

Satan took Job's children, and property, and health, but wasn't able to take his life.

Sovereign God is always in control of our circumstances whether rain or shine is upon us.

Heavenly Father makes His sun

rise on the evil and on the good,

and sends rain on the just

and on the unjust. (Matt. 5:45)

Even when I trip and fall and He doesn't prevent it, He's still my keeper and He allowed it for a reason. He who keeps you will not slumber.

The psalmist David said,

"Behold, God is my helper;

for He has delivered me

out of all trouble." (Ps. 54:4, 7)

God Himself said,

"I will never leave you

nor forsake you." (Heb. 13:5)

After this last fall, I just got back up, turned around, and headed back home. Later, the Lord laid it on my heart to do some strength training (ST). When I researched ST, I saw that it improves power, speed, and endurance, while also increasing muscle loss that comes with aging... reducing the risk of falling by strengthening muscles and bone mass. God used those hard falls as a forerunner to greater workouts. Maybe I'll be running marathons now instead of just walking through the neighborhood. That would be awesome!

In the same way that bodily muscles are strengthened, God also strengthens our faith muscles through hard falls. There you have it. God has a purpose in what He does.

Abraham did not waiver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith and fully convinced that what God had promised, He was completely able to perform (Rom. 4:20-21). That's where the Lord wants to get us to. He is teaching us to trust in Him no matter what. His thoughts and ways are vastly different from ours. The Lord's reasons for permitting Job's affliction might not make perfect sense to us. In Satan's attacks against Job, his children and servants died horrible deaths, but we must not let anything deter us from believing in the goodness of God.

Recently, I heard a preacher say, "Let go of how you thought it was supposed to go, and when you thought it was supposed to get there." I always have an idea of how God should work out my dilemmas, and when it's going in the opposite direction of my prayers, my faith waivers.

If I read Psalm 121:3, and then get offended with my heavenly Father because He allowed me to fall hard 3 times, I am only doing myself harm. However, if I ask Him for an understanding of all this, He will surely enlighten me, and I'm glad He did.

Let strength training begin.𝄂𝄂—𝄂𝄂

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

NO MORE GENERATIONAL CURSES

Both of my maternal grandparents had dementia issues as they aged. They had eleven children, and now the oldest children are suffering with mental illness in their old age as well. I know that some physical ailments are hereditary, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. It could be that dementia, as a physical ailment, can also be hereditary. Some would call this kind of thing a generational curse that is passed down from generation to generation.

About two years ago, I was praying fervently about this, because my own mother struggles severely with dementia. She's the oldest of the eleven children. I've heard some of her younger siblings voicing concerns as they age, if they might also struggle with dementia. In response to my prayers, the Lord said to me in no uncertain terms... "We are delivered!"

The Bible says in Galatians 3:13 that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Therefore, we are delivered. So whatever the problem is, whether it's spiritual or physical, we have been delivered through our Savior, Christ Jesus. The cure for anything is repentance, faith in Christ, and a life consecrated to Him.

The apostle Paul said that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (or physical), but mighty through God for pulling down strongholds. It does not matter what the problem is, deliverance is ours because our Savior redeemed us.

There was a man in the Bible whose son had violent convulsions that could've killed him. The child was also deaf and unable to speak. The father of the child brought him to Jesus for deliverance. Jesus told that father, "If you can believe, all things are possible to those who believe." Immediately that father cried out to Jesus with tears streaming down his face, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and the boy was delivered.

We are not under generational curses!! Christ Jesus fully redeemed us from the curse of Adam's sin. By the stripes of Jesus we are healed. As that child's father prayed, "Lord, please help my unbelief", do the same for your stronghold. Your faith will make you whole. The strongholds will be eliminated. Jesus said to His disciples, "This kind comes out through prayer and fasting."

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayers of the righteous avails much. (James 5:16)

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD

After Paul's conversion from a Pharisee to an Apostle, he went to Arabia and spent three years there. Paul may have had a sister that he lived with while he was there. This time was spent in contemplation and study, allowing him to develop his understanding of the Christian faith and his role as an Apostle. This secluded time was crucial for Paul's development, and refinement in understanding the gospel to prepare him for future ministry. He ended up writing a significant portion of the New Testament.

Sometimes we may question why God has us in a certain place with no seeming way out. He is developing something in you that may even outlast your time on earth. Just be still and know that He is God.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED

With His (Jesus') Stripes, We Are Healed

Receive healing in your mind first, and the manifestation will follow. There was a woman that had been hemmoraging for 12 years. She said to herself, "If only I can just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, I know I shall be healed." (Matt.9:21) She had been to many doctors, but none could help her. The moment she touched the hem of Jesus' garment, she felt that healing in her body. Receive healing in your mind first, and the manifestation will follow.

In Greek, the word "ekballo" means "to cast out," or "to drive out," or "to send out." The word often implies a forceful or even violent expulsion, rather than a gentle nudge. It's not asking, it's commanding.

Jesus said in Luke 10:19, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Ekballo Command

I speak to sickness and disease, and in the name of Christ Jesus, I command it to wither to the root cause and die. I command sickness and disease to leave my body. I agree with the word of God that says by His stripes, I'm healed. Let regeneration come through corrective miracles, that I may walk in good health for the rest of my life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, please renew and completely restore my body to wholeness (nothing missing and nothing broken). Never, ever let sickness and disease invade this temple of the Holy Spirit ever again. Please set up a hedge of protection around me on every side. Let me walk in the fullness of Your will without sickness preventing me from serving You. In the mighty name of Jesus I ask and pray. Amen.

You're not a sick person trying to get well.

You're a well person, fighting off sickness and disease.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

INSULTED BY THE PREACHER

Offense is conflict or resentment brought about by a perceived insult. That was me last year on 1/7/24. I was sitting in church listening to the Sunday morning sermon. I always have pen and paper ready in case Holy Spirit says something profound that I need to hear. The preacher made an accusation that sounded just like a direct attack on me. I looked down at my notepad to hide the vexing expression on my face. At the end of the sermon, the preacher said, "I feel a heaviness in the room." That was definitely me. My spirit had sunk below sea level, and I was deeply offended.

Yesterday, I was in morning devotion and stumbled across Psalm 119:165 in The Passion Translation that says, "There is such a great peace and well-being that comes to the lovers of Your word, and they will never be offended." Wow! That hit me hard, and in my heart I knew that I needed to be delivered from being offended by preachers.

Offense can come upon us as an unwelcomed visitor and take up permanent residence if we don't deal with it. It's been a year and a half since that happened and I've still not fully come to terms with it. None of us are perfect, not even the minister preaching the word of God. I blamed the preacher for targeting me, but I could've handled that a lot differently.

Three Steps To Take

• Decide that I'm not going to let this thing take up residence and fester in my heart. I will be delivered, and not let the enemy destroy me with it. Offense darkens that place in our soul, and the enemy uses it to bind our hands and feet from progressing.

• Be quick to forgive the offender, and let them off the hook. Jesus said to forgive them 70 times 7 (Matt. 18:22).

• Surrender the offense to God.

There may probably be other times when a preacher's words may cause me to stumble, but if I always surrender the offense to God, He will help me get back up, and revive and restore me to full throttle. Now unto Him that is able to keep me from stumbling... (Jude 1:24). From now on, before I hear a sermon, I will prepare my heart through prayer to God. I will pray not to be offended, and that He will open my spiritual eyes that I may see and perceive, and my spiritual ears that I may hear and correctly understand what Holy Spirit is speaking to me. I will pray that He'll minimize my flesh, and increase my spirit to accept what is being imparted to me, and let me be renewed, revived and refreshed by the sermon, and not angered, hurt, and frustrated.

The apostle Paul said to the Corinthian church, "I nursed you with milk, as a mother would feed her baby, because you were not developed enough to digest complex spiritual food." I don't want that to be me. I want to graduate from milk to solid food and mature in Christ Jesus. I want to be able to sit through any sermon and not become offended by the preacher, even if I don't always agree with everything that's being said.

1 John 1:7 (NKJV) If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

As of today, I am delivered and walking in the favor of God.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

WE'VE REACHED A MILESTONE

Years ago this blogsite started as a place to compose my fiction work, because I love to write. Shortly after that, I began posting Christian faith material. Heavenly Father knows how to transition our journey when we least expect it. I deleted those fiction posts, and The Writer's Blog became the Voice of the Dove. The post you're reading right now, is number 500! I reached a milestone that I never saw coming.

The Importance of Celebrating Milestones

(1) It boosts confidence

(2) It helps us stay motivated

Some time ago, the Lord told me, "When you stop chasing page views and start blogging to bless your readers, they will stick around longer. And that means more social media shares, more email subscribers, and yes — even more page views." Since then, I rarely ever view the stats page. I PRAY. I write. I post. I share. I move on to the next one. I give God all the glory that I've been able to reach this great milestone.

Here's To 500 More Blogposts!!

I pray the blessing of the Lord will be upon you. May you increase in Him and prosper as He leads you to live and walk in victory.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

BANISHING FEAR 😨

Banishing Fear Through Love 💙

Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Joshua 1:9 (NKJV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Matthew 6:34 (NKJV) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Deuteronomy 1:21 (NKJV) Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.

Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

BEAUTY OF HOLINESS

Worship The Lord
In The Beauty of Holiness

When I was growing up, we attended the holiness church. We were taught that a number of things were sinful and was not permitted for us to do. Such as, women couldn't wear pants. Women couldn't cut their hair. Women couldn't wear make up, or dresses above the knee. We couldn't wear short sleeve tank tops. I was not supposed to go to pep rallies at school. We were not permitted to go trick or treating on Halloween. We couldn't go to a movie theater, and there were so many more.

As soon as I turned 18 years old, I moved on from church and never looked back. I got rid of all my dresses, and only wore pants.

My grandparents had 11 children, so we were a large family of church folks. Years after my grandmother passed, some family members decided to have a memorial service in her remembrance. It was scheduled at a Sunday morning church service in February 1999. I went to the memorial service to honor my grandmother, not to worship God. When church was out, I found myself wanting to come again, and over the next few weeks, I kept coming again and again. By the end of Spring, I had accepted the Lord and became a full time church member. That was 26 years ago. I remember when church service was over, tears would still be rolling down my face.

The Lord has brought me so far from my frame of holiness thinking. Today, I hardly ever wear dresses. The Lord had to actually deliver me of being offended with dresses. I don't hate dresses anymore, but I still wear pants most of the time because that is my personal preference.

The beauty of holiness is not what we do externally. It is actually how we honor God internally. And as we we worship God in the beauty of holiness, our outward behavior automatically causes us to walk upright. The love we have for Father God, causes us to walk in the Spirit, and not fulfill the lust of the flesh... or to do anything that will offend our heavenly Father. And when we discover that we have walked outside of His will, we immediately repent and get it right.

The beauty of holiness is not following a list of do's and don'ts. It is:

• a consecrated state of mind toward God
• a demeanor of reverence toward God
• inward purity without hypocrisy
• exercising faith and fervency in spirit
• honoring God in love and sincerity

I love my heavenly Father (whom I call Daddy). He is my all in all. The love I have for Him propels me to do the right thing — not a set of rules and regulations. The children of Israel had the Ten Commandments and failed to keep those.

I believe with all my heart, that a love relationship is what God's wants from those that accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." He yanked that monkey of legalism off my back, and we have developed a beautiful father/daughter relationship that I would not trade for anything in the universe. I love You Daddy. Thank You for loving me.

We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

SONG: Take My Life (Holiness)

Blessings everyone, go in peace.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

GOD IS WITH US

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father Jacob loved him more than all his other sons, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. Becoming envious of their father's love for him, they sold Joseph into slavery, but God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles.

Time after time, God rescued Joseph from whatever trial he faced. God gave Joseph the favor and wisdom to overcome each adversity and to eventually win the confidence and respect of his captors, including Pharaoh, the king of Egypt himself.

With each adversity, God increased Joseph's wisdom and favor with those who were over him. Pharaoh entrusted the entire nation and his household to Joseph's stewardship. Some time later, a terrible famine spread through the entire region - from Canaan down to Egypt - and everyone suffered greatly because they couldn't find anything to eat.

Jacob heard that Egypt had stores of grain; so he sent his sons, to procure food there. Later, when they returned to Egypt a second time, Joseph revealed his true identity to them. He also told Pharaoh his family story. Joseph then invited his father Jacob and all his clan to come and live with him in Egypt. So Jacob came, along with 75 extended family members and was taken care of by Joseph.

God's intent in allowing Joseph to endure these trials was to preserve the lives of countless people. We might wonder in our own lives, why God is permitting what we're going through, but the Bible says it is not to harm us. He's bringing good out of all of it.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

LOVING GOD AND BEING LOVED BY HIM

God loves to be loved, and because we're made in His image, we love to be loved too. He designed us to desire Him. His tugs within us draw us to Him. We crave close communion with Him, desiring to be fully embraced by Him. The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the one who made it.

God desires close communion with those made in His image, with heaven hidden deep in our hearts. He is nearer to us than we think and richly present in all our moments through out the day.

The deepest yearnings in our hearts are for intimacy with God. That feeling of homesickness is a longing to join Him in our heavenly home and live for eternity with our Everlasting Father. There's a God shaped hole in the heart of every person which cannot be satisfied by nothing else except the Everlasting Father.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

To MEDITATE on God's Word is to call to mind — mull it over — reflect on it — ponder it — dwell on it (and in it) — and apply it to oneself. It's spending enough time in God's Word until you recognize what God may be speaking to you personally. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the watchful eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.

Christian meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire in prayer as a way to find closer union with Christ.

Blessed is the one who meditates on God's word. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and whatever they do prospers.

My advice:

~ Read from your daily devotion ~

~ Read a Verse of the Day text ~

~ Keep a journal of what became significant ~

~ Close with a word of prayer ~

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

RECOGNIZING GOD'S VOICE

About 17 years ago, I used to do daily 10-minute meditations to see if I would get a word from the Lord. If I heard something, I would write it down and date it. I did not always get a word from the Lord, but I tried to make myself available just in case God had something He wanted to say. I would set the microwave timer for 10 minutes and go sit in complete silence until the buzzer went off. While, I was really just seeking to get a word from the Lord, this exercise actually trained me to recognize the voice of God a lot more clearly.

Hebrews 5:14 (KJV) - Those, who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

We can think God's thoughts, and He can hear our thoughts. God's thoughts rise up within us as a still small voice, and the sound of a gentle whisper in the quietness of a humbled heart. Like newborn babies learn their parents voices, we can train our senses to discern the voice and thoughts of God.

TRAINING EXERCISE

— Set timer for 10 minutes —

— Sit quietly with pen and notepad —

— Write down what God says —

You may not get something every time you do this. That's part of the training exercise, because when you do hear God's voice, you'll immediately recognize that was Him.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

SERVING WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

Clear Conscience:

inward cleanness and peace,

with no guilt and no regrets

When the Israelites brought their gifts and sacrifices to God as sin offerings, it cleansed them of the sins they had committed, but couldn't give the worshiper a clear conscience for those sins.

However, the blood sacrifice of Christ Jesus does much, much more. Christ offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice without blemish to God. His blood cleanses us from sin, and gives us clear consciences so we can worship the living God.

1 Peter 3:21 (RSV) Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED

The chief priests, elders, officers, and all the council pressed Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor that ruled in Israel) to sentence Jesus to death for blasphemy. Pilate brought Jesus before the judgment seat to be tried, and then concluded that he found no fault in Jesus, and sought to release Him. The Jews pressed him even more and threatened to report him to Caesar. At that point, Pilate delivered Jesus to be scourged and crucified. That scourging fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy... by His stripes, we are healed.

So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. (John 19:1)

I gave My back to those who struck Me. (Isaiah 50:6; also Matthew 27:26)

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. (Isaiah 53:4; also Matthew 8:17)

By His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5; also 1Peter 2:24)

Believe and receive.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †