JUDGE NOT THAT YOU BE NOT JUDGED

It's written in James 5:16 to own up to our faults, and pray for each other so God can heal us. Therefore, I must confess my judgment of obesity. Every time I see someone that is atrociously obese, I judge them. I'm not talking about someone that's a little overweight, I'm talking morbid obesity.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT), "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged."

When I saw the woman in this picture, I immediately judged her for being the size she is, and having the nerve to put on a bikini. Not only this woman, but all images of morbid obesity, whether in person or an image, my first reaction is going to be negative. But the truth is, there but by the grace of God, go I. I myself, used to weigh over 200 pounds. How can I judge anyone, when I walked in those shoes myself not that long ago?

Heavenly Father, please forgive me. I apologize for my negative attitude of another human being. I am no better than them. I know You will judge me by the standard in which I judge others. I want to be gracious to my fellow man, and an imitator of God as Your dear child (Eph. 5:1). Please transform and renew my mind so that when these images come across my path, I will think godly thoughts, and love them as You love them. Have mercy on me O God, and wash me thoroughly of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. I confess my sin in the presence of others, that You may heal me. In Jesus' name, Amen. 🛐

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

HOW WE DEPEND ON GOD

For years, the Lord has been minimizing my I'll-just-do-it-myself spirit. I was very independent and just did without, before I would ask for help. I have come a long way from where I started. I realize now, that right off the bat, I need to pray BEFORE I start to tackle something, and as soon as I begin to see trouble rising... pray some more.

This has been my character, pretty much all my life. In the first grade I told my mother that I would just walk back and forth to school by myself, I didn't need an escort.

We depend on God by praying to Him. We must train ourselves to take all our needs to God in prayer. We depend on God by living with childlike faith in Him. Faith is the essence of the Christian life.

Childlike faith... humble submission with a sincere and trusting heart. We must identify as children — weak and dependent on God's strength. His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses.

Jesus promoted a humble, honest faith in God, and He used the innocence of a child as His example. In the same way that children trust their earthly parents, we should trust our Heavenly Father.

Matthew 18:4 (NIrV) Anyone who takes the humble position of this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven.

Sometimes we make life too complicated, but the more we learn to trust God, the more we will let Him guide our lives. And who better to depend on than God to guide our lives?

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

THE GOD-SHAPED HOLE

The God Shaped Hole In The Heart

My last date of full-time employment in corporate America was September 28, 2022. Since then, I have upped my game in the areas where I believe God has called me to serve.

Yesterday, I was out for a walk and I began reflecting on how fulfilling this work is over all the jobs I've held in my lifetime... and there's been quite a few.

Work is important and employment is meaningful, but it will not meet our ultimate need for God. Life at its best fulfillment includes our acknowledgement of God, in addition to our pursuit of work.

There's a God-shaped hole in the heart of every person which cannot be satisfied by any created thing, but only by God our Creator, who has been made known to us by Jesus Christ, our Savior. >>Blaise Pascal (Defender of Christianity in the 1600s)

It's unfortunate that I didn't figure this out forty-something years ago, but I'm enjoying it a lot right now. I'm not saying to quit your job, but to include God in it each and every time you enter those doors. That's where job fulfillment comes from.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

NOTHING CAN UNDO WHAT GOD DOES

In the midst of life's afflictions, we have God's assurance of His eternal presence and His eternal power to make us super-conquerors (not just reaching the finish line, but breaking world records in the process).

Romans 8:35-37 (NKJV)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

• tribulation (enduring great affliction)
• distress (upset, worry, and pain)
• persecution (oppression and torment)
• famine (extreme scarcity of resources)
• nakedness (without a covering)
• peril (imminent danger)
• sword (weapons of war)

Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• death (termination of life)
• life (the duration of existence)
• angels (supernatural beings)
• principalities (authorities and powers)
• powers (capacity of influence)
• things present (at hand)
• things to come (approaching)
• height (distance to the top)
• depth (distance to the bottom)
• any other created thing (anything else in all of creation)

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV) Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 🏆 🥇🥈🥉

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

CONFESSION TIME

At conversion, all our sins are forgiven—past, present, and future. Yet even after we become Christians, we still sin and still need to confess it. This kind of confession is not offered to gain God’s acceptance (we received that on the day of our conversion), but to remove the barriers of fellowship that our sin puts between us and God. Confession should include our confirmation that we want to be close to our Heavenly Father.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

MY CONFESSIONS:

#1 - I Have Anger Issues (Eph. 4:31)

#2 - I Need to Shed My Independent Spirit (Deut. 8:17-18; Jer. 17:7)

#3 - Antisocial Behavior (Heb. 10:24-25)

#4 - Not Honoring My Mother (Deut. 5:16)

#5 - Submission to My Husband (1 Peter 3:1-2)

#6 - Too Much Pride (Matt. 23:12)

#7 - Judging Others (Matt. 7:1-2)

#8 - Taking Blessings for Granted (Heb. 2:3)

#9 - My Disgust for Fiery Preaching (2 Tim. 4:2)

Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV) 🙏 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 51:2-3 (NKJV) 🙏 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Psalm 51:10-13 (NKJV) 🙏 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) 🙏 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Today, if you find yourself in an irritating circumstance or a frustrating situation, stop and examine your heart, then ask for God’s help in resolving the works of the flesh, so you can draw closer to Him. It is the wise and peaceful thing to do.💙

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

HELL IS REAL!

A patient that was lying in the Emergency Room, suddenly went into cardiac arrest. The doctor put the defibrillator on him and shocked his heart — the patient recovered. (A defibrillator is a medical device that delivers an electrical shock to the heart, to restore a normal heart rhythm when the heart suddenly stops beating.)

The patient recovered and began yelling at the top of lungs, "Please, please don't let me go back to that place! That was hell!" His heart stopped a second time. They hit him with the defibrillator again, and he recovered a second time. Again, he was yelling at the top of his lungs that they would not let him go back to hell.

The horror in the patient's voice shook the doctor and he prayed, "Dear Lord, please help this man who needs Your mercy, and is crying out for Your grace. May he have an encounter with You, and may You save his soul."

The patient's whole body relaxed, and his vital signs stabilized.

Heaven is real, and so is hell. 🔥 👿 🔥

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

MORBID OBESITY

They eat, but still cannot be satisfied, and become morbidly obese, because what they're really hungering for is not physical food. I used to weigh over 200 pounds eating Blue Bell ice cream everyday. All the enemy had to do was make sure I had a bad day at work, and I was gonna surely have some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla for dinner.

But God showed me a better way. He delivered me from this stronghold. I lost 60 pounds and haven't touched Blue Bell in years. When I'm having one of those days, I reach out to my Heavenly Father and get some help and strength to sustain me.

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. The one who comes to Me shall NEVER hunger, and the one who believes in Me shall NEVER thirst."

This was me over 200 pounds,
at a work function.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST

To the Jews of the Old Testament and the Pharisees of the New Testament, the high priest was the highest religious authority in the land. Once a year, he alone entered the Most Holy Place in the Temple to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation (Leviticus 16).

Christ is superior to the high priests, and His royal priesthood (the church) is superior to their priesthood. Like the high priest, Jesus mediates between God and us. As humanity’s representative, He intercedes for us before God. As God’s representative, He assures us of God’s forgiveness. As both truly God and truly man, Jesus has more authority than the Jewish high priests. Unlike the high priest, who could go before God only once a year, Christ always sits at God’s right hand, interceding for us. Jesus is the Great High Priest, and His believers are the royal priesthood.

Hebrews 4:14 (NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †

PRAYER TO STAY ON TRACK

My dear Heavenly Father,

I care so much about what You think, and I don't want to be distracted by anything that You don't want me to do. If I start to get off track, please re-align me with Your will. It is written, that we should acknowledge You in all our ways and You will direct our path. I want to do what You've called me to do. Sometimes I tend to get a little intimidated by what You might ask. I pray that You will give me the desire and enable me with the power to get it done. In Jesus' name. Amen. 🛐

To God be the glory.

Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †