If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth resulting in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 HCSB

On December 23, 2010 we welcomed our first beagle into our home.  My nephew had found him starving to death in a cemetery in Slidell.  He was malnourished and covered in ticks and fleas.  For several days, my nephew would go into this cemetery at lunchtime and share his lunch with this beagle, who he began to call Buddy.  After several days of no one claiming Buddy, my nephew and his wife decided one evening to make the 45 minute drive to Slidell to see if they could bring Buddy home.  They got him home, took him to the groomer the next day to get him rid of all the ticks and fleas and began to care for him.  They could not keep him permanently as they already had two Maltese living in their home.  I was about to retire and was looking for a cock-a-poo.  I had, had a cocker spaniel/poodle mix years before and he was a great dog. As I was getting ready to retire, I felt that I was ready for another inside dog. My nephew asked me to take Buddy. He showed me a picture of him and I must admit, I was hooked.

When we took Buddy in, I had no idea that beagles were so much different from any dogs I had had before. He would follow that adorable little nose of his wherever it would lead, and more often than not, it led him to trouble.  He dug his way out of our fence a couple times, then we reinforced the bottom of our fence.  He broke into our pantry more times than I care to count.  Just a couple months ago, he broke in and opened up a 10 pound bag of sugar.  He’s broken in and taken out things like pork skins, sugar, pudding mix, and protein powder.  While I wasn’t so happy to come home and find the mess he had made, I reflect on these things fondly now as we say good-bye to Buddy. He passed away yesterday afternoon.

We have no idea what Buddy went through before we got him,  but we gave him the best life we could while he was with us.  He came to us with heartworms and prone to wander. We gave him medical treatment and all the love we had for the time that he was with us. The first two times Buddy got out of our fence, we were able to track him down and bring him home.  The third time, we could hear him howling in the woods behind our house, but had no idea where he was. After a night in the woods, we found him sleeping on the patio at our back door the next morning.  He actually got out of the fence a couple years ago and didn’t go far. I guess he finally realized that being here was far better than chasing rabbits in the woods.

Now, as I tell you all this, you may wonder what this has to do with our scripture passage today.  Well, I’m glad you asked. You see God is our rescuer.  He will take us no matter what our circumstances.  We don’t have to clean ourselves up, He will take us and clean us up.  We don’t even have to be on our best behavior, He will help us with that as well.  We do, however, have to be willing to be rescued.  We have to be willing to surrender and submit to Him.  We have to believe in our heart and confess with our mouths that He is Lord.

Buddy had a kind of determination that I had never seen before in a dog.  If he set out to do something, he was determined to get it done.  He once got a hold of a can of dog food while we were sleeping. In five hours time, he managed to use his teeth like a can opener and cut along the edge of the can to open the can.  As human beings we are often just as determined.  Sometimes we are determined to not give up our desires of the flesh. When this happens, we lose out.  We trade the good life that God has to offer for a life of chaos and turmoil.  We choose to live outside of God’s protection.  Why would anyone want to do that?

God wants to rescue you.  He wants to give you the best He has to offer (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28).  But, you have to do your part.  You have to trust in Him.  You have to surrender and submit to Him.  When Buddy got out of our yard, he had a choice.  He could continue to roam free in the woods and live off whatever he could find or he could submit and surrender to staying in our climate controlled home and be sheltered from the weather and be fed twice daily.  It didn’t take him long to figure that one out.  Now if a beagle can figure this out, then I hope it’s even easier for you.  I will admit it took me a lot longer than it took Buddy. I strayed from God more times that I care to count, but I finally came to the realization that my best life was with Christ.

Maybe, you’ve been rescued, but you strayed.  That’s okay, come home to Him.  He is waiting with open arms to greet you.  Maybe you are out there and never have been rescued, well my friend, wait no longer.  Turn to Him and trust in Him.  Know that He wants the absolute best for you.  He will take good care of you.

It didn’t take Buddy long to become a pampered beagle.  He accepted the good life we had to offer. Air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter, food always available, treats, rides in the car, walks and free medical.  I pray that you will accept the good life that God has to offer you.  It’s better than anything you could ever imagine.  Take it from Buddy, being rescued is a good thing. Won’t you accept the salvation that Christ offers you today?

Have a great day!