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Somebody Feed Me!

5/8/2021

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Matthew 15:27 "And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
Any time I read of this humble plea from a Gentile woman, I can't help but think of McQueen.  First, It was Jesus' policy to go "to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks" (Romans 1:16; see esp. Matthew 10:5-7).  Jesus gave His chosen people the first right of refusal so to speak.  But, thank God Jesus is also for the Gentiles...there's plenty of Jesus to go around, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16).  Second, this woman's humility touched Jesus and He answered her request to free her daughter from the unclean spirit.  The woman identified herself with the dog that is willing to eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table.  That is the part that reminds me of my guide dog.
It doesn't matter how trained McQueen is, how consistent I am with his feedings, or even how I spend good money on his Taste of the Wild Bison flavored dog food--when certain people are eating at the table, McQueen is sitting at attention.  He knows who to sit by at supper time, our youngest children.  He has had many happy doggy moments when their "crumbs" fall into his salivating mouth.
Who's table are you eating from?  Thankfully, we aren't Jesus' dogs but God's children when we are saved.  Jesus serves more than crumbs to His children.  He serves living water, the Bread from Heaven, the milk of the Word, and (when you are mature enough for it) the meat of the Word.  He is also known for sharing delectable sweets with us.  Unfortunately, sometimes God's children get full on the carnival food scraps of the world so they end up not being so hungry when God offers His nutritious sustenance.  
McQueen has a problem...he is a dog that would eat from anyone.  As children of God, we should be careful who we are eating from.  We have a seat at our Master's table.

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More Than a Guide Dog

4/30/2021

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Right now I am writing from my computer at home.  I am taking the time to continue with my Guide Dog Blog because that is all I have right now is TIME.  My family is in the middle of a ten day quarantine from COVID 19.  Don't feel sorry for us, we are all going to be great.  We are not afraid of sickness or death because our Loving Heavenly Father only gives us the best things possible.  He has great plans for us! So, just pray God receives glory.
As I write, I think about my guide dog not getting much work in right now.  However, he is doing something that was not trained into him, but seems to be intrinsic to the retriever breed: McQueen is a great comfort dog.  When I'm sick in bed, McQueen will check on me.  When I'm sick in the chair, McQueen will lay by me.  My guide dog seems to care about me.  (Don't get me wrong--my wife is caring for me more!)  But, McQueen reminds me of a timeless truth about my Jesus: "...there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" Proverbs 18:24b.  Jesus has promised to never leave me, nor forsake me.  His Holy Spirit is the great Comforter.  Even if I didn't have McQueen or Julie or anyone to care for me in my weakness--I have Jesus.  Jesus is love and comfort to me.
God gives us little earthly blessings like McQueen to remind us of His goodness!


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Back!

4/27/2021

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​Proverbs 1:23 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."

         What a word to the wise!  "Turn you at my reproof..."  God uses His Word and His Spirit in this world to correct your direction in His Wisdom.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."  God's reproofs are profitable to you.
          What are reproofs? According to the BDB Lexicon reproof means "rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement."  That is a vast range of intensity.  A rebuke may not be as severe as a correction, and a correction may not be as severe as punishment, and so on.  God cares about you so much that He reveals His perfect way to you and reproves you when you are going the wrong way.  If that doesn't get your attention then maybe throwing a correction into your path will.
          My guide dog, McQueen, is a wonderful help to me.  He makes sure I don't get run over by Dump trucks or walk off a ledge.  The guide dog/master relationship is interesting because he will safely guide me wherever I want to go, but I have to have the orientation to point him in the right direction.  Unlike our Heavenly Father, sometimes I will lead McQueen astray and will need to turn around.  So, when that happens the verbal command of "back" is given with a backward sweeping hand motion.  If McQueen is doing what he was trained to do (and he has so far) he will immediately turn back and lead me in the opposite direction.
          BUT, if he were to not respond to my command to turn back I would essentially reprove him with a leash correction (a tug on his choke chain), and then repeat the command.  If that doesn't work (and it would mostly be because he sees something he wants: food, another dog, etc.) then he would have a more severe reproof: "doggy push-ups."  Doggy push-ups are a series of simple commands followed by leash corrections until I have his attention.
              Too many of us are living life in constant reproof when we could be living in revival!  All you must do is properly respond to God's reproofs and turn "back" when He says so.

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What's Under All That Fur?

1/2/2019

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     McQueen has proven to be a comfort to the sick and a joy to our church.  As I continue to discipline McQueen's life with ongoing training he will continue to be a wonderful guide.  But, if his discipline slips his inward struggle between "goofy dog" and "guide dog" becomes more intense.
     There is an inward struggle.  I've heard of some guide dogs getting a little sensitive when their master referred to them as a "dog."  But, deep down under all that fur and training lies the heart of a dog.  I'm reminded of McQueen's dog-ness almost every time I preach.  McQueen gets his best naps during my preaching (and I've learned not to take it personally).  It is during his naps that he dreams of doing things he has been trained not to do.  For instance, McQueen has barked in the middle of his church nap.  I have had to wake him up in a service because he was barking in his sleep.  As soon as he came to, he straightened up.  Other times McQueen has been "chasing rabbits" during my preaching.  His paws have twitched in a running-like motion indicating that he was hot on the trail.  These "goofy dog" behaviors only come out when my "guide dog" is asleep.
     The same can be said for a Christian.  To be a Christian means you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.  A Christian has a new life: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).  A Christian has spiritual life: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9).  Literally, a Christian is one who is "Christ-like".
     But if you are "sleeping" through life and not following the disciplines of Christian living you are in danger of living like the "goofy dog" instead of the "guide dog."  There is an inward struggle between the old life and the new.  And, if you are not intentional about living for Christ, the old nature reveals itself much more than it should.
     Whenever McQueen performs well it does not go unnoticed...by anyone.  But when he barks in church in the middle of his sleep, his goofiness does not go unnoticed either.  
     Why not live for Christ on purpose.  Be intentional about Bible reading, prayer, church attendance.  Then one day you will hear those words of praise from the Father in heaven, "Well done!"

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Close to the Master

5/18/2018

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I have recently traveled with McQueen on an airplane.  He is quite experienced now at flying--we have been on five flights together in a years time.  McQueen guides me through airports only stopping to make friends with the TSA search dogs, emotional support dogs, and other guide dogs.  I didn't realize there were so many dogs in an airport!  But, with McQueen guiding me I have been able to face one of my greatest fears as a visually impaired man--navigating airports.  As a matter of fact, this last time I didn't even ask for assistance to my gate (yay for me!).
When in training I had wondered how it would work having a big dog with me onboard the airplane.  I would be flying home with McQueen from the Guide Dogs of the Desert school and trying him out for the first time in airports.  The trainers told me that he would just sit under my feet and ride there keeping his tail free from being run over by the drink cart.  I couldn't imagine what that might look like, but they assured me that it would work and that McQueen would fit.  Sure enough, he fits.  McQueen squeezes his 80+ pound body under the seat in front of me with his head laying on my feet.  
How well does he travel you might ask?  Better than some children.  He usually sleeps the whole ride (which is his favorite thing to do anyhow).  He rests at my feet through the whole experience of take off and landing.  When we hit turbulence, McQueen inches in as close as he can to my feet.  It seems like the closer he can get to me, the more peace he feels.  
This sounds a lot like the relationship I have with my Lord Jesus Christ.  In the comparison, I'm the dog.  I enjoy resting at Christ's feet.  When fears alarm me, I can squeeze into Jesus as close as I like and He gives peace.  I pray that you too know the peace and rest that comes from having Jesus as your Saviour and being close to Him as your Friend.
Psalms 91:4 "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe."
Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
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Obedience Training

2/21/2018

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This is a snapshot of my guide dog, McQueen, when he was just a “little” puppy.  You could say it is his baby picture.  (Yes, I have a baby picture of McQueen.  No, I don’t have a lock of his baby hair; I get plenty of hair every time I groom him.)  But notice how cute he was: almost squeezable, teddy-bear-like.  Would you believe at that stage in McQueen’s development, CUTENESS was one of the only things going for him?  I heard that after his workouts he would plop down on the floor like a bear rug (which he still does) and drink water from his doggy dish—poor thing.  At that stage in life, McQueen wasn’t guiding people anywhere; he wasn’t aware of the dangers of traffic; he didn’t respond to guide work commands like “forward”, “straight”, “left”, “right”, “halt”, “steady.”  As a puppy, all McQueen had was cuteness and POTENTIAL.
Today, McQueen is still very cute.  But he is also very PRODUCTIVE.  Like every guide dog, he is admired for his usefulness and brains when it comes to guide work.  He is praised for his loyalty and service to his master (me). 
What made the difference between having POTENTIAL and being PRODUCTIVE?  For the first two years of McQueen’s life he had love and training poured into him.
Most of that time was spent with puppy raisers who loved him (they provided for him, protected him, and praised him while he was growing).  While caring for him the puppy raisers began teaching him obedience.  The love that was shown became the motivation for McQueen to learn obedience.  He still thrives on praise and knowing he is doing a good job.  The puppy raisers were given a book as thick as the Bible on various obedience commands they needed to teach McQueen.  Every day (even now) McQueen went through simple obedience training like “sit”, “down”, “sit”, “down”, “sit”, “stay”, “down”, “sit”, “stay”, “come”, “stand”, “sit”, “Good Boy!” (Pat on the head—McQueen goes wild! And then he hears, “sit”, and calms right back down again.)  Once he mastered the simple obedience commands (known as Juno) then McQueen could go back to the Guide Dogs of the Desert School for specific guide work training with a qualified trainer. McQueen learned simple obedience and at a year and a half he entered Guide Dog “college.”
There are so many parallels here to child rearing and life—I hope you are catching them!  My dog started out with POTENTIAL and because of obedience training and love became PRODUCTIVE.
One reason our nation is in a mess with no regard for educational, governmental, or church authority (let alone God’s authority) is because the home is a mess.  Parents may be “loving” their children and not “training” them in matters of simple obedience.  Or, parents are “training” their children without the “love” aspect.  Remember with McQueen, the puppy raiser’s providing, protecting, and praising motivated him to learn obedience.  Without the love aspect McQueen would have been a sad puppy dog.  And, without the training aspect McQueen would just be another spoiled pet.  Ouch! I am writing this analogy to sharpen my own parenting skills and that last one hurt.
When considering what they do to train guide dogs we can learn a lot about training children.  But keep in mind, training service animals is a worthy and noble cause that helps hundreds of blind people and people with PTSD, diabetes, epilepsy, etc., but training our children right impacts whole communities, schools, churches, nations, and the world for generations to come.
Pretty much the only commandment given to children in the New Testament is “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3.
Dear friend, if your child will not obey YOU, they will not obey their teacher at school, the police officer, their boss at work, or God.  That is a dangerous place to be because the main reason there is anybody with authority is because God ordained authority for our good.  If you, as a parent, do not expect your child to obey authority, then you are holding them back from great things.  The teacher educates, the police officer protects, the boss writes your paycheck, and God saves your soul.  To rebel against these is to ruin your potential.  And, to teach our children to rebel against these authorities will ruin their potential.
One thing I have learned from my guide dog, McQueen comes from his training:
OBEDIENCE IS THE FOUNDATION OF USEFULNESS.
If McQueen never learned to obey he would have been a drain on our family (like our other mutt), instead of a productive service dog.
Let me share a breath of fresh air with you, my friend.  God has given you the authority to expect obedience from your child.  But He has also given you the tools for training and they are found in the Bible.  If you need encouragement you are always welcome to come to church and be refreshed with other parents trying to raise their kids (there is strength in numbers).
Keep checking this page for more insights on how to train your child to obey, learned from the life of McQueen and the Word of God.

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Guided by Chocolate

2/21/2018

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          I don’t know how you get through your day, but I can navigate any day with my God and 80 pounds of Chocolate!  Yes, you read it right!  I can get through any day walking with God and 80 pounds of Chocolate.  Of course, I am referring to the God of the Bible and my Guide Dog, my Chocolate English Lab, McQueen.
          Visual impairment is a challenge I have had to deal with for all my life.  Kjers Optic Neuropathy is a hereditary degenerative eye condition that makes me very near sighted.  I am considered legally blind (although, you wouldn’t be able to tell it by looking at me).    Because the problem lies in my optic nerve and not the eye ball itself glasses do not correct my vision.  And so, my whole life I have learned coping mechanisms to try to make me look and act “normal.”  I look people in the general vicinity of their eye balls when in conversation.  I comment on paintings in waiting rooms.  I always drive the speed limit.  (Just kidding—I don’t drive.)
          Through the years, concerned people have developed technologies that have greatly improved the safety, independence, and overall quality of life of the visually impaired.  Tools such as the white cane, braille, speech to text and voice over, and bump dots have aided people who are blind to achieve great things—or some semblance of “normalcy.”
          For the first three decades of my life I tried my hardest to just fit in, to look “normal.”  I used magnifiers from time to time, but, other than that, I never fully embraced the tools for the blind.  The heart of the problem was a problem of my heart—I wasn’t happy with the way God made me.  I wasn’t honest about who I am.  I got tired of the struggle of not being “sighted” and not being “blind.”  I had to acknowledged that I was a person that was blind and that God had a plan for me.  Once I was honest about who I was I could accept the tools God had graciously inspired to help me gracefully live my life for His glory.
          In April of 2016 I began my crash course in Orientation and Mobility with a local O & M Instructor.  The white cane and I became well acquainted over a year’s period of time.  And then, I got a call from Guide Dogs of the Desert in Palm Springs, California.  They had a match for me.  In April of 2017, I navigated my way through Denver International Airport with a white cane to go to Palm Springs.  A month later, I navigated my way back through DIA with McQueen, my 80 pounds of Chocolate, to go back home.
          McQueen has been a wonderful guide, companion, assistant “pastor”, and friend.  He is not a tool but a living, breathing creature that God has gifted to guide me through my days.  In months to come I will post “Lessons from McQueen” as illustrative anecdotes on living life for God.  But for starters, here are a few thoughts from my personal journey:
1. We all need to be honest about who we are.  Just like I was born with a physical hereditary eye condition, we all have been born with a spiritual hereditary condition.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
2. We all need to accept what God has graciously provided for us to have a grace filled life.  Just as I had to accept the help offered me for my physical limitations, we all must accept God’s gift for our spiritual limitations.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
3. We all must follow our Guide—the Word of God.
John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
2 Timothy 3:15-17 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
          I told you that I can get through any day with my God and 80 pounds of Chocolate.  Good news!  You can navigate through life, too!  With Christ as your Saviour and God’s Word as your Guide you can make it through any day for ever!

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    Author

    I am Keith Bates, honored to be the pastor of the Penrose Baptist Church.  I was born legally blind and have enjoyed serving God with my guide dog, McQueen.  These are some lessons I've learned from McQueen.

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