A new trick helps terrified dog calm down at the vet

Wouldn’t it be great if there was something to help dogs be less terrified at the vet? Especially if it was free, easy, and required no advance planning at all?

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We are in the final hours

What if Things Only Get Worse?
by Max Lucado

Christ tells us that they will. He predicts spiritual bailouts, ecological turmoil, and worldwide persecution. Yet in the midst of it all, he contends bravery is still an option. (Matt. 24:4-14)

Things are going to get bad, really bad, before they get better. And when conditions worsen, "See to it that you are not alarmed" (Matt. 24:6 NIV). Jesus chose a stout term for alarmed that he used on no other occasion. It means "to wail, to cry aloud," as if Jesus counseled the disciples, "Don't freak out when bad stuff happens."

"See to it..." Bosses and teachers are known to use that phrase. "See to it that you fill out the reports." Or "Your essay is due tomorrow. See to it that you finish your work." The words call for additional attention, special focus, extra resolve. Isn't this what Christ is asking of us? In this dangerous day, on this Faberge'-fragile globe, with financial collapse on the news and terrorists on the loose, we have every reason to retreat into bunkers of dread and woe.

But Christ says to us, "See to it that you are not alarmed." (NIV)

"Keep your head and don't panic" (MSG).

"See that you are not troubled" (NKJV).

And remember: "All these [challenging times] are the beginning of birth pains" (Matt. 24:8 NIV), and birth pangs aren't all bad. (Easy for me to say.) Birth pains signal the onset of the final push. The pediatrician assures the mom-to-be, "It's going to hurt for a time, but it's going to get better." Jesus assures us of the same. Global conflicts indicate our date on the maternity calendar. We are in the final hours, just a few pushes from delivery, a few brief ticks of eternity's clock from the great crowning of creation. A whole new world is coming!

From Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2009) Max Lucado

Max is the only author to have won three Christian Book of the Year* awards—in 1999 for Just Like Jesus, in 1997 for In the Grip of Grace, and in 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name. In 2005, Reader’s Digest magazine dubbed him “America’s Best Preacher” and in 2004, Christianity Today magazine called him “America’s Pastor.”

The Snare of Fear

Proverbs 29:25 tells us,

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

A snare is a noose used for catching an animal. Fear will cause you to be snared or trapped, just like an animal.

I have a friend in the church who has a very large nut tree in his yard, which the squirrels regularly raid. He put this big net over the tree, but it did not seem to deter the squirrels at all. So he finally got a trap and set it up on the roof right next to the nut tree. To date, he has caught about 120 squirrels.

When the squirrel is in the trap, it is totally at his mercy. It can't go anywhere. He happens to be a fairly merciful gentleman, so he takes them over to a local park and lets them go.

When fear gets a hold of your life, you become like one of those trapped squirrels—you are not going anywhere. You are at its mercy. You will not progress spiritually. It keeps you bound. The fear of man can keep you from obeying God; it will keep you from pleasing God. It will keep you from the joy you would experience when you trust God.

In fact, there is a contrast in our verse today. The man or woman who is bound by the fear of man, will not be trusting God in some area of his life. Look at the two parts of the verse together: The fear of man brings a snare, but... in contrast ...whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

Do not allow the fear of man to control your life. Instead, trust in the Lord.

Bayless Conley