Very often when out with my Bloodhound, someone will approach us inquiring, “What does he do?”  As I explain what the service of SEARCH/RESCUE/RECOVERY entails, the question comes again.  Sharing more details like:  Sometimes a hunter gets lost in the woods, a fisherman falls off the back of his boat, a child becomes lost at a picnic, or a grandma wanders from a nursing home and it is NIXTER’s job to find them, the question comes again. 

NIXTER wears a bright, blaze-orange designation vest with the words SEARCH on one side and RESCUE on the other; this is three-inch lettering.  My lack of patience now wants to bluntly blurt out:  HE FINDS DEAD BODIES.  Yes, for shock value, to communicate more distincltly the service he performs when a mind finds difficulty wraping around the reality. 

This is exactly what the Lord has been trying to communicate with me for a while.  He is also in the business of search/rescue/recovery.  The Lord pursued me as I wandered a lost and condemned creature.  The Lord rescued me from death and the power of the devil.  The Lord recovered me from the guilt of my sin.  The Lord has made me a new creature through His patience and determination to love me.

And there are times when I don’t get it either!  I am not always cognisant of the depth of His pursuit–the trek to the cross.  Often I forget the crucifixion was for ME.  I fail to live my life as the  redeemed, blood-bought child of God that I really am. How patient is my Lord with me!  He has given me the gift of the Bloodhound and ………

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  “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

The Creator has designed a canine truly reflecting His great love for me. He has instilled instincts into the Bloodhound that drive the dog to completion of the task. It has been said that you can wave a freshly grilled cheeseburger–with all the trimmings–under the nose of a tracking Bloodhound, and it will not be distracted. Recently, in Indiana, a herd of six deer darted from the woods across NIXTER’s track, and he never even lifted his nose from the ground. Every time I witness my Bloodhound working I am reminded of the trek to the cross taken by my Lord. Nothing deterred His love for me; nothing distracted Him from the task of obtaining my salvation. From the salient sin in the gorgeous garden to the temptation from Satan in the wilderness to the petitioning prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane to the cruel crucifixion, He stayed the course. He searched me out, rescued me from sin, death, and the power of the devil that I may be His own! That’s true recovery: my redemption!************************************************************************************************************

There is a myriad of reflections that the Lord has imprinted on the Bloodhound that draw my attention to His character.  Being aware so that not to miss them has become a focus for my life.   

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More to come……..

Today is my day to reach out to the world. 

My message is that of care and concern for the true Church of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  With His guidance, I will share my witness–what and how He works in my life.  Come along with me…..

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