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I Share A True Dog Story With You (July 2026, New Zealand)

It was a bitterly cold Saturday morning in July. Winter mist still lingered over a peaceful lake in New Zealand as three generations of one family enjoyed a leisurely walk together.

The grandparents walked alongside their daughter and son-in-law. Their two children—a twelve-year-old boy named Liam and his ten-year-old sister, Lily—laughed as they wandered along the winding path, taking in the beauty of the lake.

Trotting happily ahead was Logretto, the family’s much-loved black French Bulldog.

Only about eight months earlier, Logretto had lost her right hind leg in an accident. It had been a life-changing injury, yet she had recovered remarkably well. She had adapted to life on three legs with extraordinary determination. If you didn’t know her story, you would hardly notice her disability.

Except for one thing.

Her hunting instinct had never disappeared.

Birds fascinated her.

Years earlier, when she still had all four legs, she had once launched herself into a lake and swum nearly seventy metres in pursuit of waterfowl without a second thought. Nothing had changed inside her mind. She still believed she could do anything.

That morning, everything changed in an instant.

A large grey swan, hidden among the reeds beside the walking track, was suddenly startled. Flapping its enormous wings, it sprinted across the water, squawking loudly as it struggled to take flight.

Logretto reacted before anyone could stop her.

Without hesitation, she charged straight into the swamp.

At first, the water was only ankle deep. She splashed confidently through the reeds, running across small grassy patches rising above the muddy water.

Then the swamp became deeper.

Running became swimming.

The firm ground disappeared beneath her.

Still driven by instinct, she pressed on.

Within seconds, she was almost ten metres into the dense reeds.

Then she disappeared.

The swamp swallowed her completely.

No one could see her or the swan.

All that remained were frantic splashes in the reeds and the large, one-metre-tall swan’s distressed cries.

The family looked at one another in disbelief.

This was no longer a game.

Logretto was drowning.

Without hesitation, her owner, Dad Max, pulled off his jacket and plunged into the freezing water.

“Logretto! Come back! Come back!” he shouted desperately.

Liam immediately threw off his Macpac jacket and rushed in after his father.

“No, Liam! Stay out!” his father called.

But there wasn’t time.

Grandad recognised the urgency of the situation.

“They need help!” he urged.

Liam waded into the icy swamp.

“Logretto! Logretto! Come here!” they shouted as they searched through the reeds.

Meanwhile, Grandma, Mum, Lily, and Grandad stood helplessly on the shore.

There was nothing they could do except pray.

“Lord, please help Logretto.”

“Please keep her afloat.”

“Please guide them to her.”

“Please, God, help.”

Seconds became minutes.

Minutes felt like hours.

The silence became unbearable.

Then…

Movement.

Out of the reeds emerged Liam.

In his arms was Logretto.

Cold.

Soaking wet.

Exhausted.

Eyes popping with shock

But alive.

“We found her just in time,” father and son said with overwhelming relief.

Tears quickly turned into thanksgiving.

Thank goodness, the swan escaped safely.

It was a spectacle.

A terrifying spectacle.

A rescue.

A miracle.

That family would all go home together that morning.

That night I woke suddenly.

One word echoed repeatedly in my mind.

Spectacle.

Then another sentence followed.

“Jesus made a spectacle of death, hell, and the grave.”

Although those exact words are not found in Scripture, they beautifully capture the victory proclaimed in Colossians 2:15. I couldn’t get them out of my mind.

So, early the next morning, I sat down to write.

The rescue of a little dog reminded me of the greatest rescue mission in history.

Humanity wandered into a swamp far more dangerous than muddy water.

Sin drew us deeper and deeper until we could no longer stand.

Like Logretto, we often chase the very things that capture our attention, never realising the danger hidden beneath the surface.

At first, life seems manageable.

Then suddenly, the ground disappears.

We begin to sink.

No amount of determination can rescue us.

No amount of good works can pull us free.

“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23).

We were hopelessly trapped.

But Heaven refused to stand on the shoreline.

The Father sent His Son.

Jesus stepped into our swamp.

He entered our broken world.

He walked where we could not walk.

He suffered what we deserved.

He carried our sins to the Cross.

When Jesus died, Satan believed he had won.

Hell celebrated.

Darkness appeared victorious.

The tomb closed over the Son of God.

But what looked like Satan’s greatest victory became his greatest defeat.

The Cross was not the end.

It was the battlefield.

Three days later, Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb alive.

Death had been conquered.

The grave had been defeated.

Hell had lost its hold.

As Colossians 2:15 declares, Jesus “spoiled principalities and powers” and “made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them.”

In the ancient Roman world, victorious generals paraded their defeated enemies through the streets. Their weapons were stripped away. Their authority was gone. Their defeat became a public spectacle for all to witness.

That is exactly what Jesus accomplished.

Satan was disarmed.

His accusations were silenced.

His authority over those who belong to Christ was broken forever.

Jesus transformed the Cross—the ultimate symbol of shame—into the greatest triumph the universe has ever witnessed.

What appeared to be defeat became God’s eternal victory.

What looked like weakness displayed God’s unstoppable power.

What seemed like darkness became the dawn of salvation.

It was Heaven’s greatest spectacle.

Even more astonishing is what happened next.

Jesus did not keep His victory to Himself.

After His resurrection, He declared,

“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
— Matthew 28:18 (KJV)

He then commissioned His followers to go in His authority.

As believers, we do not fight for victory.

We fight from victory.

The enemy still roars.

He still deceives.

He still intimidates.

But he is already defeated.

His weapons have been stripped away by the finished work of Christ.

When we stand in Christ, we stand in the authority of the One who conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave.

Just as Liam and his father plunged into the icy swamp to rescue a life that could not save itself, Jesus entered our hopeless condition to rescue us. The difference is that Jesus paid the full price Himself so that we could live forever.

Every time I think of Logretto emerging safely from that swamp, I remember another rescue.

Another Son.

Another Father.

Another victory.

Another spectacle.

Only this time, the rescue changed eternity.

Because Jesus lives, we have hope.

Because Jesus conquered, we can stand.

Because Jesus triumphed, we can walk in His authority.

The greatest spectacle the world has ever witnessed was not merely an empty tomb.

It was the public triumph of Jesus Christ over every power of darkness.

Because of Him, we are no longer drowning.

We have been rescued.

A Prayer of Rescue

Perhaps, today, you feel as though you are drowning.

Maybe it is fear.

Perhaps it is grief.

Anxiety.

Loneliness.

Shame.

Addiction.

Financial pressure.

A broken relationship.

Or simply the weight of life itself.

The wonderful news of the Gospel is this: Jesus knows exactly where you are.

He sees you.

He hears your cries.

And His arm is not too short to save.

If this is your prayer today, pray these words with me.

Heavenly Father,

Today I come to You just as I am. I confess that there are times when I feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and unable to save myself. Like someone sinking beneath deep waters, I desperately need Your help.

Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue me. Thank You that through His death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection, He defeated sin, death, hell, and every power of darkness. Thank You that He made a public spectacle of the enemy and secured an eternal victory for everyone who places their trust in Him.

Lord Jesus, forgive my sins. Wash me clean and make me new. Fill my heart with Your peace, Your hope, and Your Holy Spirit. Lift me out of every place of fear, despair, shame, and hopelessness. Place my feet upon the solid Rock and teach me to trust You every day.

When I feel like I am drowning, remind me that You are my Rescuer. When I cannot see the way forward, help me remember that You are already reaching toward me with nail-scarred hands.

Thank You that I never have to face life’s storms alone. Thank You that Your victory has become my victory because I belong to You.

From this day forward, help me to walk in faith instead of fear, in hope instead of despair, and in confidence instead of doubt.

I declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, my Saviour, my Redeemer, and my Rescuer.

In His mighty and victorious Name I pray.

Amen.

The swamp could not keep Logretto. The grave could not keep Jesus. And whatever you are facing today does not have to keep you either, because the greatest Rescuer still walks on the water and still reaches into the deepest places to save.