Category: Daily Bread

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Seek The God of Hope

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” ~ Mark 2:2-12

Let me start by setting the scene for you. Jesus had been gone for a while; you could say He was on a preaching tour throughout Galilee and had just gotten back home to Capernaum. No doubt, all the people in His hometown had heard about all the great things He had done on His tour. Lepers were cleansed. The sick were all healed. The demons were cast out. The oppressed were set free. All kinds of various diseases were all healed.

At the very least, their curiosity was piqued, so much so that there was no more room left in the house, not even at the door. The crowd pressed against the door and then stretched out into the yard. Everyone was straining to hear what Jesus was saying.

In other words, the yard was filled with eager listeners. They probably crowded around the windows, if for nothing else but to hear and hopefully get a quick glimpse of Jesus. Jesus was preaching the word to them. Explaining Scripture like no one else did or no one else could. For Jesus taught with authority, not like the Scribes and Pharisees, but like one having authority.

When suddenly, a group of people entered the scene, trying to barge their way in carrying a man lying on his bedroll, but to no avail. The crowd was just too many. Everyone was bunched up together, hanging on every word Jesus said. There was simply no way to get in. They could not even get close to the door.

Then, one of them had a harebrained idea. Let us climb up on the roof, remove all the tiles, and let him down in front of Jesus. What? Are you mad? Climb up on the roof, tear the tiles off, and dig a hole through the roof big enough to let him down through it on his stretcher? Yes, came the reply. Okay, sounds good to me. Let’s do it.

There was no back-and-forth discussion about who’s gonna fix the roof. Or whose expense it will be to fix the roof. Their only thought was to get their friend in front of the only one who gave them hope. That was Jesus.

See, these friends understood that even when everything seems completely hopeless, there’s always hope in Jesus. If you can just get to Jesus, hope can be found. Why? Because Jesus is the God of possible. What seems impossible, He makes possible. Where there is no way, He makes a way. Therefore, no matter what is going on in your life or your loved ones’ lives, if you can just get to Jesus, you will have hope.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek The God of Hope.

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Crucify Til Awaken

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. ~ Proverbs 14:12

Spiritual slumber is the main cause of the state of the Church today. I heard a story of a lady who was living in sin and she explained that even though she read in the Bible that it was a sin, but because she felt no conviction about it, she felt like it was okay. Here’s the problem with this, if you have spiritually fallen asleep you will not recognize that you are on the wrong path. Because the thing that is presented to you might feel good. It might even seem good, but the end of that road is death.

See, spiritual slumber will numb your connection to the Holy Spirit. It will numb your connection to the Good Shepherd. You will no longer hear His voice or feel His gentle nudge that you’re being deceived. When our flesh has reigned without any restraint for a long time, our spirit man inside weakens to the point that he doesn’t respond to the gentle whisper of God.

Therefore, we can’t always go based on our feelings. Matter-a-fact, very few times, rarely, can we ever trust our feelings. Why? Because the heart is the most deceitful of all, and who can even understand it (Jeremiah 17:9)? Therefore, we must walk by faith and not feelings. We have to go by what the Scripture says and not what we feel. Otherwise, we will be led astray by those feelings.

We have to follow Scripture every day and deny our flesh. We have to build up our spirit man with worship, reading and meditating on the Scriptures, and prayer, along with fasting. We have to crucify our flesh daily so that it won’t overtake us and control us, but rather that we will control it and force it to obey Christ. This is the only way we can truly grow in Him and learn His voice, so that we can feel true conviction and see through the enemy’s deception.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Crucify Til Awaken.

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Believe Regardless of Others

3 So His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His brothers believed in Him 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, He remained in Galilee. ~ John 7:3-9

Jesus’ brothers were on their way to the Feast of Booths, but before they left, they spoke with Jesus. They attempted to cast doubt into Jesus’ mind because they themselves doubted. That’s really hard. It’s actually discouraging when not even your family wants to be a part of your ministry.

See, the Devil will use those closest to us in order to try to cast doubt into our minds. Not everyone will see the LORD’s call for your life. Not everyone will believe it; they’ll even try to discourage you. Here’s the thing tho, even though other people may not believe, if you believe, God will be faithful to you. He will see you through. Jesus didn’t have the support of His brothers, but He had the support of His Father. God’s support is all that truly matters.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Believe Regardless of Others.

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Release Them From Their Debt

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ~ Matthew 6:14-15

Jesus told us that if we don’t forgive, we will not be forgiven. What a difficult statement to fully grasp and follow. Especially when someone has done you wrong over and over again, yet you must continuously forgive them. This is by no means an easy thing to do, but it is a necessary one. Why? Our very eternity depends on it. That is a frightening thought in the light of eternity. So, let me break it down for you. If you refuse to forgive people, no matter what they have done to you, God will refuse to forgive you, no matter how much you ask.

And let me just add this also. Nothing that has been done against you is worth holding someone up for it and then spending eternity in Hell. Here is another truth, the person who you feel that you are just not able to forgive, well, they themselves may have repented and received forgiveness from God.

And you know what? They will spend eternity with Him while you hold on to your hurts, valid hurts indeed that they may be, but you will still spend eternity in the Lake of Fire because you refuse to honor and forgive them.

That is not me just saying that. That is the giver of life, the Master Who said that. So, for further clarification, or for more info, please see Matthew 6:15. So, the bottom line is this, if Jesus, who is Holy and Just and Righteous, can and did do that for us because He chose to do it, then we have no excuse.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Release Them From Their Debt.

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Look In The Mirror Then Look To God

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. ~ Romans 5:10

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! ~ Romans 7:24-25

We were NOT all good people. We have all gone astray. We have all done some horrible and awful things against our God. We have betrayed Him. We have let Him down. We’ve forsaken Him. And we have committed spiritual adultery against Him.

But He chose to overlook all of our faults and all of our transgressions against Him, and He chose to honor us by dying for us, and now He expects us to do the same to others. He could have said, “It is too much, I refuse to pay the price for them, let them die for their own selves.”

Then what would we do? We would not have a leg to stand on, so to speak. There would be no hope for us at all. Absolutely none! Paul looked at who he was formally, and what he saw was not a pretty sight. Paul looked and saw an awful, wretched man with no hope of deliverance. Because it was the very same One that he had transgressed against, who was the only one who could deliver him from his body of death.

But then he got excited because that same One, the same God he had transgressed against, was his deliverer, and you know what? That is true for us as well. Jesus is the only One who can, and will, and has delivered us from our body of death. Jesus looked past our sins and transgressions and saw our needs and still loved us and still died so that we might live. Even though we were vile, disgusting sinners. And now, all we have to do is come to Him and accept His free gift of life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look In The Mirror Then Look To God.

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Know What You’re Worth To Him

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:1-5

John said that in the beginning was the Word. Who is the Word? Jesus is the Word who became flesh (John 1:14). So, the Word that became flesh was from the very beginning. But the beginning of what? The beginning of creation when time began.

Before creation, there was eternity, but nothing existed. The only existence was the existence of the Trinity who were before the eons of time. Things sprang into existence when God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. It was at this point that time actually started. Jesus existed before time, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus prayed to the Father to glorify Him in His own presence with the glory that He, Jesus, claimed He had before the world existed. From before the beginning. The teaching of the Holy Trinity is splashed throughout the Scriptures. So, Who or What makes up the Holy Trinity?

  1. God the Father
  2. God the Son, also known as Jesus Christ
  3. God the Holy Spirit

Why does this matter? Because it wasn’t just anybody who died on the cross for our sins. It wasn’t just anybody that took lashings on His back for our healing. It wasn’t just anybody who took our chastisement upon Himself for our peace. It was God Himself who did these things for us. Why? Because He loves us. He did it for all who would come and accept His free gift of salvation.

So, next time you feel alone, unloved, unseen, unheard, or unimportant, remember that the God of the universe. The God that created all things set off His Godliness, took the form of man, and died so that you would no longer be separated from Him. Then, on the third day, He rose again and gave us the free gift of eternal life. You are seen, heard, and loved by God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know What You’re Worth To Him.

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Be In Step With God

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ~ Philippians 2:5-7

This is the kenosis of Jesus; although He was God, He did not take up the divine attributes and privileges of God but became a humble servant. It does not mean that He did not have them, but that He voluntarily placed them to one side and refused to instate them as so He could fully function as a man and thus complete the redemptive work and satisfy the law as our kinsman redeemer. Remember when Jesus was being arrested and Peter, being Peter, drew his sword and cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant’s ear? Now, remember what Jesus said to Peter in the Garden of Eden (Matthew 26:52-54)?

Jesus could have used His divine power to achieve His objectives, but then He would not have been functioning as fully man, but as God, and God is not our kinsman redeemer; Jesus is our kinsman redeemer because of how the law of kinsman redeemer works, and I’m saying this without challenging the fact that they (the Holy Trinity) are one and the same yet are all separate individuals. Instead, He chose to act as a servant and use the Name of God instead of His own name or power. But before His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension He basically told His disciples something new, something better is coming your way, just wait and see.

This is where the work of the Holy Spirit comes in, as we invoke and use the name of our LORD Jesus. No longer is God only close to some and not others. No longer is mankind divided and separated from God as His enemies, now all of mankind has the opportunity to come to Christ and be united to Him. All we have to do is accept God’s free gift of salvation and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and through us. Then, He will be with us in every step of this journey called life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be In Step With God.

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Lift Your Countenance

2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, ~ Nehemiah 2:2KJV

Nehemiah’s brother, along with some other men, had just returned from Jerusalem and told Nehemiah that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were broken down and burned, and the place was in shambles. And the remnant there in the province who had survived the exile was in great trouble and shame.

It broke Nehemiah’s heart, and his countenance changed from one of joy to one of mourning. What was happening was he was expressing outwardly what he felt inwardly. His equilibrium was in balance.

Now watch this. Countenance is the outward showing of God’s love that is in you and in me which is expressed on our faces through rejoicing. It is our way of expressing thankfulness to God our Father for His numerous blessings on us.

It’s our offering to Him. And now, this is the exciting part; rejoicing is directly related to the harvest. Every feast and every offering. Every harvest time and every sheep shearing time was to be accompanied with gladness and rejoicing.

Rejoice! Because the Lord, your God, has made you glad and has blessed you with good things to enjoy. Rejoice and be glad because the LORD your God has dealt wondrously with you. Meaning, He has given you a bountiful blessing to enjoy; now show thanks. So, remove that frown. Get rid of that downcast face. Look up and rejoice because the LORD our God reigns.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lift Your Countenance.

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Actively Chase

6 … [it is] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, [that] shall be satisfied. ~ Matthew 5:6b

We must chase His presence if we expect to apprehend that which we have been apprehended. Think about this for a moment. If the blind men by the roadside in Jericho had not CONTINUOUSLY yelled out to Jesus for mercy, what do you suppose would have happened?

What if they had yielded to the shouts of the crowd to shut up or to be quiet? Do you suppose they would have gotten their healing? I say, No! Jesus would have walked right past them, and they would have missed their last opportunity to receive a miracle if it had not been for Chasing His Presence. Same thing is true with the disciples in the storm (Mark 6:47-51).

Jesus would have passed them by had they not cried out in fear. They were probably hollering for Jesus, as it were, not knowing that it was Him who was passing by then. Sometimes, we don’t always recognize the move of God at first glance because, sometimes, it is only revealed to those who are actively chasing His presence. Therefore, actively chase His presence.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Actively Chase.

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Seek God’s Friendship

12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” ~ Exodus 33:12-23

Moses is actually complaining to the LORD, and his first statement is a little deceptive to us. So, let me explain. Moses starts out beating around the bush, so to speak. He claims that God told him to bring this people up but did not tell him who will go with him. But that is not the real issue.

Why do I say that?

Because the chapter before (Exodus 32:34) God had already assured Moses that He Himself will go with him. But see, Moses is asking for much more than God to just go with him. He’s asking to know God (Exodus 33:12b-13). Moses’ complaint is, “You know me, but I don’t really know You, and that ain’t fair. I want to know You too. I want to know You as well, God.”

That is his real complaint, and it is not a complaint as much as it is a request. And a very good request at that. Because God wants us to know Him, and He wants to reveal Himself to us. We don’t serve a God that is distant and far off. We serve a God that is close and loving. A God that sticks closer than a brother. A God that laid down His life for us so that we could have the choice to spend eternity with Him.

When God seems distant, all you have to do is call to Him. Spend time in His Word meditating on it day and night, praying and seeking Him. Then He will come to you. He will meet with you. He will make himself known to you. Because He loves you. He cares for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek God’s Friendship.

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