Daily Bread Archives

May 29, 2023May 29, 2023

Always Remain Grateful

¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

Today, as we enjoy our barbecue and family time, let’s not forget what we’re commemorating. We enjoy constitutional freedoms that no other country has the liberty of enjoying. We have the freedom to evil burn our flag and run down our nation without fear of being arrested or executed. This freedom that we have isn’t free. It wasn’t just thrown onto our laps one day out of nowhere. Our freedoms were bought and paid for at the highest price, the lives of many young and old male and female Americans. They paid for our physical freedom with their lives so that we didn’t have to. Let’s not forget their sacrifice. Their ultimate act of love, laying down their lives for us.

They bought and paid for our physical freedom here in America with their spilled blood, just as Jesus bought and paid for our spiritual freedom with His spilled blood. There is no such thing as free freedom, so don’t waste it. Don’t let it slip away. Don’t let their sacrifice be for nothing. Always remember and never forget all who came before us, paving the way for us to have the lives that we do.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Always Remain Grateful.

Back to Thankful?

Back to Daily Bread?

Come Receive The Power of The Spirit

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. ~ 1 John 5:14-15

If you need something from Jesus, find it in Scripture, petition it before God, and believe that He will give it to you. The faith the size of a mustard seed, even though it is the smallest of seeds, is enough to move a mighty mountain because of Pentecost. Because the Spirit of the LORD has been poured down on us. Not just the Jews, not just the Gentiles, but all believers. All who are willingly to believe and follow Jesus have the Holy Spirit within them. And if they have the Holy Spirit within them, then they have the power of the Holy Spirit within them just waiting to be fanned. Just waiting to be stirred up.

We have all been given a Spiritual Gift. Not just the early Church. No. These Spiritual Gifts are for all generations. Why? How do we know? Because the Spirit of the LORD Himself has been poured out on all of mankind. Because Jesus has overcome the grave, and there is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the Church, but only if we fan the flame instead of quenching it. And this is Pentecost Sunday, a time for signs, wonders, miracles, and many acts of healing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Come Receive The Power of The Spirit.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Don’t Settle For Being A Chicken

¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover. ~ Mark 16:17-18

I heard a story about an eagle who lived his life as a chicken. It goes like this:

A pair of eagles made their nest on a large mountainside. They had 2 large eggs inside the nest. One day, an earthquake rocked the mountain, causing one of the eggs to roll down to a chicken farm located in the valley below. The farmer found the eagle egg and placed it under one of his setting hens. Eventually, the eagle egg hatched along with all the other chicks, and a beautiful eagle was born. Being chickens, the chickens raised the eagle to be a chicken. The eagle loved his home and his family, but it seemed his spirit always cried out for more.

One day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a mighty and majestic bird soaring high above. “Oh,” the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar like that bird.” The chickens roared with laughter, “You cannot soar like those. You are a chicken, and chickens do not soar.” The eagle continued staring at his real family soaring high up above, dreaming that one day he could be just like them. Every time the eagle talked about his dreams of soaring high above the clouds, he was told it is impossible, it will never happen, you are nothing more than a chicken, and chickens cannot soar.

Eventually, the eagle accepted what he was taught and learned to believe it. After a while, the desire of the eagle to soar was quenched, and he stopped dreaming and just continued to live his life as a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away, never living up to his full God-given potential.

We, Christians, are full of God-given potential. We are called to make disciples of Christ. That means that we are called to heal the sick, raise the dead, and to drive out demons. But the chickens say signs and wonders ceased when the last Apostle died. They try their best to discourage eagles from expanding their wings of faith. Keep your wingspan short, they say.

Some chickens even believe in healing but refuse to drive out demons. They have nothing to do with the casting out of demons, and just to talk about it makes them sick to their stomachs. They expect us, with so much potential. With so much authority. With such a wide wingspan. With so much mountain-moving faith to live our life as chickens. We are not called to scratch the ground, pecking for our food, eating whatever we find. We are called to soar high above the clouds seeing for miles and miles and miles. We are eagles. Our potential is for greater things than even Jesus did (John 14:12).

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Settle For Being A Chicken.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Ask For More

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ~ Daniel 2:17-19^NLT

Daniel’s gift was the interpretation of visions and dreams, not the telling of visions and dreams. Nevertheless, he prayed for that gift. He sought higher and greater gifts than he was given. And the LORD not only heard his prayer, He answered it.

Daniel didn’t look at the times he was in and say to himself, “This is impossible.” No. Daniel looked only to his God and said, “All things are possible for those who believe.” His faith was strong. He knew in whom he believed. Daniel sought what no one else was given. He didn’t think it was prideful. He didn’t think it to be selfish to seek what no one else had. No, Daniel understood that God desires to give us good gifts from above. Gifts that will help us and make us grow closer to Him.

God promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. So, begin to seek God with all that’s in you. Seek out His wisdom, His fruit, His gifts, and His understanding. Begin to seek Him. When you earnestly seek God and His kingdom, your life begins to change. You begin to change. And God begins to use you in ways you didn’t think possible. Don’t settle for what you have. Always seek more from God; that’s why He came, to give life and life more abundantly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ask For More.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Fan The Flame

³⁸And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” ~ Acts 2:38-39

The promise of Salvation and the promise of the Holy Spirit were for those in the time of Peter and for those of us who were a far off as well. God did not exclude anyone, not even us Gentiles (Acts 10:45). Because God poured out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost with signs and wonders and miracles, and the promise of prophecy and visions, and healing, we too can have signs and wonders and miracles and the promise of prophecy and visions and healing in our ministries as well. We are not inferior, for God is a respecter of no person. Meaning He does not differentiate between Jew and Gentile (Romans 10:11-13).

God bestows His riches on ALL who call on Him. The word translated as ‘riches’ does not necessarily mean financial wealth, though, in some cases, God does pour out an abundance of financial wealth on His servants according to His own will. This, however, is actually referring to His true riches, His signs, His wonders, His miracles, and His healing. God is a God of the miraculous. He’s a God of the impossible. A God that does not change. Therefore, if He did the miraculous in the past when His Spirit wasn’t poured out on all of mankind, how much more will He move in the miraculous now that His Spirit has been poured out on all of mankind and dwells in those who believe and follow? The Spirit of God still has power. The name of Jesus still has power and authority. He will reveal His Spiritual gifts to you if you fan the Spirit within you instead of quenching it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fan The Flame.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Be Not Satisfied

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Paul says not to quench the Spirit and then tells us not to despise prophecies. There are currently entire denominations that not only despise the prophets and their prophecies of our day and age, but they build an entire platform and following by only making videos bashing and degrading them. Yet, Paul tells us not to despise prophecies and not to quench the Spirit. The only way to not quench the Spirit is to embrace the Spirit by stirring up your God-given Spiritual gifts.

The Gifts of the Spirit are built on our fruit. That doesn’t mean that they’re optional. They are mandatory. We have all been given a Spiritual Gift from God, and if we refuse to use it, we will be thrown out into outer darkness as well. This is because we are quenching the Spirit. We’re stifling and putting out the flame within us when we are called to stir it up and flame it. We’re called for more than just to exist. These gifts are to build us up, as well as to build up the Church. Therefore, when we refuse to use these Spiritual Gifts, then we quench the Spirit and therefore weaken ourselves as well as others around us.

Once we stir up the Spiritual Gifts already given to us, then we keep going. We keep seeking more. Why? Because there will never be a time when the LORD will run out of levels to elevate us to. The LORD gives out of His abundance. He is eternal. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Therefore, God can never run out of new things to show us, teach us, and give us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Never Be Satisfied.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Seek Your Gift

¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:31

God didn’t pour His Spirit on all flesh so that He could take it away again. God didn’t fill us with His Holy Spirit so that He could remove the gifts of the Spirit. No, God poured out His Spirit so that we might be filled with Him, including His power. Why? So that we wouldn’t be left alone. So that we wouldn’t be without defense or offense. So that the people of God might be able to fight back against the enemy.

The gifts of the Spirit didn’t end with the early Church. They didn’t magically disappear because they were no longer needed. They’re still here today, but we have to pray for them. We have to desire them. We have to seek them out. Paul urged us to pray for the greater gifts so that we might build each other up.

Don’t let doctrine created by man keep you from what God has in store for you. His purpose is for you to go from one degree of glory to the next. It’s not for you to be a sitting duck in this spiritual war. Pick up your spiritual gifts. Take hold of them. And seek for wisdom and understanding that you might be used mightly in the Kingdom of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Your Gift.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Soar Like Eagles

³⁰Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; ³¹but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:30-31

The LORD called us to be like the eagles, but why? What’s so special about an eagle? Apparently, an eagle has amazingly good eyesight, which allows it to spot prey from a long distance away. In the same way, a praying Christian who stays in tune with the LORD will have amazing spiritual eyesight. They will see or sense danger, deceit, or the enemy when everyone else is shouting that there is peace and safety. The Christian will have extraordinary insight into the things of God and will recognize His voice.

The length of an eagle’s wingspan will depend on its environment. Now this is interesting because it can contrast with the Christian life. The wingspan of an eagle can be compared to the mountain-moving faith of the Christian. Because the environment in which the eagle lives will determine its wingspan. Eagles living in forested areas will have a shorter wingspan than those eagles living in wide open areas.

Likewise, a Christian living in a dead, legalistic, spirit of religion type of environment who say that healing is only if Jesus wills, so everyone won’t receive a healing, or that miracles and signs and wonders ceased when the last apostle died, will never expand his/her faith like one who thrives in an environment where miracles are welcomed, and sign and wonders are expected. It all depends on your environment and how wide your wingspan of faith will grow.

The LORD called us for greater and better things. Therefore, don’t remain on the ground, never reaching your full potential. Instead, seek the LORD earnestly, and He will mount you up with wings like eagles. And you will soar to new heights. For we are to go from glory to glory, never remaining in the same spot (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Soar Like Eagles.

Back to Growth?

Back to Daily Bread?

Remain Until The Savior Comes

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. ~ John 5:2-3, 5-9

The lame man had been lame for 38 years. The Bible doesn’t tell us how long he was at the pool for, but what we can gather is that it had been so long that the man had lost hope. His faith was almost completely gone, but something remained sparked inside of him. How can we be sure? He didn’t leave the pool area. He remained next to it. He didn’t leave the place where miracles happened. No, he stayed there whether he whole-heartedly believed one day he would be healed or not. He remained where hope was and where his best chance of healing rested.

By the time Jesus got there, the majority of his hope and faith had dwindled away. See, this lame man couldn’t walk, so he probably had to crawl to fight his way to get into the pool before other more able-bodied men and women could. Imagine day after day, year after year, fighting with all that you have within you to get to the pool first, but no matter how hard you try, you always fall short. Now, out of nowhere, a man walks to you and asks if you want to be healed. You don’t know who he is. You don’t know his power, so you just tell him that you can’t get to the pool. You’ve tried, and you’ve failed.

Sometimes, this is us. We have a heavy burden that we just can’t seem to carry anymore. We have a stronghold that just won’t let go. We have a spiritual enemy that just won’t relent. You have a sin that you just can’t shake. You’ve tried everything. You’ve been persistent, and now you’re at the end of your rope. Your faith is about done. Your hope is about dried up. I’m here to tell you to hold on. Remain in your place of hope. Remain in your place of opportunity because even if your faith is failing, that action of remaining in that place of hope will keep enough faith alive within you to catch Jesus’ attention when He passes by.

See, Jesus chose this man not because he had great faith. Not because he was a good man and deserved to be healed. Jesus chose him because he had been there a while but couldn’t get his healing. Jesus saw that the man couldn’t make it all the way, so Jesus carried the man. The man didn’t fall at the feet of Jesus and beg for a healing or reach out for a healing in faith as he touched Jesus. No. He didn’t even recognize Jesus. Jesus rewarded the man holding on to what little bit of faith and hope he had left.

When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on. Don’t let go. Don’t give up and leave. Stay in that place of hope. And if possible, keep fighting to get to the water. Don’t give up because soon, the Savior will be walking by, and He’ll be looking for someone to help. Don’t miss your opportunity. Don’t miss your chance at freedom.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remain Until The Savior Comes.

Back to Encouragement?

Back to Daily Bread?

Flee Spiritual Adultery

¹³ “I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord. ~ Hosea 2:13^NLT

Israel was living in idolatry (spiritual adultery). Israel went after the Baals and sought after other idols and gods, so they forgot the LORD their God. Today, the Church is no different.

We seek after the world because we want to be accepted by the world. We give the world our devotion, love, and friendship, not realizing that we are abandoning our one true love. James asks the question, “Do you not know that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God?” Christ said that He called us out of the world, so why are we so desperately seeking to be a part of it?

God understands that we’re only humans and that we will fall into temptation; this is where mercy and grace begin to work. But grace and mercy aren’t given to us so that we can go out seeking the world and expect God to not only be okay with it but accept and celebrate it. If spiritual adultery angered God in the past, then it will anger Him today. For our God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So, don’t be enticed by the forbidden fruit of this world. You have been called out of this world. You have been given the fruit of the Spirit that gives life and life more abundantly. The forbidden fruit of this world only satisfies for a moment, and then it kills like poison, but the fruit of the Spirit satisfies forever and gives eternal life.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Flee Spiritual Adultery.

Back to Cleansing?

Back to Daily Bread?