Daily Bread Archives

October 9, 2022October 9, 2022

Tend To The Seeds

²For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3

Paul warns us that the Day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night because while people are oblivious to the signs around them, sudden destruction will come upon them, and they won’t be able to escape. The LORD is righteous, and all of His judgments and deeds are righteous. Yet so many declare and proclaim to others that the LORD won’t punish the wicked. That the LORD loves you regardless of how you live your life, so He won’t punish you. They whisper sweet words of false hope into the ears of the people, and the people are eating up these false teachings, not realizing the coming destruction.

Paul clearly states that they will not escape the sudden destruction that is coming on all people who have rejected the LORD Jesus. This why it’s so important that we tell everyone that the return of Christ is near because His return is coming when all the walls of the wicked are down, and they have no discernment of the times. He’s coming like a thief in the night because the wicked will be unaware that He came into the world until it’s too late and all the righteous are gone.

Paul and the other disciples understood this and gladly carried this weight on their shoulders, preaching the Gospel for the sake of others. They didn’t care about their own comforts or lives. They cared only about sharing the true love of God. They loved others more than they loved themselves. Jesus warned His disciples that one of the signs of His return was that the love of many would grow cold (Matthew 24:12).

Today, the Church’s love is growing cold. The oil in our lamp is dwindling. We have unsaved loved ones that we’d rather leave in their sin than spend time planting and watering seeds in hopes that they will be saved and escape the coming destruction. The LORD’s return is closer now more than ever before. Signs are being fulfilled. Trumpets are being sounded. Jesus will soon be returning, so eagerly teach, pray, and fast for those who are still lost in sin, for unrighteousness will never be able to dwell with righteousness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Tend To The Seeds.

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Redeem Your Eternal Soul

³¹On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. ³²Remember Lot’s wife. ³³Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. ~ Luke 17:31-33

Lot, his wife, and his two daughters were saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were warned by the two angels not to stop or to look back because if they did, they’d be swept away. The Church is given the same warning, and just as Lot’s wife looked back, so are some of the Church. We, the Church, are the body of Christ. We’ve been redeemed from the coming destruction, so we don’t live in fear of the coming of Christ, but instead we are to say, “Come Jesus, come.” Yet, some of us look back just as Lot’s wife did.

How do we look back? By refusing to do the will of God for fear or losing all that we’ve built in this life. Today, the Church remains silent, refusing to correct or expose darkness for fear of backlash and the loss of comfort, but Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, that our lives aren’t our own because we were bought by the blood of Christ. This is why Jesus plainly states that whoever seeks to preserve their lives will lose it, but those who lose their lives will keep them. This isn’t just talking about physically dying for Christ. This is talking about spiritually dying to your wants and desires, so that you might live for Christ. This is why Jesus compared it to Lot’s wife looking back, because she didn’t want to give up the life she had for the life God had in store for her. She couldn’t imagine a better life than the one she built in Sodom, so she looked back wantingly. We are commanded by Christ not to seek to keep what we’ve built, just as they were commanded by the two angels not to look back. We have to give up the life we have planned for ourselves and all that we’ve built, in order to have the life Christ has in store for us.

This is the cross we are to carry as Christians, to be the light in this dark world. The only way we can light up this dark world is to speak the Truth and expose the darkness regardless of the consequences. This isn’t an easy cross to carry, but it is the only way to eternal life, for the blood of the wicked will be on the hands of all who remained silent as they blatantly sinned (Ezekiel 33:8-9). Don’t allow the fear of losing temporary security or your temporary body keep you from saving your eternal soul.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Redeem Your Eternal Soul.

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Pay Attention To The Gate

¹³Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus instructs, even warns His hearers, “Enter by the narrow gate. Keep away from the broad gate.” There are two gates because there are two paths. There are two paths because there are two destinations. One destination is life, and the other is destruction.

Oftentimes we get so caught up in the journey that as forget the destination. It’s as if we’re living according to the quote, “It’s not about the destination, but the journey.” That sounds so profound, and yet it’s so wrong. What good is a fun night of drinking if the destination is to drive home drunk and you kill someone or yourself? What good is a fun one-night stand if the destination is an abortion or a forced relationship with the wrong person? What good is a fun life of sin if the destination is Hell?

Don’t get caught up in the moment. Wake up your Spirit of Discernment. Look around you. Look at the road you’re on. Is it broad or narrow? Does it follow the path of Jesus or the world? Is it easy or do you have a cross over your shoulder?

Living for Christ isn’t easy. It will be the hardest thing you do in this life. Denying your flesh, putting Christ first, and carrying your cross are difficult. So many give up right before they reach their final destination. So many give up right before they receive their reward. Don’t give up. Awaken From your spiritual slumber, analyze your life, find the narrow gate, pick up your cross, and run to Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pay Attention.

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Judge The Fruit

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ~ Matthew 7:15–27

Jesus said to beware of false prophets dressed in sheep’s clothing. And don’t worry about how to identify them; you will know them by their fruit. So, we would do well to watch out for the type of fruit we are being served.

Sometimes it is hard to tell the fruits one from another because they sometimes look so similar. But here is a good acid test.

1. If the fruit or doctrine trivializes the need for evangelism, it is false
2. If the fruit downplays or minimizes the importance of holy living, it is false

Scripture can never contradict itself. Anytime a teaching or a message, or a doctrine, stifles or belittles, or relaxes either one of those two tests, it is false. Don’t just eat up whatever fruit is served to you. Test the fruit against Scripture. Does it confirm or contradict? Don’t just go by the way it looks, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Don’t just go by the way someone else believes, for people will deceive you with flattering lips that tickle your ears. Go by what the Scriptures say. If the Bereans tested all that Paul taught them, how much more should we test those teaching us today?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Judge The Fruit.

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Be Atoned

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. ~ Hebrews 9:11–14

Today is Yom Kippur. The day the High Priest would make atonement for himself and all of Israel. He would have to take a very sharp knife and slit the throat of the bull that he had just transferred his and his family’s sins to by the laying on of his hands. The blood would gush out, and then he would have to catch some of the blood in a bowl.

Doubtless to say he would be splashed with blood all over his hands and splashes of blood all over his nice, clean, white linen robe.

There were probably flies buzzing around, and the smell of blood was thick in the air. This showed the people the raw, nasty horror of sin. It taught the people that sin was not some innocent white lie that could be brushed under the rug.

Aaron then took this blood and went into the Holy of Holies as a sin offering for the people of Israel.

While Jesus, on the other hand, did not go into the Most Holy Place with the blood of bulls or goats but with His own blood. For with His own blood, He made atonement for us all.

The innocent for the guilty. The righteous for the unrighteous. The Holy for the unholy. Jesus paid it all. In fact, He didn’t just pay our debt; He gave us more. He gave us His Holy Spirit, who is now transforming us into the Image of God that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

Christ gave us His all. He set aside His Godliness, became a man, and died the cruel death in place of the people nailing Him to the cross. It was His blood that was shed that made atonement for our sins. It wasn’t anything we could ever do that could save us. So, the least we could do is show Him we are thankful for His sacrifice by living for Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Atoned.

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Beware The Ungodly Distraction

²After some years he (King Jehoshaphat) went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” ~ 2 Chronicles 18:2–3

Ahab did not come up to Jehoshaphat, but rather, Jehoshaphat went down to Ahab. Please understand sin is not attracted to Godliness, but rather, Godliness is distracted by sin. Sin will pull and pull until it drags you down to where it is. It will cause you to lose your mind and your sense of direction.

Ahab then convinced Jehoshaphat to go into the war wearing his royal garments while he himself would go in disguise. So, when the enemy saw Jehoshaphat, they immediately thought it was Ahab, king of Israel, and turned to attack him, but when he cried out, they turned and stopped chasing him. So, his life was only narrowly spared.

The problem with ungodly alliances is that they will take you further than you want to go and cause you to make the wrong decisions without even realizing that it is against God’s earthly will for your life.

Just as Jehoshaphat didn’t expect to almost lose his life in an alliance with King Ahab, so do many Christians expect not to lose their spiritual life in an alliance with sin and darkness. We’re in the battle, in the real enemies’ clothes, instead of our spiritual armor. So, what happens? We’re attacked and chased. This is where the Church is. We’re on the brink of death. The enemy has us in his sights. There’s no escape that we can see. It’s time for us to cry out to Jesus. That is the only way we will be spared. Cry out and live. Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life. Turn to Him and live. Wake up from your spiritual slumber caused by the deceit of the enemy.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Get Out of Bed With the Enemy.

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Beware of Self-Preservation

¹ Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ~ 2 Chronicles 18:1

God was blessing King Jehoshaphat in all that he did. He had no need to get into bed with King Ahab, and yet, he saw it necessary to forge a marriage alliance with him. Ahab was a very wicked king. A Godless king. A spoiled brat who had no regard for God or man, as plain to see when his wife Jezebel murdered Naboth, and he gladly took over his vineyard. But because of fear for self-preservation, King Jehoshaphat jumped into bed with the enemy of God.

Fear is the opposite of faith, and fear will make you do unreasonable things. When fear sets in, it will cause you to act without thinking, and self-preservation then becomes the name of the game.

The Scriptures often warn against fear. The Bible plainly states, “Fear not, for I am with you. I will fight for you. I will defend you.”

Yet king Jehoshaphat, acting in fear, took matters into his own hands and got the granddaughter of King Omri and the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel to be the bride of his son, thus forming an alliance between the two nations.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Beware of Self-Preservation.

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His Sprinkled Blood

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. ~ Hebrews 9:11-14

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is easily Israel’s most High Holy Day. It is a day of fasting and mourning. The Scriptures say it is a day to afflict yourself. It was the day that the sins of the nation were atoned for with the blood of bulls and goats. The High Priest presented this sacrifice in the Most Holy Place once a year before the LORD. They had to repeat this every year because the blood of bulls and goats could never cleanse us of our sins. It could never redeem us from death and give us life. So, God got off of His throne and presented His own blood on the altar for our sins so that we might be washed clean. So that we could be forgiven. The LORD Himself shed His blood for us. Never forget that. Never overlook that. God Himself died for us so that we might live.

How often do we spend time with God? How often do we pray and seek Him? He paid our debt, yet the majority of the time, we would rather spend time watching tv, reading books, playing games, and almost any other distraction the world has to offer than spending time with God. How can we expect to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and then keep living our lives as if He doesn’t exist? Jesus did all of the heavy lifting; the least we can do is spend time with Him and show Him that we are thankful for His sprinkled blood.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Thank Him for His sacrifice.

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Prepare The Way

³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.” ~ Isaiah 40:3^NKJV

2,000 years ago, John the Baptist proudly went before the LORD, preparing a way for Him. When Jesus came, He brought with Him salvation, healing, peace, and life. Today, the world is getting darker and darker. It’s time we took up the mantle. The darkness is so thick that even the Church has begun to accept that this is just the way it is, but even though Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin was great and plenty, God was willing to spare the nation and all the wicked for just 10 righteous men for the sake of Abraham’s request.

Too often, we, Christians, accept defeat. We accept that things are just the way they are, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. But our voice is greater than even that of John the Baptist, for when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit speaks on our behalf. He speaks for us and through us. The time for silence is no more. Now is the time to prepare the way for the LORD and cry out like a voice in the wilderness.

We have the very Spirit of God Himself dwelling in us. Prepare the way with His light as it shines through us, piercing this present darkness. Prepare the way for the LORD and His Holy Spirit to melt the heart of the people who hear you speaking the Truth. The LORD hasn’t returned yet. There’s still time to change the course of the world. There’s still time to cry, just a little while longer, Jesus, so that we might get our loved ones in. There’s still time to shine the light in the darkness and prepare the way for the LORD to work in the lives of people. No one is too small or unimportant to do something. It only takes one straw to break the camel’s back. It only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. Only one domino to know over all the dominoes. So, use your voice while you still can to proclaim righteousness, speak Truth, and expose the darkness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare The Way.

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Pray For The Forgotten

⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:44-46

As the Church, we are called to be prayer warriors, each and every one of us. We’re supposed to pray for ourselves so that we might not fall into temptation. For our loved ones so that they might be saved or faithfully run the race set before them. But often times we leave out the forgotten. We forget about those Christians in the persecuted Church. We forget to pray for their strength and endurance. We forget them altogether.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but this is one of the reasons that Jesus separates the goats from the sheep. Jesus isn’t just talking about physically visiting the saints in prison, but spiritually visiting them. When we pray, we are spiritually seated with Christ in Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-7). Therefore, wouldn’t it stand to reason that when we pray for others, we are spiritually with them as well? Paul even writes to the Corinthians that he’s with them in spirit in 1 Corinthians 5:3. We are all one in Christ Jesus, connected by one Spirit; therefore, when we pray for each other, we are connected by that same spirit.

Don’t let anyone be alone in persecution. Pray for the forgotten in those persecuting nations for strength and endurance. Pray that their hearts might not fail them, and that love may encompass them.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For The Forgotten.

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Category: Daily Bread

Tend To The Seeds

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