Daily Bread Archives

June 22, 2022July 27, 2022

Watch What You Invite Into Your Life

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ~ Genesis 3:8-10

A lot of us are like Adam and Eve. The LORD gave us instructions, a plan, and all that we could ever need, and yet we desire that forbidden fruit that leads only to death. When we give into temptation, we give birth to shame and fear that then takes root in our lives. God had no intention for mankind to be plagued with fear or shame. It wasn’t a part of God’s plan, yet because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve welcomed in the spirit of fear. God even assures us, through the Apostle Paul, that He did not give us a spirit of fear.

Just because God has good things planned for you doesn’t mean that you will see those good things. God planned for everlasting life for Adam and Eve, but they never knew what it was like not to die. God never set in His plan for man to die, yet both Adam, his wife, and all of their descendants have/will taste death. Our actions dictate what comes into our lives. Whether we obey or disobey will be the deciding factor for whether or not we will receive blessings or curses. Our lives are literally in our own hands. Each one of us writes our own stories, we can either allow God to guide us or we can forge a path for ourselves. We can either choose life or choose death, so choose wisely.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What You Invite Into Your Life.

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Speak to the Wind

²³And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep. ²⁵And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. ²⁶And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ²⁷But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! ~ Matthew 8:23-27^KJV

Jesus and His disciples were in the ship crossing over to the other side. Now, we’re not sure if all twelve of the disciples were present or not, but we know the fishermen were present. The seasoned seamen, yet they were afraid. So, this wasn’t just any storm; this must’ve been a terrifying storm to have the seasoned fishermen cry out to Jesus, saying that they were perishing.

Now, when He helps them by calming the storm, they marvel. They could hardly believe what they had just seen. Maybe it took them by surprise because they weren’t expecting that. Maybe they were expecting Jesus to grab a bucket or pan and start bailing out water. Or grab an oar and start rowing.

Whatever they were expecting, it certainly didn’t seem to be Him speaking to the storm and the storm obeying Him. They weren’t ready for this level of power and authority. They weren’t expecting to see the miraculous. When His disciples saw that, they were completely and totally amazed. So much so that they exclaimed in amazement, in unison, “What Manner of Man is This?”

Today, we’re in the same boat. We’re seasoned Christians. We’ve been serving the LORD for years upon years, yet when a storm hits us (even a huge storm threatening to sink the ship), we become fearful and forget who is in the ship with us. It wasn’t that the disciples didn’t know who Jesus was. It wasn’t that the disciples had never heard that Jesus was the Messiah; that’s why they were following Him. When the winds and the waves began to roar, and the ship seemed as if it was going to sink, their faith began to sink in the midst of the storm.

Life isn’t always going to be sunshine and light rain. Sometimes life throws us storms that threaten to overcome and sink everything that we have. Sometimes this includes our own lives, but that doesn’t mean that we allow fear to replace our faith. Just as the disciples weren’t alone on the ship, we aren’t alone in life. God Himself abides in us. The power of God flows through us. The creator of the wind, waves, and our ship is right with us. And if we allow Him, He will calm the storm for us; all we have to do is speak to it with the authority given to us in His name. Peace. Love. Go Forth and Speak to the Wind.

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Don’t Stop His Promises

⁴³So the Lord gave to Israel all the land He had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. ⁴⁵Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true. ~ Joshua 21:43–45

All of God’s promises are yea and amen. If He has promised, you can believe and stand on the promises of God. There will be many obstacles standing in our way. There will be many roadblocks that you will have to go around and maneuver through, even hindrances, but none can prevail against the Word of the LORD. There is nothing that can stop the hand of God. Nothing that can cancel His words or prevent His promises but you yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Stop His Promises.

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Lead Me

¹¹I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths. ¹²When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble. ¹³Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. ~ Proverbs 4:11–13

Fathers, it’s our job to teach our children wisdom and to lead our family in straight paths. Sanctus Real has a song called, Lead Me. In the song, his wife is asking him to lead her with strong hands and to stand up when she can’t. Then it’s the children’s turn to ask for leadership and direction. Then it is the father’s turn to ask for strength and wisdom from our Heavenly Father in order to lead them. He says, “Father, lead me cause I can’t do this alone.”

As fathers, we have to come to the realization that we cannot do this without our Heavenly Father. It is by His strength. It is by His might. It is by His wisdom that we lead and guide our families.

Our Heavenly Father, take us by the hand. Guide us and teach us how to lead our families so that they may walk in the ways of righteousness and not be held back. Help us lead and guide them that they may run and not stumble. May they take hold of our good instructions and not let go of them. May they guard our Heavenly Father’s instructions, for they are the key to life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Love Our Compassionate Father

¹³ As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. ~ Psalms 103:13 ESV

So many of us have a misunderstanding of what it means to fear God. The fear of the LORD isn’t about being afraid He’ll smite you down as punishment for wrongdoing. It’s about fearing Him as you would fear your earthly father. I get that many still can’t understand because they had poor earthly fathers, so let me try to paint a picture of our Heavenly Father.

God the Father loves us so much that when we betrayed Him and chose death over Him, He did everything in His power to save us. Instead of only blessing those who love Him, He blesses all people with good gifts from above. In fact, even when we push Him away and run after destruction, He seeks us out and calls us back to Him. See, fearing the LORD isn’t about being so afraid to mess up that you stop living your life, God the Father isn’t abusive. He gently corrects and guides us back onto the path of righteousness when we fall astray. The fear of the LORD is truly about loving Him, for He is a good good Father.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love Our Compassionate Father.

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Lead Them Into Blessings

⁷The righteous [man] who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him! ~ Proverbs 20:7

Fathers pave the way for their children. Their actions and decisions affect their children. Abraham believed God and followed Him with all of His heart, and generation after generation after generation, his descendants are still being blessed because of this. God says He blesses to the 1000^th generation of those who love Him. Imagine that just loving God would bring blessings upon not only your children and grandchildren but 1000 generations.

Your life isn’t your own. You not only affect the lives of those around you, especially your children, but you pave their way. What they see you do, they do. How they hear you speak, they will speak. You are the leader of your family, so don’t allow anything of this world to take away from your children and your children’s children. Love the LORD, seek Him, walk in His ways, and teach your children to do the same.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lead Them Into Blessings.

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Command The Workers

¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples. ³When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” ~ John 2:1-5

When Jesus was at a wedding in Cana, the wine ran out, so Mary, His mother, wanted Him to do something about it. Now, Jesus’ earthly ministry hadn’t started yet, but Mary didn’t wait. She didn’t even respond to Jesus when He asked her what the wine shortage had to do with Him. Instead, she simply told the workers to do whatever He (Jesus) said to do. Because of this, Jesus not only turned water into wine and prolonged the wedding feast, He gave them an even better wine than they originally had. So much so that the master of the feast spoke out about how great the wine was.

See, Mary could’ve taken what Jesus said as a no. Mary could’ve gotten discouraged and walked away. In fact, if she had let herself become discouraged, not only would she have missed out on an even greater wine than was previously served, but the entire wedding guests would have missed out along with her. Instead of Mary becoming discouraged and giving up, she spoke with authority and commanded the workers. Mary understood that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Jesus didn’t tell Mary no; He left the door open for her to taste more than she was receiving. Mary understood her authority because she was the mother of Jesus, and He didn’t outrank her with a no; instead, He left the door open to the possibility.

Today we are in the same situation as Mary was 2,000 years ago. We no longer see the miraculous like they did in the time of Jesus or even the prophets of old. It’s as if the wine has run out. See, the wine in Scripture almost always represents the Spirit of God, and even though the LORD said He has poured out His Spirit on all flesh, it doesn’t seem to be much flowing of His Spirit today. We’re now at the point where we’re asking Jesus to do something, and He’s asking, “What do you expect me to do about it? I’m not on earth. What concern is it of mine?” Many of us get discouraged by this and give up, but don’t be discouraged. Jesus isn’t saying that He won’t help. Jesus isn’t saying no. Jesus is asking what concern of it is mine because I’ve given you authority in my name. Don’t ask to be healed; speak the healing. By His stripes, we have been healed. Don’t ask to be freed from the bondage of addiction, rejection, or any other spirit; command that spirit to leave in the name of Jesus. Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. We’ve been given authority by God Himself, so why don’t we use it?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Command The Workers.

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Humbly Present Yourself

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. ~ Esther 1:10-12

Queen Vashti was a beautiful woman, so much so that her husband, King Ahasuerus, wanted to show her off to all of his guests, but Queen Vashti refused because of her pride. Many of us look at what Queen Vashti did as something great for women everywhere because King Ahasuerus was being sexist, but what if it wasn’t a positive thing?

See, Queen Vashti could have humbled herself before the king and shown her beauty before his guests, and continued to build a strong relationship with him so that when she brought something to his attention that could possibly hurt her, he would do everything in his power to fix it, as he did with Esther. Instead, Queen Vashti stood rebelliously with pride and lost her position as Queen as well as her opportunity to ever truly change things for women in their culture.

Sometimes standing in pride and refusing to do something we deem to be demeaning can cause us to miss out on so much in life. God says that He elevates the humble and humbles the proud. Just because man tries to demean you and bring you down, that doesn’t mean that God has brought you down. You may not be elevated in this life, but you will be elevated in the next if you humble yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Love Forth and Humbly Present Yourself.

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Leave His Feet

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²And as He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ~ Luke 17:11-14

Ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy. They came to Him in faith and humility, crying out with a loud voice. They even declared who Jesus was by calling Him master, but none of that mattered until they obeyed in faith and walked away. It wasn’t until they stepped out in faith and walked to the priests to be checked that they were healed. See, even though they went to Jesus in faith, they had to first leave Jesus in faith in order to receive their healing.

When they left to go present themselves to the priests, they were still sick. They were still ten lepers when they left Jesus; it wasn’t until they started walking a little distance that they received their healing. It was a test of their faith. This is how it is with some of us today. Some of us are at Jesus’ feet, begging for our healing, declaring who Jesus is, crying out for mercy, while Jesus is telling us to get up and show ourselves to the priests. Go to the doctor. Get your checkup. But we’re still at His feet, begging for healing and mercy. So, many of us miss out on our healing because we’re too afraid to leave Jesus’ feet in faith. Sometimes, this is the only way we can be healed, so don’t let fear or doubt keep you from your healing. Walk out in faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave His Feet.

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What’s The Anointing Worth?

¹⁵ A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. ~ Proverbs 15:1

When I was young, my mother would always tell me, “it’s the answer that brings the row (argument).” I suppose it was her way of quoting this proverb. A soft answer turns away wrath. She would tell me that it takes 2 to argue.

You see, it is not the answer but how we answer. The other day a man came into my office, but I was unable to help as he didn’t have the minimum requirements necessary. I tried to explain, but he became irate and began to cuss me out. I simply told him to have a nice and genuinely hoped that his day would get better.

The scene could’ve easily escalated if I had returned railing for railing. Cussing for cussing. But instead, a soft answer turns away wrath.

As Christians, we ought to always strive to live in peace and in harmony with our fellow individuals. Sometimes tempers will rise, and sometimes it may be difficult to keep control. It would probably feel really good to return some of their own medicine, but it’s not worth the anointing. God has called us to live in peace. Therefore, nothing is worth the anointing, not even our own pride.

Father, help us to live in peace and harmony and to take the wrong even when we are not in the wrong. We desire Your anointing. We desire Your presence, and we know that arguments and strife will not cultivate a close relationship with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for giving us the ability to turn the other cheek. Amen.

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Category: Daily Bread

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