Daily Bread Archives

March 22, 2022March 21, 2022

Awaken To The Filth

¹ Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. ² In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. ~ Psalms 36:1-2^NLT

The book of Proverbs says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Sometimes we overlook this because we think it’s the beginning of understanding the deep things of God. But in reality, it’s the beginning of the knowledge of right and wrong.

See, when we have no fear of God, we have no knowledge of what God considers to be right and wrong. We have a tainted view of Him. We become wicked, and we don’t even realize it. We may even think that we’re saved and that we’re fine, even though we’re living in complete and utter filth.

We become like pigs. Pigs don’t realize that they stink, or that they smell, or that they’re rolling around in filth. They have no knowledge of this. That’s how we become when we don’t fear the LORD. Why? Because the fear of the LORD is to respect the LORD. You learn His likes and dislikes. You learn what pleases Him and what hurts Him. It’s to love the LORD with everything in you.

So, awaken from your filth. Don’t be as a mindless pig enjoying the muck. Return to the LORD. Run home to Him, and He will clean you off. He will redeem you, and you will be His, and He will be yours.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Awaken To The Filth.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

Back to Daily Bread?

Be Ready

²² The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” ²³ Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. ~ Acts 12:22-23 ^NLT

John writes in his letters about different sins. In fact, he even writes that there are sins that lead to death, and there are sins that don’t. He goes on to clarify that all wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin leads to death. In today’s society, it’s easy to get confused about what sins lead to death and what sins don’t. It gets even more confusing because we don’t want to even label sin anymore. In the Church today, we’re no different. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that even though we are great men and women of God, we still have strongholds in our lives that need to be broken. The main one is pride.

Pride is always knocking at the doors of us who receive revelations, prophecies, words from God, etc. Those of us who work in the supernatural can fall easily to this stronghold. Even the great apostle Paul prayed three times for the removal of a thorn in his side that was given to him to keep him from becoming prideful because of the exceedingly great revelations God had given him. But God refused, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul acknowledged that he had strongholds in his life that he couldn’t overcome without God. In our world today, that’s hard to do. It’s hard to be a leader of a church or a spiritual leader in your community or home and acknowledge to yourself or even to others that you have strongholds in your life that need to be broken.

Christians are expected to be perfect, especially if they are in a role of authority or influence. While we should always aim for perfection and never settle for less, we should always remember that until we have received our imperishable body, we’re still just a man. We still sin. Because the moment that we forget that, that is the moment we fall prey to spiritual slumber that numbs us to the sins that we commit. That numbness can cause spiritual death. Don’t let pride or any other sin lull you to sleep. Stay awake. Our Savior will soon return.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Ready.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

Back to Daily Bread?

Repent, Learn, and Help

⁸ And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. ⁹ I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” ~ Genesis 43:8-9^ESV

Sometimes it feels like we’ll never be able to make up for the wrong that we’ve done, but God always makes a way for us. Reuben (the eldest) was the firstborn and the first to offer to take Benjamin (the youngest) to Egypt under his watch, but Jacob (their father) told him no. It wasn’t until Judah promised to watch him that Jacob agreed to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt so that they could buy grain. Why is that so significant?

It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery. If Judah had never come up with the idea to sell Joseph, then they probably would’ve just left him in the pit, and Reuben would’ve been able to save him and bring him back to their father. Judah’s hatred for his brother was his downfall, but it wasn’t his destruction. We all make mistakes. All of us have regrets, but if we repent and can learn from them and grow, God will give us a way to redeem ourselves. Whether it’s helping someone going through the same thing or in another way, God always gives us the opportunity.

Judah not only was able to take Benjamin safely to Egypt, but when Joseph tested him, unknowingly, he was willing to take Benjamin’s place and punishment. He had learned from his past actions and had overcome that root of rejection and envy that had a hold on him. That caused him to betray his baby brother and his father.

Think about a regret you have in your life, dig until you find the root, and then set it before the LORD. He already paid your debt; He’s just waiting for you to come to Him with your burden. Then once you have repented and have given Him your burden, learn and help someone else.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Repent, Learn, and Help.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

Fight Like Hannah

⁸ And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” ⁹ After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ~ 1 Samuel 1:8-10 ^ESV

There are gonna be people in our lives that don’t understand the desire God has placed on our hearts. It’s not that they don’t love us or they don’t want what’s best for us; it’s that sometimes, that desire isn’t for anyone else but us. Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, loved her and wanted what was best for her, but he didn’t understand the desire God placed in her heart. He didn’t have the same need because he already had children with his other wife. Even though he sought to make her feel better by reminding her of what she had; if Hannah had listened to him, she would have missed out on her miracle.

Sometimes people’s good intentions are a snare for us set by the enemy, and they don’t even realize it. That doesn’t mean Elkanah was evil. The righteous can be deceived and used by the enemy. King David was deceived and used by the enemy. Even God tells Satan that he incited Him against Job for no reason in Job 2:3.

So, when no one else sees or understands your God-given desire, don’t give up. Don’t lie down and go to sleep, accepting this is just how it is, and that’s just an unattainable dream. Go before God, broken and distraught. Bring Him your desires and lay them at His feet. Plead with God that He might give you the desires He has set in your heart, and don’t give up until you have them. Don’t accept less than God has promised you, no matter what anyone tells you or tries to quench the desire in you. Listen to the promises and desires God has given you, and follow them whether they are with you or not. Fight for your God-given desires.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight Like Hannah.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Don’t Be Complacent

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! ²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! ~ Psalms 139:23-24

Sometimes it’s easy to feel like we’ve done everything and there’s nothing more for us to do as Christians. Almost as if we’ve grown and learned all we need to, so we stop searching for flaws in our lives. But King David, a man after God’s own heart (according to God Himself), never did. He prayed that the LORD would search him. He prayed that the LORD would search his heart and his thoughts so that the LORD could reveal anything in him that wasn’t of God. This is what we need to do.

Even though we’ve been saved, redeemed, and freed from sin, we still sin. We still have things in our lives that we need to fix. We’ll never be perfect in this life, but that doesn’t mean we aim for anything less than perfection. Because if we aim for perfection and miss, we’ll still land amongst the exceptional and great. So, keep searching yourself. Keep growing. Keep praying and seeking God. Just never stay at a standstill because being complacent with who you are will only make you regress. And regression leads to spiritual death.

LORD God, please search me daily that I might continuously grow in You. That I might be a mini Christ on earth to the world. That I might be a light in the darkness around me. Teach me to love You with everything in me. Help me to see the sins that I may not even know I commit. Guide me through this race You have set before me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Back to Spiritual Slumber?

Back to Daily Bread?

Walk in His Word

¹³Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ~ 2 Corinthians 4:13

God never fails. It’s us, in this sinful flesh, that fails. We need to set up guards to keep us from giving in to this old sinful flesh. One of the best guards given to us by God Almighty is His Word. We can’t just hide it away in our hearts and expect things to change. That’s a good start, but the Word of God is useless to us unless we use it. We have to speak it, believe it, and live it. What good is the Word of God if we know but don’t use it, believe it, or live by it?

We have to breathe and live His Word, as that is the means of true living. His Word is our offensive and defensive. It never fails. It never steers us wrong. And it wins every battle. When we’re weak, weary, and tired from the battles and struggles of this world, His Word will fight for us. It will strengthen, renew, and revive us. When we’re tormented, in distress, and don’t know where to turn, His Word will bring peace and direction.

Today, speak, believe, abide in, live in, and walk in His Word.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Grow in Christ Jesus

²A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. ~ Proverbs 18:2

In the Church today, one of our biggest strongholds is pride. We value our own thoughts and opinions over the Truth and Wisdom of God. So, when we are corrected, we feel personally attacked by the correction. This is because we’ve made it about us and what we think is right, instead of about God and what He knows is right. When we do this become like fools because our own understanding and wisdom could never even compete with the ‘foolishness’ of God.

God doesn’t always speak to us directly; He uses us to teach each other. When you’re corrected by God, it’s most likely not going to be face to face on a mountain like Moses or with a sword blocking the path as He did to Balaam. God will most likely use a fellow Christian to correct you. Why? Because iron sharpens iron. We help each other grow in the Spirit. If one person knew and understood everything, then we wouldn’t be the body of Christ. A body cannot function with just one body part. It needs the full system to function properly and accurately.

So, the next time you’re corrected, don’t feel attacked. Don’t get upset and offended. Instead, seek the wisdom of God and search through Scripture to make sure that they are speaking the Truth. Don’t let pride keep you from growing in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Grow in Christ Jesus.

Back to Strongholds?

Back to Daily Bread?

Correctly Use His Name

²⁰They speak against You with malicious intent; Your enemies take Your name in vain. ~ Psalms 139:20

As Christians, we don’t see ourselves as people who take the LORD’s name in vain, but what if we did and we didn’t even realize it? When bad things happen to us, do we blame God? Do we accuse God of not being there for us or causing our tribulation or temptation? These are all ways that we take His name in vain. If we say God has done something, then are we not using His name? And if that is using His name, then wouldn’t saying God has done something He has not done be taking His name in vain?

We’ve all blamed God for something that has gone wrong in our life or maybe a temptation that feels too strong for us to overcome, but we don’t have to feel shame or condemnation. Our God holds no condemnation for those who humble themselves before Him and change their ways. This offense isn’t too painful for God to forgive. He’s waiting for you to repent that He might take you to the next level.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Correctly Use His Name.

Back to Cleansing?

Back to Daily Bread?

Confirm With God

³³ Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. ³⁴ In fact, in His public ministry He never taught without using parables; but afterward, when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything to them. ~ Mark 4:33-34^NLT

Often times things happen in our lives that we don’t understand. The people around us will try to guess, they may even say they got a word from God, but we can’t always take man’s word for it. We always have to go to God before we accept any word from man. Even the people of Berea questioned Paul and searched Scripture to see if what he was teaching was true. Nothing has changed today; we still have to seek the truth behind words given to us by men, whether it’s their own words or words from God.

We can’t just blindly take people’s word for it. They could feel as if they were getting a word from God, but it could be the Devil in disguise trying to deceive you and that person. Or the person could be a plant in your life sent to take away your blessing and betray you. Or the person could have only been given part of a word from God, and you have to seek God for the rest of the word. Either way, never just accept a word from anyone. Always bring it to God first that He might either confirm or reject the word given to you. Trust the LORD above all others; lean not on your own understanding nor the understanding of others. Let the LORD lead your life and let His word be a lamp on to your feet and a light on to your path.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Confirm With God.

Back to Spiritual Warfare?

Back to Daily Bread?

Keep Your Peace

³⁹ When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” ~ Mark 4:39-40^NLT

Fear comes in like a storm pushing against our boat. It tells us that we’re gonna sink. It distracts us with large waves and crashing winds so that we forget that God Himself is in the boat with us. That the commander of the winds and waves is with us, and we have nothing to fear.

So, as the boat is shaking and the waves are threatening to sink you, keep your peace and have faith in the Savior of the world. He isn’t just asleep in the boat with you; He’s given you authority in His name. So, stand firm and speak to the wind and waves around you in faith and confidence in Jesus Christ, your Savior.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Your Peace.

Back to Fear?

Back to Daily Bread?