Daily Bread Archives

March 12, 2022March 17, 2022

Turn In Here

⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, ⁵ “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” ~ Proverbs 9:4-6

So many of us struggle with understanding the Bible. I’ve heard so many say that we can’t truly know the Truth of what God meant when He breathed out Scripture, but look at what Wisdom promises us. The Spirit of Wisdom promises that if we seek her, we will find her.

We don’t have to stay ignorant of God’s Word. We don’t have to lack understanding. As long as we seek wisdom, we will find wisdom. God’s desire is for us to know Him, and the only way to do that is to read His autobiography. So, when you read your Bible, and you don’t understand what it’s saying, ask God for the wisdom to understand, and He will give you understanding.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Turn In Here.

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Accept Instruction

⁹ Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. ~ Proverbs 9:9

In our society today, we take correction personally. It’s almost as if the person correcting us is coming after us directly instead of trying to help us grow in Christ. The reason we’re offended by correction is because of one of the strongest strongholds, pride. Pride blinds us to the truth of situations and keeps us stuck where we are never able to move forward.

Jesus said, ‘Blessed is he who isn’t offended by me.’ Jesus was the ultimate corrector. It wasn’t because He wanted to call people out on their ignorance; it was because He wanted and still wants us to continue to grow in wisdom and understanding. He wants us to go from glory to glory.

Look at what the verse says again, The wise man who receives instruction becomes more wise. Just because the wise man received instruction, it didn’t mean he was no longer wise; in fact, it made him the more wiser. The wise man was wise not because he knew and understood much but because he could take instruction and continue to grow. So, when someone gives you instruction or correction, accept it and grow. Don’t allow pride to keep you from the next level of glory God has in store for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Instruction.

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Learn What Love Is

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16

True love is not only patient, but true love is kind. It does not return railing for railing. Jesus is our perfect example of love and kindness. Kindness forgives. Jesus was beaten. He was spit upon. They slapped Him in His face. They mocked Him. They publicly humiliated Him. Then they made Him carry His own cross to Calvary to be crucified for crimes He did not commit.

They stretched out His arms and nailed His hands to the cross. Then they stretched out His legs and nailed His feet to the cross. Then they lifted Him up, and He hung between heaven and earth. And there, our Savior died for our sins.

He could have called ten thousand angels, but He refused to return railing for railing but instead returned love for hate. And some of His very last words, just before He died for the same ones who crucified Him, were: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That is love. That is kindness. When you can forgive like that and overlook those who hurt you like that, you have learned what love is.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn What Love Is.

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Burn Off Your Dead Man

¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ~ Ephesians 5:13-14

Sin thrives in darkness. That’s where it grows and multiplies. The darkness is its home. In order to remove or overcome sin, we have to place it in the light at the feet of Jesus. In other words, we have to pray about it. We can’t keep trying to battle it on our own because we’ll get nowhere. We can’t overcome on our own, and the sad part is, deep down, we all know it.

We all know that we can’t overcome our sin on our own, yet we are determined to try to keep it from God and do it on our own. Why? Could it be because we don’t truly wanna let it go? Darkness, oftentimes, is like false security. For whatever reason, when we’re afraid at night, we feel safer under the covers in our bed. Yet that isn’t providing any actual safety. That’s what the darkness is for us. We know that pretending our sin isn’t there or ‘trying’ to clean ourselves alone isn’t going to actually set us free, yet we still do it for the false sense of security. We’ve become like vampires.

Imagine this; vampires are literally the walking dead that avoid the sun because it burns them, so they hide from it. What if they avoid the sun because it’s killing the dead in them so that they might live again. But they avoid it because it hurts to go through. That’s how the darkness and sin keep us trapped. It lies to us, telling us that we can either overcome it on our own or hide it from God so that we never venture into the light. Then it tells us that we’ll die if we go into the light. If we bring this before the LORD, it’ll be a rough road like never before. It’ll be like one going through withdrawals, and even if you make it, no one will ever accept that you’ve changed. They’ll never see you for anything other than your past; you’ll still be dead to them.

But the Devil is a liar. Yes, walking into the light won’t be easy. Overcoming sin is a daily struggle that some days feels like more than you can take, but with each moment you stay in the light of Jesus, the more the dead person that you once were, burns off and the new person God is molding you into shines through. It’s not gonna be easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but hold on to God, and you will overcome through Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Burn Off Your Dead Man.

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Do You Trust Him?

¹⁰So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹²And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.” ~ 1 Kings 17:10-13

Jesus asked the question, ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?’ This is the same kind of faith God was searching for in the widow at Zarephath. The faith that no matter what, you’ll be obedient to God. The faith of Noah when he built the Ark regardless of whether or not he saw even a hint of rain. The faith of Abraham when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were willing to die for their faith. Faith is what connects us to God. It’s what saves us. But we struggle with faith today.

We struggle with giving God our everything. It’s difficult to see the goodness of God when He’s asking us to risk or sacrifice something we love in the name of faith and obedience. Sometimes God is asking us to risk our entire reputation and relationships in order to give Him everything. Sometimes it’s our job, or our house, or our security. Sometimes it’s even our own lives, but God doesn’t do this just to see if we’ll do it. He doesn’t do it just for so; God tests our faith that He might know who truly loves Him. He’s making sure that you love Him in the good and in the bad. That you’ll love Him regardless of what circumstance you are currently in. God doesn’t just want to be a meal ticket; He wants a relationship with you. He wants you to trust Him with everything in you. He wants you to love Him for Him, not for what comes with Him. And when we love Him, He, in turn, draws closer to us. He draws closer than any brother or any friend. He never lets us go.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Have Faith.

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Show Up

⁵And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went about among the villages teaching. ~ Mark 6:5-6

The Bible encourages us that healing is the Children’s bread and that by His (Jesus’) stripes have been healed. In other words, God wants to heal all of us, yet so many aren’t healed. There’s cancer, disease, pain, suffering, depression, anxiety all throughout the Church. We don’t look any different than the world, yet Jesus paid for our healing. He already paid our debt, so why don’t we see more miracles, especially in the Church?

We have become Nazareth. Jesus’ hometown was where He did the least amount of miracles. It wasn’t because He didn’t have the power to do so, but because they didn’t have the faith to receive it. They saw Jesus as just a carpenter’s son, not as the Son of Almighty God. They couldn’t get past their own perception of Christ. We’re no different. We see Jesus as our Savior, we even believe miracles are possible, but we don’t have the faith that Jesus still works today. He told us that the faith of a mustard seed could move mountains and even do the impossible.

We grew up not seeing the lame walk, the dumb talk, or the blind see. We grew up not seeing signs and wonders, so we don’t see that as a reality. We’ve become stuck like Nazareth. They wanted the Messiah to come. They saw the wisdom in His teaching, but they couldn’t get past how they saw Him. They couldn’t get past their own opinions of what the Messiah should be so that they could see all that He was. That’s where we are today. We believe, but we don’t have the faith. It’s like we’re in court, we have the best defense attorney in the world, but unless we show up and do our part, we might as well not have an attorney at all. That’s what faith is; it’s showing up; Jesus already did the rest.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Show Up.

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Seek Out Your Worth

⁷Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. ~ Luke 12:7

There are 7.9 billion people living on the earth today in almost 200 countries around the world. With so many people, in so many different cultures, doing so many different things, it’s easy to feel alone and insignificant. It’s easy to feel invisible and meaningless. But you aren’t.

Think about this, the God that created all of those people created you as well. He formed you in your mother’s womb. He picked out your hair color and your eye color. In fact, He numbers the very hairs on your head. Why? Because you’re important to Him. He loves you.

Let that sink in for a minute. The God that created everything we see and don’t see took the time to form you in your mother’s womb to make you the unique person that you are. He gave each of us a special gift and a plan for our lives. A plan to give us hope and a future. A plan that He created just for us. Each person is special to God. Why? Because He created each person. You weren’t a mistake, nor were you an accident. God created you and formed you. He called you by name. He gave up His own life so that you could have a new one. So that you could be saved.

Never believe the lie that you aren’t important. The God of the entire universe knows your importance and your worth, so seek Him, and you will see it too.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Out Your Worth.

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Rejoice In His Presence

¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. ~ Matthew 28:19-20

2,000 years ago, Jesus ascended to Heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Yet, He promised His disciples, before He left, that He would be with them always. That promise wasn’t just for His disciples at that time. That promise was and is for all who serve Him. It’s a promise that is still true to this day. The LORD didn’t leave us as orphans. No, instead, He sent His own Spirit to dwell with us and in us. He Himself lives through us and intercedes on our behalf. The Father goes before us, clearing the way in His own name.

We have not been abandoned. Be encouraged; the God of this universe is with you always. He isn’t a far-off and distant God that is unreachable and inaccessible. He is the God that is close. All you have to do is call on His name, and He will answer you. Seek Him, and you will find Him. He is a God that desires to be close to His people, for His place is with His children. So, rejoice and be merry, for the LORD God is in your life, and He is doing great things for you and through you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rejoice In His Presence.

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Walk In Love

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Without love, we are nothing. It’s not all about you. It’s not all about us. It’s about Jesus. It’s about salvation. It’s about loving others that they may believe and live and not die. Outside of the free world, there are Christians who are constantly persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Yet, they don’t hate their persecutors; they pray for them. They show love every chance they get because they understand that without love, they are nothing. Without love, we don’t have hope because without love, we don’t even have Christ. Therefore, show love regardless of what others show you. We don’t repay evil for evil; no, we overcome evil with good.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk In Love.

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Lighten The Darkness Around You

⁹Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ~ Matthew 24:9–12

According to Jesus’ own words, all nations will unite against Christians and hate us for His name’s sake. If it is all nations, that sounds to me like this would include the United Nations. They just do not like our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. But why?

I’ll tell you why. It is a spiritual thing. The world has gone secular because it is run by secular men and women. And the name of Jesus is left out because that is the only name given to us by which we can be saved.

It is a name that the secular would rather steer away from. Because once you come into contact with that name, you will no longer deceive the world.

- You will no longer have selfish ambitions
- You will no longer have selfish desires
- You will no longer lie and cheat and steal
- You will no longer be bound as a slave to sin
- For whom the Son sets free, is free indeed

The world is getting darker, but we are still the light of the world, for Christ Jesus lives through us. The only way to brighten the darkness around us is to share the name of Christ with all willing to listen.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lighten The Darkness Around You.

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