Category: Daily Bread

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Listen to His Holy Spirit

15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. ~ 2 Peter 2:15–16

If we know for sure that God does not approve of a certain lifestyle or a certain habit, then we forsake that lifestyle and correct the course. We only need to pray about things that are not so clear-cut, things that are ambiguous. In days of antiquity, they cast lots to determine the will of God. Even the eleven apostles cast lots to determine who would take Judas’ place in Acts chapter 1.

But ten days later, in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit came, and we never heard about casting lots to determine God’s will after that. Why? Because they received the Holy Spirit. God spoke directly to them, and nothing has changed for us today. God still speaks directly to us through His Holy Spirit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen to His Holy Spirit.

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Follow the Word

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~ Romans 12:1–2

We must listen to and evaluate what is being said, or what is being taught, or what is being propagated. Then we are to test it. In other words, we are to compare it with the Word of God. If, for whatever reason, it does not line up or match up with God’s word, if we don’t have full and complete congruency, then we are to throw it out. Dismiss it completely as false and misleading. We are to drop it like a hot potato.

When it is not a blatant contradiction of the Word of God and a little more in-depth analysis is needed, then that is where prayer comes in.

If God’s word says, ‘Do Not Do It!’ then there is no need to pray about it. That is what Balaam did in Numbers chapter 22-24. Although he knew God’s good and perfect will, he was enticed by the lure of wealth and profit. Don’t succumb to Balaam’s error. Don’t allow the world to lure you away from the straight and narrow by its beguiling, poisoned fruit. Let the Word of God lead you on your journey, not the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow the Word.

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Watchmen Where Are You?

17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ” 18 So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” 20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.” ~ 2 Kings 9:17–20

The Hebrew word (ṣā·p̄ā(h)), translated watchman, means:
keep watch, be a lookout,
i.e., intently watch a situation using primarily the eye-gate, but possibly also using other senses, implying a future hope or expectation.

Jesus told us to watch and pray. By this, He made the Christians watchmen on the wall, so to speak. We are to announce good, and we are to announce bad. We are to announce friends, and we are to announce enemies. We are to announce peace, and we are to announce war.

It is our responsibility to protect the flock from potential dangers and warn of surprise attacks from the enemy. Therefore, it is our job to keep watch and to warn the body of Christ of impending dangers and threats.

We are to watch for approaching friends and let our fellow Christians know they are friends. We are likewise to watch for approaching enemies and sound the alarm that an enemy is approaching.

Not only this, but it is the watchman’s responsibility to warn the people on behalf of God when they are straying or falling away from His impending judgment. We are to warn them to turn from their wicked or their compromising ways and return to God.

It is a serious and crucial responsibility that we have and one we should not take lightly. Therefore, blow the trumpet and sound the alarm; danger and enemies disguised as friends are all around us. Warn the people of God, watchmen.

Father, give Your watchmen wisdom and understanding to recognize enemies from friends, danger from peace, and the prudence to act accordingly. Grant us boldness and confidence to warn, advise, and caution the body of Christ. Bless Your people LORD and watch over them as they climb the mountains and cross the valleys. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Make the Darkness Visible in Light

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 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 5:11–14

We are instructed not to take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather, we must expose them. The weak watered-down teachings and lukewarm theology of the Church have caused so many to stray from the faith. The world has perverted the definition of love. No longer is love about protecting the soul of others; instead, it’s about protecting the feelings of others. We are ‘loving’ people straight into Hell.

Love isn’t saying ‘God hates —–’ and expecting people to change. Neither is it saying ‘God loves everyone’ so no one has to change. Love is correcting the sin while still loving the sinner. It’s bringing to light the difference between right and wrong. When we expose the darkness to the light, it has nothing to do but flee.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make the Darkness Visible in Light.

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Don’t Stay Complacent

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. ~ Revelation 21:8

Many believe that sin really only includes sexual immorality, murder, idolatry, or things like these. Often times we overlook the fact that Jesus said that the cowardly (those who are fearful), the faithless (those who do not believe), and the sorcerers (those who are into witchcraft) all have their portion in the Lake of Fire (Hell). So many times, we get caught up resettling the settled that we can’t move into the deeper things of Scripture. We get caught up in rebuilding and rebuilding the foundation that we can never grow spiritually as Christians. Why is that?

If the Devil can keep us locked in at the entry-level of Salvation, then his war isn’t against strong men and women of God; it’s against babies in the faith. Sin has become the dominant force in our society today because we have become so stuck on the basics we aren’t growing in our faith. We aren’t getting spiritually stronger. We aren’t getting spiritually wiser; instead, we’re staying complacent in our own ignorance, unable to mature in the Spirit.

Don’t let settled foundational beliefs hold you back in your faith. Build your foundation, then build on top of that. Seek more, and you will receive more.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Stay Complacent.

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Run the Straight and Narrow

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ~ Hebrews 12:1-3

The writer of Hebrews tells us that this life is a race. We can’t stop. We can’t turn left or turn right; we must run that straight and narrow path set before us. In a race, we don’t have breaks; we don’t have rests; we have to run with endurance. But the author doesn’t stop there; he goes on to encourage us that whenever we begin to grow weary or tired, to look to Jesus. To look to the Son of God who ran the race before us. The founder and perfecter of our faith who endured suffering and hostility for the sake of all mankind.

When we begin to grow weary, we can look to Jesus. Why? Because in His presence, we are renewed. Don’t be discouraged because though we are persecuted, we are not destroyed. When we are weak, He is strong. Hold on to the mighty hand of the living God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Run the Straight and Narrow.

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Look Beyond the Veil

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ~ Matthew 27:50-51

The New Covenant is based on better promises through God –Jesus Christ– Himself. Since the Old Covenant brought death, the new one brought life. God said He would write His new law not on tablets of stone like the Old Covenant but rather on hearts and minds. Therefore, Jesus had to die physically, thus breaking through the veil, which is His body, to let us into the very presence of God. Now we can gaze upon His beauty with unveiled faces to behold the glory of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Beyond the Veil.

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Live Your True Identity

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to His children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. ~ Psalms 103:8-13

A lot of us carry around the shame of our past, but we don’t have to do that. We don’t have to allow the past to keep us from our future. David said in the Psalms how amazing the love of God was; keep in mind this is pre-grace, so imagine how much more this is true today, during the time of grace. This was written during the time of The Law, but we are now under grace. Under faith. The Law of Liberty. So how much more true is this in today’s world?

Never let the world define your identity because they only want to focus on your past and your current struggles. But our identity isn’t found in those things. Our identity is found in our God. Why? Because our identity is Child of God. Not our sin that we struggled with. Not the sin that we struggle with now. But instead, we are Children of God Most High. We are confident Sons and Daughters of God Almighty.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your True Identity.

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Take His Yoke

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ~ Matthew 11:29-30

Jesus encourages us by telling us that we can carry His yoke, but how is that less than the yoke we are given, as His yoke led Him to death? I believe Jesus was telling us that we can carry His yoke because He already paid the price, He already paved the way, we just have to follow.

Jesus already paid our debt. He paved the ground so that we have a road to run on; we just have to follow His path. Does that mean it’ll be easy? No. At times we will feel like giving up, but Jesus says that if we take His yoke and learn from Him, we will become more like Him. We will become humble, gentle, and most of all, we will find rest for our souls.

The yoke we are taking from Jesus is His peace, His love, His mercy, His kindness, His breath, His life. Through Jesus’ yoke, we can overcome. We are persecuted, beaten, crushed, but we are not overcome. We are not destroyed. Our LORD was persecuted and murdered, but He overcame and defeated death by rising three days later, and in doing so, we shall overcome and defeat death again.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take His Yoke.

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Live Free

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. ~ Galatians 4:28-31

We were once slaves to sin. We were once slaves to fear. We were once slaves in general, but now we are sons and daughters of God. We are now fellow heirs with Christ Jesus. We have displaced our mistress as we have become overcomers of the world. No longer having to bow down to sin, we are now free from our past mistress, the World. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Free.

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