Daily Bread Archives

April 10, 2021June 6, 2021

How Do You Know?

¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. ~ 1 Peter 3:15

Everyday tv personalities are getting bolder and bolder about their contempt for Jesus. They poke fun at the LORD and use Him as the butt of their jokes. But God is patient and kind, not wanting anyone to perish, but for them to come to repentance because He is a good, good God.

Here is the first and most famous question. “How can we trust the Bible is accurate? After all, it was written by man.” This is the enemy’s first line of attack. This shouldn’t come as a shock or a surprise since this is the one that the serpent used in the garden in the very first recorded temptation. It is designed to confuse and distort the word of God. (Genesis 3:1)

The law was given to the man before the woman was created. So, the Gospel, or the Law, or the word of God was handed down to the woman just as it is handed down to us. The evil one came and tried to question the reliability of the word handed down to her.

Peter says that Scripture did not originate in man’s own thoughts, but the prophets spoke and wrote as God led them. He was comparing the New Testament writing with the Old Testament Scriptures, and this is what he said about Paul’s New Testament writings. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

We have 24k more manuscripts than the closest one. Not only that, but the entire New Testament was written within 70 years of the actual events. This means that a lot of the eyewitnesses were still alive and could have disputed the stories and facts about Jesus. But surprisingly, none did. Yet, it’s the most disputed and considered the most unreliable. You must ask yourself why? Why is that? Even though they have been proven to be highly preserved.

If that is the case, then would it not stand to reason that other historical figures with way less documented evidence should also be subjected to doubt and scrutiny? Yes, they should, but they are not. Only Jesus, and Scripture.

Jesus said, blessed is the one who believes and has not actually seen. The truth is, it’s through faith that we are saved. You don’t have to worry; the same God who spoke the world into being is the same God who preserves His own word. Jesus is the Word that became flesh; therefore, His word cannot be corrupted.

As we said, Jesus is alive, and He is coming back to judge the living and the dead. Are you Ready? If you haven’t accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, I invite you to know Him today. No matter what you’ve done. No matter what you’ve said, it’s only one step back to Christ.

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Clear The Rubble

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” ~ Nehemiah 4:10

Nehemiah had just arrived in Jerusalem, and the first thing he does is get acquainted, and then he sees about his project. Now, when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they were upset at what was going on because they didn’t like the Jews and didn’t want them to prosper, so they started taunting them in order to discourage them.

This added to the rubble that was piling up, trying to hinder Nehemiah from building. When mocking didn’t work, Tobiah started threatening them; he tried intimidating them. He did some of everything to try to discourage them, which only added more to the rubble.

Today, we have these same problems. The world has become an incredibly stressful place—so much hate and division that presses you down. Employers requiring more and more with no more pay or benefits, it all adds to the rubble. But remember, when you see too much rubble piling up in your life, take it all to God in prayer.

I would like to give you a few suggestions to reduce the rubble in your life. As a Christian, when feeling overwhelmed, the first thing you need to do is:

1. Remember God loves you
2. Remember God, and who He is, and that He is still in control
3. List the prayers God has answered in the past
4. Meditate
5. Identify/recognize and understand your problem
6. Go outside/Take a walk
7. Exercise
8. Relax
9. Sleep

Never let anything stop you from building. When God has called you, He will make a way for you to fulfill your call. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. You have to fight for it. You have to start to clear the rubble; then God will help you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Clear The Rubble.

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Return To Holiness

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ~ Hebrews 12:14^NIV

Holiness is a word we don’t hear very often in the Church anymore, and when we do hear it, it is taken a bit out of context. We are led to believe that holiness consists entirely of our outward appearances and nothing else. Yet, we watch any old filth on the TV with the most explicit language and nudity and sexual content, and we don’t even bat an eye. Our consciences have been seared as with a hot iron and we don’t even realize it.

Holiness is belonging to and being dedicated to God. You have now passed from corruption to spiritual perfection or purity, unrighteousness to sacred because you are no longer tainted by evil or sin. In pursuit of holiness, we don’t continue doing the same old things we use to do. No, we resist temptation. We turn away from evil.

Your life will always go in the direction of the dominant images in your mind. What you let in by way of music, tv, movies, etc. (that is, hearing and seeing) is what will shape your destiny.

The return of Christ Jesus is so very close. Look around, and you will see, the time is near for His return, and He is looking for the holy, those whose garments are washed in the blood. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, I beseech you to get back to holiness.

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Crucified With Christ

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20

Christ gave His life for us, so it’s now up to us to live our lives for Him. When we do, He gives us Eternal Life. Why? Because when we live our lives for Christ, we make the conscious, determined decision to do good. To do what is right. Because that’s what following Christ is, it’s denying your flesh so that your soul may live.

LORD, help us to deny our flesh so that we may spend Eternity with You surrounded in Your love. Help us to see that You want what’s best for us. Help us to also want what’s best for us and to crucify our flesh. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Bow Today

⁹Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:9-11

One day every knee will bow, and everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, but on that day, many will be in mourning. Many will cry because they didn’t bow their knee earlier. They didn’t confess Jesus before they were face to face with Him, and they could not stand in the presence of the Almighty God.

But, those who bow their knee and confess before the Day of Judgment, they will rejoice, for they will see their King. Their LORD. Their Savior. They will be given crowns, robes, joy, and everlasting life, but those who do not confess will receive only pain, agony, regret, and everlasting death.

The things of this world are only temporary. We’re only here for a short time; what you do with that time determines how you will spend your Eternity. What may seem important to you today will seem frivolous and unimportant. The majority of our desires only last a short time, a few minutes to a few hours, then we’re left empty, unsatisfied, and filled with shame and regret. Nothing on Earth is worth your Eternal soul. Bow your knee today so that on Judgment Day, you will rejoice to see your King.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bow Today.

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The Resurrected Peter

⁶And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. ⁷But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” ~ Mark 16:6-7

This is after Satan demanded to have Peter. Peter then denied Jesus three times and went out weeping. But Jesus didn’t leave Peter there in his sin; He called him by name through the angel. And what does Peter do? He comes running. He runs to Jesus. He doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t stop to think it through. He doesn’t even walk. He runs to Him. Peter could see his second chance right around the corner.

This is us today. We’re each Peter. We’ve each been demanded for by the Devil, but we’ve also each been called back to God. But it’s up to us who’s call we decide to answer. When Peter heard, he didn’t hesitate he took off running to Jesus. And what did that get him? The chance to repent and be forgiven.

We have all denied Him, but we have all been called by name. And when we answer that call and run to our resurrected king, He resurrects us, just like He resurrected Peter.

LORD God, help us to not only hear Your call but to run towards You. Help us to heed every one of Your warnings and follow Your commands. Help us to watch and pray that we would not fall into temptation. In Jesus’ name, we pray amen.

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Enter Into His Places of Glory

¹¹And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, ~ Hebrews 10:11-12

Jesus came to earth for one purpose and one purpose only, to redeem ALL of mankind from their sins. He came to give the one and only sacrifice that could cleanse mankind of our sins and reconcile us to God. After His sacrifice, He was buried in a tomb, and a huge stone sealed Him in. But, on the third day, Jesus rose again.

We don’t serve a dead God. Our God is alive and well. His life wasn’t taken from Him. He freely gave it. It was His call to redeem us from our sins. No longer is even on this earth, but now He is physically seated at the right hand of God. And because He lives through us, and He is now our High Priest, we have been given the right to enter into the presence of Almighty God. We have now been redeemed, restored, and adopted as Children of God.

So be encouraged today; our Savior is alive and well. He goes before us. He clears the way for us to walk. Jesus has torn the curtain separating man and God. Because our Savior not only lives but is seated in Glory, we can now enter into those places of Glory. We are no longer separated from God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enter Into His Places of Glory.

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Have Hard Conversations

¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” ¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” ~ John 4:17-20

I think it’s safe to say that this was an uncomfortable conversation. Not only did Jesus tell the woman of her past sins and that she was still living in sin, but Jesus even went as far as to tell her that she doesn’t even know who she is worshipping because she is not a Jew. Jesus didn’t avoid these kinds of hard conversations because He understood that people would die in their sin without hard conversations. He was prepared for any response that the woman could have responded with because He loved her. His love for her gave Him the patience He needed to have the hard conversations.

We need this kind of love today. Not every conversation we have will be easy. Some will be hard. Some will have people becoming angry. Some will have people becoming all kinds of emotional, but without these conversations, how can they be saved? Jesus was crucified because of what He said and did, but yet He cried out on their behalf. Stephen was stoned to death. Paul was kicked out of several towns, beaten several times, and left for dead. The disciples were crucified. So many have died and are willing to die for the Word of God, for Truth, but in a free country, we are afraid to offend or upset someone. We are afraid of uncomfortable conversations.

Why? I believe it’s the lack of love. We’d rather allow someone to stay in their sin, ignorance, or lack of faith because we don’t want to be uncomfortable. If we only understand a tenth of the punishment they would face, we would have any conversation necessary to save their soul from destruction. We would humble ourselves and look at them with love. We would have mercy and speak life to them. Look at how Jesus finished His hard conversation.

²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
John 4:21-26

He ended it with hope. He didn’t just say you’re a sinner. He didn’t just say, well, you’re not even a Jew. No, He left the woman with hope. The hope of the Messiah who would break down all barriers. The hope that no matter the past, the Messiah is the future. Who is it that you’re avoiding your hard conversation with? Don’t avoid it any longer. Don’t wait any longer, for tomorrow is promised to no man. Give them a chance to repent and find Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Have Hard Conversations.

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Apply The Blood

⁷Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ~ Exodus 12:7

Without the sacrifice of the perfect lamb and the blood covering the doorposts and the lintel of the houses, the LORD could not stop the destroyer from entering the home and taking the life of the firstborn. This is the same with us today. Without the sacrifice of the perfect lamb, we cannot be freed from our sins, and we are bound for Hell. For the soul that sins must die. But don’t be discouraged; our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Our perfect lamb has been slain.

Jesus died for our sins 2000 years ago. He took our punishment on Himself, but even though He died for us, that doesn’t mean that we will all be saved. We have to now do an action. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can make it in without applying the blood. Likewise, don’t be lulled into apathy, thinking that all is good because you believe in God. You believe in God, good! Even the demons believe that there is a God and shutter.

Listen. Not everyone that says Lord, Lord, will be accepted. You have to apply the blood. How do you apply the blood?

1. By accepting Jesus’ sacrifice and obeying His commands
2. Read your Bible
3. Become familiar with what Jesus said and what His Apostles revealed about Him
4. Pray continually, and believe

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Apply The Blood.

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Thank Him For His Sacrifice

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. ~ Hebrews 7:26-28

We needed Jesus’ blood because His blood was and is untainted by sin. Just as the writer of Hebrews tells us that it was impossible for someone tainted by sin to redeem us from our sins, it always will be impossible for anyone other than Jesus to redeem us from our sins. Why? Because Jesus was our perfect, untainted, innocent final sacrifice. This act was not and is not God’s accepting nor condoning human sacrifice. This was Jesus saying Father, they’ve sinned, they can’t pay their debt; they can’t take their punishment, let me take their place. Jesus took our place on the cross. He took our punishment by sacrificing Himself so that we might be saved.

So, what does this blood do for us? According to Hebrews 9:13-14, the blood of Jesus did what the blood of animals could not do; it cleansed us from our sins and all unrighteousness. Unlike the animals’ blood, Jesus’ blood purified us from our sin and purified our minds from the guilt of our sins. He not only cleansed us physically but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. He freed us in every aspect we can think of, with His Holy and precious blood.

Now because the Blood of Jesus cleansed us of our sins, it also brought us closer to God. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 10:19-20 that we are now able to enter the Holy places, that we couldn’t enter before the cleansing Blood of Jesus. We have been given, through the new way of Jesus, a path into the Holy places. We can now go before the Throne of God with confidence.

“¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:16

Before we couldn’t do that, we couldn’t enter into the presence of God, or we would die because of our sin and filth, but now we have that privilege because of the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for taking our place and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Thank Him For His Sacrifice.

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