Daily Bread Archives

March 3, 2020March 2, 2020

God’s Tears

“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” ~ Ezekiel 33:11

If we cry and feel extreme loss when a loved one dies, that we will one day see again, imagine how God feels when one of His children dies spiritually. A child He knew before they were in their mother’s womb. A child He formed by hand, breathed His breath of life into their nostrils, heard their first heartbeat, placed them in their mother’s womb, built the path of freedom for them, and gave His own life on across so that they could one day live, Imagine the pain He feels as He watches that child commit spiritual suicide.

No one can murder you spiritually only, you can murder your own spirit, so imagine that loss He feels. God is love, Because of us, there is now always loss, God doesn’t take joy in punishing the wicked because He loves you. He wants you home. He waits on the road watching for just the sight of you to appear so He can run to you. So He can embrace you. So that you can live once again.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember God’s Tears.

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Their Plot Against You

“⁹Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, ‘Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.’ ‘Then impale Haman on it!’ the king ordered. ¹⁰So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.” ~ Esther 7:9-10

Haman tried to murder Mordecai by impaling him because Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. But Mordecai was a good and righteous man who did what was right, so the LORD was with him. When the king found out what Haman was had planned to do and released who Mordecai was and what he did for him, the king turned Haman’s evil upon him.

Everything evil Haman planned for Mordecai, Haman had to endure. Everything good Haman planned for himself, he had to do to Mordecai. When you do what is right, even when others are against you, trying to destroy you, you will be protected. When you cast your bread upon the water, it will return to you. So be encouraged for good will always return to those who do good.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Always Do What Is Right.

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You’re Not Above It

“¹³Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: ‘Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.’” ~ Esther 4:13

When Haman called for the genocide of the Jews, Esther was hesitant to go to the king because he hadn’t called for her in a while. But Mordecai brought her back to reality, reminding her that no matter where she was or who she was, she was not above the law. No matter if we are servants or sons (and daughters), we are not above God’s law. We must take a stand for what is right, whether we are celebrities, well-known pastors, or just regular people, God will hold us accountable for what we do.

Esther had to risk her life to do what was right. Jesus said that if you deny me before men, I’ll deny you before my Father. So, no matter who you are, own Jesus and all that He stands for regardless of the situation. When you’re confronted with choosing popularity over what is right, choose what is right. Let Esther be a good role model for you because she understood it was better to die doing what was right than to put off death for a short time and do what was wrong. Esther was queen, yet she wasn’t above the law. Don’t just stick your head in the sand, stand for what is right.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do What Is Right.

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Take Advice

“¹⁵Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. (Mordecai had adopted his younger cousin Esther.) When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her.” ~ Esther 2:15

When it was Esther’s turn to present herself to the king, she could have easily ignored the eunuch, but she didn’t. She took Hegai’s advice, and everyone admired her. One thing Esther lacked was pride. She wasn’t a woman that was chained up by pride, but instead, she allowed humility to lead her in life.

In today’s world, how much does pride keep us from growing or succeeding because we refuse to take advice from experienced people? Pride will destroy any person, no matter how strong or skilled they are, because no person can do everything on their own. No person can succeed completely on their own. Don’t allow pride to destroy you; instead, cling to humility and never let it go.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take Advice.

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Fulfill His Request

“¹⁰On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas— ¹¹to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. ¹²But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.” ~ Esther 1:10-12

Now, this may seem sexist, and I’m not saying it isn’t, but when the king calls for someone, no matter who they are or the reason, they must go to him. That is his authority. For that time, that was a usual thing to show off the beauty of your wife, this wasn’t an unreasonable nor odd request. This was a different time and a different culture.

With that said, Jesus is the King of kings. LORD of lords. His authority is above all else, yet we lower Him to our level. We think we know best, so we ignore His instruction. We think His way is unfair or unjust, so we make our own. Jesus has called each of us into His presence, yet most of us refuse to do so. He has called each of us to a specific purpose, yet very few of us fulfill it. Even though Jesus is King of kings, we feel as though He will have mercy on us even though we refuse to enter His presence.

If we continue reading this chapter, King Xerxes not only banishes Queen Vashti but also replaces her with Esther. Queen Vashti lost everything because she refused to enter King Xerxes’ presence. What are we losing when we refuse Jesus?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fulfill His Request.

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Be Nehemiah

“²³About the same time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴Furthermore, half their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all.” ~ Nehemiah 13:23-24^NLT

When Nehemiah saw this, he was more than upset. Nehemiah wasn’t upset about seeing the next generation lose the culture, but instead, he was upset that they were losing their connection to God. They forgot who they were. In today’s Church, we have the same struggles. Our children know the world. They know each celebrity, every secular song, every secular show, yet they know nothing about God.

They don’t know His characteristics, His Word, His plan. We allow our children to join the world and leave the Church. Why does it matter? Without knowing God, you can’t have a relationship with Him. Without a relationship with Him, you can’t make it into Heaven. Teach your children from a young age, and they won’t forget who they are or who God is.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Nehemiah.

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Love The LORD Your God

“³⁷Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment.” ~ Matthew 22:37-38

The hardest thing you can do is the most important thing you have to do, love God with everything inside of you. But what does that mean exactly? Jesus simplified it for us, He described love as keeping His commands. In today’s world, that seems like an unrealistic and horrible request, but is it really? What is Jesus really saying?

Jesus was saying that if we love Him, then we won’t go to other gods. We’re in a covenant relationship with God, so when we succumb to sin, we place that above God. Our love is no longer just for God, it’s now split between Him and others. Why is this such a problem? Throughout Scripture, God compares this to sexual immorality. In other words, God is saying that we’re in a relationship, and I don’t want to share you with anyone else.

Just like most of us want a monogamous relationship, so does God. We don’t want to share our significant other with the world, why should God have to share His? Is it too much of Him to ask us to love Him the way He deserves to be loved?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love The LORD Your God.

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Look In The Mirror

“⁵David was furious. ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ he vowed, ‘any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! ⁶He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.’ ⁷Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.” ~ 2 Samuel 12:5-7

David was King of Israel, had 3 wives already, and everything he could ever dream of, yet he went after another man’s wife. He then killed the man, Uriah, because he slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. The LORD was angry about this, so He sent Nathan the Prophet to speak to David. When David heard what Nathan had said, he didn’t know that it was him that Nathan was speaking about, so he became furious with the man in the story.

When David found out that it was him that the story was about, he saw the error of his ways and humbled himself before God. Sometimes we forget to look in the mirror before we cast judgment upon another person. We sometimes forget that we’ve committed that same sin, without repentance, while condemning someone else. That’s what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 7, take the plank out of your own eye before you can take the speck out of another’s.

Repent, change, and then correct. Don’t forget to first be the example before you try to correct another person’s faults.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look In The Mirror.

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Fulfill Your Responsibility

“¹ If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility.Take it back to its owner. ²If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. ³Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility. ⁴If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet!” ~ Deuteronomy 22:1-4^NLT

As a Church, have we lost our compassion? How often do we stop when we see someone in need? Or give the dollar the homeless person is asking for? Or help the older woman struggling pump gas? How often do we help our fellow man? Many excuses come to mind when these questions are asked, but the bottom line (no matter the excuse or reason for not doing it) is, where is your faith? If you have complete faith in God, then you will have the faith that God will use you and all that you do and give. Jesus compared not feeding the hungry or clothing the naked as not taking care of Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fulfill Your Responsibility.

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Be A Mighty Warrior

“¹ The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. ²The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. ³Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, ⁴camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. ⁵These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. ⁶So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.” ~ Judges 6:1-6^NLT

Judges chapter six records how the Midianites would swoop down on Israel at harvest time, and take their harvest. Are you under spiritual warfare? Is the enemy attacking you? Maybe it’s YOUR harvest time. The dreams you’ve dreamt for so long are finally here. The investment that seemed to have died a natural death is beginning to breathe again. Remember the seed you sowed so long ago? It has sprouted and the enemy knows it’s YOUR harvest time. That relationship at home that you’ve been praying for? It is about to be restored.

So don’t give up, just because the enemy has come down with great wrath wanting to steal your harvest. You are a mighty warrior, believe it, even if no one else does. Live it, even if you don’t feel like it, because God believes in you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Mighty Warrior.

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