Daily Bread Archives

February 9, 2020February 10, 2020

Withdraw To God

“¹⁶But He [Jesus] would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” ~ Luke 5:16

Jesus never sinned, overcame the world, started a revolution, healed the sick, raised the dead, and more. What was His secret? Could it have been quiet time? Jesus spent time with His Heavenly Father so that no matter where He was or what form He was in, they remained one.

Jesus was able to overcome any and every temptation (Hebrews 4:15) without making a mistake. Could it be that the more He connected with His Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, the less the world drew Him in? Imagine quiet time as putting on glasses that narrow in the focus only on God. That’s what you’re doing in quiet time, you’re removing everything else and placing God as your one and only focus.

He got rid of distractions, so that when He prayed God heard Him. He didn’t have to try to ignore the disciples, crowds, chatter, etc. because He removed every distraction and just had time with His Heavenly Father.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Withdraw To God.

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Lasting Prayers

“But the angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.’” ^~Luke 1:13^NLT

Did you hear what the angel of the LORD said to Zachariah? He said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer.” That is extremely important. Why? Because, when we read that, we read it superficially, or in other words, we read it at face value. But there is more going on here. Look with me at verse 18. It says, “Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.’”

Did you catch that? It’s been years, probably decades since Zachariah last prayed that prayer. It’s been so long forgotten that he has given up, no, he has lost all hope, because his wife can no longer bear children. Therefore, God did not answer his prayer and now it’s too late; they’ve missed their opportunity. But God, our God is a good God and He never forgets. The prayers that have come up before Him are lasting prayers.

Look at Acts 10:4^NIV “…The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.’” It wasn’t the prayer he was praying at that time, it was those he had prayed in the past, coupled with his giving.

Look also at Revelation 5:8^NIV, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” Our prayers don’t just go up and eventually fizzle out just because we don’t see something happening when we say amen. Our prayers are ever before God and they will have their turn coming up as a memorial before Him. So, don’t ever think, or feel that your unanswered prayer is just that, an unanswered prayer. We are probably all still reaping the benefits of prayers that our parents, or grandparents, or even great grandparents prayed.

Be encouraged, your prayers have been heard by your heavenly Father, and if they have been heard, then they will be answered if we don’t lose heart. Be blessed and stay blessed.

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Standing In The Gap?

“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” ~ Ezekiel 22:30

God told Ezekiel that He was looking for a man, just one man to make up the hedge and to stand in the gap. Why was He looking for such a man? Because the nation of Israel had rebelled against Him and gone astray. They ignored His warnings and killed and mistreated His prophets that He sent to warn them and bring them back to a right standing. Still they insisted on continuing in their rebellion and stiff-necked ways.

Finally, God had enough, it was time for judgment, but the sin was so grievous that it demanded a severe sentence. But because of God’s loving mercy towards them, He didn’t want to destroy the land. In doing so, bring such a terrible punishment on the nation of Israel, yet His justness couldn’t let them go unpunished. So He looked for someone, anyone who would build up a hedge of protection by standing in the gap on their behalf in prayer. But He found no one.

How often has God been looking for someone who is willing to stand in the gap for your neighborhood, or your place of employment, or your family? How often has He looked and found no one willing to pray for, fast for, or intercede for them? We get so caught up in our own day to day lives, or our own personal pleasures that we forget we have a higher calling.

Don’t miss the opportunity to do something great for the people you care about. Don’t be found MIA when God comes looking for someone to build up the hedge; stand in the gap and prove yourself undependable. But rather, be usable to God by partnering with Him in His work of showing mercy to His people.

Father help us to spend more time in prayer and less time in personal satisfaction and personal pleasures. Help us to be kind and helpful. Help us to be the hands, feet, and mouthpiece of Jesus so that many will have the opportunity to be saved. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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Don’t Justify Rebellion With Religion

“¹²So Micah installed the Levite as his personal priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. ¹³‘I know the Lord will bless me now,’ Micah said, ‘because I have a Levite serving as my priest.’” ~ Judges 17:12-13

Micah was a man who wanted to be a High Priest but was not a Levite. Micah wanted to be in a different area, then God had placed him. He wanted more, which is why I believe his mother had the silver he stole from her, turned into an idol for him. Micah desired to be everything he wasn’t, in doing so, he rejected everything God called him to be.

Micah then tried to justify his rejection of God’s calling by becoming religious. Because he wanted to be a High Priest, he felt that God would accept his desires and pursuits because he now had an actual priest, a Levite, serving with him. He justified his sin with religious reasoning.

Often times, we do this in today’s world as well. We see what other people are doing and we desire their call more than we desire our own. We want to follow what we want instead of what God wants, justifying it with religious reasoning. Our own desires can’t compete with God’s ultimate plan for our lives, He knows what’s for us. When we do it ourselves, we not only deceive ourselves but also those around us. Micah’s sin deceived an entire tribe, who has been deceived by your sin?

LORD God, I ask that you teach all of us how to follow Your perfect will for each of our lives. I ask that You would forgive us for when we’ve done things our way and polluted your call on our lives and led others astray. Please help us to return to You whole-heartedly, humbling ourselves to Your call and Your desire for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Justify Rebellion With Religion.

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Take Back What’s Yours

“¹⁸David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock.” ~ 1 Samuel 30:18-20a

David went before the LORD and asked Him if he should attack the Amalekites after they had stolen everything from David and his men. Because David waited on the LORD, the LORD was with him, and not one thing, neither large nor small, was left behind. David and his men recovered everything the Amalekites had stolen from them.

Instead of getting discouraged and allowing himself to become defeated, David humbled himself before God and asked God what he should do. Then he waited for an answer. The enemy has taken many things from us. Some he has taken children, spouses, loved ones, finances, success, health, and place it at the LORD’s feet. It may seem like an obvious answer but wait for the LORD to go with you because with him, you will be able to bring back that wayward child or spouse. Recover those depleted finances. Achieve success in every endeavor.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take Back What’s Yours.

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Train Your Children

“¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. ¹²I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. ¹³I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever because his sons are blaspheming Godand he hasn’t disciplined them. ¹⁴So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.’” ~ 1 Samuel 3:11-14

The LORD places children in the hands of their parents. It’s not by chance or accident that you are the parent of the child you have, but it was supernaturally ordained by God. He gave you your child. He placed them in your hands, with the expectancy that you would train them up in the way they should go. Eli, even though he was the High Priest, never corrected his two sons. Because of this, his sons died for their sins, and Eli was also held responsible because he didn’t teach his children. He allowed his two sons to carry on however they wanted, when God wanted and expected him to raise his sons to respect and fear God.

The fear of the LORD isn’t a negative thing, it’s a positive. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Fearing the LORD means you respect Him and all that He commands. God’s ways don’t always make sense, but if you teach your child to have faith in the LORD, they will never abandon Him. They may stray, but never for long because you helped them build a strong foundation. Teach and discipline your children from a young age, and you will see the seeds you planted flourish as they age. When they are put to the test, they will be able to pass. When they are tempted, they will be able to overcome. When they are lost, they will know how to seek God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Train Your Children.

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Listen For The Whisper

“‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” ~1 Kings 19:11-13^NLT

Elijah spent so much time with God that He knew His voice, His presence, and probably even His taste and smell (Psalms 34:8 and 2 Corinthians 2:14) Elijah wasn’t distracted by the large blasts and intense scenes, like windstorms, earthquakes, and fires, no instead, Elijah waited for the LORD. Not a great and mighty sign. Not what he thought God should appear like, but who God actually was.

When you spend quiet time with God, you build your relationship. You get to know Him and things begin to change. You aren’t easily led astray by false prophets or pastors. You aren’t led astray by Hollywood or culture’s version of God, because you truly know Him. You know who He is and what He does. What He wants and what He does to get it. You know who God is.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Listen For The Whisper.

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Remind God

“⁶A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, ‘Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-Barnea.’” ~ Judges 14:6

After the Israelites overcame the inhabitants in the Promised Land enough to settle in, Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise that God gave Moses about to two of them. Because Caleb brought this back to Joshua’s attention, everything promised to him was given to him. Some may say, why should we remind God of His promises to us? Isn’t He God? Shouldn’t He know already?

In a relationship, there are conversations. Promises are made and when you have finished your side of the bargain, it’s time to then go collect your side. To do that, you remind whomever you made that promise with. We are in a relationship with God. If we do our part of the deal, we must then go to God reminding Him of His part in the promise. God didn’t forget; this is so you will never forget.

If you haven’t seen a promise fulfilled yet, have you done your part? Have you gone to God with your finished offering and laid it down at His feet, reminding Him of His part? God is more than willing to fulfill His promise, He’s just waiting on you to finish your part. So finish with excitement, for the LORD is waiting to fulfill His promise and bless you!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remind God.

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Throw In Some Flour

“One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, ‘Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!’ So they would not eat it. Elisha said, ‘Bring me some flour.’ Then he threw it into the pot and said, ‘Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.’ And then it did not harm them.” ~ 2 Kings 4:39-41^NLT

Sometimes things look hopeless and extremely complicated, but God makes it simple for us. The poison could have really hurt the men who ate the stew, but instead of throwing out the stew, Elisha just threw some flour into it, and everything was okay. We’re all given a pot of poisoned stew at some point in time. Some of us eat it and slowly perish, others throw it away and miss out on the nutrition, and others throw some flour into the pot to purify it.

The pot of poisoned stew is your next step in life. If you take it without God, it’s like eating the poison. If you throw it away, you stay where you are and never grow, slowly dying from Spiritual starvation. Lastly, you can do it with God by throwing in the flour. Use the Holy Spirit to guide you, protect you, teach you, and take you to your next level.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Throw In Some Flour.

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Resist Your Tamar

“¹⁴But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her. ¹⁵Then suddenly Amnon’s love turned to hate, and he hated her even more than he had loved her. ‘Get out of here!’ he snarled at her.” ~ 2 Samuel 13:14-15

Amnon desired his sister, Tamar. She was all he could think about. It kept him from sleeping. Eating. Functioning as a regular person, so he and his cousin cultivated a lie to get alone time with his sister Tamar. Once he gave in to his desire, what he thought was love immediately turned to hate.

That’s exactly how sin works. We desire it. We seek it out. We devise a plan to get it. Then once it’s over, we hate it, and usually, we hate ourselves as well. We swear we’ll never do it again, that that was the only time. And then the desire builds up again and we go after it again. That’s how strongholds develop. It starts out as something we think we love, something we think we can’t do without, something we swear we’ll only try once, then once we give in, we feel disgusted with ourselves and our sin, and finally, the stronghold starts all over again.

It’s an endless loop that keeps you captive and a slave. Fight the desire. Jesus promises if you resist the Devil, he will flee. Jesus overcame and so can you. Call on His name and He will break any and all chains.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Resist Your Tamar.

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