Category: Daily Bread

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Do Not Cling To Culture

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. ~ Psalms 19:7-11NKJV

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17NKJV

In today’s world, we often say that the Word of the LORD (The Bible) must adapt to fit the times. That it’s too offensive in its original meaning and, therefore, must be redefined and reinterpreted. They’ll even go as far as to say that Jesus not only condoned but supported pedophilia in order to defend their own fleshly desires. I heard a voodoo high priest explain that if your religion cannot adapt and change to fit the times, then your religion is a cult. That may sound good to some, but to me it really doesn’t make any sense.

If your religion is constantly adapting and changing to fit culture, then you don’t have an actual religion. You don’t have an actual set of beliefs. If your religion is shaped by culture, then your religion is your culture, which is just man’s own opinions and desires taking charge. And because of that, your foundation is no longer strong or even solid. It’s now shaky and uncertain. Something that cannot last the generations.

As Christians, our belief in Scripture is that it is the Word of Almighty God that defines generations, and is not defined by the generations. Culture is whatever man gives in to. That is why, in certain nations, they have a rape culture; they have a murderous culture. When we allow culture to define us, we lose sight of the only Rock on which we can stand. We lose sight of what is good and what is evil. We become blinded to the Truth. Therefore, we cling to the Word of God over any and every thing culture defines as right, for our foundation is Christ, the very Word of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Cling To Culture.

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Rest In Assurance

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. ~ 1 John 5:11-15ESV

I was talking the other day to a friend about salvation, and she was explaining that she doesn’t really like to say that she knows without a shadow of a doubt that she’s saved. That she knows where she’s going when she dies because she doesn’t want to be prideful or arrogant. This is a common obstacle in the Church today, we have a false understanding of both pride and humility. See, it isn’t humility telling us that it’s prideful or arrogant to know that you are saved. That’s the enemy creeping in with false humility. With false piety, so that you can never have confidence in your faith.

See, other religions live in doubt. They live without assurance of where they go when they die, we don’t. Paul even goes as far as to say we have confidence and assurance in where our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ go when they die. As Christians, we aren’t like the world, we have assurance in Christ Jesus. In His promise. In His seal that dwells in you and is sealing you for the return of the LORD (Ephesians 4:30). This isn’t arrogance or pride. This is understanding the difference between our religion and other religions. Where they have doubt and unsurety, we have assurance and confidence. We have peace because of the great love of our God.

Pave. Love. Go Forth and Rest In Assurance.

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Truly Repent

12 That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. ~ Joel 2:12-13

Oftentimes, when we think about repentance, we think about it in terms of saying I’m sorry to God, and that’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. Some Christians will say that repentance is part saying I’m sorry to God and part turning 360°, but that’s actually not true. Yes, repentance is about saying you are sorry to God and confessing your sins to Him, but we aren’t to turn 360°. Why? Because 360° is starting at point A and turning a full circle to return to point A where you began. This does nothing for you. That means that there is no change. It needs to be a 180° turn so that you might turn away from your sin entirely.

See, repentance is more than just confessing your sins to God. It’s about turning your heart from those sins and to God. It’s about changing your identity from your flesh to Christ. Your desires to God’s desires. It’s about renewing your mind and softening your heart. Repentance isn’t just feeling sorry. Repentance is doing something about that feeling. It’s acting on that feeling.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Truly Repent.

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Search The Original

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. ~ Genesis 2:7 ESV

When we read Scrioture superficially, just on the surface, we miss a lot of stuff. We’ve all read that man was taken out of the ground. It’s a very basic verse that we all have read and often just overlooked. Why? Because in English we miss some stuff.

In the original Hebrew, the verse states that the Adam was taken from the Adamah. Adam was taken from the Adamah. That to me just blew my mind when I found that out. See, these words don’t just sound similar, they are linguistically connected. They have the same root word. Adam literally was formed out of the Adamah. Not just man was formed from the dust of the ground, two words without any linguistic connection, but Adam from the Adamah. There’s so many deeper connections within the original language that we just miss in translation.

Therefore, read the translation. Study it. But don’t stop there. Look into the original Hebrew, Greek, and/or Aramaic of a word or phrase in order to see more.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Search The Original. 

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Don’t Be A Hypocrite

I 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 2:20ESV

I recently watched a short of a musician trying to get backstage to get ready to perform with his band and he was stopped by security with no backstage pass or ID on him. Another security guard recognized him and let the security guard checking him know who he was. His reaction? Appreciation to the security guard for doing her job.

He didn’t get angry. He didn’t let his pride get in the way. He simply saw a woman trying to do her job and he understood that not everyone is going to know who he is. Even when she tried to apologize he told her she didn’t need to because she was just doing her job and he liked her for that.

As Christians, we should be ashamed of how most of us react to the slightest inconvenience. This reaction was by a lead singer of a pretty well known heavy metal group, who, by the way, is not a Christian. This is a man who said it doesn’t matter if he knows what God is. Pride has gripped so much of the Church so tightly that we easily angered, offended, up in arms over the littlest things.

Rarely do we live as Christ. Paul told us it’s no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. So, how can we live to Christ but allow our flesh to raise up so easily? We have to put our flesh into submission, so that we might not be caught being hypocrites. This man, believes there’s something more out there but has no idea what. He believes religion is foolishness because he was raised in the Church and the Church is full of hypocrites. When we live our lives according to the flesh instead of the Spirit, not only do we make ourselves look bad we make all of Christianity look bad, including our God.

We have to do more than just say we live for Christ. We actually have to act upon that statement. We have to bear fruit. We have to speak life. We have to live as Christ. Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be A Hypocrite.

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Let God Shine

There’s a song that I really love by Jason Upton called Dying Star.

We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
And the greatest idol is you and me
We better get on the threshing floor
When will we learn that God’s strategy
Is giving glory to the Lord?
So we trash our idols cause we want to be
In the army of the Lord

Star how beautiful you shine
Your shine’s more beautiful than mine
You shine from sea to shining sea
World-wide is your strategy
But shining star I hope you see
If the whole wide world is staring straight at you
They can’t see me

They can’t see me
I want them to know, but they can’t see me
I want them to know me
I want to show my glory
But they can’t see me

These are just a few verses of the song. The lyrics, I believe, are about allowing pride to build up in you because of success. Because of the platform you’ve built, so Jesus gets lost behind you. For the average person, that’s a little hard to relate to. The average Christian doesn’t have a big platform that Jesus can get lost behind. No big spotlight or center stage for Jesus to fade into the background. But lately, as I sing these words, my brain no longer thinks it’s just talking about God getting lost behind the spotlight, but God getting lost behind you. Here’s what I mean.

It’s not just about being on a big stage and everyone looking at you and forgetting about Christ. The average Christian gets in the way of Christ through our own flesh. We get in the way. Our pride, anger, depression, anxiety, lust, addiction, etc. We are God’s representation on this earth. We are the hands and feet of Christ. We are His body. His Light should be shining through us. The only reason it doesn’t is because our flesh gets in the way. We allow our own feelings and emotions to control us, instead of Christ and His Spirit directing and guiding us.

We don’t need a big stage or platform to distract from Christ. Each of us comes in contact with nonbelievers every single day. How many of us can honestly say that we do a good job of being Christ to them? The majority of us can’t say that we do. Each one of us has become our own idol. We no longer crucify our flesh. We no longer put our flesh into submission to obey Christ. Anything comes out of our mouths. Anything fills our minds. Our thoughts are no longer put into check. Our actions are no longer held accountable. No longer are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World, but instead, we have become like the World. Therefore, come out of the World. Be Christ to the World. And don’t be another dying star. Another Christian in name only, but instead be a true believer. A true follower. A true Christian.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Shine Through You.

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Cut Off Your Perverse Tongue

31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. ~ Proverbs 10:31NKJV

Whenever we see the Bible talk about perverse this or perverse that, I always think of this in modern Church terms. Usually, when the Church uses the word ‘perverse,’ it’s in regard to sexual perverseness, but that’s not actually what King Solomon is talking about in this verse. Here, he’s actually referring to the faithless. See, he uses the word tǎh·pû·ḵā(h). This word is given a definition by God while He is rebuking the Israelites and all the sins they have committed.

20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.’

Deuteronomy 32:20NKJV

King Solomon is saying that the words of the faithless will not last. Those who claim to be in the Church but speak words of doubt, words contradicting faith, it is their tongues that will be off. Their words that will be found to have been false. Those who say Christ cannot cure depression, anxiety. Those who say there are no more miracles, signs, wonders, healings. Words of a faithless generation won’t change the Truth. The Truth is that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. The Truth is that whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cut Off Your Perverse Tongue.

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Seek The LORD

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15).

Paul is not stating an absolute fact here; he is claiming a principle. How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
These are legitimate questions to ponder. For indeed, how shall they believe if not told? Here is the thing, though. Jesus is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that which we can ask or even think. He can use whatever means He so chooses to use.

There are stories of Jesus coming to Muslims in dreams. Even in prison cells. Jesus is God, and He can use whatever means He wishes.

Now, here is the point. If Jesus can and will, and has used dreams, visions, and other means to reveal Himself to unbelievers, how much more will He reveal His good and perfect will to those who do believe? We are not abandoned; we are loved, and God desires a relationship with us. But if we say that we see or know Jesus, yet we do not seek Him, or have no desire for Him, then our belief is in vain. But if we put our own desires aside and seek His face, He will gladly reveal Himself to us.

So, do not be dismayed, and do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is for you and not against you. He will deliver you from the fowler’s snare, and pull you out of the pit. Your job is to seek Him while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. Do it now. Do it today. You will not regret it.

But someone might say, “I am seeking.” But they never really pray. They never worship. Seeking is more than just mere words; it is building a sincere and sure relationship with the LORD Jesus. So, do it today. Set a time and place of prayer, and let nothing steal your time and your friendship with the LORD Jesus.

Father, please deliver me as You have promised. LORD Jesus, come and abide in me that I might abide in You. Teach me how to worship and teach me how to pray in Your name. Amen.

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Study The Old

For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” ~ Psalms 132:13-14NKJV

When God says that His dwelling is in Zion forever, I think we overlook what He’s actually saying. Because what He’s saying is absolutely beautiful. The LORD isn’t talking about an earthly Kingdom. He isn’t talking about something physically here on earth right now. Nothing from this earth. Nothing that had been corrupted, but that which is not created by human hands. Something uncorrupted. Something created by the hands of the LORD and brought down out of heaven at the End of Days.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:1-2ESV

When we read the New Testament, we often think it’s just new revelations, but it isn’t, at least not in the way we think. It’s confirming all that we have with us and further explaining it. Giving us more insight. Scripture interprets Scripture. These concepts throughout the New Testament aren’t brand new ideas and revelations. These are the Old Testament without the veil.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:12-15ESV

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Study The Old To Understand The New. 

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Prepare A Hedge

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” ~ Job 1:9-10ESV

Sometimes when you’re having victory after victory, and you’re not falling for the Devil’s usual schemes, he uses those around you to knock the joy right out of you. You don’t have to be a non-believer to be used by the Devil; Peter was arguably Jesus’ best friend, and he was used by Satan at the Last Supper. Judas was a follower of Jesus, and Satan entered him. You don’t have to be unsaved to be used by the enemy; he just simply needs an open door in your life to use you. And sometimes that’s what happens.

Paul tells us that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but against the spiritual realm. The unseen world. The enemy and his kingdom. Their goal is to separate you from God, but because they can’t do it themselves, they try to force you to do it through temptation and trials. When temptation doesn’t work, they use those around you to try to steal your joy, your peace, your love. They try to steal your fruit because if you aren’t producing fruit, then the Father will cut you off of the Vine, who is Christ Jesus. So, he goes after your fruit when temptation doesn’t work.

So, be on guard. Put up a hedge of protection around you. How? Through prayer. Through worship. Through speaking the Word of God over your life, your family, your household, your relationships, your job. Speak the Word of God over all that is in your life so that it might be covered and protected.

We are not unaware of the Devil’s schemes, so don’t play his game. Don’t allow him to steal your joy. Your peace. Your love. Once you’ve covered all in your life, cover yourself. Put on the full Armor of God. Be prepared for battle at all times. Don’t give him anything the LORD has promised you; He has promised all the fruit to those who follow Him and allow Him to transform us into a new creation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare A Hedge For The Attack.

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