Category: Daily Bread

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Don’t Give Into Grief

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV

[1] There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: [2] a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, [3] a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, [4] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, [5] a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, [6] a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, [7] a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, [8] a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

One of the shows I’ve always liked to watch is Hoarders. The more I watch the more I see a pattern of the source of the hoarding. It’s almost always because of the loss of a loved one. Unchecked grief is a dangerous slave master. It consumes you, but instead of making you feel full or even satisfied, it makes you feel empty and alone. It puts you into a state of inability to move forward. Feeling nothing but hopelessness as you either try to fill that emptiness with things or just give up on life entirely allowing mess and garbage to pile up until you’ve found that you’re trapped inside your own. A prisoner to now shame as well as depression, anxiety, anger, pain, and emptiness.

When God set up His Law, He allotted time for grieving. Time to mourn the loss of loved ones so that grief couldn’t consume you. So that you could find peace after loss. So that we could learn to let go.

No one is promised this life to last forever. In fact, that’s the one thing we have been promised we will all see regardless of our choices on this earth, each one of us will one day die and enter eternity. Death is certain, but it is not permanent.

In Christ, to live is Christ and to die is gain. This body will perish but our soul and our spirit will not. And one day, when the Good LORD returns, we will have a new body. An incorruptible body. An immortal one that will never feel pain, sorrow, hurt, loss, or grief again. And on that day we will be reunited with not only our God, but with our loved ones who have gone on before us who have believed. It will be a great day of rejoicing for all believers. Those who have gone on and those who are still here.

One day, we will all die, but thanks be to Christ that’s not the end of the story. So, don’t grieve as if there is no hope. Instead, mourn, yes, mourn. There is a time for mourning, but don’t forget to stop mourning and rejoice.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Give Into Grief.

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Don’t Be A Fool

14 But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? ~ Romans 10:14NLT

There’s a Sumerian Proverb that says:

He who knows but does not speak, is a fool.

The vast majority of Christians keep their faith to themselves. They don’t share it with others. They don’t want to offend anyone with their beliefs, so they keep it quiet. They keep it tucked away in themselves. And if another Christian says, no I have to share my faith. I have to witness to others. I have to spread the Gospel. I have to warn them of what happens in eternity without Christ, they are upset at that Christian. They are angry and annoyed that they would dare share the Word of God with an unbeliever. They do this completely ignoring that that is what we are called to do.

Paul asks a simple question to the Church in Rome. How will they know unless someone tells them? Knowledge and understanding doesn’t come just by opening our eyes. We have to be taught. We have to be guided. Discipled. Trained up in the faith. We have to be told. Yet, Christians will keep their faith to themselves. They’ll keep their faith quiet. They’ll keep it subdued, refusing to let others see or hear about it because they don’t want to offend anyone or make anyone uncomfortable.

To me, this is a prime example of one of two things:

Either they don’t fully believe that Jesus is the only way to an eternity with Him or they don’t love their neighbor enough to care about their eternal soul.

We are called to love others. To love our neighbor as ourselves. Not a single one of us would send ourselves to Hell. Would remove our choice of hearing the Gospel so we could receive salvation and escape the wrath of God, yet we have no problem doing that to others while acting as if we are so much better than those who do.

Jesus warns against keeping anything He has given to you to yourself in The Parable of The Talents. The one who buried his talent and kept it secret, and refused to grow it, multiply it, etc., his talent was taken away from him and he was thrown into Hell with the unbelievers. Our faith is to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. You can’t do either of those things by keeping it to yourself.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be A Fool.

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Keep Standing

Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV

[15] I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. [16] So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

I watched a video the other day of men who had been standing for over a decade straight. They refused to sit down. One man’s feet had gone black and were swollen large. Others would come and clean them for him and put ointment and treatment on them. The reason for refusing to sit? The believed they will see their god Shiva, and that is their hearts’ desire.

They’re willing to give up everything, including their very limbs for the sake of possibly seeing their god. Our God dwells in us, gave up His life for us, yet we won’t even sacrifice a little “me time” to meet with Him. He doesn’t even demand such extremes to see Him; all we have to do is call on His name and He will come to us.

As Christians, we’re lazy. We refuse to do what we need to do in order to see our God. The Living God. The Almighty God. The God of all gods. He doesn’t even ask that much of us. Spend time with Him. Read and study His Word. Pray and worship. Come together in fellowship with other believers. Give up this world. There’s people who refuse to sit. Refuse to put their arm down. Refuse to eat in hopes of seeing their god. They truly believe. They are true seekers. True believers. They are filled with passion. Why?

Because they don’t have the same grace we do. And we, as Christians, take advantage of it. We use it up and act as if it’s our get out of jail free card. As if we have no standard to measure up to. We act like the Nicolatians who sinned all the more because of grace. This is not the way. We have to become passionate for God, lest we fall deeper into lukewarmness and be spewed out of His mouth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Standing.

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What Are You Obsessed With?

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

Paul was completely obsessed with the things of God. His every purpose, his every move, his every decision was based on…: “What would Jesus have me do?” We have to understand that obsession shapes our thoughts, dreams, hopes, and vision. Obsession consumes us in every way; in fact, it’s what gives life to our ambitions in life! They are what define us.

What are you obsessed with? What drives you? If Scripture puts you to sleep every time you read it, you’re not obsessed. If Church bores you, you’re not obsessed. What we are obsessed with will tell us our spiritual temperature. It’ll let us know whether we are hot, cold, or lukewarm. Christ was obsessed with us. It’s what kept Him on the cross when He could have gotten off. When He could have saved Himself. When He could have called twelve legions of angels to His rescue. Christ was obsessed with His creation. What are you obsessed with?

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Risk For Faith

Hebrews 11:31 NKJV

31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

I always find it interesting that Rahab’s one action of faith got her a seat in the Hall of Faith in the book of Hebrews. It wasn’t really even an act of faith in God, per se, but in the people of God. Faith that they would keep their word and leave her family and house alone. Not only did she make it into the Hall of faith, but she became an ancestor of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. God Himself came through her line. She trusted the spies, and they gave her refuge.

Hebrews tells us that we should show hospitality to strangers because in doing so some have hosted angels. Rahab didn’t know hosting those men would not only save her life, but her soul as well. She risked it all and the LORD honored her. What have we missed out on from the lack of hospitality? From the lack of faith? Rahab risked it all because she believed they would spare her life and the lives of her family members.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Risk For Faith.

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Pray For An Uproot

Proverbs 14:6 NKJV

6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

Solomon describes a scoffer as the name of someone who is arrogant, haughty and who acts with arrogant pride (Proverbs 21:24). The dictionary describes scoffer as someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls out in derision. In other words, someone who thinks they are wise in their own eyes and mocks whatever disagrees with them. They can’t be corrected or shown Truth because they hate Truth. They hate anything that doesn’t agree with them.

This is why those who mock and jeer the Bible, read it and do not understand it. They take verse after verse out of context and never come to the understanding of Scripture. Why? Because they hate Truth because they are arrogant and prideful thinking they know better than God. So, they refuse to believe. They cherry pick in order to prove their point ignoring all of the evidence.

Pride is the root of a scoffer’s scoffing. It is pride that has built up a stronghold in their hearts. Pride is a difficult root to uproot. But thanks be to God, there is hope. There is how because of Jesus. So, when you come across a scoffer, don’t argue, debate, correct. Instead, remember their name and face, so that when you pray, you can pray for them. Only prayer can change the heart of a scoffer and only Christ can uproot that stronghold.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For An Uproot.

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Admit

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

King Solomon lists seven things that are an abomination to the LORD and six of which He hates. Out of the seven, he lists two different types of lying. In the book of Revelation, Jesus confirms the hatred God has for lying. One of the reasons I believe God hates lying so much, is because someone who lies will never take responsibility for their actions.

When you refuse to take responsibility for your actions, you will never seek forgiveness. You will never confess your sins. A lying tongue will only drive you further and further away from God. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.

Taking responsibility and owning your mistake isn’t easy. It’s difficult to put your flesh into submission to obey Christ. It’s difficult to be corrected and admit you’re wrong, but without it, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Admit.

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Check It

Ephesians 4:26-27

[26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil.

Two teenage boys and their families’ lives are destroyed recently. One teenager stabbing and taking the life of the other teenager only for him to be found guilty and sentenced to years in prison. What a heartbreaking story. Two young lives that had potential for greatness have both been destroyed because of anger.

Anger in itself isn’t evil or even a sin, but unchecked rage is. When you fly of the handles easily, you are a loose cannon. You have the potential to be deadly. This is a dangerous way to live. Why? Because every life matters. Each soul is precious to the LORD God above.

We are the only creation that He created in His own Image. He cares for the Sparrow, therefore, He cares even more for us. When we allow unchecked rage to lead us in life, we will destroy those around us as we destroy ourselves in the process.

We reach only get one life in this world. What we do with that life is what matters. It’s very short, therefore don’t let others dictate your feelings or emotions. Don’t let others get the best of you. You are meant for greatness. Each of us. But we’ll never reach our full potential flying off the handles.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Check It.

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Make The World Better

Matthew 5:14-16

[14]  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

I recently started video taping myself packing orders, testing games, etc. and posting them online to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube in hopes that maybe that could help sales and build up some traction that I could make a few extra dollars a month. But of course, it’s the internet and people are just out here being negative for no reason. I was told my music is annoying (I used an old song I had made as background music so the video wasn’t in silence), so I told the man who made the comment that being rude to total strangers wasn’t really necessary. He then got upset and attacked me some more and insulted the video telling me it was stupid and no one cared, so I pointed out it was too late to insult the video as he already liked it and took the time to comment asking what it was I was packing up. We went back and forth for a bit, but ultimately he stopped responding after I explained his comments though hateful and intended to hurt me only helped my video get more views (because regardless of the content of the comments, Facebook sees interactions as a good thing and boosts your videos to more people) and only making himself look bad.

I could have easily gotten angry and attacked him back. Insulted him. Made him feel small, but I chose restraint. I chose not to allow myself to become angry or offended by what a stranger said about me online. Since social media, we, as a society, have grown callus towards one another. We try to tear others down for no reason other than because we can. Suicide in this younger generation is very high. They grew up on social media, where anyone can harass, hate, torment, and bully you relentlessly. Being behind a screen, hiding behind a fake name, feeling powerful for bringing down others only shows how weak and pathetic you truly are.

Social media doesn’t have to be a toxic place. I’ve never watched someone’s video and felt the need to comment to let them know how much I hate them or what they’re doing. I’ve never needed to tear someone else down to build myself up. How we act towards each other matters. Whether online or in person. As Christians, we are the light of the world because Christ shines through us. We have to take the high road, even when we feel like we have a right not to. Our life is no longer our own. It now belongs to Christ. Therefore, we need to be Christ to the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make The World Better.

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Stir Up The Irrevocable Gift

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

Paul urged Timothy to fan his gift into flame. Timothy’s hesitation likely stemmed from intimidation because of his youth, yet Paul reminded him that the gift was still there. Why? Our spiritual gifts often remain dormant for various reasons, but we must do the same—stir them up. Just as natural talents and skills are honed through training, practice, and repetition, spiritual gifts are activated the same way: by putting our faith into action. We will never see the sick healed if we never pray for the sick. We will never exercise authority over demons if we never act in faith in the Name of Jesus when those situations arise.

An interesting story is found in Mark 9:14–28. A desperate father brought his demon-tormented son to Jesus’ disciples while the LORD was on the Mount of Transfiguration. The disciples could not cast out the demon despite their best efforts. When Jesus returned, He cast the demon out and later told His disciples, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).

Notice two important truths. First, the disciples refused to accept failure as final. They went directly to Jesus to ask why they could not cast it out. Second, Jesus did not need to go away to pray and fast—He already lived a lifestyle of prayer and fasting, staying continually connected to the Father.

Jesus declared, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Corinthians 4:20). That same power and authority Jesus gave the first-century Church remains available today through the Holy Spirit. God has not changed His mind. He does not revoke what He has given.

Far too often, doubters claim signs, wonders, and miracles ceased with the last Apostle. Yet those voices frequently come from those who have never truly fasted, never spent nights in prayer, or never pressed in to see the hand of God move. We cannot expect dramatic results from mediocre, hurried prayers. The heroes of faith—James with his calloused knees from prayer, Stephen full of power even as he was being stoned, Polycarp and Ignatius facing martyrdom with bold prayers—all lived lives of deep devotion.

The same gifts, the same power, and the same authority are still ours today. We simply need to reach out and lay hold of them through prayer and fasting. Our God does not change His mind, and He cannot lie. Therefore, His gifts and calling are irrevocable. Let us continually press in with effectual, fervent prayers, for “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gifts that You have given us. Help me to stir up the gifts that You have bestowed on me. Encourage my heart so that I might not be intimidated or afraid to use my God-given gifts. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

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