Category: Daily Bread

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Fight The Cravings

Numbers 11:4-6 ESV

[4] Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! [5] We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. [6] But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

Whenever we read about the Israelites leaving Egypt and going into the wilderness, we often judge them. We look at them without sympathy, not realizing that we, the Church, are very similar to them, almost no different at all. Today, we aren’t being delivered from physical slavery, but spiritual slavery, and yet even after freedom, we willingly return to slavery because it’s easier.

Here’s what I mean. This life is hard. There are obstacles, hills, valleys, enemies, and once you follow Christ, you have your flesh against you as well. No longer do you have the meats, spices, fish, herbs, and other cravings you did while in slavery. Instead, now you have to fight those cravings. You have to go through a time of detox as the desires try to overtake you. It’s difficult. The length of the detox from these things you previously indulged in is uncertain. It feels like it’ll never end. Like you will never have peace or satisfaction again.

So, many of us return to slavery. We return to a life that leads to death as long as our flesh is satisfied. We, the Church today, are no different than the Israelites after leaving Egypt. Only 2 from that generation made it into the Promised Land, and our generation of the Church is prophesied to be spit out of the mouth of Christ. Those are discouraging odds, unless we decide to make a change today. Unless we decide to give up our cravings for the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. It isn’t easy, but the cravings of the world will die and no longer have its grip on you like it once did. How? By crucifying your flesh daily. By building your Spirit-Man through prayer, fasting, worship, and reading your Bible. And when the Good LORD returns for His people, you will enter a Promised Land like never before.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight The Cravings.

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Pray For Their Deliverance

23 One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. ~ Proverbs 29:23

The more you post online, the more trolls you will attract. Why? Because whenever you begin to succeed in something (regardless of what it is), the enemy tries to attack you and tear you down. The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed in anything. He came to steal, kill, and destroy. That is his nature. So, he uses people around you or even complete strangers in order to try to stop you from moving forward and growing. Today, I was hit with two insulting and rude comments. I usually ignore them and go about my day, but recently I decided that ignoring is just enabling, so I started calling out bad behavior.

One responded out of anger and was so full of hatred that it was actually blatant that he didn’t just hate me, but hated God as well. The other responded as if they were trying to help, be encouraging, and support us, while throwing in more and more subtle insults as they shifted the blame. The more they commented, the more I recognized the real issue: they’re a narcissist who hates to be corrected. These are the kind that are the most dangerous.

They will insult you and then pretend it’s all jokes. If you correct them, they will not only lash out but also blame you all while playing the victim. So, what are we to do? Correct and place them before, but always be careful to correct in love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For Their Deliverance.

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Act To Set

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ~ James 2:14-17

I was recently rewatching one of my favorite childhood shows, and one of the episodes reminded me a lot of the Church. There was a certain town that followed an older woman who would tell them their future. Because she told them the town wouldn’t be destroyed by the volcano, they ignored the outsiders who told them that the volcano was going to erupt, and if they did nothing, the town would be destroyed. The outsiders had to go to great lengths to get the fortune teller to change her prediction in order to get the townspeople to react and prepare for the volcano to erupt. When the town was saved, they said, “Well, her prediction came true. The town wasn’t destroyed.” They completely ignored the fact that they had to do something in order for that prediction to come to pass. The Church today is much like that town and its people.

God has given us promises. Many promises. Victory over the enemy. Answered prayers. Healing of all sickness and disease. Prosperity. Blessings. Redemption. But more times than not, we don’t want to do our part. We don’t want to fight the battle, run the race, or climb the mountain. We just expect these promises to come to pass without any work on our part. But that isn’t how God works. We have to put in the time and effort. We have to run the race set before us with endurance. It’s not enough to just claim promises. We have to set them into motion by our actions.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Act To Set.

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Seek To Find Truth

Hebrews 13:8-9a

[8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [9] Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings …

I read a comment on a video where someone said that their Christian pastor explained one Sunday that everyone’s trying to reach God, but we all have different ways of getting to Him. I always think it’s weird when someone says their “Christian pastor said x, y, and z” as an excuse for something. Though pastors are necessary for the building of the Church, they are not the final say for God’s Word. God’s Word is the final say for God’s Word.

Jesus said:

[6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

He also said:

[1]  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)

Jesus didn’t say, “there are many ways.” No, He said He is the only way. He didn’t say “some come through me.” He said, there is no other way to God the Father than through me. We cannot override Christ, no matter our opinion or position. And those who don’t follow this teaching of Jesus, but teach a different Gospel, is a thief and a robber. They aren’t Christian pastors, but liars who rob and thieve.

We can try to twist Scripture, take it out of context, and manipulate it to what we want it to be, but at the end of the day, we cannot change it. The Truth will remain the same. And those who desire Truth, will seek it and find it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek To Find Truth.

 

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Be An Alien

1 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. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ~ Revelation 21:1-4

I was listening to a song the other day that said, “Maybe I’m an alien, Earth is hard.” I’ve just been thinking about that lyric since. We aren’t of this world; we’ve now been called out of this world and set apart. This life isn’t easy. It’s hard and difficult. It has ups and downs. Obstacles and victories. Hills and Valleys. You have to work for everything. This earth is not our home. One day, we will live with Christ on a new and better earth where there will be no more pain, tears, suffering, fear, etc., where all things will be made new.

So, don’t grow attached to this earth, it won’t last forever. Neither grow weary, so that you might last forever on the new earth with your Creator and God. He has good things in store for you that we could never even imagine or dream of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be An Alien.

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Learn Self-Love

Matthew 22:36-40

[36] “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” [37] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

We recently got a comment on a Sunday Morning Message from about three years ago, which usually never happens, so I go to read the comment and it’s just another person spewing hatred among the races. These kind of comments usually don’t find their way to the Sunday Morning Messages, usually they’re all on our Bible Studies, pertaining to certain videos. This one, however, found its way to a Message sharing the importance, necessity, and call by the LORD Jesus Himself to evangelize. To go into the world and share the good news that LORD Jesus has come, died, and rose again on the third day to save the entire world.

The comment pushed the narrative that the white race are going into the fields in eternity to be the slaves of black people. Imagine typing out two random verses, take both out of context in order to condemn an entire, race to damnation because of hatred. To me, this kind of hatred is one of the most impossible to correct because of how deep the hatred goes. It consumes every ounce of your being so that everything about you has been corrupted. Your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet all no longer strive for Truth, but instead strive to validate your own hatred. Your own wicked desires.

I personally know people who believe this way. One thing I’ve noticed is that the hatred of the other race comes from a hatred of themselves. They hate themselves, their ashamed of their past, and they don’t understand the love or grace of God. See, they have to make those whom they want to blame for their own poor decisions unredeemable and hated by God, so that they can Justify their own hatred. Then they have to make themselves the only ones redeemable by God because of bloodline and because of humbling yourself before Him. It becomes a no choice, no free will type of scenario so that they can feel some kind of superiority over others as they hope to quiet the conviction they feel about their past mistakes.

When we allow self-hatred to consume us, that’s when we allow the enemy to completely control us. We need to learn to forgive ourselves and love ourselves, so we can love others. And that we can learn to be Christlike to the world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn Self-Love.

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Be Linked

24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. ~ John 4:24

All people are very connected to their own body. Here’s what I mean. We know when our body is hungry, tired, in pain, weak, thirsty, etc. It’s easy and natural to us. It’s not something we have to learn. When it comes to our spirit man, it’s not so easy or natural.

So, many of us, including those of us in the Church, are spiritually starving and dying of dehydration without even realizing it. Our spirit man often goes neglected and struggles to survive. We don’t neglect our physical body, but our spiritual one is more times than not abused. Why?

Because denying your flesh and building your spirit man isn’t natural. It goes against everything you are, that’s why you need Christ. It’s through Him that we are redeemed and through His Holy Spirit that we are transformed, so that we might be in tune with our spirit man. So that when our spirit is hungry for spiritual food, we can feed it. When it’s thirsty for living water, we can fill its cup. The Holy Spirit helps link us to our spirit man so that we might be linked to our God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Linked.

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Be Their Safe Space

8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. ~ 1 Timothy 5:8

One of my favorite childhood cartoons was “Code Name: Kids Next Door.” Throughout the show, a group of kids who are a part of a greater operation battle adult tyranny. The villains were all teenagers or adults who tried to harm children in one way or another. The Boss who kept parents at longer hours so they couldn’t go home to their kids. The scary cat lady down the street, whose cats are vicious like her. The grandma who tries to make you eat gross food like liver, mystery meat, etc. The spanking vampire, who spanks all naughty Children who break the rules. But the scariest villain of all was Father. I never really thought much of it as a kid, just that he was scary, but the other day, while watching the movie, it made sense.

Father was the scariest villain, not because all dads in the show are evil; in fact, all the dads in the show are loving and caring for their children. I believe Father was the scariest villain because if your Own father is against you, you truly have no safe place. It’s one thing to be afraid of Strangers, it’s another thing to be afraid of your own father, or for him to be against you. See, the Boss had children, and even he was a good dad to them, but Father was another story.

As a kid, it doesn’t matter who’s against you. It only matters if your parents are for you. If you’re scared, it’s Dad you go to to protect you, to defend you, to keep you safe. If your Dad is against you, then you no longer have a safe place.

Fathers, you have an obligation to your children to be their safe place. A place they can go to when they’re scared, nervous, or unsure. So many people struggle with the love of God because of their relationship with their fathers. You are a representation of our relationship with God, so don’t take your role lightly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Their Safe Space.

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Befriend Your Neighbor

Matthew 12:25 ESV

25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”

There’s currently an amazing shift happening right now on the world. Why? One word. Football (Soccer). The World Cup is currently being hosted in Canada, USA, and Mexico. People who were afraid of the USA, thought badly of the USA, or even hated the USA have come to love it. They’ve come to realize that all of the negative stories, statistics, etc., were all just propaganda. Lies fed to them by those who want us all divided.

A simple game about putting a ball in a net without using your hands, has opened the eyes of many people and brought unity between countries. Imagine that. A sport brought unity between countries, even though the countries are competing against each other. It brought pride to Americans who were ashamed of being American. It has opened the eyes of many people to the propaganda pushed by those who want to see us divided and therefore, conquered.

It’s easy to hate someone or something or somewhere that you know nothing about, and only go based on everything negative you see about them. It’s much harder to stop and have an actual conversation. Jesus warned that the end would come with wars and rumors of wars. That’s what the world wants. It wants us fighting each other, divided and at war, so that we are too busy hating each other to see or pay attention to what it is they are doing. Don’t let them distract you with blind hate. Seek the LORD for wisdom and discernment to see through the deception.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Befriend Your Neighbor.

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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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