Daily Bread Archives

October 16, 2023October 16, 2023

The Weight of Humility

⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. ~ Psalms 149:4

Humility is a difficult thing for most of us to grasp. It’s much more than just humbling ourselves before God and admitting that we’ve sinned and can’t save ourselves. It’s more than just saying we need God’s help in our everyday lives. Humility is also about how we interact with those around us. That’s why pride is probably one of the strongest strongholds gripping the Church today.

Rarely does the Church today try to crucify our flesh. Here’s what I mean: we’re quick to be offended but not quick to apologize. We want to get even. We want to be petty. And believe you me, I’m not excluded from this. I’m right there in that group of the Church that struggle with this. The other night, a simple conversation got heated between me and a friend for literally no reason. I said something truthful, and she was more than offended and then proceeded to say something hurtful. But I bit my tongue. I even apologized for the thing I said, even though I wasn’t the one in the wrong. But let me tell you, that humble pie kept me up all night.

I didn’t sleep that entire night because I was so upset that I had to apologize (conviction of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 5:23-24). In fact, I can’t even lie; I was kinda happy that she called me the next day at a time when I couldn’t answer the phone. Why? Because my flesh wasn’t happy with what my spirit did.

It’s extremely hard to be a Christian. I don’t understand the idea of telling people that serving God makes things easier. Because it doesn’t. Serving God means that you now have to pick up your cross and follow Him. You have to crucify your flesh daily. That’s not an easy task. It’s in our human nature to want to get even. It’s in our human nature to want to be petty, but we have to remember that we aren’t our own. We’ve been bought by a price. We belong to Christ. And if we belong to Christ, then vengeance, getting even, and putting people in check is no longer our right. It now belongs to Him.

Dear LORD, please help me to continue to crucify my flesh. Help me to grow my spirit man, so that when I force my flesh into submission, it will be obedient. Please continue to humble me and remove the spirit of pride from gripping me. Teach me to not return reviling with reviling, or anger with anger, or hurt with hurt, but help me to overcome all of these things with love. Teach me to turn the other cheek so that I might be a light in this dark world and point others back to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Wise Man

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. ~ Proverbs 21:22

Wisdom is from God. And God gives wisdom to any of His people who ask for wisdom. Oftentimes, we think of wisdom as just knowledge, but wisdom is a little deeper than knowledge. I believe wisdom also entails being able to put that knowledge into action. See, if we know a lot of verses and can defend our faith in any argument, then we have a lot of knowledge, but unless we actually put those verses and faith into use, then we aren’t being wise.

That’s why a wise man can scale the city of the mighty and bring down that false stronghold that they’re putting their trust in. A wise person doesn’t just know Scripture but uses it. They put it into practice, and they take back what the enemy has stolen from them.

Spiritual warfare isn’t just prayer full of words that sound really good and powerful. It’s backing up those words with scripture and faith so that they have something firm to stand on.

Dear LORD, help me not to just be knowledgeable of Your Word, but help me to be wise and put that word into practice. Help me to see the power of Your Word, that it is living and breathing. That it’s not dead words for a time long ago but living words that have power for a time such as this. Help me to be wise in all things that I say and do. Guide me in my spiritual and physical journey. Show me the way You have planned out for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Snares of Fear

¹⁵Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. ¹⁶The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” ¹⁸Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.” ¹⁹When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. ~ Exodus 32:17-19^NIV

Joshua was chosen to lead God’s people after Moses, but why? Some could say it was because he was Moses’ right-hand man. But again, why was that? Maybe it was because he hadn’t been defiled by the Golden Calf. Maybe it was because he never lost faith and was waiting outside the camp for Moses, while everyone else allowed their own fears to take over and cause them so that they sinned. Joshua seemed to never lose faith in the LORD regardless of how others around him acted and/or reacted.

It’s so easy to fall into the traps and snares of Fear when you’re going through a season of dwelling in the unknown. See, Joshua knew where Moses was. He was on the mountain. Joshua knew what Moses was doing. He was speaking to God, receiving the commands. Joshua even knew what he was supposed to be doing. He was to remain waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. Nevertheless, he didn’t know how long that would take. He didn’t know the time Moses would return.

If they all knew the time Moses was going to come down the mountain, then they wouldn’t have been so frightened because they had a set time and place as comfort for them. The thing is, God doesn’t always work in the comfort of the known. Sometimes, He only gives you enough that you’re in a place where you have to whole-heartedly without any reservations trust in Him. Many of us are right here. We know that we have to wait, but what do we do while we wait? We pray.

Moses was a type of Christ. He was a deliverer. If we are in the same position as Joshua (which we all are because we are all awaiting the return of Christ, and the exact date of His return is unknown), what do we do while we wait? We win souls. We preach and teach the Gospel. We stay awake. We cry out, ‘Come, Jesus, come.’ Some of us are waiting for Moses to come down off the mountain in a specific area of our call. It’s a season of waiting for a response that we don’t know when it will come. What do we do? We teach and preach the Gospel. We make disciples of all nations. We seek the face of God. We fulfill the requirements of the call that is plain to us. We pray for the answer to come.

Dear LORD, when You remain silent during a season of our lives, help me to remain at the foot of the mountain. Help me to remain worshipping in Your presence, or at the very least, as close as I can get to Your presence. Help me to not be defeated or be afraid. Help me to not be overwhelmed or overcome by Fear; instead, help me to be perfected in Your perfect love so that Fear has no hold on me. Help me to remain faithful in the silence. Help me to remain faithful regardless of what season I’m in. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Prayer For Saul

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ~ Acts 9:1-4^NIV

We all know the story of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. We know how a light flashed around him, a voice called to him, and he went blind. We know the story of Saul, but do we know why he was going to Damascus in the first place? Saul was a Pharisee. A man against the Church. A man seeking to destroy the teachings of Jesus and all who followed them.

Saul was on his way to Damascus to try to imprison and take back to Jerusalem all the followers of Christ that he could. His heart was bent on evil when Christ brought him to a halt on the road to Damascus. See, God’s desire isn’t that any should perish, but all come to acceptance. God doesn’t pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. No. God says that He sent His Son into the world to save the world. Not some of the r world, not half of the world, but all of the world. That was God’s desire.

So when He saw an opportunity to save a soul that thought he was doing the will of God by persecuting and silencing the Church, God took the opportunity. Today, God is still looking for the opportunity to save souls, regardless of their past. God’s desire is to redeem us. That’s why we who are saved must pray earnestly for those who persecute us. We must pray earnestly for those who curse us. We must pray earnestly for our unsaved loved ones as well. Who is to say if Steven crying out to forgive those men stoning him wasn’t heard by God and answered when He called to Saul that day?

Communism was rampant in Russia. The Christians were locked in prison and mercilessly tortured for their faith. Their children were killed in front of them. Their wives were beaten and raped. But even then, they prayed earnestly for those same men who tortured them. And when communism turned on those men, and they were locked up in prison, those same men they had persecuted treated them with love and kindness. They gave them their bread to eat as a tithe to the LORD. Communism no longer plagues Russia. Who is to say that Russia’s freedom today isn’t the fruit of the labor of those praying Christians?

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all of the hatred, anger, and unforgiveness I’ve stored up in my heart over the years. Help me to not hold grudges even when I have a good reason to, according to earthly standards. Please help me to forgive people and love people the way You forgive and love. Please forgive those who persecute me, curse me, and say all manner of evil against me. Please save their soul and have mercy on them. Please redeem them from darkness into Your everlasting Light. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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An Offering That Cost You Something

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ~ Romans 12:1

A common prayer in the Church is, “Use me, LORD,” but I don’t think we fully understand what this prayer means. See, God is willing to use anyone who is willing to be used. And often, we’ll be very quick to raise our hand and scream yes, I’m willing to be used. Then, we go back to our everyday lives. This isn’t what God wants. God wants a willing heart. What does that mean? King David wasn’t a perfect man by any means of the word, but he had a heart for God.

Yes, King David made many mistakes, but he always gave God His all. Not just coming to church on Sunday and maybe even raising a hand during worship. No. David gave his all, and when he was shamed by his wife, he said he would become even more undignified than that. When God dwelt in a tent, and he dwelt in a palace, he sought out a place for God’s house. He wanted desperately to build God a dwelling place, but he couldn’t. Did that stop David from giving something to God, though? No. David went and bought the ground that the future Temple would be built on. Not only did he buy it, he bought it at full price even when the owner told him he’d give it to him for free. Why didn’t David just take the land for free? Because he refused to give God an offering that cost him nothing.

Today, the Church can’t even give God more than 5 minutes before they fall asleep for the night. We can’t even make it all the way through His Word one time. We know about celebrities, cars, motorcycles, movies, video games, athletes, businessmen, etc., but we don’t know the first thing about God. Yet we pray, “Use me, LORD. Use me.” How can we pray a prayer like that and act as if we don’t even care about God? I can only imagine that’s like sending your father a letter to call you but keeping your phone off the hook so that the call can’t go through. It must feel devastating to God knowing that you gave mankind everything. You didn’t hold anything back, not even yourself, and mankind can’t even give you an hour of their day.

Dear LORD, help me to not pray empty words that sound good, but to always pray what my heart will back up. I don’t want to live my life as if You don’t matter. Please, Jesus, be the center of my life. Be the foundation on which I build my life. Help me not to be distracted by the things of this world; instead, help me to be focused on You and You alone. Please, God, don’t give up on me, though You have every right to. Please forgive me for treating You with no reverence or regard. And please help me to never do it again. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Acknowledge The Reserve

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:37-39

I looked out my backdoor window the other day and saw a young deer cautiously approaching some food my father had thrown out for the wild animals that live right behind our backyard. See, our house is built right next to an animal reserve, so all of the wildlife is protected back there. Here’s the thing, though: the deer don’t know that. Especially not this young deer that we saw the other day. This is like us.

We don’t realize that we’re protected and in the hands of God, so nothing can remove us from His hands. And just like this deer, we allow Fear to dictate our lives. We miss out on the good food that God has for us because we’re afraid to step outside of our comfort zone. We’re afraid to step out in faith. We’re afraid to stand on the promises of God.

Yes, the enemy has power. Yes, the enemy can afflict. He can send spirits and men against us. He can even take our very life, but what he can’t do is stop us from fulfilling the will of God for our lives. He can’t stop us from being in the arms of God. There’s only so much the enemy can do to the Church of God.

Dear LORD, help me not to be overcome by Fear but instead help me to overcome Fear with my faith in Your love for me. Help me to stand firmly on Your love for Your love for me is unlike any other love, and I could not even come close to expressing it with human words. Teach me to trust in Your love that I might not miss out on the good things You have for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Call To Work

⁴ We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ~ John 9:4

Not all calls God has for our lives are flashy calls. Some of them are humble. Some are difficult. Some may even seem insignificant. But they are all work. I don’t have a secular job. I do this ministry full-time. This ministry is my job. This is my work. But to most people, even those in the Church (some of which are family), don’t see this as work. They don’t see the time, effort, and dedication it takes to do this every day.

We don’t have a large following. We’re not known worldwide or even city-wide, for that matter. The majority of our friends and family don’t even support us by watching a video or reading a devotional every now and then. Matter of fact, they don’t even subscribe to our website or channel. When we talk about working, it’s reduced down to, “Well, it’s not really work; it’s a passion.” It may be said nicely or playfully, but that doesn’t make it any less hurtful and discouraging.

That’s when God starts to speak to you. And He reminds you that it’s not their approval or even their support that matters. It’s that you’re doing the will of God that matters. It’s not for them; it’s for God. We’re each called for something. We’re each given the tools (gifts, both spiritual and physical) necessary to fulfill this God-given call. And sometimes, it just feels pointless. Sometimes, you feel like just quitting because you don’t feel like you’re making an impact. But the thing is, if you’re where God wants you to be, then you’re making an impact even if you don’t see it.

Dear God, thank You for giving me a call. Thank You for giving my life purpose and meaning. Thank You that I’m not just a floating speck of dust in the universe but that I was divinely designed by the Creator of all things, who loves me enough to give my life purpose. Please encourage my heart that I might not be discouraged and my soul might not be downcast within me. Help me to focus on You and the call that You have for my life. Help me to always encourage myself in You regardless of what other people think or say. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Stay Strapped

¹⁶From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah ¹⁷who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, ¹⁸and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. ¹⁹Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. ²⁰Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” ²¹So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. ²²At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” ²³Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water. ~ Nehemiah 4:16-23^NIV

Nehemiah was in charge of the rebuilding of the Temple, and the enemy was against them. I want you to notice that they didn’t stop building the Temple. They didn’t get distracted by the threats of the enemy. They kept working. They stayed focused on their work. This is the wild part, though; they kept their swords on them. They even worked with one hand because they had a weapon in their other hand. Let that sink in for a moment.

They didn’t let the threat of the enemy take away from their focus on rebuilding the Temple, but they didn’t take the threat of the enemy lightly and kept their weapon in their hand as they worked. Then, on top of all of that, if the enemy attacked, the trumpet would be sounded, and all people who heard the sound of the trumpet were to run to that area. They didn’t believe in taking the enemy on on their own. No. They were to come to each other’s aid. They were to be there for their fellow worker. This is how the Church should be.

Each of us should be strapped with our Sword of the Spirit and Shield of Faith at all times, prepared to defend ourselves against the enemy but never taking our focus off the call God has on our lives. And when one of us is under attack, we should sound the alarm and come to that person’s aid. The underground Church is currently sounding the alarm. Begging the free Church to pray for them, and we pretend like we don’t even hear the alarm. Our fellow brothers and sisters are under physical and spiritual attack like we can’t even imagine, and we can’t even spare 10 minutes to pray for them. Even in our own freedom, we don’t take up our sword to defend ourselves. We don’t pray for our nations, leaders, those in power. We say there is no hope, and we just give up. It’s time for the Church to stand up for the faith and fight the spiritual battle before us on our knees before it’s too late.

Dear LORD, please help me to strap on the Sword of the Spirit at all times. Help me to put on the full armor that You have given to me. Help me not to ignore the sound of the alarm but to get down on my hands and knees and pray and seek You on behalf of Your Church. Help me to come to my brother and sister’s aid when they call out for help. Help me not to lay down my weapons but to stand strong and prepared for whatever may come. Show me how to focus on the will You have for my life. Teach me to be the kind of Christian that will hear You say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, with whom I am well pleased,” when I stand before Your throne. In Jesus’ name, pray, amen.

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Strengthen My Hand

⁹They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” ~ Nehemiah 6:9

Nehemiah had just received the okay to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. This should have been a joyous time, but the enemy sent in men to discourage him and all who were building the Temple. They were trying to strike fear into their hearts. They told them their hands were too weak, and they’d fail. They were trying to speak not just fear into the lives of those men but also speak it over them. So, what does Nehemiah do? He prays that the LORD will strengthen his hands.

Here’s the thing: if we are living in the will of the LORD, then we’re now a direct target of the enemy. He’s coming for us. He’s sending his army after us. He’s looking for our weakest areas, and that’s where he’s going to attack. So, what are we to do? We stay grounded in the Word of God and stay in tune with His Spirit so that we might be able to see the attacks of the enemy and defend ourselves against them.

Dear LORD, please help me to see the attacks of the enemy. Open my eyes that I might be able to see through the attacks of the enemy and cover those parts of my life. Help me to put on the full armor that You have given to me as protection for my life. Help me not to ever give a footing to the enemy but to always keep myself protected through prayer, worship, reading my Bible, and fasting. Never let the fire in me grow cold, but instead, kindle the flame that I might be hot on fire for You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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More Hope For A Fool

¹²Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. ~ Proverbs 26:12^NIV

The Book of Proverbs is filled with many wise and deep passages. I didn’t necessarily understand or fully grasp what this proverb meant, which says there’s more hope for a fool than for a person wise in their own eyes, until a few days ago. See, we run our ministry predominantly online at the moment, which means we come in contact with a lot of people that we probably wouldn’t if we were just a physical ministry. And the more I come in contact with people, the more I understand what Solomon was saying.

See, David defines a fool as someone who says in his heart that there is no God (Psalms 14:1 & Psalms 53:1). It’s not someone who says it out loud. It’s not someone who shouts it from the rooftops. It’s someone who says it in his heart. When our actions don’t follow God’s laws, then we become fools because we are saying in our heart that there is no God. Why? Because this is how we are living our lives, as if there will be no one to stand before on Judgment Day to give an account for all that we have done and haven’t done.

Let that sink in for a second. There is more hope for that person who says that there is no God in their heart than a person who thinks they are wise. That used to baffle me. I couldn’t see how that was true, but the more people I come in contact with, the more I understand. See, the Church is filled with many people who are living their lives for Christ. Who follow the commands. Who do all of these good things, but they refuse to be corrected on Biblical matters because they believe they’re wiser than the one correcting them. They could have no evidence for their belief and be shown 15 different verses that prove their belief wrong, but they will refuse to accept it because they believe they’re wise.

But a fool simply doesn’t believe or lives his life as if he doesn’t believe. Solomon says that there is more hope for that person. Why? Because that person can be corrected. That person can be witnessed to. That person can be guided, but a person wise in their own eyes can’t do any of that. They can’t take correction. They can’t take guidance. They ignore sound teaching all because of their own pride.

Dear LORD, help me to be neither a fool nor wise in my own eyes. Help me to not think more of myself than I ought. Show me Your Truth and remove from me any false teachings that I cling to. Expose any darkness within me and shine Your Light through me. May the Light in me never be darkness, but may I be a Light for You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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