Daily Bread Archives

June 28, 2023June 27, 2023

Escape Ignorance

⁴ Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. ~ Romans 3:4

The early Church was led, taught, and guided by men and women who didn’t search the Scriptures with biases but allowed the Holy Spirit to guide them. They didn’t care what the Truth was; they just wanted to know the Truth. I believe this was a key piece to the miracles they saw and mysteries revealed to them. Today’s Church is quite the opposite.

Today, we don’t care what God’s Scripture says; we care what our favorite pastor or teacher says. We care what Church Tradition has taught us from our childhood. We care what our own thoughts and opinions are. Why? Pride? Arrogance? Stubbornness? This is currently what plagues the Church, ignorance. We’re ignorant of the Truth because we’d rather someone else’s interpretation or our own beliefs over the Truth. Only the Truth can set us free. Only the true Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword.

Therefore, seek God and His wisdom. Seek God and His understanding. If the Scriptures contradict your beliefs, then it’s your beliefs that need to be adjusted, not the Scriptures. If the Scriptures seem to contradict, then it’s your understanding that is flawed, not the Scriptures. We don’t have to stay in ignorance, our God wants us to understand and have wisdom, that’s why He gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Escape Ignorance.

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Always Press On

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. ~ Philippians 3:12

We press on or press forward to that great and glorious day when Jesus will break the eastern sky on His way back to get us. But how do we press on?

Very good question. I can tell you in three words:

Dying To Self

Dying to self is not an easy concept to grasp and an even harder concept to put into practice. Because it is contrary to nature. The natural man’s main objective is to survive. To endure and to prosper.

The first and most important of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is derived from a person’s motivation or instinct to survive. God has placed that self-preservation in us by placing eternity in our hearts, according to Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Dying to self is contrary to natural instincts because we no longer look out for self-interest. We no longer look out for number one. We pray for those who persecute us. And when they curse us, we bless. We give to everyone who asks. And we bless and pray for our enemies.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Press On By Dying To Self.

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Aim For Sonship

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. ~ Romans 8:16-17

We, our family, were in the process of adopting a little boy several years ago, but before the adoption papers could be fully processed, his mother came and took him back. He enjoyed all the pleasures and all the rights of being our son. Why? Because to us, he was our son. To our daughters, he was their little brother. Even now, whenever we get to see him, he still calls us mom and dad, and our daughters call him their little brother.

It is the same with God; we are called sons or children of God, and we enjoy all of the rights and benefits of being children of God. Siblings with the LORD Jesus and joint heirs with Him. As Paul advocated in the verse above. This is one of the mysteries of God. You must understand that God calls those things that are not as if they were. He proclaims the end from the beginning. Meaning that He sees us as His children because He sees the end result.

If we had achieved sonship already, then that sonship could never be taken away from us because Jesus warned us to abide in Him. If we don’t abide in Him, we will be cut off and thrown into (John 15:1-8). This is why each of the authors and early disciples referred to themselves as slaves to Christ. This makes what Jesus said a lot clearer:

³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

John 8:35

Now we can better understand that if we had achieved the sonship, that sonship could in no way be reversed because the son remains forever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Aim For Sonship.

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Walk In Step With The Spirit

¹ Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ²As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. ⁴Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” ~ Acts of the Apostles 3:1-6^NLT

I want you to notice that it took the disciples to see that the crippled man needed more help than he originally asked for. This is the same with us today. Sometimes, others’ faith isn’t enough to get them from where they’re at. Sometimes, their spiritual eyes are blinded to their own needs. This is why we need to be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us. The same Spirit that dwelt in Peter and John lives in us.

Peter and John spent time in prayer, not just a short prayer every night before bed. No. They prayed for many hours every single day. In fact, they were on the way to the Temple to pray when they encountered the man. They didn’t just hear him ask for money, throw a coin his way, and then move on with their lives. They looked at him intently and then told him to look at them. Then Peter healed the man. He gave him more than he originally asked for.

Imagine if God only gave us what we asked for. We would be in serious trouble. Why? Because not everything we ask for is good for us. God has a better plan for us than what we can see for ourselves. This is why the Holy Spirit intercedes for us on our behalf because we don’t know how to pray the way we should. The man expected money; instead, he got a healing that removed his need to beg all together. This is how we, the Church, the bride of Christ, should be today. We should be able to give people more than hope. We should be able to change lives through the Holy Spirit that dwells with us and in us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk In Step With The Spirit.

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Throw Away Your Bandaids

The crippled man didn’t ask for a healing. He asked for a bandaid. The man asked for something to temporarily help him. He asked for money. That money would help him get food for the day, but it wouldn’t help him in the long run. The man has a giant wound that is causing him to bleed out, but he only asks for a bandaid. He never asks to get the wound healed. That’s how many of us are today.

We have so many deep seeded wounds, but we only want to put a bandaid on it instead of dealing with the root. This holds so many of us back. If Peter and John hadn’t had their spiritual eyes open, this man would’ve never gotten rid of the root. We, as Christians, disciples of Christ, have to look deeper than just the surface; we have to look at the root causing the surface wound. We have to get rid of the stronghold that’s causing the problem in order to move forward. We can’t free or help others if we, ourselves, are bound up by strongholds that keep us paralyzed and unable to move forward.

Dear LORD, please open my spiritual eyes to the spiritual strongholds holding me back. Help me to uproot every evil and wicked root within, allowing the Devil to have a foothold in my life. Give me the strength to overcome and move forward. Help me to let go of past hurt, pain, rejection, anger, and all negative feelings that keep me bound. Help me to forgive those who have hurt me and also myself for all of my past regrets. Please help me to close every door that I forcefully opened that took me out of Your perfect and good will for my life. Guide me in my journey on this earth, and please teach me to be an overcomer through You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Be Made White

²⁵I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. ~ Isaiah 43:25

We’re all ridden with sin. It often overcomes us and causes us to do the things we hate. Why? Because we’re flesh. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. This causes a great chasm between us and God because God is a perfect, holy God. He can’t allow sin to enter into His presence. So, what hope do we have? Jesus.

God prophesied through the prophet Micah that He would fulfill His promise to Abraham by pardoning the iniquities of His people (Micah 7:18-20). This would be fulfilled by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Our sin, though it’s red as scarlet, God will make it white like snow for anyone willing to accept the sacrifice of Jesus (Isaiah 1:18, John 3:16, and Hebrews 8:12). God may not overlook sin, but God does forgive the repentive heart. God not only forgives the sins of those who repent and then live for Him, but He blots out our sin from our books. Our ledger is covered in red because of our sin, but because of the blood of Jesus, our ledger is erased and made white as snow.

We’re filled with sin, but our God loves us so much He made a way for us to have forgiveness. God didn’t just leave us in sin; He came to us, became one of us, died, and then rose again. What a loving and merciful God we serve. He is a good good Father to us, His undeserving children.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Made White.

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Climb Your Tree

¹ Jesus entered Jericho and made His way through the town. ²There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. ⁵When Jesus came by, He looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” He said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” ⁶Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. ~ Luke 19:1-6^NLT

Jesus was passing through Jericho when Zacchaeus heard Jesus would soon be walking by. He knew that his height was an obstacle, but he wanted to see Jesus with everything that was in him. Zacchaeus didn’t let this obstacle keep him from seeing Jesus. No. Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he might be able to see Jesus when He walked by. This is the same kind of determination we need to have.

Today, we all have obstacles. We all have something keeping us from seeing Jesus, but we all have a tree that we can climb. In fact, Jesus isn’t walking by. He isn’t passing through and then leaving our city. Jesus is knocking on the door of each and every one of our hearts. He’s calling to us. He’s begging us to follow Him. Today is the day of Salvation; tomorrow is promised to no man.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Climb Your Tree.

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Open Your Spiritual Eyes

³³Once when He was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, ³⁴“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” ~ Luke 4:33-34 NLT

There was never a time when Jesus casted out a demon or unclean spirit, and the unclean spirit didn’t recognize Him. As soon as they saw Him, they knew who He was. Not only did they recognize Him, they could do nothing but proclaim who He was. They saw into the spiritual because though they didn’t follow the LORD, they wholeheartedly believed in who He was. They could see it. Their spiritual eyes were wide open.

Today, the spiritual eyes of the Church are mostly shut. I didn’t realize that so many self-proclaiming Christians argued over right and wrong that are plainly and blatantly pointed out in Scripture, let alone argued about the Divinity of Jesus, calling it Catholic propaganda. The spiritual eyes of the Church are closing shut. We’re falling into a deep spiritual sleep that will only end with our own downfall and demise.

LORD God, please awaken Your Church, starting with me. Open my spiritual eyes that I might see clearly. That I might accurately discern between Truth and Error. That I might be the change I want to see in the world by being a light in this dark world. Help me to see You for who You are and not for what I or society or culture or deceived men and women see You for. Help me to follow You with all that is within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Turn Your Knowledge Into Understanding

⁴⁰On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for Him. ⁴¹Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with Him to come home with Him. ~ Luke 8:40-41^NLT

Jairus was the leader of the local synagogue. He was a very important man, but his faith needed Jesus to physically come with him to heal his dying daughter. Whereas the woman with the issue of blood was healed just by touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment. The Roman Centurion wasn’t a Jew in the slightest but had the greatest faith in all of Israel. Today is no different.

Our leaders talk a good talk and bring a good message but don’t believe in the power of God. Their faith is limited by their own beliefs and ideas. Whereas the common unknown person is seeing more healings, breakthroughs, and miracles than the leaders could ever dream of. Why? Because the abundance of head knowledge without the abundance of understanding is useless.

We have to have understanding of who God is and what He wants for us in order to see His glory work in our lives. If we just know a lot but don’t believe or put it into action, that knowledge is useless to us. It’s now just empty words that have no power or authority to save, heal, or redeem. If we want to see the glory of God, we have to have knowledge and understanding so that we can put it into action.

Dear LORD, please continue to bless us with knowledge, but please also bless us with understanding that we might put our knowledge into action. Help us not to just regard Your Word as empty, powerless words but as power and life itself. Grow our faith so that we might be like the Roman Centurion and the woman with the issue of blood. Help us to see signs, wonders, miracles, healings, and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Fill Me With Authority

³⁶ Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” ~ Luke 4:36^NLT

Jesus did many things that amazed the people because of His great authority. One of the first was casting out demons and evil spirits. Why? Because the people of Jesus’ day weren’t as spiritually blind and ignorant as we are today.

They knew the difference, most of the time, between a sickness and a demon or unclean spirit. They didn’t get offended when someone suggested they had an unclean or demonic spirit. No, they threw themselves at the feet of Jesus, asking for help.

If the Church wants to get their God-given authority back, then we need to start differentiating between the spiritual and the physical. So that we can begin to cast out demons once again, it shouldn’t take us hours upon hours to cast out demons. The early Church didn’t even have to speak or be present to cast out unclean spirits. All it took was a piece of cloth touching Paul to cast out the demonic spirits. This is great authority. This is the authority God intended for His Church, regardless of the generation we are in. We aren’t to be weak and powerless but filled with power and authority, all fueled by one thing, love.

Dear LORD, please teach me to love more. Soften my heart from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Write your Word on my heart that I might not sin against You. Show me the way to correctly love people. As You fill me with Your perfect love, fill me with Your power and authority that You promised from the days of the prophets of old. Fill me with love and power from on High so that I might show Your glory to the dying world around me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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