Tag: Daily Bread

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Follow Regardless of Others

10 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. ~ Psalms 27:10 NLT

Many people have this idea that serving God will suddenly fix all their problems. Like accepting Jesus will suddenly make life a lot easier. This isn’t true because as soon as you accept Jesus, you have to start running the race set before you.

The race is tiring and difficult. Many fail; few even begin. The race isn’t easy; it’ll force you to choose between life and death. This may cause all people you love to abandon you, even your parents, but God will never leave you more forsake you. Instead, God will strengthen you and keep you. He will give you streams of living water that will never run dry. Why? Because God is our good Heavenly Father. He’s perfect and just in all of His ways.

When all others abandon you for doing what’s right, and the Devil comes against you like a flood, God holds you. He goes before you and clears the way. He dwells in you so that you might be strengthened and encouraged. He sticks closer than any brother, father, or friend. Why? Because He is good and He loves us dearly.

Peace. Love. Go forth and Follow Regardless.

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Strengthen The Spirit

41 When He returned to them the third time, He said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” ~ Mark 14:41-42NLT

The last night of Jesus’ life was very stressful for Him. He was overwhelmed with the immense pressure laid upon Him to the point that His sweat became like drops of blood. Jesus, being a man as He set off His Godliness to take on our mortal form, asked His disciples to pray with Him. He needed help praying. Why? Because a three-strand cord is not easily broken. One may put a thousand to flight, but two may put ten thousand to flight.

But His disciples were overcome with sleep and couldn’t keep their eyes open. Jesus’ response was very different than the meme that tries to paint God as happy we fall asleep while praying because it’s like falling asleep in your grandfather’s arms.

God isn’t our grandfather. He’s our Heavenly Father. And just as our earthly fathers expect more out of us than our grandfathers, so does God expect more out of us. Jesus asked if they couldn’t pray with Him for one hour. That was the bare minimum Jesus was asking for, just one hour. When they fell asleep, Jesus said it was because their flesh was weak. This is why Paul puts a lot of emphasis on putting your flesh into subjection and building up your spirit man.

The last time Jesus went to the disciples, He left them sleeping until the hour of trial had come. He didn’t wake them up to pray with Him. This is a very frightening thought when we put it into perspective. When we pray, and we fall asleep, God wakes us up. He tries to get our attention; sometimes, He even wakes us up at all hours of the morning trying to get us to pray, but if we refuse to stay awake. If we refuse to put our flesh in check, then God will leave us where we lie. He won’t wake us up to pray anymore. And in doing so, we will miss our opportunity to prepare for the coming trial that awaits us.

All of the disciples left Jesus when He was arrested after that. Peter denied Him before the rooster crowed that morning. They were unprepared for the coming tests and trials because of the lack of prayer. When God wakes you up, it’s not for no reason. God is waking you up to strengthen your don’t miss out on your spiritual workout.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strengthen The Spirit.

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Don’t Be Offended By The Word

60 Many of His disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” 61 Jesus was aware that His disciples were complaining, so He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and He knew who would betray Him.) 65 Then He said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” 66 At this point many of His disciples turned away and deserted Him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” ~ John 6:60-69 NLT

Jesus made many disciples of those who would follow Him. Some of these were even chosen before the Twelve Apostles, yet they walked away because of a difficult teaching to grasp. Many of us in the Church today do the same thing. We want to follow Jesus. In fact, we’ve been following Him for many years. Some our whole lives, but then we come across something that we just can’t wrap our minds around, and it causes us to run from God instead of to Him. A very famous celebrity couldn’t come to grips with how God could be jealous, so she not only walked away from Him, but she created an entirely new religion. And in doing so, she has led so many others astray as well.

See, God’s thoughts are far above our thoughts. His ways are far above our ways. In other words, it’s difficult for us mere mortals to grasp all that Jesus said. So, instead of seeking God for understanding, we get upset and walk away. Many of us have down this. It could be a simple verse or an entire theology, but nevertheless, we walk away because of a lack of understanding. This is dangerous. Why? Because there’s no evidence that those disciples who did this repented and came back to follow Christ. The LORD warns that if we refuse to follow His ways, we’ll be given over to a reprobate mind. Therefore, love the LORD and all of His ways. Serve the LORD with gladness. He will never withhold good from you. His desire is for your good. Therefore, trust in Him, and He will guide you into paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be Offended By The Word.

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Fully Trust God

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Even when God is disciplining us, His thoughts are toward providing us with hope and a future. All of God’s thoughts are pleasing and pleasant toward us because God loves us. Never make the mistake of even considering that God is against you or that He does not have your best interest at heart. Just like an earthly father will discipline his child, so God will discipline us so that we can learn and not stay in ignorance (Proverbs 3 & Hebrews 12).

God has great plans for us, but we must be disciplined and not run wild and out of control. We can’t be craving and gullible. We can’t be chasing after fame and fortune and getting caught up in the things of this world. You must care about the things that God cares about. You must value what God values. Why? Because these are eternal, but the things of this world are temporary. The temporary things lead us to death because they lead us far away from God.

Trust the plans of the LORD. He may not always tell us the purpose of each and every season He has us go through, but we can have faith that it is always for our good and never to hurt or harm us. This is the promise we have from our Heavenly Father, who loves us more than we could ever know.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fully Trust God.

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Remember Who You Follow

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. 5 Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’” ~ Matthew 23:1-7NLT

Jesus warned the people not to leave the temple or ignore the teachers because they taught Truth but didn’t follow what they preached. Today, so many people leave the Church because of a pastor and what he or she does. They leave the Church entirely because of someone else. Jesus is telling us not to do that. Too often, we base our own relationship with God and our faith in Him on other people’s relationship with God. We base our actions on other people’s actions.

Our relationship with Jesus should never be based on someone else. It’s only about us and Jesus. A lot of our pastors and leaders are like the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus’ day. They teach Truth, but they don’t live it. Just like we’ll have to stand before God on Judgment Day and give an account for all that we did and didn’t do, so will our leaders. If we allow someone else’s downfalls and slip-ups to affect our relationship with God, then we’ll be judged for that on Judgement Day. Jesus told Peter a very difficult statement to come to grips with.

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

John 21:22

We can’t control how our leaders act, but we can control how we act. We have to remember that we don’t follow men; we follow God Himself. We follow the forerunner of our faith. The one who went before us and made a way where there was no way.

Dear LORD, please help me to follow You. Help me not to be distracted by others and how they choose to live their lives. Help me to keep my focus on You. Help me to keep You and You alone as my North Star and the center of my world. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Always Use Words

17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. ~ Acts 4:17

You’ve probably seen the text attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Now whether he actually said this or not, I don’t know. But it is widely believed that he did.

Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words.

It sounds so religious, so pious, Christians often quote it. They often publish it and republish it on their social media, and it sounds good. We should preach the Gospel always. But let’s break it down and unpack it a bit.

There is no denying that we are to preach the Gospel always, but, when necessary, use words? Is that Biblical? I believe it’s designed to shut up the Christian and fool them into being quiet. Why? Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.

How can they believe if they have never heard? To advocate us to be silent and not speak and teach in the name of Jesus is pure censorship. They intimidate us; they have hushed us up in the schools, they have hushed us up in the workplace, they have hushed us up in government, in our malls, in our stores; we can’t even say Merry Christmas because it’s politically incorrect to do so. It is silencing the Church, and the Church is called to be the voice of Jesus, the only way to God.

People often say that God doesn’t need us, but how can they hear if no one tells them? Sounds to me like God intended for us to be His mouthpiece. Jesus did His part. It is our turn now! How, then, can we be silent? God wants the whole world to know the way to salvation, and it’s through our preaching and our teaching. There is no other plan. None.

So, don’t let them silence you; you are called to preach the good news. How would you be saved right now if someone hadn’t taught you the way of holiness? It’s time for the Church to arise and stop being intimidated and shamed into being silent while our friends, our family, and our coworkers are going to an eternity of punishment. Stand strong in your faith. Spread the name of Jesus to anyone willing to listen. And never be ashamed of the Gospel.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Always Use Words.

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Stir Up A Spirit of Thanksgiving

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of my favorite quotes, which I’ve been trying to do a better job of putting into practice, says, “Appreciate the little things because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” It’s the little things in life that lay the foundation for the big things. The only way to ever appreciate and be thankful for and grateful for the big things is to appreciate, be thankful for, and be grateful for the little things along the way.

If you’re battling an addiction and can’t seem to get free, break it one day at a time. If you’re battling fear, break it one fear at a time. When you see a victory, regardless of how small, praise. Rejoice. Give thanks. Why? Because you are now one more step closer to freedom than you were before, and that is something to be thankful for.

We have to be thankful. We have to stir up the Spirit of Thanksgiving within us. This isn’t always a simple task. Sometimes this is rough, but it’s something we strive towards because the LORD loves and blesses a grateful heart.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stir Up A Spirit of Thanksgiving.

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Live In The Now But Live For The Future

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ~ Philippians 1:21

Live in the now, but live for the future. This is a difficult statement to understand. At first glance, it almost seems contradictory, but it’s no different than the statement, “Live in the world, but don’t be a part of the world.” We’ve been called out of the world, yet we’ve been called back into the world in order to witness to those still of the world. Therefore, as long as we live on this beautiful green earth the LORD has given to us, we must live in the present, for it is a gift from God. We have to enjoy the short time we have with our family and friends. We have to witness to as many people as possible. We have to constantly lift up the name of as many sinners and saints as possible through prayer in supplication. There is much to do in this short time on the earth, and the only way to do that is to live in the now.

But because this world will soon come to an end and with it, all of these temporary temptations will soon perish, we must live for the future. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. We’re living for a much greater and grander life. One that we cannot grasp or imagine. Therefore, while we should enjoy the blessings and gifts from God while on this earth, we must never get lost in the temptations and the pitfalls set before us. These temporary luxuries of this earth will not last. They’ll soon pass away, as will this earth. We live for a much greater reward than what the world can offer us, which is why we must store up treasure for ourselves in Heaven. A place where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live In The Now But Live For The Future.

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He’ll Still Hear

36 And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ~ Mark 4:36-40

Even though Jesus intended and expected the disciples to have enough faith to calm the seas, when they called for Him, He still came to their rescue. Why? Because they ran to Jesus when they felt they couldn’t hang on and do anything themselves. Jesus scolds them for their lack of faith and their succumbing to fear, but He doesn’t leave them. He only corrects them. He disciplines them because He loves them.

Today, many of us are in the middle of a storm. The wind and the seas are blowing. The boat is threatening to flip with us in it, yet Jesus is asleep. He’s at peace in the stern, but we are wide awake and being tossed about on deck, watching in horror as the wind and the seas get more violent. Jesus isn’t awake; He’s asleep. Why? Because He has given us authority through His name to calm the wind and the seas. This is our test. Jesus is still with us, asking if we have the faith. We’re not alone in our test; the Teacher may be silent, but He is with us. He is asleep because He is expecting us to take His powerful name and calm the storm that is threatening to sink us. So, be not afraid. Even the faith of a tiny mustard seed can move the largest mountain. Nevertheless, if your faith fails you, run to the master. Scream out His name. Call on Him. Seek Him, and He will awake. He will calm the winds and the seas, and you will be saved. This promise from God you can stand on.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Calm The Raging Seas.

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Always Move Forward

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ Romans 5:20-21

God is a Holy and righteous God. He demands perfection from His children, but because He knows that we in this mortal body could never be perfect gives us grace. What does that mean? Not every person is on the same level of restoration. In other words, we are all His clay pots because we are all His creation. Some of us are more broken with more dents and scratches than the others.

God is the Potter. He molds, rewords, and restores the clay pots with love and great attention. Some of us, God has been working on for a while, so our sins are (or should) no longer holding us in bondage the way they once were. Therefore, we should require (and He does give) less grace. Why? Because we should be overcoming more often and falling into pitfalls and traps set by the enemy less.

Whereas the clay that is only now getting remolded and reworked is going to struggle more. They’re going to trip up more. Why? Because they’ve only now begun to change. They’re babies in the faith still on milk. Those of us who have known the Truth for so many years should no longer be on milk but meat. We should be teachers and mentors to those young in the faith. We should no longer be on the same level as when we first started.

To those who have only just begun, be encouraged, be hopeful, and be strengthened in the Joy of the LORD. Always strive for perfection because even if you miss, you’ll land among excellence. To those who have been faithfully running the race set before you for a while, don’t grow weary of doing good. Continue to progress with confidence and endurance. Focus on the race set before you, but don’t forget the new believer. Always be seeking to mentor, teach, and guide the new believer through their journey. Always search for new fields to harvest, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Regardless of where you are in your faith, always press forward and never look back.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Always Move Forward.

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