Daily Bread Archives

May 14, 2023May 10, 2023

Thank The LORD For Mothers

¹⁵She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. ¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. ¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. ²⁰She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. ²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. ~ Proverbs 31:15-21

So many things can define a mother, but the greatest definition of a mother is a caretaker. Why? A mother puts the needs of the household above the needs of her own. She makes sure her household has what it needs in order to run smoothly. She’ll sacrifice whatever is necessary in order to make sure that she takes care of her family, including sacrificing sleep. One of my favorite songs, as a kid, was The Christmas Shoes by Newsong. I think it depicts a mother perfectly when the little boy says,

Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without

Mothers will do without so that their families can have and enjoy. The trait of a caretaker is so important for a mother to embody that God Himself compares His caretaking to that of a mother (Isaiah 66:13).

A mother will sacrifice for her family, unlike anyone else. She’ll go without so that no one else has to. She’ll take the abuse of an angry or hurting child in order to get to the root of the problem and mend a broken heart or wound. There is nothing like the love, comfort, and sacrifice of a mother. They are irreplaceable.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Thank The LORD For Mothers.

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Raise Peacemakers

¹⁶Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’” ¹⁷And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” ¹⁸Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. ¹⁹I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?” ²⁰Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! ²¹That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” ²²Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. ~ 2 Samuel 20:16-22

Mothers, you ought to live peaceable lives, and you ought to teach your family to live peaceable lives. Lead by example. I didn’t say not to protect. I said, don’t go stirring up trouble; avoid it at all costs. See what the wise woman said in verse 19, I am one of those who are peaceable.

When war came to her city, she did not call the men to arms; she sought peace without firing a single shot. What am I talking about?

I’m saying there will be times when trials arise in the home, and it’s how you respond to those trials that will determine the outcome. Mrs. Graham (the wife of Evangelist Billy Graham) said, “A true mother is primarily and essentially a trainer.” Children learn from what they see. And a peacemaker isn’t born; they are taught. It is the peacemakers that will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9).

My wife works in IT, and sometimes she gets emails or some type of correspondence that riles her and makes her blood boil. Her policy is, do not respond right away, give it time, and write your response if you want, but don’t send it. It’s better to reply the next day. If time is of the essence to email, then have someone vet it for you. Children will have their disagreements and find ways to help them solve their disputes. Train them to learn to find solutions for their own problems, and they will be problem-solvers when they are adults.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Raise Peacemakers.

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Be A Mother

¹³For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. ~ Psalms 139:13

I once heard someone say that if we want to change the way we see the unborn, we have to change the way we talk about and define mothers. For the average person, a mother is someone who has given birth to a child or adopted a child, but from the moment of conception, women become mothers. The woman is protecting, providing for, and essentially growing a baby inside of their own body. What is more motherly than that?

All pregnant women aren’t soon-to-be mothers; they are expectant mothers. The role of a mother starts from conception because from that moment on, a mother’s attitude, emotions, diet, and even her spiritual journey will directly affect and impact her unborn child because they are directly connected. And that connection can never truly be broken.

So, to every mother out there, strive to do what’s best for your child from the moment of conception to your last breath. If God is forming your child in your womb from conception, then every action you make after conception directly affects that unborn baby. A mother is a role that can’t be left void and empty. Always be someone who protects, provides, and grows their child in a way that is right before the eyes of the LORD. And fathers, always be someone that holds up the mother.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Mother.

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A Wise Mama Bear

I want you to notice how the Scripture describes the city. “You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel.” This city wasn’t just any city; it was considered a mother in Israel. That changed all the rules of the game. The people of Israel looked to this mother city for wisdom, advice, and leadership. This is where they went to inquire. As soon as danger raised its vicious head, this mother in this mother city sprang into action. The Mama Bear was released.

The woman in the story is not named; she is merely called a wise woman. One of the attributes of a wise woman is to avert danger, especially critical danger, as what was about to happen to Abel.

What had happened was Sheba, the son of Bichri, saw his opportunity to seize power while the kingdom was right at the end of the civil war led by King David’s now-dead son, Absalom. Sheba blew the trumpet in an attempt to try to rally the previous rebellious troops against King David and make himself ruler. But King David nipped that in the bud right away by sending Joab, the general of his army, to take care of business.

Sheba took refuge in a city named Abel of Beth-maacah. The city was a walled city with locked gates. So, Joab prepared to tear down the wall to get Sheba. But a wise woman, a mother in Israel, stood up to the mighty Joab, and with great wisdom, she averted the great and pending danger.

Mothers, that is your job as a mama bear to avert danger from your family. I would probably be a lot better off financially if I had heeded my wife’s subtle warnings. Husbands, even though you are the head of the wife, please understand that she isn’t there to just serve you and your needs. She is also used by God, filled with wisdom, understanding, and instinct in order to serve the Kingdom of God and her family. When you have a wise wife or mother, listen to their wise judgments. Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be A Wise Mama Bear.

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Praise For The Answer

¹⁷Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. ¹⁸He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. ~ Daniel 2:17-19

Daniel was facing execution. His faith was being tested. But Daniel’s faith was strong in the LORD. He knew the God in whom he trusted and served. He knew that no matter what His God did, it was for His good.

When Daniel received the answer to his prayer, He didn’t immediately run to the king. He didn’t stop everything he was doing and go tell his friends the good news. No, Daniel praised the LORD. We ask and ask and ask, but how often do we stop and praise when we receive?

God is a good good father. He enjoys blessing His children. He enjoys giving them good gifts, but He desires a thank you in return. An offering of praise. That doesn’t cost us anything. It doesn’t cost us money, only a little bit of our time.

If we expect God to hear us and answer us, we need to be prepared to praise Him for His answer. He’s a good good God. His desire is for our good. There’s no one like Him. And He is more than worthy of our praise.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise For The Answer.

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What’s The Measure of Your Faith?

¹⁹Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ²⁰Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.” ~ Daniel 2:17-19^NLT

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s lives were on the line because King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that one of his enchanters, sorcerers, magicians, and astrologers tell him the disturbing dream he had. Then they were to explain it to him. But when no one could do it, he called for all of their execution. Daniel’s response wasn’t fear; it was to fervently pray to his God in faith.

When things go wrong, and we’re at the end of our rope, how many of us have the faith to pray fervently to God? How many of us are willing to put all of our faith in the Almighty? Daniel’s hope was gone. His request was impossible. Nevertheless, he had hope. He believed that his God was the God of the impossible.

We serve that same God today. That same God that did the impossible and saved them. And our God does not change. If He did the impossible yesterday, He’ll do the impossible today. He’ll make a way where there’s no way. He’ll open shut doors. He’ll return what the Devil stole from you. He’ll answer your prayers if you would only have faith and put all of your trust in Him.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for my lack of faith. Please strengthen my faith so that I may see the answers to my prayers. Help me to discipline my body, mind, and soul so that I might produce more fruit. So that I might produce more gifts. So that I might hear from You and You might hear me. Help me to seek You with all that is in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Do You Regard The LORD’s Anointed?

³⁷In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. ~ 1 Samuel 25:37-38

David was in the land of Carmel. It was a feast day, so he reached out to a rich man in the land with whom he and his men had interactions with the rich man’s shepherds. So, David sent some of his men to ask Nabal for anything he could spare, but Nabal had no regard for the LORD’s anointed. In fact, he even disrespected the LORD’s anointed saying,

“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?”

1 Samuel 25:10-11

Nabal had no regard for the LORD’s anointed, so David was going to take his men to attack, but Nabal’s wife pleaded with David. So, David steadied his hand, but the LORD took aim Himself when Nabal had sobered up to fully grasp and understand what was happening. The LORD came to fight on His anointed’s behalf. Nabal’s response and mistreatment of David, the LORD’s anointed, caused His heart to die within him, and he became like a stone. The LORD didn’t kill him just yet, though, God gave him 10 days. He gave him a set amount of days to repent, or at the very least, have a repentive heart. But when he didn’t, the LORD struck him down.

Today, many of our attitudes and actions have caused our hearts to die within us so that we become like stone. We stop feeling things. Our hearts stop breaking for what breaks the heart of God. Our souls stop yearning for God and His righteousness. We become spiritually paralyzed, but the LORD gives us a period of time to cry out to Him. To repent. To let our hearts beat again before we spiritually die. This is His promise to us in Ezekiel.

²⁶And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Dear LORD, please forgive me of all of my sins. Forgive me of all of my trespasses against You. Help me to notice Your anointed and have regard for them. Help to not be like Nabal or Pharaoh. Help me to have regard for You, Your people, Your teaching, and Your ways. Help me to be hospitable and loving, filled with a Spirit of Discernment that I might not sin against You. Please replace my heart of stone with a heart of flesh that I might love You and follow You the way You deserve. Thank You for all that You’ve done for me, are doing for me, and will do for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Notice The Ammonites

⁴After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. ⁵And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” ~ Judges 11:4-6

The elders of Gilead went and brought Jephthah back from the land of Tob. Now, the Ammonites were the incestuous descendants of Lot’s son Ben-Ammi by his youngest daughter. Abraham’s nephew Lot had two daughters, but after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, they fled and lived in a cave. The eldest daughter convinced her younger sister to get Lot, their father, drunk and sleep with him and thereby have children.

Moab and Ben-Ammi were the product of those two incestuous relationships. The name Ben-Ammi means son of my people, and it is from him the Ammonites descended. Understand that Ben-Ammi looks like the people. They talk like the people. They even claim to represent the people, but the proof is always in the pudding. They are not for the people.

Do not let wise and crafty words blind your good judgment, and never let smooth, persuasive words lead you down the wrong road. Words can be carved to look like whatever the speaker wants you to see, but the end results are what really matter. We have to see through their sheep-like disguise in order to find the wolf underneath.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Notice The Ammonites.

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Run to God

²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Anointed’—²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. ~ Acts 4:23-31

The chief priests and elders had just threatened Peter and John for preaching in the name of Jesus after they had healed the lame man by Gate Beautiful. After they were released, they reported all that was said to their friends. And when they heard it. When their friends heard all the threats that were made by their chief priests and elders, they went straight to God in prayer.

When you receive bad news or when you receive threats, do you go immediately to God in prayer? Or do you try everything else, and finally, after everything has escalated, you say, there is nothing else for me to do but pray?

Prayer is not a last resort. Prayer is the first and foremost thing on our list. When the trials of life come against us, when things are not going as we plan, the first thing we must do is to get on our knees and pray. Seek the face of God, call upon His name, for He will hear, and if He hears, He will answer.

Look at the believers’ prayer. “Look upon their threats…” In other words, listen to what they have said and take note, oh, LORD. Then they ask that they be granted boldness to continue to speak the word of God so that their mission is not thwarted by government threats of punishment and imprisonment.

Our whole mission is to bring, take, and carry the good news of Jesus Christ to all people and all nations with boldness and accuracy. But they did not leave it there. They asked for more. In other words, they said, give us boldness to do our part, and You, Oh God, do Your part by stretching out Your mighty hand to heal the sick and to perform signs and wonders in the Name of Jesus Christ so that His name be lifted up, and glorified. And you know what happened? Their prayer was answered.

Oh, that we would run to God with our burdens and our cares. To seek wisdom and boldness to do what He has called us to do, and that healing, along with signs and wonders, would be a staple in our services and daily lives. So that Jesus is magnified and glorified.

Heavenly Father, grant us boldness to preach Your word. Grant us understanding to discern the times and wisdom to know what to do. Stretch out Your hand to heal the sick and to perform signs and wonders and all sorts of miracles in the name of Jesus. For it is in His name, we ask it all, amen.

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Never Alone

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. ~ Psalms 34:15

Do you sometimes feel like you are all alone in the world? Like no one sees you? Like no one hears you? Like there is no one you can turn to? Well, lift up your head and straighten up your back; there is good news. The LORD God said in His Word, “My eyes are towards the righteous.” In other words, He sees you right where you are. He sees what is being done to you, and He is taking note.

Then He goes on to say that His ears are toward their cry. Meaning, He hears you when you call to Him. Your prayers that you think are just going up and bouncing off of the ceiling, well, to put it bluntly, they are not. They are reaching the very ears of God. Not just the throne but the ears. Because your letters can reach the White House, you know, they could even reach the Oval Office, but they could stop right there and never reach the ears of the President. So close, but yet so far.

But the righteous are not like that; their ways are known to God. Their being is always before Him; their prayers and their cries are always heard by the LORD. There is not one prayer, one cry, or one moment of your life that your God is unaware of if you are a Christian following Jesus.

Verse 8 of the same Psalm says:

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalms 34:8

It is an invitation to come and test the LORD and see if He is not all that He said He is. You will be blessed and highly favored. Come to the LORD, taste, and see that God is good and that He loves you and cares for you. He hears your cries, and He sees you where you are at. So, the next time you feel down, remember you are never alone.

Father, we come in the name of Jesus, Your son, calling out to You. Provide our needs. Provide what is lacking in our lives. Touch our body and heal us, for by Your stripes, we are healed. It has been paid for. Calm our troubled minds so that depression, anxiety, or panic attacks may not come upon us. Help us to find strength in Your joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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