Daily Bread Archives

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023

Be Encouraged By His Victory

⁵And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. ⁶And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” ~ Mark 16:5-6

The angel said to the women, “Do not be alarmed.” In other words, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry; Jesus has everything worked out for you. Just trust in what He said. The just shall walk by faith. Then the angel says these beautiful words, “He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.”

Jesus is alive! He was crucified. He died and was buried. But on the 3^rd day, He rose to life again. The resurrection power was in Him, and He stepped out of that grave victorious. The grave could not hold Him, death could not keep Him, for in Him is the life and the light, and darkness can never prevail over Him. He is the everlasting God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Encouraged By His Victory.

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Follow God’s Plan

¹ When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. ~ Mark 16:1-4

The women were worrying about who would roll away the stone because it was a very large stone. Sometimes our problems can seem so large, but they’re a small matter for Jesus. But even so, the women did not let that stop or hinder them. They had a plan, and they worked the plan. They did not let circumstances beyond their control, things that they could not fix, stop all forward progress. But instead, they continued on, and wouldn’t you know it, a miracle took place for them.

The very large stone, which they had no idea how to move or who would move it, was already moved. The hard work was already done. That is how Jesus is. He will not let us fail when we are on a mission for Him. He will make a way where there is no way.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow God’s Plan.

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Prepare For More Visitations

⁴¹As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it ⁴²and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” ~ Luke 19:41-44

All of this is happening on the first day of the week, a Sunday. It is the tenth day of Nisan. The High Priest is selecting the Passover lamb that will be slain on the 14^th. Now all of this is interrupted by the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. They were busy with the requirements of the law as it pertained to the instructions for the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were doing all the right things at the right time, but they did not recognize the day of their visitation. The day when God Himself would visit them, and they would have the choice to receive Him.

It was like when Jesus told Martha that she was anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing was necessary, and Mary had chosen the good portion, and it would not be taken away from her. It was Mary’s day of visitation. Like Mary, we must be vigilant; we must watch and pray so that we will not miss the Day of Our Visitation.

We cannot get so busy, even with church stuff, that we miss The Day of Visitation.

The day that the LORD Himself shows up on our own front door
Or show up in time of worship
Or when He comes to answer our diligent prayers
We must keep vigil

If the Jews had only recognized their Messiah, and if they had only chosen and accepted Him, they wouldn’t still be wandering the earth looking for their Messiah. Maybe they would have remained and not been scattered. Maybe their Temple would have remained and not been torn down. We have to be sure we don’t miss the visitation of our LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For More Visitations.

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Get His Attention

⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” ~ Mark 11:9-10

There were more than fourteen generations between Jesus and King David, yet God never forgot David. God’s love for David transcended generations after generations, and sins after sins. God could have easily left Israel where they were. He could have easily said they were unworthy, but God never forgot His love for David. He never forgot His love for his forefathers. When you get God’s attention, He remembers you. And nothing anyone else does can change that.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Get His Attention.

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Let Your Actions Give Glory To God

⁹And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” ~ Matthew 21:9-11

By the time Jesus reached Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up. Why? Because the crowds that followed and surrounded Jesus were boldly proclaiming,

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

The praising and rejoicing of the crowd caught the attention of the entire city and stirred something inside of them that they had to seek out who all of these people were worshipping and praising. Genuine praise and worship will always catch the attention of others. Why? Because the Spirit of the LORD rests on the praise of His people.

Even if you don’t know all of the Scriptures, or can’t speak eloquently, or aren’t walking in the gifts of the Spirit, you can be used by God to get the attention of others just by your genuine worship and praise because it won’t be the you that’s catching their eye, but the Spirit dwelling in you. If you are saved, you have become the Temple of God. The very Spirit of God dwells within you, and Jesus lives through you.

You don’t have to be a theologian, preacher, scholar, or anyone of great influence for people to notice something different in you. You just have to love your life, genuinely worshipping and praising God with everything you do. In your actions, the way you speak, the way you treat people, your emotions, your personality, and the vibe you give off are all acts of worship because we are to do everything to the glory of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Your Actions Give Glory To God.

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Follow Without Reservation

¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ~ Matthew 21:1-3

Jesus didn’t tell the disciples exactly where the donkey was or whose donkey it belonged to. Jesus just said, when you go in, you’ll see the donkey and her colt. In fact, Jesus goes even further, saying that if anyone tries to stop you, just tell them that the LORD needs them. The disciples had to be led by faith and the Spirit alone. They had to believe and put their full confidence in Jesus that He would make a way for them to untie the donkey and her colt without the owner calling them thieves, causing them to fall into big problems.

Many of us today are called by God to do something. Sometimes, it takes great faith that we feel we lack because of the possible consequences. But just as Jesus gave the disciples favor with the owner of the donkey and her colt, if they had the faith to do as He commanded, so will we have the favor to complete what we’ve been called to do if we do it in faith and obedience.

LORD, please strike fear from my heart so that I might abound and be transformed in Your perfect love, and my faith in You might grow and flourish. Help me to fully and heartedly believe that You are good and that Your plan for my life is good. Please remove all doubt from my mind and heart so that I can follow You without reservation or hesitation. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remove The Filth For The King

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them. ⁸Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹And the crowds that went before Him and that followed Him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ~ Matthew 21:6-9

When Jesus came riding in on a donkey, the people made sure not even the donkey’s hooves touched the ground by throwing down their own cloaks and cutting down palm branches so the donkey could walk over. The disciples put their cloaks on the donkey so that Jesus could sit on it. They made sure that nothing dirty touched the Messiah or the donkey the Messiah rode.

Today, the Church doesn’t have this same respect for Jesus. We want Jesus in our hearts, but we allow any kind of filth to enter in. We expect Jesus to dwell in filth. We then justify this by saying that God is love. Jesus loves everybody. Sure, both of these statements are true, but God is a righteous God. Jesus is the King of kings and LORD of lords, so how can we expect Him to dwell with all that He hates? If God is righteous, how can we expect Him to dwell in unrighteousness? Our love, respect, and reverence for God have vastly grown dim over the last few decades.

There was a time when we may not have understood or even agreed, but we at least had respect for the Word of God. Today, we condemn the True Gospel when it’s preached. We twist and manipulate the Scriptures as we justify our sin. Those of Jesus’ day took off their very cloaks so that the donkey He was on didn’t touch the ground; we today don’t love God enough to even call sin sin.

Dear LORD, please soften my heart. Remove all the filth from my life. Deliver me from all of the sins I have grown accustomed to indulging. Teach me to hate sin and love righteousness. Help me to not make excuses for myself or others so that we may indulge in our sinful desires. Cleanse my heart, oh God, that it may a heart after Your own heart, like Your servant, David. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Keep Going Regardless

³⁷As He was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” ~ Luke 19:37-40

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, on His way down from the Mount of Olives, when the Pharisees tried to condemn the disciples of Jesus to Jesus Himself. The book Revelation refers to Satan as the accuser of the brethren. In fact, it goes as far as to say that he accuses the Church day and night (Revelation 12:10). The Pharisees may not have been Satan himself, but they act on his behalf through the influence of his kingdom. Just as we, the Church, act on Jesus’ behalf with our actions.

Today is no different. You may not even get to your destination or even get to fully begin what you set out to do for God when a Pharisee who has been with you, listening to you, and following you tries to condemn exactly what God has called you to do. Don’t allow them to discourage you; hold to the promise and call you were given. Not everyone listening to you, surrounding you, talking to you, or conversing with you are for you. Be aware of them and seek discernment on how to respond. Jesus didn’t tell them to leave His presence or even rebuke them; Jesus instead corrected their rebuke with the Truth.

Seek the LORD earnestly for discernment, so that you may discern the Spirit of Truth from the Spirit of Error (1 John 4:6). Root yourself in God, and then His call for your life will never be shaken, regardless of who tries to tear down all that you are doing. Don’t condemn, instead correct error with the Truth of our God in love because our God is love (1 John 4:8)

Dead LORD, please give me the Spirit of Discernment so that I might discern between the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error. Please continue to perfect me in Your perfect love so that there will be no room for fear, doubt, or discouragement when the enemy comes against me. Please give me the confidence of who I am in You and what I am to do for Your glory and Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Don’t Let The Enemy Silence You

³⁷As He was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” ⁴⁰He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” ~ Luke 19:37-40

Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. He hadn’t made it down the Mount of Olives yet; nevertheless, the Pharisees were there. They remained quiet until the disciples began to rejoice and proclaim who Jesus is. The enemy is fine with us believing Jesus existed. He’s even fine with us believing that He died on the cross and rose again. But the moment we start speaking about who Jesus is, the enemy can’t remain silent. The enemy has to speak. He has to try to silence the Truth. Why?

Unless we understand and proclaim who Jesus is, we make His name powerless. Unless we proclaim that Jesus is King of kings and LORD of lords and believe that He is God incarnate, we cannot be saved. The enemy will try to intimidate you. He’ll try to condemn you. He’ll even try to twist Scripture to confuse you so that you’ll miss out on Jesus. You’ll miss out on His salvation. You’ll miss out on His peace, grace, joy, healing, and so much more. If the enemy can silence you, then the enemy can snuff out the Light that is within you.

Dear LORD, please help me to never allow Your Light in me to be dimmed. Protect my faith. Don’t allow any fear, doubt, intimidation, or twisting of Scripture to uproot my faith in You. Strengthen my faith so that I might overcome every fiery dart the enemy sends my way. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Love God Most

²⁴No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. ~ Matthew 6:24

We often quote this last verse as “you cannot serve both God and money.” In doing this, we miss Jesus’ point; the love of money, greed, is the god Mammon. You can’t serve Mammon and God. When we leave it as just money, we allow this idea that money is evil or having money is evil to enter into our thoughts. Let me make this very clear; money is not evil. You don’t need to go and sell everything you have and become poor in order to be saved.

There’s only one account of the rich having to sell all that he has in order to be saved. This is because the rich man had a love of money. We can be sure of this because when it came to the rich man, Zacchaeus, Jesus never told him to sell all that he had. Why? Because Zacchaeus didn’t have a love of money. He automatically repented and promised to restore fourfold to anyone he cheated. He even promised to give half of his wealth to the poor. Money wasn’t Zacchaeus’ love; Jesus was. This is the desire of God. Not that all be poor in order to serve Him, but that all love God more than anything else in this world.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Love God Most.

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