Daily Bread Archives

February 13, 2023February 12, 2023

Prosper As One

²²Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body. ³¹“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³²This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. ~ Ephesians 5:22–33

One of the most controversial verses in today’s world is, “Wives submit to your own husbands.” This one verse upsets many people. It sparks arguments and debates. Many are offended by this verse, but why? Jesus said, “Blessed is he who isn’t offended by me.” So, how can Scripture offend us? I believe it’s because we don’t fully understand what Paul is instructing us.

Paul instructs wives to submit to their husbands because the husband represents Christ in the marriage, while the wife represents the Church. Paul said that husbands are to be like Christ and love their wives in the same way. He didn’t leave the meaning of this up to private interpretation; Paul tells us exactly what that means. Husbands are supposed to love their wives by giving themselves up for their wives. In other words, everything that the wife does is on the husband, just as everything we’ve done and everything we will do was laid upon Christ. This is why wives have to submit to their husbands because the husband is holding the weight of the marriage.

As women, we’re very emotional creatures. Why? Because we weren’t created to hold the weight and stress of our marriages as well as the stress of providing for the family on our shoulders. It is not an insult to say that God created man as the head of the household because he’s responsible for its provision and its success spiritually and financially. Whereas women are emotional to better raise up the children. This seems to be very insulting to women today, but what greater role can a person have than to raise the next generation of humans? We’re literally responsible for teaching and nurturing the next generation. That’s more power than any job in the world can offer.

That doesn’t mean that it’s solely up to the woman to raise the children either; fathers are extremely important. Don’t get me wrong, women can have jobs as well, but we were all created for certain roles. We were all created for specific calls. Man and woman complete each other. This is why we become one. Today’s culture tries to teach any and everything that is contrary to God’s word and what He stands for. But as Christians, we embrace God and the things of God. But if we join together and unite as one, God will help us to make it through the good times as well as the bad times. Ignore popular culture and live your life sold out to Jesus and live His plan.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prosper As One.

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Be One Flesh

³³…let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. ~ Ephesians 5:33

This is a mutual command with a mutual benefit. These two work in tandem with each other. Husbands, do you feel like you’re not being respected? Well, take a look at your wife’s love gauge that monitors her love tank. Is it full? Is it empty? Or is it somewhere in between?

If men want respectful wives, they must first be loving husbands, and wives must submit to their husbands if they want loving husbands. It goes hand in hand. A wife respecting her husband doesn’t mean that we, husbands, lord it over our wives or that the wife has no say in matters that belong to you both. All household decisions must be made mutually and must be beneficial to both; in fact, it must be mutually beneficial to the whole family. Just as Christ doesn’t move without us first doing something, neither does a husband do something without the wife. A marriage is about becoming one flesh.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be One Flesh.

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Follow Your Call

²²And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. ²³As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. ²⁴All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. ²⁵And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” ²⁶And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” ²⁷And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.” ²⁸Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” ²⁹And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” ³⁰And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before. ~ 1 Samuel 17:22-30

Let me give you a little backstory. Goliath had been taunting the army of Israel for the past 40 days. David was at home with his father, tending to the sheep. His father sent him with food for his brothers and the commander. When David arrives, he’s astonished that Israel’s army isn’t fighting against Goliath, who was blaspheming their God. When he brought this to the attention of those around him, only one person was upset and angered by him, his brother Eliab.

Eliab was the eldest son of Jesse. He was the firstborn, and he looked like a king, so much so that Samuel thought it was Eliab that God had chosen to be king when he saw him. But that wasn’t Eliab’s call. Eliab was never meant to be king of Israel; instead, it was his youngest baby brother. And that same youngest baby brother was now pointing out that no one had fought Goliath. Eliab was offended by David’s words. Why? Because Eliab knew deep down, it was his call to defeat Goliath.

Think about it, David wasn’t on the battlefield. He wasn’t even supposed to be there. Goliath had been taunting Israel for 40 days, and no one stepped up. It was then that Jesse sent David with food to check on his brothers. And it was only Eliab who was grieved by David’s questioning. Eliab was meant to be a great warrior, but he missed his call.

Fear could’ve stopped Eliab. The Spirit of Rejection could’ve gripped his heart. Anger could’ve overcame him. Eliab was too busy focusing on the past that he missed his call. He missed his story being told. How many of us miss our call because we’re too busy focusing on the past? We’re too busy desiring someone else’s call that we miss our own call.

God has a plan and call for our lives. We’re all meant to do great things, but if we get caught up in the great things that are for other people, then we’ll miss the great things that are for us. Don’t let the Spirit of Rejection root in you because it will make a way for fear, anger, depression, anxiety, and many other strongholds to come in and overcome you. You have been called. You have a call on your life from the LORD God above.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow Your Call.

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Be Empowered By God

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ~ 1 Peter 2:9–10

We are royal because God has adopted us as sons and daughters, just like Moses was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter. We walk in power and anointing because we have been baptized with God’s Holy Spirit. Just like Moses came out of the palace, we, too, have been called out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light. We are empowered to perform signs and wonders and miracles and healings and even raise the dead.

Signs and wonders are appearing in the Church in these last days. More and more reports of healings, and deliverances are happening all over the place, especially in third-world countries throughout Africa and South America; even right here in America.

God’s Spirit has been poured out on all flesh. He fulfills the Word He has spoken, and He has spoken. Therefore, be like Moses and seek wonders. Seek signs. Seek the glory of Almighty God. And most importantly, seek freedom through Christ Jesus, because you have been chosen by the LORD God Almighty. You have been called by name.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Empowered By God.

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Be Renewed Through God

³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.~ Isaiah 40:31

The strength of the Church is fleeting. We’re tired and weary. It feels like we’re fighting a pointless battle sometimes. Obstacle after obstacle tries to slow us down and bring our run to a halt. And sometimes, our cross just feels too heavy to carry anymore. But here’s the thing, we don’t have to run the race worn out, struggling with all of this stuff.

God promised that if we spend time in His presence, He will renew us. So many of us Church folks are dying of thirst and exhaustion on the race set before us because we’re trying to run in our own strength and stamina. We aren’t strong enough to successfully run this race. We have to rely on God. We have to rely on Christ Jesus. We have to rely on His Holy Spirit. There’s no doing this alone. We’re too weak, but the LORD God is our strength. He is our strong tower. He is our Rock. He is our breath. He is our everything. Spend time with Him, and you won’t be weary or tired in this race we call life.

LORD God, please help me to desire to want to spend time with You. Help me to love You the way You deserve. Help me to be like David, who knew how to come in and go out. Teach me how to be renewed in You, LORD, so that I might hear, well done my good and faithful servant with whom I am well pleased, at the end of my race. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Don’t Fear His Presence

⁶And He said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. ⁷Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. ⁸With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ~ Numbers 12:6-8

There’s no denying that the LORD loved Moses. God spoke to Moses face to face. He didn’t speak in riddles or parables, but clearly so that Moses could always understand. God’s love for Moses is special, which got me thinking, why? Why did the LORD love Moses so much? Abraham was loved because of his faith, but Moses didn’t really seem to have such a strong faith when he was called. David was a man after God’s own heart; Moses isn’t ever described in this way. Neither is Moses described like Job or Noah as being righteous. So, what was so special about Moses?

Moses sought God like very few people do. Moses was willing to enter into the unknown darkness that terrified everyone else there because he knew that’s where the presence of the LORD was (Exodus 20:21). When Moses saw the burning bush, God didn’t call to him until Moses stopped to investigate why the bush wasn’t being consumed (Exodus 3:2-4). When the people were afraid to even hear the voice of God again, Moses went up to the mountain of God and sought Him even more (Exodus 20:19).

There was never a time when Moses was satisfied with his relationship with God. He always wanted more. He always sought more. This is the way God desires us to be. God draws near to those who draw near to Him (James 4:8). God has done His part. He created you, called you, and died for you; it’s now your turn. It’s your turn to seek His face. It’s your turn to draw near to the darkness where God is. It’s your turn to go up to the mountain, regardless of how terrifying it may seem. There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:8).

Yes, our God is perfect. He’s Holy. There cannot be unrighteousness with God. No, we aren’t perfect. No, we aren’t fully holy or righteous, but that’s the beauty of the cross. In the time of Moses, there was no redemption or grace. Disobedience could lead to immediate death. Nevertheless, Moses, unsaved and without grace, entered the presence of Almighty God and sought His face without fear. Therefore, in a time of grace and repentance through the precious blood of Jesus, how can we do anything but seek the face of God?

God’s desire from the very beginning was to be amongst mankind. God came down to speak with Adam in the cool of the day. God walked and talked with Enoch. God was a friend of Abraham. God leaves all of Heaven to dwell on the New Earth with mankind in eternity. Why? Because God’s dwelling is with mankind (Revelation 21:3). It’s with us. He doesn’t want to be separated from us. He died so that we can be together always.

So, don’t fear the LORD to where you won’t enter His presence or seek His face. His desire is that all come to repentance and none perish (2 Peter 3:9). Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Seek His face, and you will find Him. Repent, and you will be saved. Trust Him, and He will perfect you in His perfect love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Fear His Presence.

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Always Seek His Face

⁸You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” ⁹Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ~ Psalms 27:8

It’s so easy to get into a rut after your initial repentance. It’s easy to stop searching the Scriptures, hungry to learn something new, or to stop praying diligently because you already saw the answered prayer you wanted, but we are instructed to continuously seek the face of God. This is beyond dispute. No way you can argue against it. No, how can you deny it? You just can’t. We are to chase the presence of Almighty God. The Psalmist is crying out to the LORD not to hide His face from Him. Not to remove His presence from him. He knew that if God removed His presence from him, it would take away his help, and the anger of God would be against him. He knew that he would become like one that has been cast off.

Cain said that God was driving him away from the land where the presence of God dwelt, so then he will be hidden from the face of God. Resulting in him losing his way and becoming a wanderer upon the earth. And if it weren’t for God placing a mark on Cain’s head, Cain would have become a victim of anyone or anything that wanted to kill Cain. This was the fear of the Psalmist. This should be the fear of all of us. We should all continuously be striving for the presence of God so that we might never take it for granted and be removed from His Holy presence.

LORD God, help me to always seek your face. Help me to never get tired of Your presence or Your Word. Clean my heart so that I might delight myself in the things of You. Help me to always dwell in Your presence. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Press On

¹²Not 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. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. ~ Philippians 3:12-15

When Paul says that he presses on, he is saying that he is working hard to pursue at least three things: the things of God, the purposes of God (his calling from God), and the presence of God. You cannot pursue those things without pursuing the Giver of those things. It’s impossible. Besides, Paul said to let the mature think this way.

To me, it’s one of two reasons why a pastor would preach against men and women of God pursuing His presence. An excuse for spiritual laziness and because of a lack of understanding. I know that it’s a lot of work to maintain and grow a strong, vibrant relationship with Jesus, but anything good is not easy to achieve.

So, I suppose that is the reason why those same pastors who preach against chasing the presence aren’t seeing miracles in their services because they don’t chase after the presence. And without the Presence, there are no miracles. Healings. Signs. Wonders. Or Salvation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Press On.

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Be Hot

¹⁵I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne. ²²He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ~ Revelation 3:15–22

Jesus is counseling us to repent and be zealous for Him because He will soon be back for us. Oftentimes, when we think we’re doing so much and doing so good, we are literally wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked just going through the motions.

So, Jesus is warning us. He’s giving us time to repent. He’s trying to get us to return to the basics of life. To go back to the foundation and rebuild. Tear down strongholds that have woven in between the Rock. We have to get back to putting Jesus first because nothing else matters in the whole world. No profit, no success, and no amount of money will be able to purchase eternal life apart from Jesus and His salvation because none of that can save you. You can’t even take it with you into eternity.

The days are getting harder, and the world is getting more and more evil, but even though there seems to be no hope, even though all the sky is grey, and life seems hopeless, there is still always hope as long as we have breath. Hope is lost when we put our hope in the wrong thing or the wrong person, and that’s usually when we take our eyes off of true hope. Jesus! So, remove all false hope from among you, and strive to hope only in Christ Jesus, our LORD and Savior.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Hot.

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Return To Your First Love

²I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. ~ Revelation 2:2-7

In this life, we have two choices. We can choose to spend eternity in any one of the two. It’s our choice where we spend eternity, and we choose through our daily decisions. When we choose God and the things of God, we are spiritually saying that we want to spend eternity with Him in a place of peace, joy, and blissfulness.

The city, the New Jerusalem, is so beautiful that the foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every kind of jewel, while the wall itself is built out of jasper, and the city is pure gold, like clear glass. The streets also are made of pure gold, so pure that it looks transparent. The twelve gates each are fashioned out of one single pearl. In eternity with God, there will be no more tears because God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. No more dying there. Neither shall there be any more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things, have passed away.

The other choice is quite the opposite. The Bible describes it as a place of eternal destruction away from the presents of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). A place where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:47-48). A fiery lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 21:8). Eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). A place of outer darkness; where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). A furnace of fire where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42). A lake of fire and brimstone, where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). These things all await those who become discouraged and give up.

So, what is the solution? The solution is simple. We need to get back to the basics. We need to practice self-denial. We need to get excited about the things of God again. We need to believe the promises of God again. The Scripture says we must return to our first love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Return To Your First Love.

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Tag: Daily Bread

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