Tag: Daily Bread

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Let Truth Flourish

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15

If you will not search for the truth and believe the truth, you are destined to believe the lie. So, how do we overcome deception?

Be thankful to God, be sanctified by the Spirit, and believe in the Truth. God’s Word is truth. It is not nullified by science; science is nullified by God’s Word. Jesus is the Word that became flesh. Truth is the only antidote for lies, and lies cannot flourish where free speech prospers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Truth Flourish.

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Check Where You’re At

4 … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ~ James 4:4b

You have to understand, the world is not for you, unless you are a part of it. That means that if you are a child of God, the world does not care about you. Why not? Because we are not a part of it, or so James tells us. Therefore, if the world has embraced you, check your Christianity, it is likely you have made yourself an enemy of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Check Where You’re At.

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There’s No Sacrifice Left

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ~ Hebrews 10:26-27

The writer of Hebrews says, “Do not go on sinning, for if you do go on sinning, you will nullify the sacrifice of the cross. And if you nullify the sacrifice of the cross, you will void the salvation that Jesus has lavished on us. And if you void the salvation that Jesus has lavished on us, then there is nothing left to look forward to, except for the fearful expectation of the judgment of the Lake of Fire.”

So, what does it mean to go on sinning deliberately? The Scriptures says that if you know the right thing to do and you refuse to it, then you are sinning.

Therefore, it would be in your best interest to read the Bible to see what it says about right or wrong so that you will know what the right thing is so that you can do it. Do not rely on a man or a woman to tell you. Yes, listen to your preachers, listen to your pastors, listen to your evangelists, but do as the Bereans did and search the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching them was accurate. You, too, must read your Bible for yourself so that you will not be deceived or led astray.

There is so much deceitfulness in the world today, and it’s no different in the Church, therefore, your only hope of truth is in the Bible. Do not believe the lie that the Bible is outdated, or has changed to the point of being unreliable, or untrustworthy. Believe me, if God is real, and He is, He is more than able to preserve His Word and He did.

Listen to this, Jesus is the Word that became flesh, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will not and cannot change; therefore, neither will His Word change. His Word is unchanging, immovable, indivisible, and infallible; it will remain the same forever and ever.

Therefore, do not listen when society tells you that it is okay to live a certain lifestyle; rather, read the Word of God to see what it says about what they said. Do not participate in everything that those who live to promote the pleasures of life say is acceptable to God or tell you that is what Jesus would do. Read the Word of God for yourself, and the Spirit of Truth will reveal to you and open your eyes because He has promised to fill those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Remember, the return of Jesus is closer now than ever before, and we must be ready to receive Him, so that He will receive us into His kingdom.

Heavenly Father, please open my eyes to see and recognize lies. Help me to see and recognize truth; Your Word is truth. Help me to cling to Your truth and obey Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Allow For Sadness

35 Jesus wept. ~ John 11:35

There’s a movie called Inside Out. The movie is centered around a young girl, Riley, who’s having a great life when, all of a sudden, she moves from her hometown to a whole new state. Within Riley’s mind are five emotions that help Riley become Riley. Fear, Jealousy, Anger, Sadness, and Joy. The entire plot of the movie is centered around Joy trying to find a way to change and/or remove Sadness so that Riley will only feel joy. As the movie progresses and hits its climax, Joy realizes that Sadness is a necessary emotion for Riley to feel. She realizes that Sadness can actually help Riley. This is true for so many people.

We try our best to bury sadness. We don’t want to deal with the pain or grief that sadness brings because it hurts. But sadness is a part of life. When we allow ourselves to embrace and face pain, grief, disappointment, sadness, then we allow ourselves to move past these feelings. Instead of suppressing them and letting them fester. Instead of letting them grow out of hand, which then ultimately suppresses our joy.

Sadness doesn’t mean that we’re weak. It doesn’t mean that we’re depressed, nor does it mean that we don’t have joy. Allowing ourselves to naturally cycle through emotions will allow us to naturally move forward with our lives. Throughout the Old Testament we see mentions of Days of Mourning after someone had passed away. Suppressing the natural emotion of sadness won’t stop sadness, it will only begin to consume you and leave no room for joy.

Therefore, allow yourself to mourn, cry, and face the pain of this world, just don’t let it consume. Because all who mourn will be comforted. One day, we will no longer have any more pain, hurt, sorrow, or sadness when Christ wipes every tear from our eyes, but for now, we have to face the pain and lean on Christ until it is all taken away from us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Allow For Sadness.

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Heed Wisdom

22 How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? ~ Proverbs 1:22

As Wisdom glides along the crowded streets, she desperately warns the people. She cups her hands and yells, “The return of Christ is at hand, get yourself ready and get your house in order, for now is the time of salvation.” But no one even notices. No heads are turned. No eyes are shifted in her direction. No conversations are broken. Life goes on pretty much the same as always. There is no change.

Yet, she continues her heralding.

“Prophecies foretold in Scripture are coming to pass. Therefore, seek and you will find. Call upon Him while He is near. Do not wait. Do not hesitate, for His return is nigh at hand.”

But no one even notices her as she glides by. So, she changes her strategy and cries out again:

“There are more and more scientists coming out stating that studies show that wireless and Bluetooth products are causing an increase in brain cancer, and radiation can cause health issues.”

But still, no one pays attention or even halfway listens. Then, Wisdom screams at the top of her lungs,

“At least look into the matter. At least check out the facts. Do a little homework for yourself and do not rely on the opinions of those who stand to profit off of you and call it philanthropy.”

But again, no one pays attention or even looks up from their leisurely conversations. This is our reality today. We are being lulled asleep by the distractions of this world, as wisdom is screaming at the top of her lungs for us to pay attention to her guidance and warnings, but we never do.

Wake up. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the day of following Christ and living for Him, standing up for righteousness, and telling someone about His goodness. Today is all we have; tomorrow may never come. We need to live each day as if it’s our last so that when we stand before the throne of grace, we will have no regrets.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Heed Wisdom.

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Prepare Yourselves

18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. ~ Revelation 11:18

The Bible seems to indicate that God believes that His earth is being deliberately destroyed, and He will deal with those who are destroying it. The Scripture said that the time had come for God to destroy the destroyers of the earth. What does that mean, except that there is a time and a season for everything under heaven, and their time, the destroyers of the earth, will come?

I believe that all that is happening is fulfillment of the signs of the times and speaks of the late season that we are living in. In other words, it is past the eleventh hour. It is, in fact, ticking to midnight. These happenings and these signs herald the Good News that Jesus is on His way—He is coming back real soon. We need to encourage ourselves with this.

See, 2,000 years ago, when Jesus walked this earth during His earthly ministry, He Himself promised that “I’ll be back.” That did not originate with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jesus Himself said, “I will soon return.” He further stated that the one who endures until the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).

Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1), and we need to be ready for His return. Although there is chaos in the world, let not your heart be troubled. Yes, things are happening around us that are way out of our control. Events and phenomena are occurring that are perplexing. Sometimes, it seems like all hell has broken out against us.

But let not your heart be troubled. You might feel alone, but here is the truth. Yes, Jesus was taken up into heaven, but that same Jesus who was taken up into heaven in a cloud on the day of Ascension over 2,000 years ago will return in like manner to get us so that where He is, there we shall be also (Acts 1:10-11). Therefore, we must be the voice crying out, “Prepare yourselves, for the return of the LORD is at hand, and His judgments are with Him, to repay good with good and to repay evil with evil.”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare Yourselves.

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Dwell In Your God-Given Promise

2 Corinthians 11:14
[14] And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Chapter 18 of 2 Kings tells of some of the events in King Hezekiah’s reign. More specifically, in the fourteenth year of his reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them (2 Kings 18:13).

But before that, he had taken Samaria, which was the capital of the Northern kingdom and dispersed the Israelites out of the land and into captivity.
Now, he has turned his greedy little eyes Southward with a strong desire to take Jerusalem. So, he sends his high-ranking officials up to Jerusalem, since he was now fighting in Lachish, with a message for the people of Judah.

Surrender to me, and I will spare your lives, was basically the message. He was trying to do was to intimidate both the people and the soldiers sitting on the wall.
He tried to intimidate them into surrendering by telling them that their lives would be spared, if they surrendered, in hopes that they would surrender without him having to fight another war.
He tells them to make peace with him. In other words, they were to surrender and sign a peace treaty with him. And then, Judah was to stay in the city and enjoy their food, and drink, and water until he came and took them to another place, just like their own homeland.

The enemy works the same way today. The entire land of Israel (including the kingdom of Judah) was the heritage, the promise of the Israelites. A land following with milk and honey. A land filled with all that they could ever need. A good land. King Sennacherib wanted to conquer them and remove them from that land, and take over the land permanently. He promised them another land like it so that they wouldn’t miss their God-promised land.

We all have a promised land from God. We all have a heritage and inheritance that God has promised us, but the enemy doesn’t want us dwelling in the promises of God. Why? Because when we are a problem for him. If we are dwelling on the promises of God, then we are building the Kingdom of God. So what does he do? He comes in not as a threatening enemy but as a smooth negotiator. Look, I’ll give you something of equal or greater value. All you have to do is make the deal with me.

So many take the backhanded deal, thinking that they are making a deal with a friend, not realizing that the enemy has just deceitfully transformed himself into an angel of light just so you could trust him. Don’t let the enemy fool you. Don’t give up your God-given promises for the temporary pleasures of the world. They won’t last, and they aren’t worth it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Dwell In Your God-Given Promise.

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Make Sure They Know Who You Are

5 Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. ~ Matthew 10:5-8

Jesus had given His twelve disciples authority over demonic spirits; therefore, it would be safe to assume that they used their authority to cast out demons as well as heal the sick. The sons of Sceva were operating at this level of faith, but they did not know Jesus as LORD and Savior. Therefore, the demon said, “… Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)

Demons recognize a child of God as they did in Acts 16:17 with Paul and his companions. They also readily recognized Jesus and ran up to Him and fell down at His feet proclaiming, “You are the Holy One of God (Luke 4:34).” Something that the religious leaders of the day struggled to do. They neither recognized Him as the Holy One of God, nor did they proclaim Him to be.

When you are a Christian, you are under the protection of Jesus Himself. Demonic spirits cannot jump on you and beat you senseless as they did to the seven sons of Sceva, the high priest. They recognize the spiritual mark that God places on us, His children, and they certainly did not see one on Sceva’s seven sons. That is why they were like, “Who are you?” The Seven Sons of Sceva didn’t have God’s mark on them, His shield of protection around them.

This is the importance of your relationship with Christ Jesus. Our power and authority are only found in Him. Without Him, we are nothing. That is what the sons of Sceva learned the hard way. The unclean spirit wasn’t asking who they were, as in he had no idea who they were, but in the sense of “who do you think you are?” “Who are you to me?” “Why should I obey you? Jesus, I know. Paul, I know. But you? Who are you to me?”

We are in a spiritual war. Each and every one of us. It may not be the same experience as the sons of Sceva, but it’s just as life and death, if not more. Each day we get up, we battle unclean spirits that desire to overtake us and make us a slave to them. Anger, hate, lust, sexual immorality, addiction, etc., all of these unclean spirits try to consume us and turn us into their slaves. The only way we can overcome, is through Christ Jesus. I want to ask you a very important question, “Does the Kingdom of Darkness know who you are?”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make Sure They Know Who You Are.

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To Be Crucified With Christ

19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. ~ Galatians 2:19-21

Paul is referring to the law that says, the soul that sinneth it shall die (Ezekiel 18:20). The law brought awareness to sin, and with awareness came death. But through Christ, we have all been made alive, not to live for our own selves, but to live for our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, we crucify the flesh, which is a spiritual term and not a physical one. To be crucified with Christ means that we no longer live for our own selves, but we live to please Christ.

Why? Because it was Christ who loved us so much that He was willing to come to this old dusty earth to die a horrible, horrific death so that we might live in glory with Him. So, Paul is assuring us that we are not saved through close adherence to the law, but in obedience to Jesus’ commandments to “Love the LORD our God with all of our heart and all of our soul and with all our mind” (Matthew 22:37), and to “Love our neighbor as ourself” (Matthew 22:39).

Then, the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem laid down this law for us gentile believers. They said, 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell” (Acts 15:28-29).

Paul said that he did not nullify the grace of God, but rather, he lived to please the LORD. And that is the message for today. Obey these commandments that have been given to us. Love the LORD. Love your neighbor. Don’t eat what is sacrificed to idols. Don’t eat blood. Don’t eat what is strangled. And keep away from sexual immorality. We are assured that if we keep away from these things, we do well.

Father, thank You for loving us. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for dying on the cross for us. I want my flesh to be crucified with Christ so that I can live to please the LORD Jesus. Help me as I strive to live for You, my God. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Today Is That Day

1 Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ~ 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Paul said that they, working together with Him, appeal to us. Working with whom? With the LORD God Almighty, that’s who. Paul made it clear that he was not working alone, but he was working with Almighty God to spread the Gospel of truth so that we might hear and believe and thus be saved. God is not willing for any of us to be lost. For God Himself said, “In a favorable time, I listened to you, and in a day of salvation, I have helped you.”

The greatest thing that anybody can do is to accept the salvation that is offered to him or her. For God Himself said that today is the day of salvation. You are not promised tomorrow. You are not even promised another five minutes. We are only promised the present, for once the clock ticks, that time is now in the past, and the next second is the future, and we are not promised it.

Therefore, it would behoove each one of us to make our election sure. It is essential for us to ensure that we are right with God. Why? Because there is coming a day when the LORD Jesus will come back to get all of those who love Him and are watching and waiting for His return. Those who love Him will be with Him forever and ever, but those whose name is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be sent to the Lake of Fire, and there they will spend their eternity.

Maybe you have been saved for many years now, but your love for Jesus has waxed cold, or maybe lukewarm at best. You go through the motions, not realizing that you have drifted away from Him. Paul is appealing to you, do not receive the grace of God in vain. Do not let your love for Him grow limp, or your strength grow weary in doing good. But work hard for the LORD, do what He has called you to do, for you do not know the hour on which He will return.

So, remember, today is the day of salvation. Now is the time to get right with your God; you may not get another chance.

Father, I ask for Your forgiveness. I repent of my sins and renounce all of my transgressions. Help me to live my life for You and not be left behind. I understand that today is the day of salvation, now is the acceptable time. I want my life to reflect You, LORD Jesus, so help me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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