Tag: Daily Bread

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Pray For Open Eyes

15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. ~ 2 Peter 2:15-16

Balaam was a prophet of God who was enticed by King Balak to curse the people of Israel. Balaam, however, refused, saying he could only bless the people of Israel because God blessed them. But the money had his heart desiring to do as the king requested. So, God told him to go on then to Balak, but on the way, the Angel of the LORD stood in his path. Balaam’s desire for the money had blinded his spiritual eyes, and he could not see the Angel of the LORD before him.

Matter-a-fact, Balaam even tried to go straight through the angel of the LORD but his donkey refused to go. So, what does Balaam do? He strikes his donkey. So, the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and the donkey spoke, “Why have you struck me these three times?” Balaam, of course, tells the donkey she (the donkey) is in the wrong, and he wishes he had a sword to kill him with. The donkey asks, “Am I not your donkey? Is it my habit to treat you like this?” Balaam responds with no. Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes to see what fate stood before him.

Though Balaam was a prophet of God who heard directly from God Himself, his eyes were shut to the LORD when He appeared before him to bring judgment for his ungodly desires that were taking hold of him. Even though we may be in high positions of authority or are spiritually in a high place hearing directly from God, that does not mean the things of this world cannot lead us astray.  That doesn’t mean our hearts cannot be corrupted, and we fall into a spiritual slumber, no longer seeing our own judgment that’s standing before us, so we lash out at the one who is trying to warn us.

This is one of the lessons of Balaam, you are never too big to fall. You may hear from God, but God may also be turning you over to your sinful desires if you allow them to consume you. Therefore, surround yourself with people like Balaam’s donkey who will try its best to maneuver you out of the way of judgment even when you yourself don’t see it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For Open Eyes.

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Seek Your True Destiny

11 For I know the plans I have for you”  — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11CSB

Each person on earth has a destiny. A call from God Himself that He has laid on each life, but we each also have a Satanic call that the Devil has tried to distract and lead us astray with. How does the Devil confuse Christians? By disguising himself as an angel of light.

His plan for your life may not seem evil, dark, or wrong. In fact, it will most likely be a plan that seems good. A plan that is helpful to you, your family, and your community. The Devil rarely ever shows up as an evil red villain with horns, a pointy tail, and a pitchfork. He disguises himself as an angel of light.

Someone once said that the greatest lie the Devil ever told was that he doesn’t exist, but I don’t I agree with this statement at all. The greatest lie isn’t that Satan doesn’t exist, but that he isn’t evil. That he’s misunderstood and actually good. That he is in fact, on our side. That is the greatest lie the Devil has ever told.

Therefore, don’t let the Devil deceive you. Seek out God and His plan. Seek Christ and His voice so that you won’t be deceived by another voice. Get to the Good Shepherd, and He will protect you from the thief that comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Your True Destiny.

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Don’t Focus On Them

11 But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. ~ Isaiah 47:11

The Scriptures say, ‘But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away.’ What does that mean? There is coming a day of reckoning. A day of dread for those who oppose the LORD. Those who live in open rebellion against Him and His laws.

Only those who have submitted to authority and to His rule will be acquitted. In other words, have their sins forgiven for all time. If you have submitted your life to Jesus by repenting of your sins and by following His commands, you are assured eternal life.

Therefore, don’t be discouraged or envious of the prospering of the wicked. One day, they will stand before the Judgment Seat of God and have to give an account of their lives to the LORD. They will then be separated from God for all eternity, while we who have followed Christ will spend eternity in peace with Him. Therefore, focus on Christ and seek Him. Don’t look at the world and all that it promises you because those promises won’t last. They will be but for a moment compared to eternity.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Focus On Them.

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First Put On Your Oxygen Mask

1 Corinthians 9:27
[27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

If you’ve ever been on a plane, you’ve heard the flight attendants tell you “in case of an emergency, put on your oxygen mask before assisting a child or another person in need.” This line of thinking can also be applied to salvation.

We can’t try to save others unless we ourselves are saved. Why? Because if our oxygen runs out, we’re no help to anyone, not even ourselves. We’ve now become a liability for someone else. A burden for someone else to have to carry because without oxygen we are asleep. If, LORD forbid, the plane goes down, we risk drowning if we don’t have the oxygen mask on.

Everything that we could have helped with, now we are needing help with, and therefore, adding to the stress of others. Therefore, secure your own salvation first, and then the Holy Spirit will be your oxygen mask. He will guide you, protect you, and keep you, as you lead others to Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and First Put On Your Oxygen Mask.

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All In Plain View

37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:37–38)

The things Peter began to explain to Cornelius, and to those he had gathered in his home to hear what Peter had to say about Jesus, were things that they already knew. He said, “You yourselves know what happened throughout Judea.” What Jesus did was not obscure. He did not do His good works in secret so that no one knew what was going on. Instead, He Himself testified to the high priest when he questioned Him about His disciples and His teaching, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.”

The things Jesus did were all done in the open and in public spaces, He did nothing in secret or in hiding. Everything was done in plain view for all to see. Therefore, when the testimony of the early Church was proclaimed, those who heard could easily verify what was being said because everything was done in plain view for all to see. That means that the letters and the accounts that we now have were written down by eye witnesses and verified by those who were there and could testify to the authenticity of the reliable accounts. Therefore, we have no need to feel unsure or skeptical about what was handed down to us.

We, today’s Church, the body of Christ, must do the same. We must let our light shine so that others may see and glorify our Father who is in heaven. But Today’s Christian is obscur; it’s like they are in hiding, and so they go unnoticed. I used to work with a certain woman who turned out to be a Christian woman. I had no clue that she was. She didn’t partake in any of the office gossip or anything like that. She just kept to her, never spoke about her faith, and she didn’t seem to be very happy. I later found out that she was a Christian.

What I’m encouraging you to do today is share the Gospel with someone. Smile, let others see your joy because the joy of the LORD is our strength. Encourage others, be light in your dark corner of your world. For the love that you show will be the love that someone else needs, just like the light that you shine is the light that will cause someone else to see and not to stumble. Be like Jesus who did all His good works in plain sight for all to see, and so did His followers.

Father, help us to show Your Son Jesus in our day to day actions and proclaim His Name in our day to day interactions. We want to be a witness for You, but we cannot be a witness in silence. Therefore, give us boldness to speak loud and proud about the goodness of Jesus. Thank You Jesus for Your bold statements. Help us to be like You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remember God Sees

10 You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” ~ Isaiah 47:10

The Scripture says that ‘you felt secure in your wickedness.’ That word wickedness pertains to that which is not morally pure or morally good, nor is it morally right. It further implies that this evil hinders or severs a relationship with a person or principle that is proper or has morals.

For instance, it is morally wrong to take the life of a defenseless little baby still safe and secure in its mother’s womb. Yet, some in the Church will fight you tooth and nail to defend a woman’s right to murder her own child. It’s her body, after all. But I digress.

Now, according to the definition of wickedness that we just read, it should, at the very least, hinder a relationship or, at best, sever the relationship with those who have proper principles or good and proper morals. Yet, that is not what we are seeing in the Church today. Morals are thrown out the window, and identity politics are led in the front door.

It’s not what you stand for, it’s how you look, or what party you associate with. The Scripture implied that those who felt secure in their wickedness felt like they would never get caught. No one will ever know because “No one sees me,” they said. But, rest assured, God sees. Therefore, cling to righteousness, lest you be separated from Christ for all eternity because of wickedness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remember God Sees.

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Don’t Succumb

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

There’s a show called Downton Abbey, and within this show, one of the main characters’ husband dies in a car crash right after she gives birth. He was on his way home to get the rest of the family to see their new baby boy, but he never made it home. That destroyed this main character. She was once strong and confident, but now she is scared and unsure of herself. She and her brother-in-law, who lost his wife (her sister) during childbirth, get into an argument of sorts one day, and this is what he told her:

You’re frightened of being hurt again. But let me tell you this. You will be hurt again, and so will I, because being hurt is part of being alive.

Pain is a part of this life. It was never intended for mankind, but it has become an unavoidable part of our lives since Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden. Pain is an unavoidable side effect of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. We can’t erase it. We can’t run away from it. It’s something that each one of us has to go through. We have to endure, lest it consume us, as it did the main character of Downton Abbey.

She gave up on work as well as love. She just gave up in life, completely. The fact of the matter is life is hard. It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to allow pain and suffering to consume us, but that’s not our destiny. That’s not what God has called us to. Yes, pain and suffering is unavoidable, but succumbing to them is a choice.

We, the Church, the body of Christ, are blessed and highly favored. We are the very bride of Christ. We may be struck down, but we are not destroyed. We may be persecuted, but we are not abandoned. We are in the hands of the Living God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. He is the Good Shepherd who has given Himself for His sheep.

Therefore, when troubles come our way that begin to weigh us down and try to consume us, we have to lift the burdens off of us and lay them at the feet of Jesus. We have to cast our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Succumb.

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Obtain Truth

10 … your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” ~ Isaiah 47:10b

Secret knowledge makes one wiser than those who are in the dark. And that kind of ‘knowledge-power’ can make one arrogant, haughty, and overconfident.

There is a game played with a whole bunch of players called werewolf. In the game where everyone gets a card with the word ‘villager’ written on it, but two players get a card with the word werewolf written on it.

Then, someone runs the game to ensure that no one is cheating. Then the leader says, “Okay it’s nighttime everyone please close your eyes. Now, werewolves, choose someone to kill.” After the person is chosen, the one in charge of the game says, “Okay, it’s morning, and announces that a certain person was killed during the night.”

All the players now have a conversation about who the werewolf is and who they are going to kill. The game continues until either both werewolves are killed or all but two villagers are killed. More times than not, the werewolves win. What is the purpose of the game?

Well, the game was invented by a Russian sociology student who wanted to prove his thesis that an uninformed majority will always lose the battle of information against an informed minority. Which proves that someone having hidden information can completely manipulate a large group of people, and that’s what they have done, with the secret meetings.

Knowledge is power. As long as we refuse to seek knowledge, we will never have true freedom in this world. We have to seek to open our eyes to the truth. Obtaining truth is the key to fixing our world. Why? Because when we have truth, we won’t fall for deceitful lies.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Obtain Truth.

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Call On Jesus

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:14-19

I want us to fully understand what Paul is writing here because it is very important. Paul said, for this reason, I kneel before the Father. But for what reason? The reason is, the Ephesians were becoming a little discouraged because of Paul’s suffering for the Gospel. And if Paul, a mighty man of God, would go through such suffering, is it not worth it? So, it is for that reason, so that the Ephesians would not be discouraged about serving God because of Paul’s sufferings basically for them.

He wrote, “I want you to understand this.” Understand what? Understand the love that God has for us. Because if you can understand that love, and understand the width, the height, the depth of Jesus’ love that surpasses all knowledge, then you will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

If you don’t understand the love of God, then you will think that God is always out to get you. He is up there just waiting in the wings of heaven waiting for you to mess up, and splat, He has you. But that is not how the love of God works.

God actually looks for someone doing what is right so that He can bless them. And those who are doing wrong? Well, He looks for an intercessor who will pray and intercede for the people who are doing wrong so that He will not have to carry out His swift and terrible judgment on them.

God never interferes with what is going on on earth, unless we ask Him to. He said the Heavens are His, but He has given earth to mankind. It’s our job to take care of the earth and those who dwell on it, and when we cannot get the job done, we call on Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Call On Jesus.

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Make It High Priority

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

There is none as blind as those who refuse to see. Even when the evidence stares them dead in the face they still refuse to see, or even take a look. The Proverb ends with God promising that whoever listens to Him will dwell secure and will be at ease and will be without dread of disaster.

One thing we can always rest assured of is God is for us and not against us. God always has our best interest at heart. He does not see dollar signs when He looks at us, nor does he look at us with disgust. But as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him (Psalms 103:13).

God will never deceive you, nor will He ever lie to you. We can fully trust Him. He does not have a hidden agenda. God wants us to be obedient to His commands, and to love Him and love each other. Have you thought about that love in terms of eternity? Have you placed it as a high priority?

What I mean is, have you consciously sat and considered the question, where will I spend eternity? Because you will spend eternity in one place or the other. Either you will spend your eternity in paradise with Jesus, where every need is supplied and every tear wiped away. Where there will be no more hunger and no more thirst, or even heartaches, because there will be no more sad goodbyes. Or the alternative is to spend eternity in a lake of fire being tormented and in severe anguish forever and ever with no chance of parole or ever getting out.

The bottom line is this, Jesus is coming back real soon, and His rewards are with Him. Those who know Jesus as LORD and Savior will be saved, those who have rejected Him, or who have just plain waited too long, will be sent to the Lake of Fire.

If you want to spend eternity in paradise with all of your needs met, now is your opportunity. All you have to do is repent and accept the free gift of Salvation that has already been offered to you. This is one action you don’t want to put off, as tomorrow isn’t promised to any person, but eternity is promised to everyone.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make It High Priority.

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