Flat and Colorless as a Shadow

January 28, 2017 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

Ecc 8:12 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I’m still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence,

Ecc 8:13 and that the evil person will not experience a “good” life. No matter how many days he lives, they’ll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow–because he doesn’t fear God. (MSG) shadow

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my days to be as flat and colorless as a shadow. I want them to be in full living color and have substance to them, to have meaning. Whether I always know and understand that meaning or not. I do that by giving my life back to the Life Giver. To go, do, and say as He leads. To fear God, meaning respect Him, and His words written in His book the Bible. (All of them.)

False Accusations

January 21, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

False-stamp Being accused of something is difficult to handle, but when those accusations are false it really hurts. Each assault can cut really deep. What makes these accusations even worse is when the truth is staring the accusers in the face, and yet they choose to ignore it.

Last night, on my train ride home, my thoughts turned to Jesus. One week people were singing his praises, and the following week amidst false accusations some of those same individuals were screaming for his death. The thing we must realize is this; he was, and still is, the Son of God. He is Truth, and being such, he had the capability to prove his innocence, but he chose not to. If he had of, we would not have salvation, and the hope of living in heaven for eternity.

I guess I can find comfort in knowing that if it wasn’t for individuals refusing to believe the Truth, who was standing right in front of them, I wouldn’t have salvation. Another thing I can find comfort in is knowing that God sees all truth, and one day will reveal truth to all.

1Co 3:13 The work of each [one] will become [plainly, openly] known (shown for what it is); for the day [of Christ] will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done. (AMP)

Time for God?

January 16, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You sleep, you wake, usually before you are ready.
You don’t want to be late, for this job is steady.
Your spouse deals with the kids, their lunches and more.
The kids go to school, do homework and then their chores.

The goal is to all meet back home and try together to eat,
but there are athletic games, practices, and people to meet.
There’s the business of living, and paying the bills,
of finding repairmen to fix the houses’ ills.

And on that rare evening when home you are found,
there are shows to catch up on with, or without others around.
Then weekends arrive, and you work around the house during the day,
so you can make it to the party invitations that come your way.

Sunday morning is here, to church do you go?
You’re so tired from your week, it’s too easy to rollover and say, “No.”
Shouldn’t God get your tithe, your worship and time? Your call.
But without Him there’s no life worth living, at all!

Looking Your Best for God

January 8, 2017January 9, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

big-hat There was an emphasis on wearing your “Sunday best” when I was growing up. Every week at church most would be decked out in the nicest piece of wardrobe in their closet. “You should look your best when going to church,” was often heard. Believe it or not, in some churches, the hats worn on Easter are so large one cannot see the pastor when sitting behind such monstrosities.

Now there is certainly nothing wrong with looking nice when one attends a church service, but note that wearing your best is on the outside. God probably appreciates the effort, but what is likely more important is someone coming into God’s house looking nice on the inside. In other words, having a contrite heart, or a heart after God’s heart. A heart that is concerned for others, and where they will spend eternity.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.” Psa. 51:10 (AMP)

Knowing this, perhaps here at the beginning of a new year, it is time to clean out your “spiritual” closet. Get rid of all of the things that make you look good only on the outside. Let God examine your heart, and guide you in where changes need to be made.

What Living is Meant to Be

January 1, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

dirty-shirt-500 It’s December 31, 2016 as I am actually writing this. In a few minutes, 2016 will end, die, and the “new” year will begin. Some like new. New opportunities, new hope, a fresh start, but there are those who hang on to the old. It’s kind of like someone continuing to wear an old, worn out, dirty shirt, instead of putting on a new, clean shirt. They probably are not comfortable with something they don’t know how it will fit, or feel, so they continue to wear the old worn one. The same can go for when people accept Jesus. They know He has replaced their old rags (life) with something new, and that they “should” let go of the old life, but they struggle in doing so.

Have you ever realized if Jesus hadn’t of died there would be no new? Without his death, there would be no resurrection. God’s plan of salvation would have been nothing more than a nice gesture, or a generous thought.

2Co 5:17 “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!” (MSG, italics mine)

It can be very difficult, but in order to truly live, our old flesh has to die. All of it. So as this new year begins, make a fresh commitment to let God work on you, inside and out. Let the old things pass away, and let new things in. May you learn to get comfortable in how God dresses you. Who knows? You may finally realize what living is meant to be.