Amazing Love

August 26, 2017August 23, 2017 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

c2gpic2 I would turn all the lights green when I drive. I would make people act right when I am in their presence. I would make them drive according to the rules of the road too. Nothing would ever go wrong in my life. This is what I would do if I had the powers of God.

Funny thing really. God has the power to do what I would and more. But God doesn’t use His power for selfish reasons. He never has, never does, and never will. He uses His power to bless us. To provide a perfectly balanced in the solar system place to live called, “Earth”. He provides food, and water. The things we need, and occasionally He spoils us, and blesses us with something we want.

Why does God do this? Because He loves us. He loves you. If you could see how much He loves you, how much He cares. God’s love cannot be measured, weighed, or exhausted. So what’s keeping you from believing it? Or a better question, what’s keeping you from accepting it? God’s love is available despite you. You can’t out do it, hide from it, or stop it. Really, there is no other word for God’s love except, “Amazing”!

Where Are You Going?

August 19, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

20170819_205542 “Recalculating.” Seems to be her favorite word. I get frustrated with her at times. Ladies, please don’t get mad, but a man doesn’t like to be told what to do by a woman. It’s not our fault, it’s just the way we are wired. So I recently put my GPS in the back seat, and it felt natural. At times, I still try to get where I think I am supposed to be going, on my own.

That happened this year. My plans were taking me in a completely different direction. If I had not felt in my spirit “Recalculating”, I would not currently be going where God needs me to be. Yes, God uses GPS. “God’s Positioning System”

It’s important to seek God’s will for your life. You were created for a reason and a purpose. If you submit to God’s GPS you will be happy and not frustrated when you arrive at your final destination. I hope and pray your final destination, is heaven.

Are You Nothing?

August 12, 2017 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

My co-worker was questioning how someone could not give a particular race respect. Even think they are stupid animals. As the conversation continued we came to one conclusion. This attitude toward others can only be a result of “hate”. Unfortunately, “hate” doesn’t just stop with people groups, but can actually be focused on coworkers, friends, and oh my goodness, family. Wait, did I just say family? Yes. I did. And what will surprise you the most is, this “hate” can even come from those who consider themselves Christian. Guess what, going to church does not make one a Christian. And we wonder why some people don’t like Christians.

1 Corinthians chapter 13:4-8 tells us what pure love is, but I have realized it also shows us what pure hate looks like:

Hate gives up.
Hate cares more for self than others.
Hate wants what it doesn’t have.
Hate struts, has a swelled head,
Forces itself on others.
Is always “me first.”
Flies off the handle.
Keeps score of the sins of others,
Revels when others grovel.
Takes pleasure in spreading lies,
Doesn’t put up with anything.
Never trusts God.
Never looks for the best.
Always looks back.
Hate always kills.

1Co 13:1-3 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. (MSG)

The bottom line is this: If you “hate” anyone for any reason you are nothing! Choose to love, and they might just choose to love you back.

Would You?

August 5, 2017 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

Dying for someone else How far would you go for someone else? Would you take a bullet for someone, like the secret service men who protect our president? Would you volunteer to be put to death so someone else could live? The answer to these questions probably matter on who the one escaping death is, and how much they mean to you.

What if the one going to die was your spouse, parent, or your child? Would you die for them? What if it was more than just dying? What if you were asked to die and then to spend eternity in hell on behalf of the one you choose to take their place of? Would you do that? Knowing hell is a place of utter darkness where individuals are tormented constantly. That makes the decision a lot harder.

I had a situation this past week come up where some people close to me hurt me very bad. First I had to use a lot of “Satan Spray” (see last week’s post) and then I started earnestly praying for those individuals. I prayed they would come back to living a life pleasing to God and not the devil. Then I had the thought, if they don’t change their lifestyles they could very well wind up in hell! I wasn’t judging them, I was only comparing their lives to the word of God. I began to pray for them even harder, and a new thought hit me. I said, “God, I don’t want to see them die and go to hell. I love them so much. Could I take their place?” Now tears flowing. I know I can’t take their place, because everyone will be judged on their own.

Then I was reminded, this is exactly what Jesus did. He loves us so much he told his Father he would die for us and go to hell on our behalf. So that those who choose to believe in him and ask him to be their Lord would be saved from eternal death. The difference is Jesus had the power to break through the utter darkness. His light overcame Satan, and now there was a way for those who believe and accept him to live. WOW! What love!

Joh 3:16 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (MSG)