Why Were You Made?

January 26, 2019January 25, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

2be You weren’t made to stare at your phone.
You weren’t made to be all alone.
You weren’t made to sit and worry,
or hate others on social media in a flurry.

You weren’t made to hoard lots of stuff.
You weren’t made to barely have enough.
You weren’t made to work your life away,
or made to all day only play.

You were made to be with God and walk.
You were made to be with God and talk.
You were made to worship him freely,
and seek him out for guidance completely.

In his image you were made.
He intended your love for him to never fade.
You were made to first seek him,
And to live eternally in his presence and win.

The Purge

January 21, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

pink Yes, that is the color of pink my fiance wants to paint our new apartment, but I have gently, with the help of her aunt, convinced her it is not practical. I’m relieved!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably noticed I did not post a new one on Saturday. First time in five years. Why? Well, to explain, we’re going back to the Pepto bottle. Yep! All weekend. I feel like I was prepping for a colonoscopy for the last two days! (If you are not 50 years old, you may not understand that last sentence.)

While I as sitting in my new “man cave”, and regretting I had never put a TV in the bathroom, I realized there are things in our lives God desires to purge. It may hurt, or be uncomfortable, but if we allow him to do a work in us it will help us be more like him. Through some current life circumstances he is doing this in me, and honestly, I’m not enjoying it, but I am trying my best to accept it, becuase I’m sure it is preparing me for the next chapter of my life. So, “Thank you God for loving me enough to change me.” I’m sure, once the purge is completed, I will be relieved.

Hug, or Pray?

January 16, 2019January 11, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Power “Hugs expire, but prayers don’t.” Jared Buswell

INVITE!

January 12, 2019January 11, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

There is something powerful about an invitation! Receiving one can strike a number of emotions within us. It all depends on what we are being invited to, and who is giving the invitation.

Invited to join a pyramid scheme, doesn’t invoke a good reaction. Being asked to come over for dinner, feels good. It says, “I, or we want to spend time with you. You’re valued.” A personal phone call, “I want to hear your voice and catch up.” Invited to join a company, “I see potential in you and I want you to help us grow the business and financially meet your needs as well.” You’re invited to our wedding! “Come and help us celebrate an important event in our life.”

There are lots of types of invitations, but some can have eternal results. There are three ultimate invitations:

Jesus invites us to rest. Wow! “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. (Mat 11:28 MSG)

Jesus invites us to follow him, what an honor. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” (Mar 1:17 MSG)

Jesus invites us to accept him. “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. (Joh 15:4 MSG)

I hope, when Jesus invites you to accept him, if you haven’t, you will. There is one more invitation that you can make and it will change your life! That is inviting Jesus to participate in your life. To talk, comfort and spend time with you. To lead, teach, guide and help you discern the best decisions for your life. Invitations, can be life changing!

2019

January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I wanted to share a post from Ava. She is a fifteen year old young lady, from my church, who is an amazing follower of Jesus Christ, and a great writer. Be blessed by the words God led her to share.

a collection of sunsets

Well, my main goal in 2018 was to write one blog post every month and I am proud that I accomplished it! (December 31st, 2018 / 11:24 p.m.) I promise I posted this when it was still 2018 😉

Even if this year has been hard for you or people you love, we can still be thankful for it. We must learn to dance in the victory that we believe is coming even while tears stream down our faces. The Lord is teaching his children to dance on disappointment. Whether you experienced the greatest joy or the greatest sorrow (or a mixture of the two) God is with you, fighting your battles. understanding that we have a Father who knows us and cares about us is so important; his reckless love and power are always there to rescue you. he is fighting your battle, you need only to continue to…

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Are You an Answer to Prayer?

January 5, 2019January 4, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

triple Twice now, in my life, it has come to my attention that I have been the answer to someone’s prayers. A very humbling experience. The first time there was a new church in Massachusetts praying for a youth minister. They focused on this need one particular night in September. They had no idea how they could do this, because the church was so small they couldn’t afford to pay, but yet they had several youth in the church. Note; despite the facts they prayed. They believed God would hear, and God would answer.

One year later I arrived as their new youth minister who agreed to work with no salary. I went because I knew God would bless my obedience and somehow meet my needs, and that he did. A few months after working in the church I got into a discussion about how I came to be there. One of the church elders told me about the prayer meeting. I pressed to know the actual date. When he recalled and shared the date I realized that was the very night God called me into the ministry. During the following year God got me ready for the ministry.

The second time is more recent. I have been divorced for 23 years or so. A long time. For the most part, I have been content with my situation. I had even said I didn’t want to be married again, that I was okay. Then in the past year, something begin to change. I started hearing several testimonials of success from online dating. Something I did not believe in. Also I started meeting women who had come to America from the Philippines and were happily married. They shared their stories, and encouraged me to try.

One Friday afternoon I found myself filling out a profile on a Filipino dating site. I submitted it and my matches came up. As soon as I saw April’s cute face my heart was captivated. I read her profile and was hopeful. Could she be real? I wondered. I found her on Facebook and sent her a message. I never expected to hear from her but two hours later I did.

We begin texting a lot. Every chance we could. Then, I called her. She was so shy but cute. Eventually, we took one giant step and video called. Wow! She’s real, and I haven’t been talking to a man in Yemen. As the conversations continued, our hearts became knitted. I decided it was time to go meet her and her family in person.

I traveled the 7000 plus miles. After being there several days I learned that April and her family had been praying for years for a man to marry her. I have come to accept that I am the answer. The only way to be the answer to someone’s prayer is by yielding to God’s will. To be willing to go, do, and say as he directs. I’m not special, just willing. There may be a people group in a foreign country praying for you, or a manager praying for a dedicated worker. Whatever the case may be, I hope you look beyond your own desires and accept God’s desires for your life.

Do You Have a Pulpit?

January 2, 2019January 1, 2019 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

…I don’t expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! (Phi 1:20 MSG)