Was That an Angel?

June 27, 2025June 19, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed.” The writer of Hebrews encourages us to show hospitality. “Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!” (Heb. 13:2)

Many years ago, I was the best man at a friend’s wedding. I’m sure there were many better men than me there, but that was the title and role I was asked to serve. Having a small amount of authority at the event, it was brought to my attention that a man was seen stuffing cake into a napkin and placing it inside his pocket. I approached the gentleman and started the interrogation. “Friend of the bride or groom?” I asked. The man put his head down and said he would leave quietly.

As I convinced him he was okay to stay, I soon learned he was homeless and hungry. The wedding and reception were ending, and I asked him to stay put while I completed my duties. He did.

I told him he could spend the night in my apartment. On the way there, we stopped at a Burger King. He ate as if it was his first time eating in months, and perhaps it was for a hot meal. After getting home, I realized he needed his clothes washed and a shower. I offered both to him, and he accepted. Then I found out that those were his only clothes, so we went into my closet, and he picked out a shirt and a pair of pants. The only problem was he was much taller than me. So, after he went to bed, I let out the hem as much as possible.

I slept on the sofa, and the next morning, I fixed him a hearty breakfast and packed a lunch. I invited him to my church, but instead, he asked to be dropped off in town. I did. Later, I started crying as Matthew 25:36 came flooding into my mind.

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

Ever since that night, I have wondered if I indeed entertained an angel. Never once did I fear for my life while that man was in my presence. Instead, I felt good for helping someone in need.

Being able to help someone with resources means living within your means. That way, you can meet someone else’s needs. One of the reasons April and I got the upstairs of our home remodeled was so we could offer a safe, warm place to one who needs to feel full, comfortable, and secure.

Rich Man, Poor Man

June 24, 2025June 27, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“People don’t know how expensive it is to be poor!” From the movie “Straw.” It is hard for me to relate to the above quote. I’m not privileged or from a wealthy family, but compared to 99% of the rest of the world, I am rich.

None of us get to choose who and where we are born. If given a choice, most of us would pick a wealthy family in America so we would have opportunities. The movie Straw portrayed a side of life that a lot of people deal with every day. The movie was good, but the language was very rough. Honestly, it was difficult for me to relate to, but I feel for anyone who is struggling financially.

There are situations where individuals struggle due to their own issues and decisions. There are usually ways out of your current situation and ways or means to better your life. I’m sure doing so is a huge fight and it probably feels like trying to climb Mt. Everest, almost impossible. But there are stories of people who do it.

Struggling financially is certainly not the life God had wanted or planned for people. He placed Adam and Eve in a garden. And Jesus said in John 10:10 that he had come to give people life and to give it to them more abundantly. The one word that determines abundant living is “contentment.” Someone who is just barely making ends meet might say they are content. They have a warm, safe place, food on the table, and reliable transportation. For one who has limited resources, if any one of those needs more and they don’t have more, that is when they can get into trouble.

They can quickly find themselves without a place to live, struggling to put food on the table, or having a vehicle they cannot afford to maintain. They may suffer a physical illness that they can’t afford, or if they can’t get to work, they could lose their job, and that might cause them to lose where they are living. I can understand why someone would get depressed and potentially snap.

Living a life that is surrounded by sin and that is open to demonic influence doesn’t make life easy either. In the first part of John 10:10, Jesus tells people that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan wants to influence people to the point where their lives are ruined!

I contribute what I have to God. He has guided me in making good decisions. I’m not bragging because it was God, and I am not a financial genius, but I was able to retire at the age of 55. I have a home that has increased in value by $134,000 from when I bought it eight years ago. I live within my means, and I tithe on the income I have. God upholds his end of the tithing thing. He closes the mouth of the devourer. (Mal. 3:10-11) I do drive an old, beat-up car that is 15 years old, but it is dependable. I give God all the credit and the glory.

Do life WITH God. Accept Jesus, have your sins forgiven, and get on a road that leads to contentment. Learn how to live life abundantly.

One Man’s Journey

June 20, 2025June 9, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I met a guy the other day who admitted he wasn’t a Christian. I think he said he wasn’t sure about the whole man needs saving from his sins thing and that the only way to heaven was through Jesus. His wife recently asked Jesus into her life because of the change in her father after he did and then the miraculous healing that took place in him. Perhaps I’ll share his testimony in some post.

As the guy and I talked, I kept saying to myself, “Don’t be weird, and don’t be ‘religious.’” I don’t think Jesus was when he had conversations with those who had not yet accepted him and had not started following him. I wanted him to see that some Christ followers are just regular people who love God because He first loved us.

The man was highly intelligent and extremely funny, although some of his humor was a little dark. Speaking of dark, he told me he tried to get his wife to put some kind of balls in her pockets when she was baptized. He said it would have turned the water black. He laughed, implying that perhaps she hadn’t bathed in a while. I thought about it, and I said, “She should have!” He looked at me with a strange look. “I said that would have been symbolic of what happens when one accepts Jesus and gets baptized. Their sins, their filth, are washed away, and they come out clean, forgiven.”

As we were ending our time together, I told him that it was okay, as he was on his own private journey to God. I also told him that we (the church) loved him. He was surprised and asked, “Why? You all don’t know me.” I replied, “True, but God does, and He loves you, so we love you.” The Holy Spirit whispered that line to me. I’m not that smart.

I hope and pray those last words will become like a pebble in his shoe. As he walks and continues his journey, the pebble, those words will not depart from him, but will be like a goad that leads him to Christ.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice in the Hebrew tongue saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you continue to persecute Me [to harass and trouble and molest Me]? It is dangerous and turns out badly for you to keep kicking against the goads [to keep offering vain and perilous resistance]. Acts 26:14 (AMPC)

How to Train Your Wife

June 17, 2025June 6, 2025 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

PLEASE READ IN IT’S ENTIRETY BEFORE FIRING OFF EMAILS!

There is a new movie being advertised, “How to Train Your Dragon,” and for some “old-age” reason I heard, “How to Train Your Wife!” I know, right? I have no idea what caused such a brain fart to occur. I mean, is that even possible? And God help the husband who dares try! He will probably be speaking soon to the law firm of “You Dumb Butt” and “It’s Over!”

But seriously, what if your spouse needs “tweaking?” How does one go about it?

Our spouse is our helpmate, but if you cannot agree on an issue, what do you do? April allows me to be the head of the household. When it’s the other way around, people get hurt, and not just in the immediate family. She knows if we cannot agree, I will make the final decision. Now, this is not to lord over April, but she knows that I am accountable to God for the decision that was made. A position not to be taken lightly.

A few years ago, she revealed her secret as to how she gets (sometimes) what she wants or what she thinks is best for us. She doesn’t get mad, kick and scream, or give me any attitude at all. What she does is, she prays. She goes to God and appeals to him to speak to my heart. She asks Him to guide me and lead me as I do my best to lead our family. She knows that I know how to hear the voice of the Lord, and when I do, I have no problem changing my decision. And I certainly want God’s help. I know I definitely need it!

April commented the other day, “I pray every morning for God to change me.” What she meant was to help her in the areas of life where she struggles sometimes. I replied to her, “Maybe God likes the way you are or the way He made you?”

If there is a way to train your wife or husband, I would say it is through prayer. It’s a loving, gentle approach to changing someone. I have heard several testimonies of women praying, sometimes for years, without giving up for God to change their husbands. Don’t quote me on this, but I think Miss Kay of Duck Dynasty fame is such a woman. Not only did God change her husband, Phil, but his change also affected an entire family and perhaps countless others!

Thank you, God, for praying wives. Perhaps I should change the title to “How to Train Your Husband.” Encourage us all, Lord God, to pray without ceasing when the person or situation requires change. I, for one, am so grateful for change.

^13b-18Live together in peace, and our instruction to this end is to reprimand the unruly, encourage the timid, help the weak and be very patient with all men. Be sure that no one repays a bad turn by a bad turn; good should be your objective always, among yourselves and in the world at large. Be happy in your faith at all times. Never stop praying. Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ.
1 Thes. 5:13b-18 (PHILLIPS)

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Jam. 5:16b (AMPC)

Life, When Not on Stage

June 13, 2025June 3, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Most people share their “happy moments” on Facebook. Smiles and friendly hugs. Love and happiness. But what do snapshots of their lives look like when they are not intending to post on Facebook? When they are not on stage?

I tend to be a private individual unless being open helps me minister to someone. But other than those times, I would rather keep my struggles, weaknesses, and bad thoughts to myself! Our pastor admitted last Sunday that he hates getting behind people who walk slowly. And that he had just spent several days the previous week at the Magic Kingdom. Probably the capital of people who walk slowly. He said he doesn’t wish them harm but like a virus to come upon them that would prevent them from being there.

I get it. I used to fuss in my head about senior citizens being at the grocery store after I got off work. I just wanted to run in, grab what I needed, and get out, but “No,” I had to deal with them in front of me. I used to think you had all day to be here. Why now? Now that I am counted among them, I understand how hard it is to get out of bed, get dressed, and get motivated to leave the house.

And that’s the kindest of my evil thoughts. I have worse ones than that. And sometimes those thoughts lead to bad actions that I certainly wouldn’t want posted on social media.

Whenever we encounter a situation that we don’t like, a bell will go off, and our first thought is to respond out of our flesh. But if we can pause just long enough, a second bell will go off, and we can choose to act in a spirit of love, demonstrating one of the fruits of the Spirit. Or multiple ones, in my case! The challenge then becomes reducing the amount of time between the bells going off.

The truth is this: we are always on stage before God. He sees our actions, hears our words, and knows our darkest thoughts. We should strive to always walk in love and by the Spirit. In my case, if I did, fewer people would get hurt. Knowing how difficult that is, I pray and ask God all the time to help me represent him well.

²and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Eph. 5:2 (NET)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal. 5:22-23 (NET)

Knowing and Being Known

June 10, 2025May 26, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

April and I have started going to a church that is new to us. We agree with their philosophy of keeping faith in God simple. They preach Jesus and him crucified. When you start going to a new church, it can take a few weeks before you start knowing people and being known.

At our previous church, we went there for over a year, and only two or three people knew our names. To add insult to injury, when we tried to join a “Home Group,” the leader of that group never called us. So, we started staying home and watching the services online. I call that “Bedside Baptist” with Pastor Pillow and Sister Sheet. We still got spiritually fed, but it’s not the same.

There is something warm and fuzzy about someone saying, “Good morning, Mark. How was your week?” But it takes some effort on your part, too. You have to be bold and go up to people and ask them what their name is. Then, ask them something that reveals a little about that individual and helps you remember their name. You can’t simply sit around and wait for people to come to you.

You may say, “But I’m shy.” Or “It’s hard for me to approach people.” Hey, I get it. I’m naturally an introvert. Most writers are. No one believes me when I tell them that, but what they don’t know is I have to force myself to “walk across the room,” as one pastor put it, and greet someone.

That is what it takes to know and to be known. Jesus had no qualms about going up to someone and talking to them. Several times, it was he who started the conversation that ultimately changed someone’s life. Aren’t we supposed to imitate him? You never know who will make a connection with you, feel they can trust you, and then open up and reveal their greatest need. You may be the very one who leads them to trust God and to lean on Him.

Trust me when I say I can be very comfortable attending “Bedside Baptist.” If you have read this blog very long, then you know when it comes to encountering people, I find it challenging and would rather not. But inside me, I know that doesn’t please God, because He is all about people. They are his favorite pastime because God is love.

You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified. 1 Cor. 2:2 (MSG)

God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in! Ps. 139:1-6 (MSG)

If God goes to great lengths to know us and then invites us to know him, then shouldn’t we do the same with our fellow mankind? Yes, we should.

“You Give Love a Bad Name”

June 6, 2025May 26, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You live life however you want to. It’s all about you. You are the only one that matters. Your opinions are always right. You build yourself up while putting others down. It’s your way or no way.

Have you ever met someone like that? I hope you aren’t married to one. It’s bad enough when you have one in your family. If you must deal with someone who lives like that, then you know firsthand how difficult it is. You also know how many times they have hurt you. I’m sorry if you have.

To make matters worse, they will lie about you and spread lies. Truth is whatever “they” believe. They tend not to have any true friends. And the ultimate insult is when they go to church and claim to have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. They give love a bad name!

I have known a few. Most people probably do, too. I have thought about one of them, in particular, standing before God. I wonder if He will say, “Depart from me. I never knew you.” Now, I’m not judging them, but it is biblical to judge the fruit of their life. And I gotta say, it’s sour!

When one accepts Jesus into their life, it should change them. They should trust him to help them deal with whatever demons are slow to come out of them. There may be reasons, valid ones, as to why they are full of hate, but after inviting Jesus to rule and reign in their life, they need to let those things go.

“Christian” means follower of Christ. If you claim to be a Christian, then you should strive to be like him, full of love. Loving people as you love yourself after loving God first. Reading his word, the Bible, learning what truth really is, and walking it out daily.

If you are one of these types of individuals, then I pray for God to help you and let him do a work in you. You can overcome anything going on now and anything that happened in your past that might be causing you to be resentful or, perhaps, jealous of others and their lives.

Don’t be a person who gives love a bad name. Be known as one who, no matter what, loves. And one who walks this planet with the presence of God about them, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit. If you do, you will probably find others wanting to be around you instead of avoiding you. He’s got this because He’s got you. Give love a good name.

¹⁶You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Mat. 7:16-20 (NLT)

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 (NIV)

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Mat. 7:21-23 (ESV)

Where Is Your Bubble?

June 3, 2025May 24, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

When I was recently remodeling our house, I would stop at different points and check to see if what I was working on was level. Doing so makes a difference in how the finished product looks. It is also important to make sure things are squared, but when starting from work that someone else did, it is not always possible. Funny, but most people don’t see when things are out of square, but they will notice if it’s not level, especially if it’s the floor. It won’t feel right.

People can be tilted or not level as well. Sometimes, we will word it like, “There’s something off about them.” If they are not level by a lot, then it can really show. Some people’s bubble doesn’t even show up! Sadly, those are the individuals who commit heinous crimes. Others may be a little out of kilter where the bubble is touching one line or the other.

I know it happens to me from time to time. I can tell something isn’t right, and it can affect April as well. That is when I must stop and go to God for help to adjust me. To straighten me out.

Keeping a level head and walking straight helps me deal with anything or anyone in life that I may encounter. If I do my part, the situation usually goes better. People are less likely to get hurt by me and my attitude.

So, I have to ask, “Where is your bubble?”

This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness (shouting in the desert), Prepare the road for the Lord, make His highways straight (level, direct). Mat. 3:3 (AMPC)

Such a person is double-minded and unstable [unlevel] in all they do.
James. 1:8 (NIV) [Italics mine]