Finishing Touches

March 21, 2025March 11, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Have you ever had a friend who seems to do everything right? You’re in need, and they are right there with you, and they have what you need. They seem invaluable to you and your life. In fact, at times, you can’t imagine life without them. They also seem to be the ones who champion celebrations in your life as well.

April and I know a lady who seems to have made it her mission in life to celebrate a person’s milestones, especially if it is a birthday. She does it right, too. Beautiful cakes accented with remnants or tablecloths, festive decorations, tiaras, and, of course, invited friends. She specializes in keeping the upcoming celebration a secret, as well. Recipients always feel special. I know April did when her fortieth birthday was celebrated last year.

We know another lady who is always on the spot when it comes to bringing over a meal whenever your life is going through a tough time, whether it be an illness, death in the family, or something else. Her actions show that she is aware of what you are going through and that she cares.

I have a friend who will drop whatever he is doing to come over and help you. It doesn’t matter if it is a home improvement project, lifting something, driving you somewhere, picking you up at the airport, or any other type of favor where you need a hand.

Those types of individuals seem to put the “finishing touches” on life. They demonstrate the love of God and compassion. By the way, the word “compassion” in the Greek language means seeing a need and doing whatever you can to alleviate it. They define the difference between “a friend” and “a GOOD friend!” This world could use a lot more “good friends.” I hope you will consider being one. The first thing it takes is for you to give “your” concerns to God and trust him with them. The second is it takes opening your eyes to see others and what they are facing. Third, caring enough about them to do something. Put the finishing touches on someone else’s life.

Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.
Prov. 18:24 (GNT)

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
1 Thes. 5:11 (NET)

For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up. Ecc. 4:10 (NET)

Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.
Rom. 12:10 (NET)

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! 1 Pt. 4:7-11 (MSG)

Eating Out

March 18, 2025March 8, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

April and I like to try a different restaurant whenever we can. Picking one that April has never been to so she can get a taste of American establishments and also so she can make suggestions if out with her friends. It can be kind of fun and exciting but disappointing as well.

Recently, we have started praying and seeking God concerning going to a different church. Unlike trying a new place to eat, I don’t like going to a new place and meeting new people. A lot of people feel the same way, I think, and they stay in their current church.

Where you attend a church service is essential. It is a source of spiritual food. One part of the spiritual nutrition pyramid. Some of the others would be praying and reading your Bible. Part of a balanced diet in your relationship with God. Hopefully, the minister seeks God every week to see what he should be feeding his flock from the whole word of God.

April and I have discovered the use of modern technology to check out churches. There is one church near our house that we were considering. The other day, we found their services online and proceeded to watch. The minister wasn’t very engaging and seemed to talk about whatever Bible verse popped into his head. It seemed as if he had no outline and central subject to his sermon. I looked at April and said, “I’m not getting spiritually fed. Are you?” She agreed this wasn’t the place for us.

Now, there certainly isn’t anything wrong with the messages from our current church, except they are a bit basic. We like the pastor and what the church practices. We understand why the sermons are for new Christians; the church leads a lot of people to God. Perhaps we are hungry for more. The other issue is the people aren’t all that friendly. They come in late and rush out as soon as the service is over, so it is hard to make connections. We tried last summer to join a home group, but the leader never called us. I guess he liked his home group the way it was. I don’t know to him! (A Filipino phrase April taught me.)

Where you attend church is very important. You should find a place where you get a good balanced diet of the word of God and how to apply it to your life so you can grow spiritually and in your relationship with God. You should find a place with people similar to you (like precious faith) so you can connect with them and do life together. Supporting each other. Rejoicing when they rejoice and weeping when they weep. Don’t get so comfortable, like in an old pair of jeans, where you are going, that you don’t notice if you are getting fat on the word or if you are starving.

¹From Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours. ²May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!
2 Ptr. 1:1-2 (NET)

Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.
Rom 12:15 (MSG)

You Have Everything Drawkcab

March 14, 2025March 6, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

^13-14The Master said:
“These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their hearts aren’t in it.
Because they act like they’re worshiping me
    but don’t mean it,
I’m going to step in and shock them awake,
    astonish them, stand them on their ears.
The wise ones who had it all figured out
    will be exposed as fools.
The smart people who thought they knew everything
    will turn out to know nothing.”

^15-16Doom to you! You pretend to have the inside track.
    You shut God out and work behind the scenes,
Plotting the future as if you knew everything,
    acting mysterious, never showing your hand.
You have everything backward!
    You treat the potter as a lump of clay.
Does a book say to its author,
    “He didn’t write a word of me”?
Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it,
    “She had nothing to do with this”? Isa. 29:13-16 (MSG)

Don’t be someone who gets their relationship with God drawkcab (backward). Know your place. Never forget who the Master is. I have come across some who get it wrong, and the result is they hurt people! And the worst part of it is they don’t realize it or ever admit it. It really is a sad sight to behold. If you do meet one, all you can do is pray for them because experience has taught me that they won’t listen.

Show Them the Way

March 11, 2025March 4, 2025 / Mark Brady / 4 Comments

There are many ways to share God with people. I have either heard or watched as others tried their way. One person told two young women they were going to split hell wide open. He judged them after learning they were lesbians. That wasn’t a very effective method at all. I told the individual, “Those ladies needed to hear of God’s love, not your judgment.”

I watched one Saturday night as an individual argued “religion” with another person, thinking they were going to convince them to accept their views and accept Jesus. It didn’t work.

People come to God in many ways. One way of sharing God that I have found to be effective is what I like to call “Lifestyle Evangelism.” If you come across an individual that you know you are going to be seeing from time to time, you can start sharing God and his love little by little. Whether it is going out of your way to help them, or remembering them in a time of need, or if they are celebrating a life event.

Eventually, they begin to realize that you are not “weird” but that you really do love God and want to love on people. People will begin to see that you and your way of life are so different from anyone they have ever known. It happened to Jesus. This can lead them to ask or to be open to hearing how to accept Jesus Christ into their life.

People don’t like to be controlled; they prefer to be led.

You could put it this way: people don’t want to be told what to do. But they are sometimes open to being led in the way they should go. Jesus is the way. Show people the way. Show people, Jesus!

Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NET)

Be imitators of me (Paul), just as I also am of Christ. 1 Cor. 11:1 (NET)
(The insert of the name “Paul” is mine.)

Scratching in Public?

March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Occasionally, I’ll come across people scratching off lottery tickets while still at the store. It’s almost like they are at a “Lottery Bar,” and after a card is scratched, they tell the person at the counter, “Hit me again.” They sometimes will stand there for a while hoping, but spending on more cards the few dollars they win. They are taking a “chance” to win it big! Going from struggling to living on “Easy Street.” They don’t want to wait or work for it, but instead have it given to them as if they deserve it.

Some people have a similar attitude toward living life. They hope for things to change quickly and for the better. It seems as if these same individuals resist doing what they can to change things. They wind up leaving “life” to chance!

But they don’t have to.

If a person will give their life to God, accept his Son, Jesus, and ask for the forgiveness of their sins their wrongdoings, then they will enter a life where God will want to bless his new child who has entered into his family. Yes, there are Godly principles (not rules) to live by that make a difference in how your life goes. Now, I would be irresponsible if I told you that nothing bad will ever happen to you again. But if and when it does, God is there to lead you and guide you through it. And while experiencing an uncomfortable time, He is also there to comfort you. You may not understand why you are going through this, or you are asking, “What does this have to do with God’s plan?”

But if you trust him with the question, then you can trust him with the answer, whether you know it or not.

You don’t have to leave your life to “chance” but instead can have divine direction and deliverance. You won’t need to stand before God, “hoping” or “scratching” your way through life! Instead, you can be confident that the one who loves you more than you will ever know is right there with you. Oh! And please don’t scratch in public!

Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. Isa. 41:10 (MSG)

He Knows

March 4, 2025February 20, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

He’s learned it all from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who knows everything about when and how and where.
Isa. 28:29 (MSG)

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel [and] excellent in wisdom and effectual working.
Isa. 28:29 (AMPC)

This lesson comes from the Lord of heaven’s armies. He gives wonderful advice. He is very wise. Isa. 28:29 (ICB)

All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. Isa. 28:29 (NIV)

This also comes from the Lord of armies, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.
Isa. 28:29 (NASB)

This also comes from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom. Isa. 28:29 (NET)

Have you got it yet? No matter what version of the Bible you read, you learn in Isaiah 28 verse 29 that God knows, and He doesn’t mind sharing with you what He knows – IF YOU ASK! God knows everything about everything.

Just yesterday, I was putting up wood panels that interlock on a wall and struggling to get two pieces to go together. After getting frustrated, I paused and asked God what to do. Instantly, I got the inspiration to use my mini crowbar and lift the edge of the panel strip already attached to the wall. Of course, it worked! I got wisdom from God.

I know remodeling a wall is so minor compared to serious issues in the world, but at that moment, it mattered to me, and God cared. He knows what you are facing and going through. He cares! If you want his help and ask, He will give you what you need to know about “when,” “how,” or “where.” And I would add “what” as well. Why? Because He loves you so much.

Real Life

February 28, 2025February 18, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Have you ever read something or heard something and had a new thought? Something that has never crossed your mind before? That happened to me today. Now, I have listened to or read Psalms 23 many times. Most of you probably have as well.

The line: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” got a new thought today.

The part that got my attention was the “shadow of death.” It is not actually “death” but its shadow. Shadows may appear scary, but they are not as frightening as the thing that is casting the shadow. Then, and this is big, there can only be a shadow if there is light! Jesus said of himself that he is light. In fact, the light of the world.

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (ESV)

No wonder one doesn’t have to fear evil when they go through a valley or time in their life that can be filled with uncertainty because “thou (Jesus) art with me!” It’s comforting to know that Jesus, our shepherd, walks with us in life. He leads us and guides us like beside “still” waters so we can quench our thirst. Or to tables so we can eat relaxed, even in the presence of our enemies. If you miss what is going on here, it’s this: if you can trust Jesus with your life, you can live life even though things around you are not as good as you would desire them to be.

You will be comforted; you will be anointed so the smallest parasites of life can’t harm you. In fact, although life may be unstable around you, you will be blessed beyond anything you can imagine. Goodness and mercy will follow you wherever you go, and then, at the end of it all, you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It’s not a bad gig for simply placing your trust in Jesus. You’ve got nothing to lose and real life to gain. The kind of life God intended for you all along.

You May Not Know God

February 25, 2025February 15, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Do you think God is so cold and so hard-hearted that He will not open his arms to the one who comes to him? Do you think He looks in a book and says, “I’m sorry. You messed up too many times.”? Do you believe that what you have done is so horrible that you do not qualify for his love and forgiveness? If so, then you may not know God.

The words that have hurt so many. The lies that have deceived and led astray the innocent. The conniving, the stealing, the murder, the cheating. It has amounted to so much pain. Do you consider that your actions are too much for God to forgive? If so, then you may not know God.

Satan, the devil will tell you it is. That there is no room in God’s kingdom for someone like you. That you have failed, that you aren’t good enough, that you don’t measure up. If you have believed any of these lies, then you may not know God.

For God IS love. Everything He does stems from a heart full of love for you.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Rom. 8:31-39 (MSG)

Ask him for his love and forgiveness, and he will give it to you.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9 (NIV)

NOW, YOU KNOW GOD!

Take Another Look

February 21, 2025February 13, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Have you ever noticed how many times a person can have a different opinion than yours? Are you surprised by this or angry? I mean, we want people to think like us or at least agree with us. One reason for this is due to the other person’s perspective.

Their perspective has been shaped by their upbringing, background, experiences, and even by their faith or lack thereof, and so has ours. It isn’t easy, at times, to see things from their vantage point. Unless you are discussing a matter of right and wrong, neither perspective may be correct or incorrect. Hopefully, you can agree to disagree if needed.

However, there is one perspective that is always right and true. That is God’s. How can one know his? By asking and reading his word, the Bible. There, you will absolutely know what is right and wrong, and you will know why very well. Some know how God sees things but refuse to agree with him, and they will continue to do things on their own.

Seeking God’s point of view in all situations is wisdom. A friend of mine and a fellow blogger lives by this and actually named her website “seekingdevineperspective.com.” There, she shares what God shows and teaches her, but more importantly, she lives it.

Changing your perspective can be revealing. Take another look at the photo. This time, I have posted it from the original perspective of the photographer. Do you see it? Simply a series of rocks or a man reading?

Be open to other’s views of life, but be more open to God’s.

“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Isa. 55:8-9 (MSG)

Puzzling

February 18, 2025February 13, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

April has shared with me that she often will ask God, “Why did you make me the way you did?” Perhaps you have wondered the same thing about you. April finds tackling some subjects and issues in life challenging. It bothers her when others don’t struggle with those same things.

That is when I start reminding April that she is unique and has the strengths that others desire. For instance, she has this unbelievable talent for cooking these amazing dishes from leftover ingredients in the refrigerator. I had an uncle who once confessed to me that he would make chili from whatever he found in his frig. Needless to say, he also admitted that some of those items were past their expiration date, but he didn’t want to waste them by throwing them out. I never ate his chili!

April is indeed an excellent cook! I’m a lucky man! She is also a good teacher. Young children love her and respond when she speaks. But even in general, children are drawn to April. I believe this is because she is full of God’s love. They sense His presence on her and are attracted to her. Then, there is a particular kind of innocence about her. I can stand still in the entryway of a room and watch her. Then, whenever she sees me, she lights up with the cutest, sweetest smile you have ever seen. April was fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:13-16 (MSG)

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

No one else could be April. God made her unique. He has gifted her like no other. She also operates with the spiritual gift of discernment. She can meet someone and know about them or their motives. As my helpmate, something I have learned to rely on. As her namesake, “April Joy,” she brings a lot of happiness into our home. God made you unique, too. He designed you for his purposes. If you are struggling with life, then perhaps you are really struggling with letting God have control.

April isn’t perfect, though. God is still working on her, as He is with all of us. Don’t be puzzled. There may be pieces missing in us—pieces that God will put in place in his timing. One thing is for sure: one day, we will be complete with all the pieces in their proper place.

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Phil. 1:6 (MSG)