Stay Connected
Author: Mark Brady
Stop the Presses!
You don’t have to watch the news very long to see there are a lot of problems, issues, and concerns in the world. It can be over whelming at times. Then, you take a look at your own life, and you may have similar concerns.
Doing life with God certainly helps. It doesn’t prevent problems, those are around us due to sin in the world, but being in a loving relationship with God helps us cope with the problems.
While working on this post I listened to a message by, Craig Groeschel, lead pastor of Life Church. His message was titled, “Write Your Own Headlines”. It was message on how to change your perspective of the events currently happening locally and around the world. In a nut shell, he encouraged people to take a headline, and learn to rewrite it with a positive, Godly spin on it. You can do this for headlines in your own life as well. Pastor Craig did such a great job conveying what I started out attempting to say I thought I would simply provide you with a link to his message.
Enjoy the message, but more importantly, apply the principles within it. You’ll feel better.
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
On Fire
It was April’s first experience of having a “Garage Sale”. We got up really early last Saturday morning. Got ready, grabbed some breakfast to go, and set out our signs. Then the hard work of turning our garage and driveway into a pop up market place that would rival any modern store. Except in our store we had many items we no longer had need of.
April was amazed at what people would buy here in America. She was astounded when one lady snatched up one new toilet seat, and one used toilet seat. “Really?” she asked, “What in the world is she going to do with them?” I replied, “April, I find it better not to ask.”
Shoppers were slow in arriving, so when the neighbor’s great grandson came over and bought a magnifying glass it became a highlight. But better yet was when he started trying to light a leaf on fire. I realized his technique was never going to grant him the desired effects he was hoping for. So, since there were no current customers I went over and sat down beside him and drew upon my past expertize. Before he knew it smoke was rising from the leaf. He was elated with amazement and excitement.
During our fun, I started thinking about how we can be “on fire” for God. Us being the magnifying glass, we have to get into the correct alignment with the Son in order to be effective. Otherwise, there is a lot of effort with little results for the Kingdom of God.
The issue now is the neighbor’s great grandson ringing our doorbell asking, “Can Mark come out to play?”
Do not slack in your faithfulness and hard work. Let your spirit be on fire, bubbling up and boiling over, as you serve the Lord. Rom. 12:11 (The Voice)
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
“Well!”
You’ve encountered them. You might possibly even work with one. And there is the regrettable chance you live with one. “Who?” you ask. The person who is ALWAYS right in their own eyes. The self-righteous ones. The perfect among mankind.
“Self-righteousness has killed more people than smoking.” John McCarthy
Of course we, the realistic people of earth, know there is no such thing as a perfect person, but don’t you dare tell them they aren’t perfect. They will argue that fact. If you have encountered such a monster then you know how frustrating it can be to do life with them, or to have any kind of interaction with them at all.
If finding fault generated wealth then they would be among the richest people on earth. “Well, if you hadn’t of …” so quickly and easily comes out of their mouths. What shocks me is how deceived they are. It’s like they are allergic to truth. They defend the smallest of actions.
Job, from the Bible, had this issue I believe:
“We’ve all heard Job say, ‘I’m in the right,
but God won’t give me a fair trial.
When I defend myself, I’m called a liar to my face.
I’ve done nothing wrong, and I get punished anyway.’
Have you ever heard anything to beat this?
Does nothing faze this man Job? Job 34:5-7 (MSG)
The burning question on my mind is this, “Will they dare try to defend themselves when they stand before Almighty God and give an account as to how they lived their life?” Will they try to blame God? Of course God is perfect, as his son Jesus is, and has done nothing wrong. I’ve been talking to a friend lately about this, and I have told them, “It’s okay to be wrong!” In fact, it’s admirable, and respectful when one can sincerely say, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
The Bible actually says, “The truth will set you free.” (John 8:31) Of course knowing Truth, or Jesus will set you free. Free from your sins and free from eternal damnation. But knowing, owning up to, and admitting the truth is living free. If you find yourself always defending your actions then stop it! Try being wrong once in a while. You might like how it feels.
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
“Roger That”
Friends and family members of, Thomas Edward hear back from him within minutes of reaching out via a text message, or a phone call. That is, when he is not performing his duties. Thomas values people, and he values relationships as well. Acknowledging someone, within a reasonable amount of time, is a special quality of a person with integrity. Even if that response is something along the line of, “I’ll get back to you later.”
People want to know they have been heard. They like to know their need, their bad news, or good news has been received, and the best way to affirm them is by acknowledging their voice.
The same seems to go when we pray to God, and when we don’t see some action we begin to question if He even heard us. I assure you, He did.
16 But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know he will!
17 Every evening I will explain my need to him.
Every morning I will move my soul toward him.
Every waking hour I will worship only him,
and he will hear and respond to my cry. Psalms 55:16-17 (TPT)
There was one true story where Jesus’ friend Lazarus was very ill. People came to Jesus and asked him to come heal him. Jesus didn’t go immediately, but instead waited four more days. When Jesus arrived his family told him it was too late, Lazarus was dead. They knew and believed Jesus could do something while he was still alive, but now?
As difficult as it may have been on Jesus, he waited till Lazarus had died to show that the son of God had power even over death. He did this so when He himself would come back from the dead it would be easier to believe.
So we may not know why, or understand why God doesn’t do what we need instantly, but rest assured, He does.
Oh! Thomas Edward is no other than Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. Also known as, Tom Brady. The seven time winning, Super Bowl quarterback, in the NFL. Now if he has time to acknowledge others then what is your excuse?
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
What Flavor of Favor?
Life is hard. I think we all know and agree on that. So when things go your way, it helps, and feels good too. The world calls this ”Catching a break”, but as a child of God, I call it “Favor”.
Monday: I started having an issue with the pilot light on the water heater staying lit, so I called a plumber.
Tuesday: The plumber came out, and upon further inspection he recommended replacing the whole tank and not just the part that controls the pilot light. This was due to the age of the water heater that was in place. I agreed.
Problem: Due to a shortage of plumbers available to hire, and to an overabundance of work that was needing to be completed I was looking at being without hot water for a week, perhaps longer.
Wednesday: It started raining. And it rained.
Thursday: The plumber showed up first thing in the morning and installed a new water heater. Apparently, all that rain prevented the plumbing company from being able to work on their prior jobs, and my job got moved up. When the scheduling guy called and told me the good news he said, “You caught a break.” After I got off the phone, I begin thanking God for favor.
As I have started getting familiar with “favor” I have learned as a child of God I can actually ask for it. I have also noticed that it can come in many different “flavors” or ways. As a need comes up, or you are about to call, or go into a place of business I now pray and ask God for favor to be bestowed upon me, and it usually is. When it is, I am grateful and thank God for it, but favor is also bestowed to those who live a life that is in right standing with God.
Here is how favor is gained:
1–2 My child, if you truly want a long and satisfying life,
never forget the things that I’ve taught you.
Follow closely every truth that I’ve given you.
Then you will have a full, rewarding life.
3 Hold on to loyal love and don’t let go,
and be faithful to all that you’ve been taught.
Let your life be shaped by integrity,[a]
with truth written upon your heart.
4 That’s how you will find favor and understanding
with both God and men—
you will gain the reputation of living life well. Prov. 3:1-4 (TPT)
“Again, God thank you for favor with men. Living by your ways, and commands really does make life easier, bearable.” Now, I’m going to go take a hot shower!
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
Seeing Them
What is that a shadow of? I asked myself. I turned slowly to see it was being made by a man. A young, tall, thin man sporting a “man bun”. He just stood there and starred while I completed my task. I felt weirded out, to say the least. I saw him at other times and made a decision that I didn’t like him. Why? Because of how he looked? Because he didn’t say anything? Perhaps.
About a month later he was in front of me with a young man. He asked if his son could mow the lawn. At first I was tempted to flee the scene as fast as possible by responding with a kind, “No thank you.” But inside, I knew that wouldn’t do. I introduced myself and learned their names. I told the father I noticed he was new to the neighborhood, and asked why if he didn’t mind sharing. He said, “I’ve been away for a while.” Instantly I had the gift of knowledge as I heard in my spirit, “prison”. I didn’t mention it to him.
After the lawn was mowed, trimmed, and cleaned up I went outside to pay the young man. After handing the money to him I turned to the father and felt as if I was to honor him. I said, “I respect the fact that you are teaching your son the value of hard work and of earning money.” He smiled. I wondered if anyone had ever honored him before. Judging by the surprise look on his face I am guessing not. I think it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. I know listening to the Holy Spirit lead me in the situation and conversation made me feel that way. Later on I saw him outside and asked, “Would you like some tomatoes? We have more than we can use from our harvest.” When I gave them to him and some chili peppers he smiled again. He told me he loves spicy food.
Later that night I was reflecting on the events, and the conversation with him of the day. I realized this was the beginning of what I call, “Life style evangelism.” You come across normal when they first encounter you. You help them, bless them, or simply give them your time. Then, after a while, they will notice there is something different about you than in others, and they ask, “What makes you different?” They always ask. It is in that moment you can tell them about the love of Jesus Christ that dwells within you, and that He is the Hope of the world.
“the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even
among far-off unbelievers.” Mat. 12:21 (MSG)
Because they have first seen “love in action” they will listen. And hopefully they will respond to the Holy Spirit working within them and accept that love, accept Jesus. But all of this has to start with an action. That action is seeing them!
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
He Speaks
“Or, God might get their attention through pain…” Job 33:19a (MSG)
God has a hierarchy to many things, and not to be old fashion but that applies to marriages as well. Why? And what does that mean? In any type of union, marriage, business, ministry, etc. there has to be one individual who has the final say so. BUT, that one individual is also the one who is accountable for the results of making those decisions, and the one they are accountable to, is God.
In a marriage situation when the man steps into his role of leadership, and as the one who is accountable, his spouse is then under an umbrella of protection, EVEN if she disagrees with her husband. But, when the woman tries to fulfill the role of the man, people get hurt! I have witnessed this first hand.
In the course of one year, I had to go through two very hurtful situations. In both cases, the husbands allowed their spouses to cause great pain in my life, and they wouldn’t say anything to them about how wrong they were. You see, those husbands have allowed their wives to fill their roll. “Head of Household.”
I wound up praying for the couples and asked God to deal with the men and to speak to them. There’s no reason why people should continue getting hurt, and then I distanced myself from them. Later that year, I found out that both of those men were down while they were recovering from knee replacement surgery. I wondered if God allowed that to happen attempting to get them on their one good knee to pray and seek him concerning how things are going in their marriage, in their life.
In any marriage, business, union, and especially ministry, if God has given you the keys to authority, then don’t give anyone else those keys. Who you give them to is not the one who will stand before God and give an account for the results, you will.
This isn’t about equal rights, equality, or glass ceilings, but about order, accountability, and individuals not getting hurt.
If your ministry, union, business, or marriage is “Out of Order” and isn’t working then go to God and ask Him to show you. God will speak. He probably has been for many years, but you haven’t been listening. Each time you get hurt and there is not instant healing, perhaps its God trying to get your attention through pain.
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
A Foreign Language
Her parents just immigrated to America from India. She was three years old, and didn’t know any English. Now, a few months later, and being enrolled in a preschool she is learning a few words at a time. But when one of her co-students said to her, “I don’t like you and I don’t want to play with you” the toddler simply smiled and used body language to invite her to swing with her on the tire.
When I heard this true story I realized the beauty of not being able to speak or understand the language of hate, or of racism. To have the capacity to smile in the face of evil is a special gift. I could learn from the little precious girl from India.
I think, no, I know Jesus had this special gift. For when He was falsely accused, hated, spit upon, and betrayed He still managed to say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
A worthy goal that will take lots of practice to perfect, but think of the message it sends to the one spouting toxic words. A message of love. In any language!
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
Go
This past week, William Shatner boldly went where no other 90 year old had gone before. When asked, “What do you want to do when you get there?” Shatner replied, “Come back down!”
It got me to thinking, Am I where God wants me to be? Have I gone where God has asked me to boldly go? Being obedient to God’s calling can be challenging some times. It may also offer opportunities to be scared. I can’t announce it yet, but He has recently asked me to go do something that in the natural doesn’t make sense. The few close friends I have told have been greatly surprised, and are probably secretly wondering if I am qualified.
But I am going. I have found over the years that when I am obedient in an area I do not feel naturally comfortable that it is in those times I rely on God all the more. I lean not to my own understanding. As a result, I am happy that I obeyed. I generally realize the task was easier than it first seemed in my mind. And when made known to me, I am excited with the results of what God did through me.
God is speaking to some of you right now. Reading this post has brought to your mind something God’s Spirit has whispered to your heart to go do. It may not be to go to the mission field, but possibly go across the aisle in your office, or across the street. Go. Go boldly. You don’t always get to know the results of your obedience this side of heaven, but you should go anyway. Don’t judge the results by what your eyes see, or don’t see. You are not responsible for the results. You’re simply asked to be obedient.
You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life! Deu. 13:4 (MSG)
Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
brady, mark a. 