Author: Mark Brady

Love, Laughter, God, and 赞美上帝

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Over the last two years I have gotten to know several Chinese people.  One of these I had started dating.  Her English was not that good when we first started getting to know each other, and my Mandarin, well forget it.   We used our smart phones back then to translate a lot of our conversations, but three things didn’t need any translating.  Those three things were love, laughter and God.

Today I went to a Chinese church to support a friend who wants to find a church community to belong to.  I only understood four Chinese words spoken.  During the worship part of the service though I knew the songs because I recognized the music.  Then it hit me; when we the body of Christ get to heaven and we sing praise052012_47.6s to God every believer will sing in their native tongue, but collectively it will become a beautiful melody instead of being a chaotic mess.  So I would have to add one more to the list of things not requiring translating: praise to God.

1 Thought Provoking Response

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Last week’s blog post caused me to be reminded of the other side.  Once again I became aware of the people who don’t worship God, but in fact worship Satan.  They live for him, or to put it in another way, for themselves.  Right from one responder’s, of last week’s blog own website “I wish you rapid progress in becoming your own god.”  It reminded me of why Satan was removed from heaven.  I have been praying for this blogger, and then I wondered, has he been praying to Satan for me?  I know Satan tries to copy everything God has done.  He even has his own bible, but would this guy pray for my soul to go to hell instead of heaven?  Heavy thoughts have filled my mind this past week.

On his website was the mention of being an atheist.  That title has always confounded me.  Doesn’t the fact one considers themselves an atheist prove there is in fact a God?  God has to exist before one can chose not to believe in Him.  If He didn’t exist there would be no need for one to call themselves an atheist.

If there are people like this responder to my blog on the other side then I certainly need to, as Jesus commanded his disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.”  (Mark 5:1-20) go to them, not to join them, but to set them free in the name of Jesus.  In the portion of scripture noted Jesus delivered a man who had become possessed by demons.  Even those demons knew who Jesus was, for you see they were once angels.  Yes, there is a dark side to this world.  It is very real, and very dangerous.  Entering into it could cost you your life, for eternity, and as my cousin Doug once said, “That’s like a very long time.”

5 Reasons Satan Loves You

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Okay, climb back into your seat and take a look at why Satan loves you.

  1. Satan loves you, because as a “Christian” you judge those who have not accepted Jesus to be Lord of their life. You hurt them, and actually push them further away from the Truth who wants to set them free.  A “disciple” of Christ would leave the judging to God, and love them as they are.
  1. Satan loves you, because you take your freedom in Christ Jesus too far. Perhaps you are doing something that you don’t feel is hurting you, but it causes some others who see you, or hear you do this to stumble.  They stumble because they think a person with your beliefs shouldn’t be doing this.  Yes, they are judging you, but they don’t know it’s wrong to do so.
  1. Satan loves you, because you allow him to distract you from spending time with God. You are not reading God’s words and you’re not spending enough time in communication with your Heavenly Father.  Doing so might just reveal how or where Satan attacks you.
  1. Satan loves you, because you think you are strong enough to do life without the ongoing support of fellow believers. You think you don’t need to take the time to be with the rest of the heard of your local church.  Your alone, on the outside and become easy prey for him to pick off.
  1. Satan lovesman_on_fire you, because you don’t love enough those that are at risk of living eternity in hell to do something about it. Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas puts it this way, “You wouldn’t drive home and see that your neighbor’s house is on fire and pull into your garage and say, “Someone else will call the fire department.””  He goes on to say, “Your neighbor’s house isn’t on fire.  Your neighbor is!”

Live the kind of life as a true disciple of Christ that causes Satan to hate you not love you.  You should be his enemy, not his best buddy.

HONEST

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The story you are about to read is true.

The name was changed to protect the Honest one.  The time: Saturday, July 11, 2015, 8:43pm.  The setting:  Conversation after dinner at McDonalds.

Me:  Do you ever feel as though God is telling you to go talk to someone sitting near you in church?
Honest:  Yes
Me:  What?  Really?  You do?  Do you obey?
Honest:  No.
Me:  Why not?
Honest:  Fear051412_02.4JB
Me:  Fear of what?
Honest:  I’m afraid I won’t know what to say next that could help them.

This is probably a very common issue if everyone was Honest.  The simple truth though is this:  If God is prompting you to go do something, or say something He will give you the words to say, or guide you in what to do.  Maybe it does take a couple of times to get this trust relationship working well, but once it is God can speak through you to encourage, to uplift, to motivate, to help someone who just needs to know that someone else cares and so does God.

Please, the next time you sense God speaking to you for a particular reason, obey.  God delights in obedience.

Phi 2:9  Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him (Jesus)…  (MSG)

No Barriers

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Erik_WI work for a global company, and they force us to take training courses.  These courses range from safety to customer information, to company standards.  But last year they started making us listen to some motivational speeches.  This past week I listened to one such speech that really moved me.  It was given by Erik Weihnenmayer.  It’s okay.  I didn’t recognize his name either until he was introduced as the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest.  I recalled hearing about him on the news.

Erik’s speech was truly amazing just as he and his life is.  Here he is blind, but has adopted this mentality of “No Barriers”.  In other words there really is nothing holding you back from obtaining your goals but you.  He described being blind and climbing Mt. Everest as “reaching out into the darkness”.

We live in a very dark world.  Perhaps you are facing a mountain in your life and you don’t see how you are going to get around it or through it.  Has it dawned on you to go over it?  Maybe you just lost your job, or you are now taking care of an ailing parent.  Or maybe God has called you to do a certain task.  The one thing Erik said about reaching the top of a mountain is this, “It takes a team.”  Team up with others who are facing the same mountain as you.  Do life together.  Encouraging each other.  Team up with God who can help you with any mountain, if only you believe there are no barriers.

Mat 17:20  “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” (MSG)

God’s Man

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I wait for the light to turn green.  I just wanted to get home, so I could sit outside and write.  Yesterday was one of those days Chicagoans dream of in the midst of winter.  In front of me was a vehicle that had the license plate you see in the photo.  Obviously placed there by a man, for few women would declare to the world that her husband is a man of God.  How do I know he was married?  It was on a minivan type of SUV.

As the day went on I could not get way from this man’s statement concerning himsGods Manelf.  Then I realized it’s not a statement of achievement, but of faith.  For this isn’t who he is, but more of who he is striving to be.  This takes guts to declare to the world:  “This is who I am trying to be.”  I don’t drive patient enough of others to dare put this on my vehicle.  (Not yet I’m sad to say.)  Not to mention the many times I fail those who know me.

Phi 1:6  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. (MSG)

I receive hope from this verse.  Being God’s man is certainly a worthy goal to have.  This world, but also those who know me, needs me to continue to strive to obtain this declaration as truth.  I desire to be known by all (and that includes those closest to me) as “A Man of God”.  Maybe one day my tombstone will read, “Here lies a man of God, but only till Jesus returns to take him home.”  That even my death would proclaim the hope of eternal life we have in accepting Jesus.  Whose man or woman are you?  I hope God’s.

Who’s Your Daddy?

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DadWith today being Father’s Day I naturally started thinking about my earthly father.  He is very funny.  He can be extremely generous, and he is absolutely the best fisherman I know.  When he goes fishing at the lake he catches so many when he gets done the water level is lower.  Seriously he has been known to catch 95 sand bass in one outing by himself.  I am definitely like my earthly father in several ways.

Then my thoughts turned to my heavenly Father.  I was made in His image, but am I like Him?  I feel God has a sense of humor, but I know for sure He is loving, He is kind, He is longsuffering, He remembers no wrongs, and He is patient, as well as other perfect qualities.  Out of my two fathers I desire mostly to be like my heavenly Father.

In Romans 8:15 it says we cry out to God by saying, “Abba Father”, which translates as “Daddy God”.

Some people have a pretty bad earthly father.  In no way should our heavenly Father be compared to our earthly fathers.  Earthly fathers, at least on this side of heaven, can let you down, say things that hurt, or do other things we don’t like.  If you have been hurt by your earthly father you can certainly turn to your Daddy God.  He can heal you, help you understand things.  He is always there for you.  On this day and everyday remember your heavenly Father.

Boo-boos

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My son was playing when he fell and landed on one of his toys which hurt him.  boo-boosHe started whimpering as he climbed up on the sofa next to his mother. He laid on his back, pulled his legs up and said, “Mommy, kiss my butt.”  Yes.  We had taught him when he gets a boo-boo mommy and daddy can kiss it and make it all better.

Last Friday morning I read an email from my daughter.  Her pain was so great I could feel it leap from the phone and into my heart.  I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms, kiss her cheek and tell her, “It will be okay.”  When our children become young adults it seems as if their boo-boos cut deeper, and hurt worse than when they were toddlers.  Because we are separated by many miles I couldn’t be there in person to hold her in my arms, but my concern for her and the situation is there none-the-less.

Jesus sees our struggles, our pain, our hurts, and even our boo-boos.  Hebrews 5:2 says, “(Jesus) should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience.”  Hebrews 5:8 “Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do.” (MSG)

We can go to Jesus at any time with anything, but definitely turn to him when you get hurt.  Turning to anything, or anyone else just isn’t the same.  Jesus knows how to guide you, heal you, or teach you to make it all better.

The Final Edit

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DSC_4416As I mentioned last week I was going to a writer’s conference.  I did.  As a result the mechanics of writing is in the fore front of my mind.  As I was walking around the campus, and thinking on what those that have “been there and done that” taught me, I was also searching God concerning a host of thoughts.  One of those was about you.

One of the nice things about writing is the fact there is usually time to re-write.  This act creates many drafts of our first words.  Even up to this point I have hit the backspace key seven times.  During my walk God reminded me life is different than writing.  In life we only get one draft.  No rewrites, and there is no backspace key!  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was?  You could take back what you said, or did.

You only get this one time, now, to live life.  This is why life is so precious.  How you choose to live your life is important.  For there will be a day when you stand before God to give an account of how you chose to live your life.  It is at that time God will perform the final edit.  As it says in Hebrews 9:27 “Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences.” (MSG)

The Word

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This week I am going for the third year in a row to a Christian Writer’s conference.  I have been asked why do I write, and their other question was what qualifications do I have to write about Christian living?  Well, I haven’t gone to school to learn how to write, but it does seem as if there has been an emphasis on writing in my education.  Also I enjoy the process of creating something with words that wasn’t there before.  After all, we are made in God’s image and He gave us the ability to create.  To answer the second question it seems as if a lot of people won’t read the Bible, but God still wants to communicate His truths and love to them, so He directs individuals to write as He so leads.

I feel as if I am one of those individuals.  I always ask God what He wants to say this week.  After all He knows who will be reading the blog that particular week.  I pray for those readers that somehow the words they read will encourage them, lift them up, and help them know God.

So you see each week this blog is for you, the reader, and it’s not just words, but it comes with thoughts and prayers about you and for you.  So I go to the conference to learn how to communicate better “The Word.”