I think God came up with the word “impossible”, just so He could do it!
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
God
NOPE
Satan’s imitation, will never be better, than God’s original!
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
Hide and Seek
Most toddlers don’t play “hide and seek” very well. The toddler can’t wait to be found and will often come out from where they are hiding, so you can find them, and when you see each other’s face, oh the joy, the smiles, and the laughter. It’s a great feeling.
God doesn’t play “hide and seek” very well either. He loves to be found, and will go to any length to find you, and when you see each other’s face…
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
Spiritual Heart Murmurs
Doctor: “Sit up straight and breathe normal.” The doctor moved his stethoscope across my chest, and then around my back. “Deep breaths.” He listened. For what? Did he hear anything out of the ordinary? Perhaps a murmur? Was there reason for concern?
God: What if God did that? Listened to our hearts, and actually He does. What would He hear? A murmur? Would there be any reason for concern? So what would be a spiritual heart murmur? Hatred? Un-forgiveness? Idolatry? Lying? A hurt? Someone wronged you?
Search me, O God, and know my heart: (Psa 139:23 KJV+)
Us: What if we, God’s people, were walking around with spiritual stethoscopes? Meaning; if we were talking to someone, we would take time to listen to their heart. To actually hear if and what is causing them pain. Then, what if we prayed with them right there, or promised to at a later time, and actually did?
Ask God to help you detect murmurs. Your clue to stop and ask, “What’s wrong?” Or, “How are you really doing?” Doing this simple act might reduce the number of walking wounded around us. Even better, would be to detect the problem early enough to prevent more serious heart damage. Will you try? Doing so, would show the other person you care, because God cares.
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
Be Quiet
Be quiet mind,
for it’s not your time.
Body, sit still,
so you can feel.
Soul, open up, so you may receive,
what the Lord, in you, wants to conceive.
A new direction,
a better way of life.
One at peace,
where there is no strife.
Be quiet today,
sit still for a while.
Listen to the world around you,
hear the sounds of nature and smile.
Reflect on life, as it once was,
and learn from its mistakes.
Repeat them never more,
preventing future heart aches.
Be quiet and listen to others,
for enough noise you have made.
Let God speak, and heal you,
so your hurts can all fade.
It’s okay to be quiet,
for there is nothing to fear.
There’s a lot to take in,
God’s majesty to hear.
(Dedicated to Jo Anna)
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
You will never convince someone to change their lifestyle by telling them how awful hell is, but you might by telling them how wonderful God is.
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
The Confession
Confession: I have never been inside a confessional booth. I grew up in a church where doing so was not part of our spiritual practice. I am at a temple where there is one. I am writing this blog post while sitting inside it. Not intended, but in order to see I brought a small, but bright LED light. It is casting such a white glow I think it scared a couple checking out the temple.
Here I sit, in this small, wooden structure. It smells old, musty, perhaps from tears soaking the carpeted board beneath my feet. There is carpet on the walls as well. I guess to absorb the sound, but aren’t confessions meant to be heard?
I think there is also supposed to be a man in the booth next door. A man to hear my sins? My wrong doing? What if he is actually a newspaper reporter? Wait, when Jesus died on the cross, didn’t his selfless act of love cut out the middle man? After all, the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom. The veil that once separated man from God. Now Jesus is our High Priest.
I guess while I am in here I might as well start talking. Heavenly Father bless me. It has been 23 minutes since my last confession. You remember. Oh, you don’t? Then maybe I should choose to forget it also.
Now, I confess all my sins. The ones that denied you, dissatisfied you, destroyed me and demolished others. The sins that dishonored you, discomforted you. The ones that would disqualify me from your presence, if it were not for your Son. The sins that diminished others, disgruntled my employers, and devalued my wife and children. And don’t forget the one that deflowered me before I was with the proper one at the proper time. The ones that delayed me from being obedient unto you and your plans. I also confess the times I digested things that defiled my body, your temple. The words I spoke that derailed others on track to finding you. The times my actions denounced you. The sins that I allowed that wound up discouraging me and damaging my faith.
Forgive me Father. I ask for your mercy and grace. Thank you for not deleting my name from your Book of Life. Thank you for forgiveness, and for your Son, Jesus who gives life through his death.
Now what do I do Lord God? “Go and sin no more.”
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
The Temple
I was sitting in a church admiring the grandeur, the architecture. Then, I opened my Bible to a random spot.
As he walked away from the Temple, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at that stonework! Those buildings!” Jesus said, “You’re impressed by this grandiose architecture? There’s not a stone in the whole works that is not going to end up in a heap of rubble.” (Mar 13:1-2 MSG)
Then I heard God whisper, “They try so hard to please me. To follow rules. To get every step of pomp and circumstance in order without missing a beat. But I, the Lord God simply want to rule their heart. I will put my rhythm in their steps. I will take their chaos and create order. Even the windows to their hearts are stained. There are many doors, but where do they lead? Do they lead to me?
Their prayers are simply memorized. Just hit play! Where is the freshness that drips from their lips? Their place of worship is hard and cold. I desire 
they worship me from their soft, warm, living hearts. They feel their good deeds achieve tally marks on a chalk board by my chair. I would rather the receivers of those deeds feel me. They step into a dark, small closet to confess their sins. I say confess them loudly from your roof tops, so you are less likely to repeat them.
The water by the doors is not holy. Only I, the Lord God Almighty is Holy. Dip your fingers in me. Sprinkle me upon your body. And while you’re at it, take a shower in me.”
God can be in any building, in fact He can be anywhere like your home, office, or car, but only if you take him there, or invite him in.
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
My Chair
HER CHAIR: “Hi. How are you?” I stood, holding open the door to the bank.
“Oh, I’m okay I suppose. I just came from seeing my foot doctor, and well, I just can’t wait to get home to my chair,” the elderly lady said doing her best to conceal her pain.
A CHAIR: As I reached the car, the words “my chair” were still echoing in my ears. I was reminded of a pastor I once listened to, who used to encourage us to have a chair, where we would sit and have time with God.
THE CHAIR: Then I thought of James Rubart’s book, “The Chair”. A good read about an antiques dealer who is given, what appears to be a simple chair, but he is told it was made by Jesus when he was working in his dad’s carpenter shop. He struggled to believe this, but when things happened to those who sat in it, his acceptance, begin to grow.
Your CHAIR: Do you have one? Do you have a special place where you like to go and sit and spend time with God? Either in his word, or talking with him through prayer, or a place where you just go and absorb God. I hope so.
MY CHAIR: I have a chair, and I value the time I take to sit in God’s presence. Yes, I know, life gets busy, and it takes discipline, or a strong desire to be with God, to take a moment and step off of the hamster wheel. You know the wheel just goes round and round. No matter how hard you try, you get nowhere. Perhaps getting off, and resting with God will get you further down the road of life than you ever could imagine. Sit, invite God into your room, into your life, and see what begins to happen in you.
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
Believing Builds Believing
“I just don’t believe there could be one, all-powerful being,” David said.
“So you would like proof, first, before you would choose to believe in God,” I replied.
“Yes!”
“God asks us to believe in him by faith,” I said.
“I need proof.”
“Okay. Let’s say God will, because of how much he loves you, let you have proof first. What would it take? What would you need to see, or witness, in order to believe in God?” I asked.
As David sat in his office chair, he was visibly considering my question. After ten minutes, he turned, looked at me, and said, “I don’t know. I don’t know what would be enough.”
A somber event took place in front of me. The reality is this; for a man, using his own reasoning, which is limited, nothing could satisfy him. No proof would be enough. Everything God might do, or has done, to prove his own existence, some men would reason it away, and have. It’s as if they try to make God conform to their rules of existence, and that’s just not going to happen.
Another reality is this; God does exist. I have met him. I have talked to him, and he has answered me. I have seen his work, in creation, in the most intricate details of nature, and in the life of a man. Only God, can take the vilest of men, and change him forever. One example is Saul. He saw Jesus. Saul had a life changing encounter with Jesus, and he went from wanting to kill those who believed in God, to preaching to those that didn’t.
All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem. He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?” He said, “Who are you, Master?” “I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. (Act 9:1-5 MSG)
If you want to see God the Father, then study the life of Christ. For Jesus himself said, “To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?” (Joh 14:9 MSG)
(Note: The person’s name, in this real story, was changed.)
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
brady, mark a. 