New To Love

September 2, 2025July 30, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

The other day, I met a man who was holding a cute little girl. I soon found out it was her one-year-old birthday. She looked around at everybody taking it all in, but you could see in her eyes that she didn’t know what to make of it.

As I spoke to the man, I learned that he and his wife are foster parents. He shared with me that over the years, they had taken in eighteen children, and the little girl he was holding was number nineteen. I know some people become foster parents to receive state money, but you can tell this couple does it because they genuinely love children.

As I talked to the little girl, wishing her a “Happy Birthday,” and all, I got a sense that this small child came from a home where love did not exist. I imagined she heard a lot of shouting and hateful words. She had probably cried more tears than one her age should have. I was moved as I began to realize this little one was “new to love.” For the first time in her life, she was going to be loved on and feel what it is like to know God’s love. I was happy for her.

Some people go a long time before they feel “loved.” Some may go for a lifetime without knowing it. If they haven’t experienced God’s love, they can. By accepting his Son, Jesus, into their life, they have all of their wrongdoing forgiven. You begin trusting God with all aspects of your life, and when He does things for you that blow your mind, you feel loved.

Seeing God love on people is one of the things that will get me to tear up quickly. It’s amazing. I got the experience last week to do a favor for a lady in the grocery store. She couldn’t reach an item that she wanted. Now, I’m not that tall, but I was tall enough that day to help her. The funny thing is, I changed how I normally shop in that store, allowing me to be at the right place at the right time. I saw her in the parking lot and I stopped to let her know that God wanted to love on her when she needed help. She said she was aware of that and felt his love.

Whether new to love, real love, God’s love, or not, being loved and feeling love is a wonderful thing. I think that is why it is the foundation of all that God does, and of who He is. It is also why his word emphasizes love so much for those who follow after him.

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. 1 John 4:7-10 (MSG)

First Place Trophy?

August 1, 2025June 30, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

One man bragged that he had a trophy wife. His buddy said, “Yeah, but she came in sixth place!”

I know a man, and the second time I had a conversation with him, the Holy Spirit whispered, “Watch out for this man. Don’t get too close to him and guard what you say to him.” He started sharing with me his religious trophies. In other words, what he thought he had done “for God,” but in reality, he did them for himself. There was one such trophy that shocked me when he shared it. He seemed proud of it, too, which bothered me. It was something that didn’t seem right, for one who claims to be a Christ follower, to be a part of.

I’m sorry I can’t reveal more about what he told me because it is possible that some who read these blogs know him and I have always strived not to expose people for what they are, but to make a point. Who this man is isn’t important, but his being “religious” is!

Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. Jam. 1:26-27 (MSG)

Focusing on the part of the above verse that is labeled as “Real religion” is really about “love.” God’s love. Simply loving on people. Bob Goff wrote a book about it titled “Love Does.” I’ve had the opportunity to hear Bob speak in person. One story he shared I can’t forget.

He said he was picked up at the airport in a limo. On his way to his hotel, he asked the young driver, “Have you ever ridden back here?” “No,” said the chauffeur. Bob says he thought for a moment and then said, “Why don’t you pull over and get back here and I’ll drive for you.” “What?” exclaimed the driver. “Of course, if we do this, you have to let me wear the hat!” They exchanged places. The young man had never been shown or felt such love.

Doing something out of the ordinary for someone else gets their attention. They sit up and start paying attention to why this person is different than anyone they have ever met. Many times, they will even ask, “Why are you doing this?” Or, “Why are you different?” Jesus dined with tax collectors, and they were considered bad people. He became friends with a woman caught in adultery. He understood and didn’t condemn when a woman went against her culture to touch the hem of his garment.

Those people didn’t see “religion,” they saw “love in motion.” Jesus never dragged out his trophies of all the miracles he had performed and showed them off. He never had the disciples stop and polish them either. Jesus simply loved, and talked about his heavenly Father and a better way to live.

“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)

The Other Side of Love

April 22, 2025April 17, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You’ve heard it said, “There are two sides to every coin.” A true statement. But did you know there were two sides to love? Yep. It is easy to love those who love you. It is easy to do for them: go the extra mile and sacrifice because you love them, and they love you.

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Mat. 5:46-48 (MSG)

But what if you figure out someone is taking advantage of you?
Go the extra mile. Do more than what they ask.

But what about when they hurt you?
Turn the other cheek.

But what if they hate you?

But what if they persecute you?
Bless them.

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously. Luke 6:28-30 (MSG)

Doing what Jesus instructed is so difficult! You don’t want to. In fact, it goes against everything that is within your flesh. But we are called to live by the Spirit of God. A lot of us find it easy to love when loving the other person is easy, but those same people probably find it almost impossible (including me) to love those who hurt us. If you can do this, you will be close to becoming like Jesus in ALL ways.

Our goal, as Christ’s followers, should be to be like Jesus, who only did what He saw His Father in heaven do. So, we should be like God. And God is love—perfect love—to every person, no matter what! That is living “both” sides of love!

They Don’t Know

July 30, 2024June 27, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

We seem to be living in a world these days that is running with a deficit of love. Every time you leave your house, it seems as if it doesn’t take long to find people manifesting the opposite of love. They only care about themselves. They will cut you off on the road. They accuse you only to divert the attention away from their own selfish actions. You know what I’m talking about. They spread rumors, make false accusations, and seem to get extremely angry very fast. They’re not nice people to be around!

The other day, April and I were talking about something, don’t ask me what because I can’t remember, but it led me to this thought: “People and even some Christians who don’t know how to love have never fully comprehended God’s love for them.”

If they realized the depth of God’s love and understood the price of His love, then they might start allowing it to soften their heart. It could change how they treat others and how they think of others. There would be less family squabbles and a lot less war.

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)

King of Hearts

February 13, 2024February 3, 2024 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

She did it again. Her husband got angry. “How rude and inconsiderate for her to change her plans without considering me.” He needed sleep and wasn’t feeling well, but now he would have to stay awake waiting for her to let him know when she was ready to come home so he could give her a ride.

Love cares more for others than for self.

“I’m so tired of this!” he thought to himself. “I want to end this marriage!”

Love never gives up.

Love never looks back but keeps going to the end.

He stewed for a while. Then he started complaining to God about it.

Love doesn’t fly off the handle.

Love doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.

“I wish I had a wife that would treat me better. Help out more around the house. Do the things that aren’t obvious but still need to be done,” he murmured.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

“I don’t treat her this way!” he thought.

Love doesn’t strut.

Doesn’t have a swelled head.

Then, God started soothing his soul and whispering into his spirit, “She knows you’re mad but doesn’t truly understand why.” “She’s not wired like you.” “She hasn’t grown in that way yet.” “She didn’t do this to spite you.” “Her motive was pure.”

Love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.

It puts up with anything.

“Yeah, you’re probably right, God,” he thought. He knew he needed to break the silence because she struggled in that area. Before going to bed, he left her a note in the kitchen expressing his love for his wife. Then, as he went off to sleep, he prayed for her. The man ultimately imitated his heavenly Father and became the King of Hearts.

Love trusts God always.
Love always looks for the best.

Love never fails!

(All lines in red are from 1 Cor. 14:7 (MSG)

How To Change the World

September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“I’m dying,” said the man sitting across from me in the small café. I looked around but didn’t see anyone sitting near him. “Did you hear me? I said I’m dying!” He said again. This time, I looked directly at him. “You talking to me?” I asked. “Well, do you see anyone else here?”

I picked up my drink and laptop and moved to his table. “You must want to talk about it.” “I do. I want people to know what took me a lifetime to learn.” “What is that?” I inquired. “How to change the world. You change the world by changing people. You change people by showing them love. There is no greater love than laying down your life for a friend. This is the exact formula Jesus used. He demonstrated perfect love to people, and then He died for them. He also died for you and me. Shouldn’t you be writing this down?” “Oh, yes, sir. I’m typing it into my PC.”

“To be like Christ, we must love people so much that it changes them. Of course, some people will squirm but remain living their way, thinking they know best. Or, they are afraid they will have to give up too much here on Earth. In other words, they would rather think they have something now for a few days than have everything for eternity.

Love wins! Love always wins, and love will always win! Love is the right way to make things better. Love is the best way to say, ‘I hear you.’ Love doesn’t insist on proving it is right. You see, “love” doesn’t seek it’s own. Love thinks of the other person first. Love understands where they are coming from. Why they are the way they are without compromising who they are.

Love shows they kindly understand but gently challanges the other to grow in the right direction and the proper ways without imposing a deadline for them to achieve, but doesn’t get loud in speech when they don’t. Love hopes for the best in everyone.”

“Wow,” I replied. “I can see how those receiving love would want to respond positively and then share that kind of love with others.” “You’re right,” he said. “I just wished I had learned this much earlier in life. I didn’t, and as a result, I hurt many people. I thought I was loving them by wanting them to live life the way I do. My life has been simple, with little chaos, and extremely organized. I accepted Jesus at a young age, and my relationship with God has made life bearable. I wanted others to have what I had. Though my motivation may have been pure, my words and methods weren’t always the best.”

“I appreciate your wisdom and your honesty. I assure you I will share this with the world. I hope others will take it to heat and start doing more to love people.” I said to the man. He got up and threw out his trash. When he returned to our table, he had a tear in his eye. He thanked me for listening and sharing what took him a lifetime to learn.

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:7-18 (NIV)

Inside Out

May 12, 2023May 11, 2023 / Mark Brady / 1 Comment

“I never wanted you to see The darkest part of me.” A line in a song by Red. I have said that many times. I don’t like it when I lose self-control, and someone gets hurt. I don’t mean it to happen, and I definitely don’t want it to happen, but it does sometimes.

The darkest part of me is big, loud, mean, and ugly. It violates the scripture of Eph. 4:29. (Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, Amp.) Whenever it happens, I am embarrassed and immediately feel guilty. The Holy Spirit quickly convicts me of my sin, and I seek out the person I offended to apologize.

I was thinking about this the other day and wondered, what if I put on God’s armor? I know in Eph. 6:11-12 we are taught that it helps protects us against external attacks by the devil. But could some armor also protect others from the darkest parts of us getting out and hurting them?

If I was to put on a “Helmet of Salvation,” it might remind me I am saved from death. Therefore, I am in Christ and a Christian. Called a, “Christian” means being Christ-like. If I am an authentic Christian, then I need to act like Christ. Jesus Christ would not and didn’t hurt others by any means. Yet he did face frustration and anger but stayed in control while dealing with it.

If I do this and make it a regular practice in my life over time, I think I will change. As I become more like Jesus, the love in him will be in me. That love shining inside will be light that will cast out the darkness. That’s what light does. Eventually, what’s on the inside that comes out won’t hurt people but will cause them to feel loved.

What is Love?

February 14, 2023February 14, 2023 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Love, to me, is like riding a roller coaster. When you first encounter a roller coaster, you have never been on before you are filled with excitement, wonder, amazement, and even a little scared. You agree to get on the ride, and the attendant helps you with the restraining device. The ride starts moving, and you get a half smile on your face simply because you really don’t know what you are in for, and then comes the first hill.

At the top of the first hill is the least scary moment of a ride, but seconds later you will be screaming your head off, hanging on to that restraining device as if your life depends on it, and in reality, it does. There are twists and turns and ups and downs and tunnels of darkness, and even loops that can change your perspective, and it is about then you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?” You ride, you hang on, you go through all that commotion and then you are back into the station. The ride stops. It is time to get off. You stagger to the exit, the contents in your stomach have been shaken, not stirred, and you certainly feel it, yet what do you proclaim out loud, “I want to ride it again!”

In a dating relationship, one can certainly get off the ride, but there are some coasters you ride till death do you part. Now that would make an interesting sign above the entrance to a coaster. My kids and I love coasters. There was one Saturday at Six Flags Great America the park wasn’t too busy, and we rode 40 times on roller coasters. On the last coaster of the day, we stayed on continuously 16 times. We, as humans, are addicted to love. We like it, we want it, we crave it, and we need it.

For the past couple of days, I have listened to people on TV try to say what love is. None of them, even the ones with “Ph.D.” after their names even came close. Real love is as described in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and it takes this kind of love (God’s kind of love) to stay in any relationship, from friends to coworkers, to family, and to the spouse. Let me list a few here:

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails. (NIV)

The real test to see if YOU are “love” is to replace the word “love” in the above section and insert your name. You can certainly insert the name of Jesus in there, for we know He is love. So if you are currently in any relationship let love be your restraint, and hang on.

Because He Does It

November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

For the last several years, God has been nudging me to learn how to love unconditionally. What that boils down to is this; accepting someone just the way they are. That can be extremely hard to do, especially when you are around them. You might live with them, work with them, or be connected to them in another way. You might even know them through the church.

They probably don’t think like you and certainly don’t do everything the way you do or the way you think it should be done. They might even have personal habits that discuss you or you choose to get angry about. It’s hard and, at times, extremely hard! Especially when you are tired or low on patience and understanding. The problem may be with you. Like you may have high expectations. Or you might have arrogance issues thinking your way is the only way.

So how do you love the one that is so different than you? First, you have to make a willful decision to love them. To accept them as they are. They’re most likely not ever going to change, but you can. Then you have to remind yourself what real love is constantly.

Real love demonstrates patience, and genuine love is kind to the other person. Unconditional love puts up with the other person for a long time. It also forgets when they make the same mistake again and again. This kind of love means not having to have everything your way and it wants the best for the other person. That kind of love also does what it can to encourage them. If you practice this kind of love, you will not show how frustrated you are with your face or body language but will smile and assure them everything is alright.

Showing another person the kind of love above, God’s love, will make them feel loved. It might even change them, but that should not be your motive. Love them because it’s the right thing to do. It’s hard, but you can do it because He does it.

Psalms 36:7

7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalms 109:26

26 Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.

Romans 5:8

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:7

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Romans 5:5

5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

1 John 4:8

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:19

19 We love because he first loved us.

Jeremiah 31:3

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Psalms 86:15

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalms 136:26

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Romans 8:37-39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3:17-19

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

1 Corinthians 13:8a

⁸Love never ends.

brady, mark a.

Words to inspire you

love