People

February 3, 2023January 28, 2023 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

“Life would be easy if it wasn’t for all of the freaken people!” Anonymous

True confession: The older I get, the less I enjoy getting out. Not sure if that’s common or not. I enjoy getting to stay home. The main reason is because of self-serving, distracted drivers these days. And sometimes those same drivers are standing in line in front of me.

This last week, I encountered two such individuals. The first one was while I was in line at a discount store. I looked, and the lady in front of me had “two” carts full. I had “four” items. She even turned, looked at me, and I was holding my “four” items up high to make sure she could see them. I was expecting her to say, “Oh, go in front of me.” But she didn’t. So I proceeded to count my items out loud. “1, 2, 3, 4, items,” I said. Again she looked at me. Even the cashier seemed bewildered by the woman’s self-serving action. The woman proceeded to check out. “87 items,” the cashier noted. I was mad, but I held my tongue and then even helped the lady by putting her two carts up where they went. The woman seemed to be angry, evil, and perhaps oppressed by a demon.

The second was, of all places, the post office. The mother seemed decent, at first, at least until her exhausted little girl started acting out. There were a lot of others there as well, and getting annoyed quickly! The man behind me left. I tried my best to ignore her behavior and the mother’s obnoxious parenting. You’ve witnessed this scene, I’m sure. “Now, (name of child), stop it. You’re going to get spanked. Stop hurting my face. It’s not nice. Yes, everyone is looking at you and your bad behavior. I’m going to leave you here.” The line was long and moving slowly. I was hoping the woman would leave and take her child home and put her to bed. Everybody was hoping!

Then I decided to pray over the child and the atmosphere. As I was praying, the little girl looked right at me, and with her dark eyes, she seemed to snarl at me. It was scary. I then whispered for the evil spirit to leave the little girl. He didn’t. I prayed for the environment to be flipped. From a place of distress to one of peace. It didn’t work. There were thoughts of going “postal.” Just kidding.

I realize now why my prayers didn’t work. I should have thought of it earlier because I am writing a book on the subject. I didn’t try to cast out the demon from the little girl out loud. Neither did I speak to the environment to change out loud. In my book, I write about how spiritual warfare has to be done out loud. Whenever Jesus encountered “people” who needed to be set free from anything, He spoke out loud. Yes, I know the others in the post office would have heard me, but shouldn’t they witness that we can have dominion over this world and the evil spirits that try to rule it?

^10-12And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

^13-18Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. Eph. 6:12-17 (MSG)

The more familiar version says:

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. ¹³For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:12-13 (NET)

I can’t avoid going out, and I can’t avoid people. I shouldn’t want to because it is people that need to hear the truth about God and how much He loves them. It’s people, and their daughters, that need to be set free from sin, bondage, and demonic influences. Love people as Jesus did. Have compassion on them and take your authority in the name of Jesus and do what Jesus would do. Just do it out loud!

Below is part of the story where Jesus cast out demons from a possed man. The whole story can be read in Mark 5:1-20.

5 ^1-5They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.

^6-8When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then howled in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”) (MSG)

Here’s What You Do

February 4, 2022January 29, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

What do you do when they correct you and then proceed to give you instructions on how to accomplish a particular task? Here is how God responded to Job:

“Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong?
    Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?
Do you have an arm like my arm?
    Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
Go ahead, show your stuff.
    Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.
Unleash your outrage.
    Target the arrogant and lay them flat.
Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.
    Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!
Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—
    faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.
I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—
    you can surely save yourself with no help from me! Job 40:8-14 (MSG)

It seems as if God was sarcastic. Knowing very well Job couldn’t do anything he asked him to do. As we humans are now on Earth, there is no way we can know everything! I was talking to a friend the other day about this same issue, and I mentioned how I had learned to say, “I’ll take that under advisement”. He laughed and then shared what he says, which is, “That’s a great idea. I’ll look into it.” Both responses sends the “know it all” away with a sense of pride and accomplishment. They probably feel as if they just helped another one!

God was sarcastic with Job, because He knew Job couldn’t do those things, or even knew how. We don’t know what a person knows, so perhaps what to do is simply listen, and execute our escape as soon as possible. That’s better than hurting the other person or debating and or arguing.

Fun for all ages

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Have you ever met someone for the very first time, and you immediately like them? They are usually smiling, relaxed, mild mannered, and you just begin to match their level of gel. You find yourself feeling like they value you, and they aren’t in a hurry to get away from you. As if in that very moment, you are the only thing and one that matters.

I believe Jesus was just that kind of person. I think this is why he appealed to men, women, some high ranking officials, sinners and children. Honestly, the only ones that he didn’t appeal to were the ones who felt as if his way of living threatened their livelihood, or power.

It was this kind of appeal that gave him the ability to talk about “love”, “forgiveness”, and “the Kingdom of God”. Because of how he made them feel they listened! And many times they responded positively. Would we get the same results if we drew people toward us as he did? That should be the goal anyway.

It was Paul who said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Cor.11:1) Paul obviously recognized this about Jesus and strived to imitate him. Three practical steps to living this kind of life:

See the people. Be observant to the people around you while being attentive to the Holy Spirit who may prompt you to speak to them.
.See the need in their life. You do this step by listening to them. Not just talking about yourself. It’s not always about you!
.See the path they should take to find God. Whether they need forgiveness, healing, or some other type of ministry, we should then lead them along that path.

Ask God to help you declutter your own life so you will have the time to spend with people. One thing I learned from my father is this; spending time with people is a gift. We should be generous.”

“Roger That”

November 2, 2021November 1, 2021 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

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.

¹⁶But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know he will!
¹⁷Every 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?

“To Hear Our Hours, Press 5”

November 3, 2020November 2, 2020 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

In some countries, people are focused on working hard, succeeding, and reaching their goals. Some of those individuals are followers of Christ. I have seen where they are so focused on their “get er done lists” that they seem to fail in other areas, like community. In other words, they are making great strides in life, in business, but falling short in doing life with others, friends, neighbors, and perhaps even family.

There is nothing wrong with success, especially if achieving greater finances allows one to be more generous, but if someone needs to talk, to share their current struggles, do they need to make an appointment? Are those high achievers generous with their time? Or do people who have needs, need to come back during normal hours of operation?

Spending time with others is a gift;
be generous!

I don’t see this as the example Jesus set for us. He was there, in the moment, for the people, and he still managed to achieve the goals his heavenly father set before him to accomplish. Yes, there were moments when he set time aside to be in communication with God, his father, but if you read the gospel you will see when people sought him out, he responded.

There are a few verses in the Bible that share when Jesus saw the multitude, he was moved with “compassion”. The word “compassion” means in the Greek “to do whatever it takes to alleviate the need.”

Compassion starts with seeing!

When he saw the vast crowds of people, Jesus’ heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless, like wandering sheep without a shepherd. Mat. 9:36 (TPT)

Jesus didn’t keep office hours.

If you make yourself available to people, the very people who live next door, at school, at work, and even those who attend church with you, then you are being like Jesus. You are following his example, and therefore being a true Christian, which means Christ like, or little Christ one. This should be our goal, and you know what, God will still help you reach your goals, when you avail yourself to others.

I challenge you to try it, because there is a whole world of lost people out there. They are sick, they are oppressed, they are depressed, they need God, and you are right there next to them. Please don’t say, “Well, spending time with them is not on my ‘To-Do-List’.” Here’s the thing, those people are on God’s “To-Do-List”, because He loves them.