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My Lowest Point

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

I was still sobbing, but nothing more was falling out of my eyes. The stain of tears on the church carpet was about 18 inches in diameter. After an hour or so, I got up and accidentally stepped in the puddle, and the salty discharge rose, almost covering my toes. I was genuinely sorry for what I had done. To the church, to the group I had led, to my pastor, to the married woman I had fallen in love with but mainly, to God.

From that day forward, I felt connected to King David. And the words of Psalms 51 would forever ring in my heart. I was 23 and single but had allowed the devil to deceive me without realizing it. If he had come straight at me, I would have quoted scriptures and commanded that he leaves me in the name of Jesus. His attack came from behind. He used the strong desires of my heart to be loved, causing me to stumble and fall.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”

I wanted so badly to be forgiven!

“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”

I knew God would judge me for my actions. It was only fitting.

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.”

I, too, asked God for a clean heart. For a fresh start.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

To me, hell is being absent from the presence of God. So I pleaded. And I also asked Him to let me keep His Holy Spirit inside me. For that was my source of true power in ministry.

“Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

I wanted God to allow still me to minister and teach people. He has, but to be a pastor and shepherd of a church I will never get to.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

God answered my prayer. Throughout the following years, He was faithful to His promise to rebuild me. He gave me a ministry in writing, which is one reason I do my best to seek Him every week and post a blog to encourage others to grow in their relationship with God. And every once in a while, I have the pleasure of being someone’s pastor. Thank you, Father God. You are truly good.

The portions in quotations are from Psalms 51 (KJV).

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

A Step in the Right Direction

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Have you ever considered what it looks like to “walk with God?” It’s not just something we are instructed to do via ministers, but it is a lifestyle. It’s not something you do as a “religious practice,” either. Nor do you do it with drudgery. When you begin to stay in step with God, it becomes natural. Something you do without having to think about it, like breathing.

You allow God to lead and set the pace. When you need to decide something more important than “Should I wear underwear?” you pause and consider, is this God’s will? Things that will affect your finances, your career, and where you live. I have recently had to ask God, “How much do we do to help this person?” Doing so came with a retail price tag! And when I was about to do more, God found a way of guiding April and me by opening up another opportunity for this person that honestly was much better than what we were about to offer.

Another aspect of “walking with God” is being guided in daily activities. We wanted to purchase another cooler (ice chest). It was on the shopping list, but when I started to go look at them to pick one out, I felt a sense of “no” in my spirit. My rationality was I didn’t have time. Two days later, April learned her name was drawn in a raffle for the top prize. Yep! The prize package included an Igloo cooler. (See photo.)

The package also included other treats and a large box of fireworks valued at $250. I told April a few weeks ago that I would love to buy some fireworks but could not justify the cost. It has been many years since I had some, and it’s part of my childhood memories of celebrating the 4th of July. I couldn’t believe it when I saw April walk out with the fireworks, and honestly, I wanted to cry. Why? Because it reminds me again how much God loves us and not only knows our needs but also the desires of our hearts. “Thank you, God, for your blessings!”

Walking with God is a fun, exciting, adventurous, and loving way to live. It also brings about comfort. There is no better way to live life. It starts with accepting Jesus as God’s Son. Asking him to forgive us of our sins and asking him to be Lord of our life. If people were, to be honest with others and with themselves, they would have to confess that trying to live life on their terms is a difficult and constant struggle.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Ps. 37:4 (KJV)

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously. Mic. 6:8 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

It Happened Again

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It happened again. Yesterday. We learned that someone who seemed to have it all together. Someone who had a bright future. Someone who appeared happy committed suicide. Why? And people seem to be shocked.

It should go without saying that success, money, family, and friends are not enough to fill a hole in our hearts that can only be filled by knowing and accepting God. And those that are shocked by the sudden end of one’s life by one’s own hands, believe that real life is also found in having these things. They don’t understand because they don’t know the truth. They have bought into the lie(s) this world spreads.

Nothing but God can satisfy you. NOTHING! People struggle trying to do life their way on their terms. What happens is they wind up accepting Satan’s substitutes. Meaning a job that isn’t the best fit for them. A life partner of the same sex when they could have so much more! They fall for “Get Rich Quick” schemes instead of working hard for honest money. Or they believe the lie that fame and fortune will satisfy.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. But He had come to give us life and to give it more abundantly. God wants the best for you. That is why He gave us his only son and allowed him to die on the cross as a perfect sacrifice that pays for anything and everything WE do wrong. All we have to do is ask him into our life.

Humanity is nothing more than a mere pawn to the devil. He doesn’t care about you at all. His only interest in you is using you to get even with God. He hates God so much that he will say anything and do anything to destroy people and their lives. Jesus once said that Satan is the father of lies. (John 8:44)

That’s what Christmas is all about. God did things His way, and it baffles the mind of mortal men. They would not have started their campaign of salvation with a baby born of a virgin! But you see, for Jesus to be able to say that He went through everything we have, then He even had to enter the way we do.

If you have tried everything else in life but submitting your will to God and accepting his son, Jesus, then you haven’t tried everything. You have to take that step of faith before you die. It’s too late to decide when you are standing before Almighty God, giving Him an account of your life. Your balance sheet will be in the red, meaning your blood will have to be poured out. Yet it still won’t be enough to pay for your sins. But if you have accepted Jesus, then the accounting of your life’s bottom line will say, “Paid in Full by Jesus Christ,” and you will enter into eternity forever more to live.

Don’t let it happen again. Don’t let Satan use you. Stop believing his lies. Stop accepting his substitutes for your life and go after what God has for you. Choose life! Choose heaven and not hell. You will never regret it.

Merry Christmas,
Mark

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

“You Want Fries With That?”

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I try my very best to be a careful, cautious, and courteous driver. Because of that I have expectations that others will be as well… but the reality is, some are not! The other day, April and I left the house and a block from home I had an ambulance pull out in front of me with their emergency lights and or siren NOT on. Gees! Then about a mile later I had a driver cut me off and I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting them. As it turned out, they pulled into the same drive-thru we did.

That restaurant provides two lanes to place your order.  I was finished placing ours and proceeded to pull forward. That same driver, who had already cut me off once, gave it the gas and cut me off again! I had to hit the brakes hard and then I laid on the horn to show my disapproval. I begin complaining to April about this person’s attitude. I don’t think she wanted to hear it!

On my way back home, after dropping April off at work, I felt bad for allowing this particular person to affect my attitude! I begin praying about it. I felt better. Then I started praying for the individual. I stopped mid prayer and thought, “What kind of a day is this person going to have?” I assumed a very bad one.

I imagine this type of person is the one in the office you cringe every time you have to encounter them. Whether for their time sheet, office supplies, or for information you need to include on the report your boss asked you to write.  You know the type.  You have met one, or two in your career, I’m sure.

Here is how I know they were going to have a bad day; that driver sowed “evil”!  Therefore, they will reap “evil” That is a universal law that God put in place; you reap what you sow. I still prayed for them, but I refocused the words. I prayed they would come to know God, and that his love would fill them as they become like him.

If you are experiencing a lot of bad things and bad people with bad attitudes, perhaps you should consider what you are sowing? It’s not always the case but you can never escape this one universal law.

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. Gal. 6:7-8 (MSG)

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

What’s the Problem?

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Life can come at you hard and fast at times.  Bills you can’t pay arrive in the mail.  A routine checkup delivers a death sentence.  Your spouse announces their love for you has run dry.  Yes, these may be the extreme cases of life, but even the everyday life can cause you to gasp for air.  You feel, “If I could only reach the surface, I could breath.”

It is in those moments having a trusted friend helps.  So does having a church to go to where God has prepared a meal for you from his word via your pastor.  There are also an abundance of messages online, or on YouTube.  Listening to someone else’s testimony can encourage your faith, but keep in mind, just because God did something in one person’s life in a particular way does not mean He will do it that way in your life.  The point of a story, or testimony is to help you believe, be convinced, God sees you, knows you, loves you and wants to be active in your life,

Keep this fact in mind; Jesus went to the cross.  He died on that cross.  His body was removed from that cross, so he is no longer suffering to the point of death.  Then, three days after his body was placed in the tomb to rot, to decay, to go away, he overcame the chains of death.  He arose from the dead.  The stone was rolled away and the light of the morning became his “exit” sign.

My point is this: if you believe in Jesus and the power he demonstrated, and you place your trust in him and you believe that he overcame and can empower you, and lead you to be an overcomer then what’s the problem?

It’s not ignoring the issue(s) of life, but placing them in the hands of the One who overcame not only life, but death!  The problem you are currently dealing with does not own you.  It does not define you.  It has no power over you, because if you give it to Jesus, then you will overcome it.  Not only will you look at it in the rearview mirror someday, but you will recount the story of it, to others, to encourage them.  To help them overcome their current situation as well.

“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”  John 16:33 (MSG)

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

222

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Just three little numbers, right?  Yeah, I thought so too the first time I noticed them.  That was the number of my room at the Chiara Center in Springfield, IL.  Chiara is, “Grounded in the spirit of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Chiara Center offers a peaceful, inspirational setting for individuals, couples and groups who seek Christ’s healing presence.”  I stayed there for a couple of days, about a month after my father passed away, three years ago.

I did indeed find peaceful solitude and had some great moments with God.  Most people there take on a vow of silence while on the grounds.  I like to talk, so that was difficult for me to abide by, but in the long run, helped me.

After leaving Chiara, I slowly started noticing the number “222” popping up in all kinds of places.  It was so odd that I begin searching out, why, and what does it mean?  A friend helped me learn it meant “New Beginnings”.  Four months later I met my Filipino wife April.  That certainly was a new beginning, perhaps that is what God had in mind all along.  Then I wound up moving to the Philippines and living there for seven months.  Living in a foreign country was new to me.  Could that be it?  But I kept seeing the number, even after these big events took place.

I saw the number everywhere, and almost all the time, as addresses, on the clock, house numbers, as part of phone numbers, and even “order” numbers.

Then recently, my wife and I were invited to go to a lakeside resort, about an hour from our house, to pray with the team restarting the lodge, and creating a new ministry.  We arrived and fell in love with the place, and the location.  The lodge is close to where my father and I used to catch a lot of fish.  We listened to their vision over dinner and then went to our room and continued to pray, seek God.  We caught a hold of a vision of one way the place could be utilized.  The idea caught on and sparked further discussion by others.  At the end of the meeting, Saturday morning, we were excited about what all God wanted and could do at this location.

We stayed a second night with our neighbors, the host of the meeting and the cooks.  While sitting around a bon fire and April eating her first S’more, hearts and past experiences were shared.  Something started to grow inside April and me.  That next week we found ourselves back out to the lodge to take pictures for social media.  We were now volunteering.  To make things easier for us, we were given a room where we could leave some things and not have to pack everything, every time we went there.

Yep, you have probably guessed by now, our room key was to room “222”.  Tears swelled up in my eyes, and my heart flooded with joy.  This was what God was bringing April and me to, all along.  We are so excited, to now be a part of the ministry that will be happening here.  Lives will be changed.  Souls will be added to the kingdom of God.  Hearts will be reunited with others and with God.  Callings will take place here, and others will be strengthened.  The tired will find rest, and then the strength to go on.

As April and I begin our lives together and after we were married there were a few times when it almost all ended, and it felt like heaven and hell were warring, one side trying to keep us together, and the other side trying to pull us apart.  It was at those times, after the heat would die down, I would look at April and say, “Ya know, God must have something big for us to be a part of, because the devil is working really hard to tear us apart!”

Turns out, I was right, and we are so thankful God worked so hard to help us get to the day we found out that “222” was for this new beginning.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Have They Heard Yet?

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

“World Famous”.  There are lots of things that are known around the world.  There are places, there are people, and there is food to name a few.  When I lived in the Philippines, back in 2019, I was always surprised by what the people there knew of, but then I started realizing most had cell phones and with that comes social media and YouTube, etc.

I am still reading from the book of Job, in the Bible, and I came across the following verse:

“After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts;
    there’s no end to his surprises.” Job 5:9 (MSG)

That verse struck me as so true, and so profound.  When we least expect it, sometimes, that is when God answers our prayers.  It seems as if it happens when we realize it has to be God, because there is nothing left for us to do, or there is no way we can accomplish it ourselves.  Perhaps He waits for us to get out of the way, or maybe He wants us to know it was definitely him who did it.

As I meditated on the verse above one thing hit me,

“fame only comes when people hear!”

In other words, we need to share with everyone, who is willing to listen, about God and how much He loves us and wants to be a part of our lives.  He wants to be that loving father we so desperately need all the time, and yes, even in the good times.  This thought triggered another verse in my mind:

“But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims,

A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
    telling all the good things of God!

But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: “Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?” The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ’s Word is preached, there’s nothing to listen to.” Rom. 10:14-17 (MSG)

So get out there.  Talk about God, and his involvement in your life.  Let’s make God famous!

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Looking For Jesus (Part 1)

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Mary.  Singing.  Dreaming of her upcoming life as the young bride of Joseph.  Tending to the laundry.  What would have been another typical day, of her life, turned into the most extraordinary day of her life.  An angel appeared.  “Fear not.”  Yeah, right.  If it happened to me I would have had to do some more laundry.

“You have found favor with God.  You will become pregnant with a Son, and you will name him, Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  God will give him the throne of his father, David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary questioned God’s plan, considering she had never been with a man.

But the angel explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be holy, in fact he will be called, the Son of God.” (Luke 1)

From that day forward, Mary found herself looking for Jesus.  As he grew inside her, when he turned, kicked, and did all the things babies do inside the womb, she had to have wondered, what will he look like it?  Will I see the face of God, or will he look like me?  Time would reveal that Jesus looked just like God in all ways.  For he always said, “I only do what I have seen my Father in heaven do.”

I’m sure Mary wasn’t the perfect parent, but Jesus forgave her for that.  His death on the cross not only forgave her, but all of us who accept him for who he is, the Son of God.  And guess what, he’s coming back.  He’s coming to gather those who believe and call him, Lord.  To take us to his home now, heaven to be with him forever.  I’m living my life in a manner to be invited for the second greatest coming in the history of the earth!  I’m looking for Jesus, are you?

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

A Great Place to Be

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063020

Painting by Akiane Kramarik

I mentioned last week how I hate injustice, yet this past weekend it has happened to me again.  One, close to me, has accused me of wrong doing.  I can’t go into detail, but yes, their accusations hurt, but as the swelling was subsiding, I realized this person’s attack on me came from a heart that is in so much pain.  This person’s personal life has suffered a lot in the short amount of time I have known them.

I begin to pray for them.  I see God allowing these things to happen in their life, not to punish them, but out of a deep desire to be reconnected with them again.  Hoping they will cry out to him and lay it all down at the feet of Jesus.  God wants their relationship to change from estranged to hearts knitted together.  It’s difficult for mankind to understand God’s way of loving us, but I know he does with an incredible amount.  God is longing, that the path of life they are walking on, will lead them back to him.

Yeah, I could continue to complain about what they did to me, how unfair it was, but thankfully my focus is on Jesus and that has allowed me to see what they are doing to themselves.

Just because they throw mud,

it doesn’t have to stick!

We can count on this, we do not need to stand up and defend ourselves, but rather allow the Lord to do it for us.  I know one day the accuser will see they were wrong.  Will they apologize to me?  It doesn’t matter one way or the other if they do.

“The Lord is your mighty defender,
perfect and just in all his ways;
Your God is faithful and true;
he does what is right and fair. Deuteronomy 32:4 (GNT)

In these days we are living in, one cannot afford to take their eyes off of Jesus Christ, but must do all to concentrate on him.  One way to only see Jesus, and not be distracted by the things going on in the world, is to stand directly in front of him.  Standing in that spot is a great place to be.

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

What Day is This?

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061220I notice patterns.  I also see common denominators.  I can’t help it.  It’s the way I am made.  I think I could have that disorder: Denoterns.  Anyway, perhaps many others have it as well, but I have noticed several times in the Bible where it took three days to change someone, or something.

Take Jonah.  God gave him direct instructions to go to Nineveh and share whatever message God told him to.  I think Jonah took it upon himself to judge the people there, and he boarded a ship going the opposite direction.  Perhaps his heart was full of hurt he associated with the people there and he wanted God to wipe them off the map.  You can read the whole story for yourself in the book of Jonah in the Bible, but after he was thrown overboard and spending three days in the stomach of a great fish, his heart changed.

Three days!

There are many other instances whether they journeyed, stayed or not ate for three days.  Three days can seem like eternity when you are hungry, thirsty, hurting, or desperate for an answer from God.

Jesus in the tomb is probably the most famous story of a three day ordeal in the Bible, but after his third day, anyone in the world can have their wrong doing forgiven, just by accepting Jesus.

On a personal note, three days after my wife gave up on hoping, asking, and believing God to send her a husband I sent her a message.  On the fourth day, her life changed.  It seems as if it takes three days to work out the flesh.  In other words, it takes that long to realize that when your situation changes it wasn’t you, but had to be God.

I don’t like going through a three day ordeal, but I hang on, because I love the fourth day.

If you are going through something, and you have turned it over to God, realizing you can’t do anything about it otherwise, then know this; your forth day is coming!

CONFESSION:  I made up the disorder Denoterns.

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.