Why Can’t I Achieve Mental, & Physical Health?

June 26, 2020June 25, 2020 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

062620 5 It happened last week, last year, or even longer ago, but the memory of the hurt and pain can still rise to the surface so fast. A word, a name, a song, a phrase can trigger the instance to come back. You feel those emotions…again. You say you have forgiven the offender, you even tell yourself you have moved on, so then why does it still rise up and bite you, and at times with the same emotions you experienced when it first happened?

There are many types of hurt others can do to you, but the one thing I struggle with the most is injustice. It seems so unfair when you are falsely accused. Jesus had to suffer through this. He was accused of things untrue, yet he remained silent. Those accusations were so strong I think some who knew him well started changing what they thought of him.

As difficult as it may be to not defend yourself, but inside let the truth stand, we must follow Jesus’ example. Hanging on to all of the hurt and pain affects us mentally and I believe also physically. And, for those asking God to heal them of a physical ailment, hanging on to the hurts of any kind could be blocking your healing, or the renewing of your mind. The song, “Lay it All Down”, by Will Reagan, can point us to the first step in removing the pain, for good. Here are a few of the lyrics below:

When we’ve given up, on better days
There are memories, we can’t erase
Lay it all down … lay it all down

We’ve come to fear, what we can’t explain
There’s nothing here, that can ease the pain
Lay it all down … lay it all down
At the feet of Jesus … at the feet of Jesus

After we lay it all down at the feet of Jesus I assure you, there will be temptation to pick it back up. Don’t! Turn around, walk away, and never mention it again to anyone, unless the incident can be used for God’s glory in the teaching and exhortation of others. Jesus is more than capable, and qualified to handle your hurt and pain. Give it to him, and see how much better you begin to feel after you do.

^“Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.” 1 Pt. 5:7 (TPT)

Establish the Mood

June 23, 2020June 22, 2020 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

062320 What happens when you walk into a room of people? Are they glad to see you, or do they cringe? Do they come up to you and greet you, or do they pretend to be busy, and walk away hoping to avoid you? I had a boss that every morning when I saw her enter our department, I knew my peace was about to leave.

What kind of mood encompasses us, goes with us and enters, when we do? Does your very presence change the environment, the atmosphere of a place? It should.

Back when I worked in an office building, in Chicago, I took on the challenge of trying my best to put a smile on my fellow passenger’s faces while we were in the elevator. Difficult, because some of them got off on the lower floors, giving me only seconds to come up with something to do or say that would change them. That would leave them better when they got off the elevator than when they got on. Pun intended, my words could lift them up, or let them down.

Once there were several people entering the elevator. I said, “Call out the floor you need.” They did, then I announced, “I like pushing people’s buttons.” I wonder if that was some’s only laugh for the whole day?

As the years went by, people would get on the elevator, see me, and smile immediately. I’m not boasting, because I knew two things:

The love and joy in my life, I shared with others, only came from God.
I entered the elevator on purpose, with a purpose.

For those who have accepted God, have his love, his truth, and his life inside, we can change, or flip the environment of a home, office, church, store, or wherever we go, just by walking in. Oh, how the world needs us to enter their lives and shatter the darkness they dwell in with the light of God! “Let there be light!” Offer them the hope of Jesus. When we welcome the presence of God in our lives He goes with us. People sense it, and are either drawn to it, or openly resist it.

No matter where your feet take you, take God.

Be there on purpose, with a purpose. Be mindful of those around you. Roger, a good friend of mine, does this every day when he goes to work. Share hope, peace, faith and love. Scatter lots of joy. Show everyone there is a better way to live. Make them curious how you can still be smiling despite all that is going on around us. Establish the mood!

Who is it For?

June 19, 2020June 16, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

061920 Oswald Chambers wrote, “It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God.” Truth, if ever spoken. Yet, Jesus, the Son of God did both. He always stated he only did what he saw his Father do. That meant, every day! Then, at the end, he laid his life down for us as well. He did it for you, and me.

You know, I can’t recall any other so called spiritualist that was killed, or they laid down their life voluntarily for what they believed, taught, or lived.

Surrendering your free will is hard to do, yet if done for God, it brings satisfaction, true life. So I have to ask, “Are you laying down your life? If so, for whom?”

How It All Began

June 16, 2020June 16, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

061620 August 1969. I would celebrate my seventh birthday in September. I didn’t want to go to hell for being a liar, and a convicted cookie thief, and according to the big man, wearing a black suit, speaking loud, if I died without accepting Jesus in my heart, I would have. Pictured here, his name was H.D. Pieratt. He was a fine example of a man, after God’s own heart.

You might say, I first confessed I was a sinner and recognized Jesus as God’s son, then asked him to forgive me of my wrong doing, because I was scared of hell. That viewpoint stayed with me for several years, until I learned about God’s love.

What might have started out as a fire escape plan turned into a loving relationship with God as I got to know him. Ten years after making his acquaintance, I dedicated my life to going, doing, and saying whatever He wants me to.

It’s sad, but there are individuals who have only accepted enough Jesus to keep them out of hell. Their more afraid of eternal damnation than they love God. You have probably encountered one of them, because they don’t reflect the love of God. The light, the truth, the hope in them is dull, and in fact, they might have hurt you. I’m sorry if you have encountered one, and have gotten hurt. Also, I feel bad when I let situations get to me and I choose to extinguish the light of God in me if only long enough to let my flesh rule. I always regret those moments and ask God to forgive me and help me not to do it again.

I feel like Paul, when he wrote in Romans 7:15:
I’m a mystery to myself, for I want to do what is right, but end up doing what my moral instincts condemn. (TPT)

Training will help me to love first in those situations, and in all others. The only way to act, and react with love is to continue to get to know the source of love, God. For God is love. 1 John 4:8. It comes down to your heart’s desire, and God knows what those are, so he will help you be more like him. The light of God, in Rev. Pieratt, shined upon my heart when I was a child, and I’m so thankful. I was drawn to it, I was drawn to God, and that is how it all began.

Be love. Our world needs a lot more Truth, light, and love!

What Day is This?

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

061220 I 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.

Protest Hell

June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

060920 2 Throughout this whole COVID-19 ordeal, I have been sad as the numbers climbed, but the impact did not land on my front porch, until now. Ten days ago, my friend, Chris called and informed me he caught the disease from work. Chris is 65. Today, I called to see how he was doing, but he did not answer the phone. About an hour later I received a text message letting me know he was now in the ICU.

I prayed for Chris and his wife, who also has it, but I felt as if I needed more people to agree with me in prayer on his behalf. We needed to pray and protest hell! You see, sickness, death, hate, and disease is of the devil. There is power when people gather, agree, and pray. Picture hundreds, or thousands marching against the gates of hell, pushing back evil.

^“Again, I give you an eternal truth: If two of you agree to ask God for something in a symphony of prayer my heavenly Father will do it for you.” Matthew 18:19 The Passion Translation (TPT)

I posted in Facebook the need, and right away people started telling me they were praying. At first, three, then 20, and at last check over 90 people have said, “I will stand with you Mark, in the gap for your friend Chris.” I even heard from people 8000 miles away.

My heart was touched, and to be honest, my eyes started leaking at the out pouring of concern, and love. This is the kind of action we need to take right now for our world as well. I would say, not one of those who said they would pray, knows Chris, but they took time to pray anyway.

I didn’t know George Floyd, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, or the others who have died when they shouldn’t have. I didn’t know the five police officers ambushed in Dallas either.

My point is this; we, who do know God, should be praying more now than ever for all people affected by the recent events and for our country. This cannot be the story of America. We don’t have to know them first, like those praying for Chris don’t know him, but prayed anyway, expecting results.

Thank you to all who have prayed for Chris, or will after reading this post. People of God cannot give up hope, grow weary, get discouraged, or turn to fear, because we know God is bigger than all things, and he is more powerful than evil.

Love Laws

June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

060520 Last week I mentioned how my new life with my Filipino wife wasn’t easy in the beginning. There were obvious things to overcome. Cultural differences being a big one, and even though she can speak English, our language has enough quirks to rattle anyone. I’m glad I don’t have to learn English. A friend once told me she had ESL and I asked her if it was terminal. (English, Second Language)

I knew if our marriage was going to survive, it had to be built on love. I got the bright idea to post the characteristics of love from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a all over our apartment in the Philippines. I thought seeing the Post-it Notes would always remind us to be loving.

In the midst of one heated battle I went around and removed, ripped, and threw the Post-its away. I thought, “Love isn’t working!” But the honest truth is this, I wasn’t working love.

God’s word tells us that love never fails, so the problem wasn’t love, but me. I had the love laws in my head, but they had not made their way into my heart. Once things are in your heart they come out of your mouth. The words that come out of your mouth affects how you live, because they are based on what you believe to be true.

In practical terms, once the laws of love were in my heart it caused me to act and react, then say things to my wife in a loving way more consistently. That made all the difference in the world. One thing that also helped was believing she really loved me unconditionally. Reminds me of God. Her love to me has replaced past hurts. I’m still learning to let my first reaction be love, but it’s getting easier. My wife gives me lots of opportunities to practice. Kidding. (Well sort of.)

I encourage you to learn the love laws for yourself, and then place them into your heart. Life is better when you love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NET Bible)

⁴Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.

⁶It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.

⁷It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never ends.

Simply Love

June 2, 2020January 7, 2021 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Racism. Injustice. Hate. Protest. Peace rallies turned into riots. You know what I am talking about, or referring to. It’s sad to see so many unhappy, hurting, people. They can’t take it anymore, and their hearts are crying out for something to believe in that won’t cause anymore pain. Ever since Adam and Eve, mankind has been saying, “I know what is good and what is evil.” You see, before they ate the fruit God told them what was good, and He told them what was evil, but they were deceived.

Today, mankind is still being deceived, thinking “they” know what is right, and that “they” know what is evil. Like Adam and Eve, they won’t be told by anyone else, especially by God. Can we all agree on the fact each man defining good and evil, on his own terms, isn’t working?

So what’s the solution?

Love. It’s the only answer. You see, love, love for others helps you listen to someone else. It empowers you to understand their views, their values. Not adopt them, but listen to them. People just want to be heard. When I was doing church security, we sometimes had someone come in and interrupt the service. After I escorted them out, I would always give them a chance to say what they wanted us to hear. I didn’t care, or really listened, but it was amazing how it calmed them down.

Love says, I accept you no matter where you are from, what color your skin is, or what you believe. Love helps you not get angry if their views are a lot different than yours. Love strengthens you to not remember what one might say that hurts you. Love empowers you to be kind, patient, and not to become easily angered. Love allows you to want the best for someone else.

The truth is this; love works and will work, because it never fails. That’s why God puts a big emphasis on accepting love and in fact, God is love.

Can we all try love? Please?

Good, But Best

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

good, better and best word written by 3d hand “The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough.” (Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest – May 25)

Confused? Let me explain.

We can be confident, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]”. 2 Tim. 1:7 (AMP)

Therefore, with our free will, we should be able to make good, sound, decisions for our own lives. I felt like I had done that. I retired from AT&T, at the age of 55, and instead of buying an RV and traveling, I decided to move back to my home town to take care of my father, to write, and occasionally speak publically. I was happy with these good, sound decisions.

Not my will, but thine be done.

Life was, and would have remained good, but I always yield my choices and decisions to God. Before my father passed, not long after I had moved back, we had some great moments fishing again. (Not to tell a fish story, but we managed to “keep” 167 fish in only 3 outings.) I bought a house I really enjoyed living in. I was getting used to my new, good life, but God wanted “his best life for me”. (Kind of sounds like something Joel Osteen would say.)

You see, I had been divorced for 24 years. I kind of wanted to be married again, but was content being single. Looking back, I see all the people God had put in front of me to work on my heart toward marriage. One Friday I found myself filling out a profile on a dating website. I submitted it and there she was. From all of the women presented, the one, who would later become my wife, stood out. I could see the love of God radiating from her postage stamp size photo.

To make a long story short, I contacted her, we texted, then talked, and then video chatted via Messenger. I went to the Philippines to visit her and the family. One month after returning home from the trip, I put everything in storage, rented my house out, and moved there to marry her. It has not been a “cake walk”, but we always had love to build on.

While waiting for her immigration process to be completed, we have grown together, and lately started dreaming about our future. There are several things beginning to open up, and reveal to us the will of God, for us, as a couple. I love it!

You see, I could have continued to be single and have a good life, but because I surrendered my will to God, I am now living the best life I could ever have. I thank God for loving me so much. And ya know what? He loves you too, just as much!

How Much More?

May 26, 2020May 25, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

052620 How do you convince someone you love them? You could tell them over and over perhaps. You could show them in every way possible. You could do everything you can think of. You could even learn their love language, and speak it fluently. After all the effort you would expect them to accept you, to accept your love, but what if they don’t? Can you imagine the frustration you would feel? Then, what if you told them, “In order to prove how much I love you, I’ll die for you.” They might still reject your offer, and even say, “You’re crazy!”

Choose Love!

The truth is, God did this very thing, but He even went one step further. He gave us his only son to die for us. It is never right for a child to die before the parent. It’s not natural. To think this was God’s plan, ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed him in the Garden of Eden. I mean, how much more can God do to prove how much He loves us?

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.” John 3:16-18 (MSG)

In these days we are living in, everyone who hasn’t, should run to God and accept his free gift. Are you afraid of being obligated of loving God back? Are you concerned you might have to live in a way you would rather not? You know it doesn’t matter what you have done in your past, his forgiveness will cover it. If you disagree then you are listening to the one, Satan, who wants you to die for eternity. Living for eternity is better, and there is only one way, God’s. How much more can He do?

brady, mark a.

Words to inspire you