faithfulness

Josephine

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image generated via AI.

This is a true story, but the woman’s real name has been changed.

Josephine was born in a poor country. Her family struggled to make ends meet, especially after her father left them. That is when they moved in with her grandparents, but still, life was difficult.

Josephine’s grandmother was strict, and she demanded a lot out of her. Due to her grandmother’s fears, she was not allowed to leave the house except to attend school. When she heard that a local church handed out cookies and Kool-Aid after the service to the children, she and her sister started attending. She heard about God, his amazing love, and about his Son, Jesus. She accepted Jesus into her life and learned how to live God’s way. It was then that she committed herself to be his servant.

Her family looked down on her because she struggled mentally. They said she was stupid, dumb, and only good for serving them. This hurt her tremendously, but she continued to live with the knowledge that God loved her and that she was special to him.

As Josephine got older, she finished high school and then went to college and got her teaching degree. After teaching elementary students for a few years, she quit to be the full-time caretaker of her grandmother. She started getting up in age, and because she had not married, the neighbors were beginning to call her an “old maid.” She wanted to be married and dated a few men, but found their motives were not pure, and one broke up with her when she said she was committed to God and to doing life his way.

After beginning to think she would never find a man who believed in God the way she did, she gave up and turned it over to God. Three days later, an American man contacted her via a dating website. They began talking, and he soon married her, and they started the process so she could “legally” come to America. She found employment, started attending her husband’s church, and found a group of ladies from her home country that she could meet with regularly.

It didn’t take long for family members back in her country to start contacting her for financial help. Even the so-called “head of the family,” the one the others had considered the wealthiest and the most powerful. She even contacted Josephine and asked for financial assistance, promising to pay it back, but she never did. Even Josephine’s sister asked for money, and she, too, promised to pay it back, but never did.

God had promoted Josephine to a position of wealth and power. Because she had submitted all her ways to Him. She worked hard at her job to become a valued employee and always tithed on her income. She was faithful to God, and God was faithful to her. Several others in her family do not share her commitment, and they don’t submit to God. Who is dumb or stupid now? The one they once looked down on and thought would never amount to much is now using her income to help them with life’s expenses. She is there to provide and lovingly support them. Always giving God the credit for what she has and trying to point them to Him.

Josephine’s story reminds me a lot of the Biblical story of Joseph. God destined him for greatness, where people’s lives would depend on him. His brothers hated him, looked down on him, and wanted him dead. But even through one injustice after the other, he remained faithful to God and His ways. Then God promoted him, and his family eventually honored him.

14 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They sin and commit evil deeds;
none of them does what is right
2 The Lord looks down from heaven[f] at the human race,
to see if there is anyone who is wise[h] and seeks God.
3 Everyone rejects God;
they are all morally corrupt.
None of them does what is right,
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly[m] do not understand—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,
for God defends the godly.
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,
even though the Lord is their shelter. Psalms 14:1-6 (NET)

When God promotes you, it is a significant moment that reflects His trust in your abilities and character. Embrace the preparation process, remain faithful, and be open to the unexpected paths that may lead to your divine elevation. Trust in God’s timing and guidance, knowing that He has a purpose for your life that is greater than you can imagine.

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Another Trip Around Needed?

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Photo by: TheDigitalArtist via Pixabay

Are you tired of sand in your britches? Do you long for an exit out of your desert? Do you honestly recall how you got there in the first place? Could it be because you did not take God at his word? You struggled to believe what He whispered into your spirit by his Spirit? So you didn’t obey in faith?

The good news is, you’re not the first. The bad news is you may have to make another trip around Mt. Sinai. God is waiting for that sand to do its job. To irritate you about your current situation so much that you give in. Until you are willing to surrender to his will. To take him at his word and go where He wants you to go. To do what He wants you to do. To say what He wants you to say.

Obedience to God opens doors. It defeats your enemies. It opens the door for God to meet your needs. Why? Because obedience pleases God! I think He gets excited and says to himself, “Oh, this is going to be fun!”

The better news is you don’t have to be prepared first before you start. You only have to be willing. He will train you and equip you either before you go or as you go, but regardless, if you lean on him, you will know what to do in every situation. If you can’t see the answer, then ask God for it.

There have been many times God has asked me to go, do, say. And I didn’t think I could, but I did it. In his strength, not mine. And when I obeyed, it always worked out. God proved himself faithful over and over. Stop ignoring what God has made you to do. Stop believing the lie that living life on your terms is going to bring you true happiness. Go with God. Go, do, and say. If you do, you will never look back with regret!

This blog was inspired by reading Psalms 106 from The Message translation.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

The Greatest Lover

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1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn’t make him.
    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever. Ps. 100 (MSG)

There is no freedom like knowing God and who you are in Him. God continues to show his faithfulness to April and I, his children. We have surrendered our entire lives unto him. We trust him. There truly is no other way to live life. He is our provider. Our healer. Our friend. Our guide through life and the greatest lover of all time. He protects us. He is gracious with gifts, earthly and spiritual.

He delights in partnering with us to do his will and his good pleasure. He surprises us all the time, and He is such a generous giver. He even gave his only son, Jesus, to die for us to forgive us of our sins. There is no greater love than that.

If you don’t know him, I must ask, “Why not?” Give up trying to live life your way. If you were honest with yourself, you would have to admit it isn’t working. Accept Jesus into your life now and begin today living life the way God intended it all along.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

The ball drops in Times Square, of New York City.  As this blog is posted at 6:00PM CST, it will drop five hours from now.  When it reaches the bottom it will be a new year; 2022!  I’ve mentioned before how much I like “new”.  New is fresh and clean, at least for a while.  How long will it take for me to put a spot, or blemish on the New Year coming?  Knowing me, not long.

But life isn’t always about counting down to a celebration.  In real life, when the ball drops it can mean a lost job, the unexpected death of a family member, a bad medical report, the end of marriage, or some other unexpected, unpleasant event.

I have also mentioned before how I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.  I, like so many others, break them in the first week.  But there is something I want to change in me.  That is how I react to people, things, and even unexpected ball drops.  I want to operate in one, or multiple “fruits of the Spirit”.  You know them;

 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Gal. 5:22-23.

My favorite part of verse 23 is this, “against such things, there is no law.”  I take this as to mean that this fruit is from God, and no one can affect them, change them, or remove them!  With God’s help, I can renew my mind and my first reaction to anything said, or done will be one of these fruits.  Fruit, as we know, provides nutrients that are good for us, and others.  Fruit tends to be sweet, delicious, and full of flavor.  When this type of change comes about, all will be better for it.

So come on 2022!  I’m ready to change!

Happy New Year!

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Big Chicken Day!

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, or as April calls it, “Big Chicken Day!”  Being thankful should come easy, but this year I had to think a moment.  Yes, I have survived any sickness from Covid, and those around me that got it have come through okay.  April and I were finally reunited earlier this year, that was awesome!  And I got medical attention before having serious issues.  So yes, I did have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  I forgot, God consistently provides for our financial needs and helps us bless others as well.

It bothers me that it took a bit of time to remember.  Those were big moments worthy of a big chicken to celebrate God’s faithfulness to me, his child, and his servant.  Why is it easier for me to only focus on the current irritants of life?  I don’t like it!

Recalling what God has done for us in the past helps our faith grow, which can help us with what we are currently going through.  The verse below is very popular, but here is a fresh spin on it.  It should help us remember how great God is; all the time:

1 The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.
2 He provides me rest in rich, green fields
    beside streams of refreshing water.
    He soothes my fears;
3 He makes me whole again,
    steering me off worn, hard paths
    to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.

4 Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness,
    I am not overcome by fear.
Because You are with me in those dark moments,
    near with Your protection and guidance,
    I am comforted.

5 You spread out a table before me,
    provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies;
You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil,
    filling my cup again and again with Your grace.
6 Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me
    where I go, always, everywhere.
I will always be with the Eternal,
    in Your house forever.

Psalms 23 (The Voice)

So thank you God, for all, and for everything, on this day, but especially on Big Chicken day!

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

God Day

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Okay, I do realize that this coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, but at the time of this writing it is the anniversary of my father’s death, so I was thinking about him as well.  Then a thought came flying down the big brain bypass.  I say “big brain” not because I am smart, but because I am always thinking.  The thought was, “What would God want for “God Day”?

Pastor Robert Morris says, “To find Biblical answers, you must look in the Bible.”

“I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Deu. 30:19-20 MSG.

God wants you to have life now and for eternity.  He wants to talk, yes talk to you.  He has a lot to say.  He created man in the first place to have someone who would choose to love him back by their own doing.  He wants to have a great relationship with you.  He hopes you will choose him, which is choosing life.

God is amazing.  He made us, therefore we belonged to him, but He gave us the freedom to choose to love him.  Then, after Adam and Eve sinned and mankind was doomed to eternal death, God gave us his only son to die a brutal death on a cross that purchased us back to God.  But then He did the most unselfish thing one could do afterwards, He gave us that freewill again to decide for ourselves if we want to love him.

God wants us to have a life full of the fruit of the spirit.  You know, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.  That means, no one can police them, regulate them, market them, or stop them, but all mankind can profit from them.

Don’t you see?  God wants nothing but good for you, but the only thing He wants from you, is your heart.  I hope you have already given it to him, or you will, soon, perhaps even today.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.