The 529 Plan

In America, most of us are aware of “529 Plans.” A plan that allows you to invest in the college education of your child and not pay taxes on it if I remember correctly. I had one such plan for each of my children.

I was in the hospital over the last weekend. I know. I spent New Year’s Eve in a hospital bed. I’m okay now after having a procedure done yesterday, New Year’s Day, and I was released this afternoon.

After my procedure was over and I went to a room where I was allowed to eat again, I relaxed, and I asked God to give me the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with someone before I left the hospital. The first one was at 12:01 AM. A young man came into my room and, of course, woke me up to see if I was being taken care of okay during my stay. I said I was, but then somehow the conversation turned to how he got to Tulsa, and then he even shared with me how he found God. It’s an amazing testimony that I may share later.

We spent forty minutes talking, and I was so moved about what he and his wife wanted to do in the future. Then I asked if I could pray with him. He agreed. As I prayed, I felt led by God to say certain words. Those words turned out to really minister to him. He said they resonated with him because they were along the line of thoughts and prayers with God he had been having lately.

If that wasn’t enough, this morning, a young woman came into my hospital room to draw blood. I tried to make small talk with her, but it wasn’t going well. Then I asked her, “Why are you so sad?” She immediately looked up at me and asked, “How did you know that?” I proceeded to share with her that I had the gift of discernment and that God had told me she was.

I asked if she wanted to talk about it, and she declined my offer. So I proceeded to share with her that it was going to be okay and that God had sent me there to tell her that. The countenance on her face immediately turned, and she began smiling. I told her not to get hung up on the discernment part but rather to focus on the message from God. I said, “He sees what you are going through and has heard you crying out to him. He loves you so very much.” She thanked me and then started crying. It was at that point my eyes leaked as well. She completed her task and thanked me again for being bold enough to talk to her.

I felt good in my spirit after she left. I recalled my request to God the night before. I was thrilled when I realized I got to work with Him to “invest” in those two individual’s lives/futures. Then I looked at the info board that the nurses write on. There, at the top, I saw it. My room number. “529!”

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady

Seeing

There are times we are tempted to only use our physical eyes to see.  To see what is going on around us in life, our community, and our world. If we only use these eyes to get an image of truth, then we might very well be blind!

For children of God, we have another set of eyes.  “Spiritual Eyes”. These eyes are connected to our heart. They are a lot more powerful than our physical eyes. They help us have clearer vision. You see the retina of these eyes that I am writing about are connected to God.

Powered by His Spirit, it is possible to see into the future, or to visualize individuals the way God sees them. With these eyes the Holy Spirit can show us things that we would otherwise have no knowledge of. We can gain wisdom and understanding, knowledge and power. We can look at events happening around us as God sees them, and with that kind of vision obtain peace.

With this knowing, we may be led to speak to an individual, and share what we have seen. This is often called being prophetic. Shawn Bolz proclaims,

“The prophetic is to be used to connect the heart of man to the heart of God.”

With this knowledge comes responsibility as well. Before we share what we have seen we should first ask God, “Why have you shown me this?” God sometimes only reveals these things so you will pray. The focus should not be on the supernatural that has transpired, but instead what God wants to say, or do in a person’s life. In other words, someone knowing something about you, that there is no other way they could know except God revealed it, should get your attention to listen to what comes “after” the prophetic word.

But when someone prophesies, he speaks to encourage people, to build them up, and to bring them comfort. 1 Cor. 14:3 (TPT)

Having this kind of vision can be very beneficial. It comes by being connected to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and staying close to God, walking with him on a daily bases. If God uses you in this way remember; you are only responsible to give the word. If the person receives it or not, is not on you. If you see something, or hear something about someone, and you feel it is okay to share than by all means do it.  For you have nothing to lose, but they have everything to gain.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.