God

How to Live Life

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay

I decided to start 2024 reading from the book of Proverbs and, this time, from “The Message.” The introduction to the book used the subtitle of “A Manual For Living.”

1-6 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
    David’s son, Israel’s king—
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,
    to understand what life means and where it’s going;
A manual for living,
    for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
    and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
    still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
    the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Start with God

7 Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
    only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning. Prov. 1:1-7 (MSG)

The wisest man on earth says to start with God. Some of you may have a problem with that advice right there. You are still thinking that you know more about yourself and your life than He does. Others may have an issue with this because they feel God is nothing more than a bunch of rules. If this is you, then perhaps the problem is you don’t trust God. Maybe you look at someone else’s life who claims to be living for God, and yet they are not doing things that you approve of. Therefore, you have decided you don’t want to be like them. That is judgment and ultimately only an excuse.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to start new things like a new lifestyle. Evan a new perspective on God and try trusting Him more. If Soloman found it essential, then it is! Yes, you may have to die to yourself, but you begin to live life like never before.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

The 529 Plan

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

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

A Day Off

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Image by Pavlo from Pixabay

I had been asking God for about two weeks what He wanted to say for this blog post. I wasn’t hearing anything in my spirit. Notta. Nothing. I was beginning to consider taking a day off. After all, I have only missed two posts in nine years.

Then, my thoughts turned to God. Yes, He took a day off after creating the world we live in because that was work. And I do follow His example by not writing or editing anything on Sundays.

By the way, did you know the average McDonalds makes around $1,000.000 a year? But the average Chick-fil-A, which is closed on Sundays, makes about $5,000,000 a year!

But God never takes a day off from being God. He always has his eye on us. He is constantly moving in our lives.

From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind; Ps. 33:13 (NIV)

Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Is. 64:4 (NIV)

What do you know? I guess I had a blog post, after all!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

It’s Not Until

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“It’s not until you know how to die that you begin to know how to live.”

April and I were watching the movie “I Can Only Imagine” when the words above spilled into my heart. I have been thinking about them ever since.

Jesus knew how to die; therefore, He knew how to live. And He came to Earth as a baby, no less to show us. In a few days, we will be celebrating that birth. The birth of Jesus. He quietly entered the world, and only a few noticed. But his death shook the Earth and is still making headlines in the hearts and lives of people all over the world today! Jesus knew how to die.

Between the start of his life and his death, He showed us how to live. He laughed with us, cried with us, accepted us no matter what we had done in the past, and loved us. It was with love he lived, and it was in love He died. It was because of love and the love of His Father in heaven that He came in the first place; He did not want us to die eternally. Jesus knew how to live.

You see, it’s how you live your life that will determine where you spend eternity after you die. If, in your ever so brief life, you decide to accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation and ask him to forgive you of your sins, then you will live forever in heaven with him and probably a lot of your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members. But only if they accepted Jesus as well.

I know I’m not perfect. I have made a lot of BIG mistakes in life. I have hurt a lot of people, and I feel bad about that. The only thing that helps that pain is knowing that God has forgiven me through Jesus’ death on the cross. And every morning that I wake up, I have another opportunity to try my best to get that day right. That is what makes life worth living. So, I, too, know how to die, and I know from God’s word how to live, and that is with love.

16-18 “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)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Christmas Cards

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SENDING CARDS
Sending Christmas cards may soon be a thing of the past. I look at it as a way to say, “Hi. I’m still alive. I hope you are, too, and I wish you God’s best for the holiday season.” I once had a tradition where people received my Christmas card the day after Thanksgiving. I did it because I moved so much. I wanted them to have my new address! One year, I received a lady’s Christmas card in September. Inside, she wrote, “By God, you weren’t going to beat me this year!”

FUNNIEST CARD
The funniest card I ever received was in 2020. On the cover, it showed a Christmas tree made from stacked toilet paper rolls. (Leftover from the COVID pandemic. Thanks, Patty.)

MEANINGFUL CARD
There was one card that a friend of mine and I sent back and forth for twenty-nine years. It was the same card. We would find an open spot and sign our name with the year. I calculated that the card had traveled back and forth across America some 22,000 miles. The tradition ended when I lost the card in Chicago. I felt as if I had lost my friend. Two years later, I did.

FAVORITE CARD said:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior!

That card said it all. It shared what our greatest need was and what God did about it. If you have not accepted God’s gift of salvation, then it should be the first gift you open this Christmas. In fact, you can open it early and do it now! God is still meeting needs today. He is capable of meeting yours if you let him. Ask, and then believe that He will answer in the best way possible. He knows all the details. The ones we see and the ones we don’t.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:19 (NIV)

You may find yourself struggling this holiday season. It’s hard to be concerned with world issues when your issues feel as big as the world. Remember this: God sees you, loves you, and knows what your needs are. Give him a chance to show himself strong in your life.

And back to Christmas cards, take the time to send someone a card. Perhaps they are someone who doesn’t expect to be remembered this holiday season. I assure you, it will meet at least one need in their life.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Sensing Jesus – Nose

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The body’s nose is probably overlooked and perhaps underrated. Some joke about those who stick theirs in one’s business. Others may tease about one at work having a “brown” nose. Yet, the nose has the ability to bring fond memories back to one’s mind. I know whenever I smell dinner rolls, I recall walking into the house I grew up in and smelling homemade dinner rolls baking in the oven. They were usually the last item cooked, so the smell of rolls meant we would be eating soon.

Yet the nose has the power to save lives. Even now, as I am writing this post, I can still smell the remnants of the fire we had here last night. I was upstairs working when I started smelling the strong odor of a burning wire. I found where it was coming from. An outlet in the bedroom. I went and got my tools. When I removed the cover, a flame ignited from the smoldering wire. I didn’t think I had time to run to the garage to kill the power, so I picked up a pair of pliers that had rubber handles and shorted the circuit out.

I removed the burnt outlet and replaced it with a new one. I believe the culprit was a heater drawing too many amps and the breaker not doing its job. (I’m not an electrician, so I’m not sure about that, but I know I need to hire one to check things out.) April and I were relieved and thanked God for allowing me to smell the issue before it caught the house on fire.

Odors can save our homes and our lives. God likes odors or aromas, too. In the Old Testament, we can read that he took delight in the smells rising from the altar of the Holy of Holies. He also took delight when His Son gave himself up for us.

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Eph. 5:2 (NKJV)

We, too, should enjoy the fragrance of Jesus’ death on the cross that provided atonement for our sins. He willingly laid out his life on the altar for us. This Christmas, take time to take in the smells of the season and think about how sweet the aroma of life is through the gift of salvation.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Let Me Speak to Your Supervisor

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Markéta Klimešová from Pixabay

I have been watching an individual live their life this year the way they want to. It has not gone well. They have been controlled by a game-playing, conniving, lying woman. That caused him to drink himself into a drunken stupor. As a result of spending time in the hospital to dry out, he lost his job. Because of not being able to pay his rent, he was evicted.

Soak, wash, rinse, repeat. After struggling, he managed to get his job back but then repeated the same pattern, the only difference being with a different girl. To add to the injury, he did all this while being separated from his wife and ignoring his children. What kind of life is that?

As I was thinking about his life, I realized one thing: he does not feel as if he is accountable to anyone! Not to his wife, his children, his mother and father, his girlfriend, his friends, his boss, his landlord, or God. No one. He is accountable to God, ultimately, but he fails to see that. You could say he has no fear of the consequences of his actions.

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Rom. 14:12 (NIV)

We should be accountable to people but especially live our lives accountable to God. You will make mistakes, but if you have accepted Jesus, you can ask for forgiveness. Then, it is also a good idea to ask others for forgiveness if you hurt them. Knowing you have to give an account of how you live will cause you to live differently, or at least it should.

“Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.” Mat. 10:28 (MSG)

Whether you admit it or not or live accordingly, you are accountable to people and God. If you are not living that way, you will continue to suffer. Did I mention he also totaled his car? So get with the program, or we will have to speak to your supervisor, God.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Find Encouragement

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments
Image by Pexels from Pixabay

In your best movie voiceover, “In a world where finding encouragement can be next to impossible.” Do you ever feel that way? The nightly news will try to end on a high note, but the majority of their broadcasts are negative. You go to work, you listen to your coworkers complain about, well, everything. You get home, and you hear complaints from your family, and the emails you open are bills.

I decided to reread the book of Psalms this year. But this time, I am reading it from The Message. I read an article the other day where the author ran this version into the ground. Yes, it is a translation, paraphrased from the original language into modern English. I like it, though. I have really enjoyed The Psalms, especially Chapter 119. It is so relatable to how we live today. In the Psalms, I have found encouragement.

I was inspired to try my hand at writing a modern-day Psalm.

See me, Lord. Here, praising your name.
For I am nothing without you.
When I follow your ways, my life works out.
In your word, I find wisdom.

You are right. Love is a better way to live.
And it is better to ask you, ‘O Lord, to revenge my enemies.
May they find you in the midst of it all,
and turn from their wicked ways.

I enjoy it when I have opportunities to show your love to others.
It delights my soul. Especially when they know it’s from you.
And there is no greater joy than when they accept you.
When they begin to fall in love with you as I have.

Help me, Father, to keep my heart pure.
To respond to others with pureness and love.
Guide me to know what is on your heart,
as I work to write words that will help others.

All to you, “O Lord, and to your glory!
May your name be famous in all the earth.
Only in you is all hope, encouragement, and happiness.
Only in you is an authentic life.
Psalms 1:1-5 (MBV) (Mark Brady Version)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Palestinians Need to Go!

/ Mark Brady / 4 Comments

There’s a lot of debate these days concerning what Israel should do with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Usually, I don’t write about political issues, but I can’t ignore this one. It’s my humble opinion that Israel should completely remove the Palestinians from their land. Not kill them but drive them out. Why do I say that?

50-53 God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Tell the People of Israel, When you cross the Jordan into the country of Canaan, drive out the native population before you, destroy their carved idols, destroy their cast images, level their worship-mounds so that you take over the land and make yourself at home in it; I’ve given it to you. It’s yours. Num. 33:50-53 (MSG)

God knew if the Israelites didn’t obey Him and remove the people who occupied the land He was giving them, then they would be tempted to become like them and serve their gods. It can be difficult sometimes to worship and serve a God you can’t see. That is one reason the people who did not know God built idols of their made-up gods so that they could see them. In reality, it takes more faith to worship a god that is dead!

There is no difference with some people today. They have an innate desire to serve a god, and so they worship all kinds of things that are dead and can’t do anything for them. And those who do know God and even live according to his word, if they do not remove the things of the world from their land, territory, home, and life, they, too, will turn from God eventually.

Some are easily influenced or persuaded by what appears to be successful people who don’t know God. They too easily give up on God or grow impatient with Him to move in their life. So, the same principle God told Israel of removing anything that would come before Him from their land applies to our lives. That is why Israel should remove the Palestinian people from their land. Otherwise, they will always be a thorn in their side. They will continue to cause trouble for Israel. That is the ONLY way to bring real peace to the land.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

$1000 Seed

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There is a ministry on TV every weekend, usually in the middle of the night. These days, I am up at that time because I can’t go back to sleep. I’m not sure why I even give the program a minute of my time because I know that no matter what they are saying when I tune in, they will eventually ask viewers to give money.

I have watched enough to know they ask for a donation of $1000. They call it a “seed offering.” The speaker assures me that God will take my offering and bless it, and I will receive many times more than what I gave. I have wondered Why does it have to be $1000? I did notice during the COVID pandemic, they only asked for $333, and then it went down to 58 dollars a month! Their plea must work because they keep doing it. I think many people are so desperate for money that they will try anything.

I have also pondered I wonder what God thinks of this so-called ministry. How will He judge them? I mean, couldn’t there be a “Dollar Tree Church?” And why is giving money to them all they ever talk about? I respect the TV ministries that never directly ask for money. They might give you an opportunity to support them, but they don’t use their expensive TV time, only asking for money.

“If God is in it, He will fund it.”

Bill Gothard

Here is what I know for sure is true: God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) He will bless you if you give, for the right reasons, especially if you do it his way. According to Malachi 3:10. You can never outgive God. Giving is about the attitude of your heart and not about getting something back. With that said, I started tithing at the age of eleven. I give credit to God that I have never gone lacking for a job. I also gave Him praise when I was able to retire at age 55. Trust me, it wasn’t due to me being a financial expert when it came to investing.

The next time you are up in the middle of the night, and you come across a TV minister asking you to send him a $1000 seed, resist the urge. If you still want to sow a financial seed, plant it into your local church that you know is building God’s kingdom and not their own.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady