Number 1000

March 13, 2026March 12, 2026 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. With that said, I wonder what a 1000 blog posts are worth? In case you haven’t caught on by now, this is blog number 1000 posted on WordPress for me. I posted some on a previous web server, but I can’t remember how many.

It has taken ten years to reach this point. I started out blogging once a week, but about six years ago, I increased it to two a week. With God’s help, in those ten years, I have only missed two deadlines. I would have missed three, but that night the Holy Spirit kept prompting me to write a blog and post it. I did, and I found out thirty-five minutes later that it changed a woman’s life. I have never missed one since.

At the time of this writing, this blog has been read in 165 different countries. I am humbled by that number. Again, only with God’s help. When I was a child, I heard about the Great Commission. Take the Gospel to the world. Being a rather normal kid in Oklahoma, I had no idea how I could fulfill that commission, but God did. He knew about the Internet before Al Gore allegedly invented it.

But numbers don’t measure success. When it comes to building the kingdom of God, it comes down to how many lives have been influenced or changed because of the message one has read or heard.

Speaking of numbers, I have observed that the more successful blog sites are written by some of the most narcissistic individuals I have ever seen. They will write about something that has nothing to do with God, and they might receive hundreds of likes. Sometimes, I’m fortunate to get one or two. And I’m okay with that because again, I have no idea the impact the words God gives me to write have, but I do know that “his” words do not return to him void, empty. (Isa. 55:11)

I also know that one lady, I used to work with, shared with me that she started going back to church after reading this blog site for a while. Another lady told me she was going to quit her job because she had made two minor mistakes, and she started listening to the devil, who was lying to her that she was worthless and didn’t know what she was doing. That she wasn’t worthy of doing her job. One blog she read that night encouraged her not to quit and to stop listening to the devil.

Changed lives. That is success. And how many other stories are there that I don’t even know about yet this side of heaven?

So, again, I am humbled that God asked me to do something I enjoy, help Him encourage people, or love on His people. I will continue to write as long as these fingers type.

With that said, I appreciate every reader. Thank you for the likes because they do something in us writers that is encouraging. I also am thankful for those who take the time to write a comment. There is one reader, from Kansas, I believe, who informed me that he got busy with life and had to delete a lot of his emails. But he went on to say that he never deleted my blogs. My heart was touched. He is currently about nine months behind, so he won’t see this until next year. LOL. But “Thank you” for all your encouragement and kind words. I appreciate you so much. You know who you are.

This is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech! Thank you to April, who is so generous in giving me time to write. I would also like to thank my very special friend, Steve. If it weren’t for him and his initial encouragement, “not to worry about what people thought of my writing,” this blog may have never started. Thank you, Steve! You mean a lot to me. And never stop asking me questions, like you did, “What’s stopping you from writing?”

With that, I will end. So, “Happy 1000 Blog!” May God continue to use you to encourage people to grow in their relationship with you.

Can You Relate?

February 17, 2026February 10, 2026 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I heard the other day about a conversation in which people who do know God believe they shouldn’t bother Him with what they would consider a trivial request. One lady felt it was wrong to ask God for a parking space near a store’s door when it is raining.

If you have read these blogs for very long, then you know how I feel about this subject. If it matters to you, then it matters to God. No matter how minuscule your concern may be to you. I have asked God to help me move, fix, heal, lift, and do various other things, and He has. I have asked him to keep me safe, and He has. I have personally had God perform many miracles in my life and have received several loving and thoughtful gifts after another.

God loves us so much. I wish people would realize that and act as if they believed it. I keep my awe and respect for God, but I communicate with Him like I would a good friend. I don’t think of God as an “In Case of Emergency Break the Glass” God. He’s not a personal “Jeannie” either! But I have no issues with making my request known. It’s up to Him and His wisdom to answer or not. God is relatable. He knows what you are going through, and He actually cares about it.

I challenge you to go deeper with God. Give Him a chance to demonstrate who He really is. Study the names of God, and believe they are more than just a title. Now that I think about them, a lot of them are more like “verbs!” Jehovah-Rapha means, “God who heals.” Jehovah-Jireh means, “The Lord will provide.” Palet means, “Deliverer.”

God is everything you need! The sooner you agree to that and accept it, the better off you will be.

How Many Stories is Your House?

September 19, 2025August 8, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“BREAKING NEWS! Man arrested for killing his wife and two kids. Film at 10!” Then you watch the story, and how many times do you hear, “I’m shocked! He was a quiet man who always helped his neighbors.”

Yesterday, we learned that a long-time city official, here in my hometown, was arrested for dealing in child pornography. And a few months ago, a story came out of a man held captive in his bedroom for decades. He finally set a fire so they would break into his room and rescue him.

My point is this: you never know what is going on in a house when the door is closed. But we do, “Stories.” Stories are being written. Some are good ones while others are bad, dark, and downright evil. Most of them aren’t perfect, and all of them are written with drama. Life doesn’t always end with, “and they all lived happily ever after.”

One can only hope for the best outcome, and for the believer in God, that usually happens if we rely on His help. If we practice life with the other members of the household, exercising the “Fruit of the Spirit” and God’s kind of “Love.” If we create an atmosphere of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And practicing God’s kind of love, which is not selfish, envious, boastful, or arrogant. It remembers no wrong. It hopes all things, believeth all things, and endures to the end.

The above words are difficult to live out, all the time, but if we try, then we can be sure that our stories, in our home, will be good ones. There will be laughter instead of crying. There will be building up versus tearing down. Members of the family will feel love and be prone to love back. So, I must ask, how many stories is your house and what kind? Remember to pray for your neighbors. They might wave when they see you getting the mail, but I dare say, you have no idea of the truth when they go back inside and shut the door.

Fruit of the Spirit = Gal. 5:22-23
God’s love = 1 Cor. 13:4-8

First Place Trophy?

August 1, 2025June 30, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

One man bragged that he had a trophy wife. His buddy said, “Yeah, but she came in sixth place!”

I know a man, and the second time I had a conversation with him, the Holy Spirit whispered, “Watch out for this man. Don’t get too close to him and guard what you say to him.” He started sharing with me his religious trophies. In other words, what he thought he had done “for God,” but in reality, he did them for himself. There was one such trophy that shocked me when he shared it. He seemed proud of it, too, which bothered me. It was something that didn’t seem right, for one who claims to be a Christ follower, to be a part of.

I’m sorry I can’t reveal more about what he told me because it is possible that some who read these blogs know him and I have always strived not to expose people for what they are, but to make a point. Who this man is isn’t important, but his being “religious” is!

Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. Jam. 1:26-27 (MSG)

Focusing on the part of the above verse that is labeled as “Real religion” is really about “love.” God’s love. Simply loving on people. Bob Goff wrote a book about it titled “Love Does.” I’ve had the opportunity to hear Bob speak in person. One story he shared I can’t forget.

He said he was picked up at the airport in a limo. On his way to his hotel, he asked the young driver, “Have you ever ridden back here?” “No,” said the chauffeur. Bob says he thought for a moment and then said, “Why don’t you pull over and get back here and I’ll drive for you.” “What?” exclaimed the driver. “Of course, if we do this, you have to let me wear the hat!” They exchanged places. The young man had never been shown or felt such love.

Doing something out of the ordinary for someone else gets their attention. They sit up and start paying attention to why this person is different than anyone they have ever met. Many times, they will even ask, “Why are you doing this?” Or, “Why are you different?” Jesus dined with tax collectors, and they were considered bad people. He became friends with a woman caught in adultery. He understood and didn’t condemn when a woman went against her culture to touch the hem of his garment.

Those people didn’t see “religion,” they saw “love in motion.” Jesus never dragged out his trophies of all the miracles he had performed and showed them off. He never had the disciples stop and polish them either. Jesus simply loved, and talked about his heavenly Father and a better way to live.

Be Consistent

July 11, 2025June 28, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

My friend, David, loves God and loves people. He is always looking around, observing his world to see if he can help someone who has a need. He believes that gives him an opportunity to share about God and God’s love. Some may minimize lifestyle evangelism and think that people only accept Jesus after hearing a sermon, but more are likely to after you meet a need in their life. This was Jesus’ approach many times. He met their need, and then they accepted him.

David said he went to a restaurant the other day, and while he was eating, the lady who had taken his order came up to him. “You’re religious, right?” she asked. “No. I’m not religious at all, and I don’t like religion. Religion is about rules. But I do have a great relationship with God. He loves us so much, and I love him back,” he told her. “Aren’t you the one who bought the homeless man dinner a few months ago?” “Yes. That was me,” he replied.

David said that he was surprised she remembered him. Evidently, his actions made an impact on her. It got her attention. He went on to tell me that as he was eating, he noticed how many customers were coming in. The restaurant was getting slammed! He also noticed that the customers who left didn’t get their tables bussed. He knew what he needed to do.

He said he quickly jumped up and continued where the waitress had left off. He stacked the dirty dishes in the tub, along with the glasses, silverware, and trash. He also knew to wipe off the tables and wipe out the seats of the booth. The tub got full, and he knew he couldn’t take it into the kitchen, so he left it on the table across from his.

With the newest customers’ orders now in the system, she returned to the dining room. “I know that is not where I left the tub,” she commented to David. She looked around and saw a lot of clean tables. “Did you do this?” she inquired. “Maybe an angel did it,” he said with a big smile on his face. “Thank you. You didn’t need to do that,” she said. “But you all were getting slammed, and the new customers needed clean places to sit and eat,” he commented.

David knows that she will definitely remember him. She witnessed his consistency in putting God’s love on display and in motion. And he knows that the next time he goes in there to eat, she will be primed. This means that her heart will be open and ready to hear more about God’s love for us and his Son’s gift of salvation. For the harvest is ready, but the number of workers is few.

Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.
1 Cor. 3:5-8 (MSG)

“Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest-ready fields.”
Matt. 9:38 (NET)

One Man’s Journey

June 20, 2025June 9, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I met a guy the other day who admitted he wasn’t a Christian. I think he said he wasn’t sure about the whole man needs saving from his sins thing and that the only way to heaven was through Jesus. His wife recently asked Jesus into her life because of the change in her father after he did and then the miraculous healing that took place in him. Perhaps I’ll share his testimony in some post.

As the guy and I talked, I kept saying to myself, “Don’t be weird, and don’t be ‘religious.’” I don’t think Jesus was when he had conversations with those who had not yet accepted him and had not started following him. I wanted him to see that some Christ followers are just regular people who love God because He first loved us.

The man was highly intelligent and extremely funny, although some of his humor was a little dark. Speaking of dark, he told me he tried to get his wife to put some kind of balls in her pockets when she was baptized. He said it would have turned the water black. He laughed, implying that perhaps she hadn’t bathed in a while. I thought about it, and I said, “She should have!” He looked at me with a strange look. “I said that would have been symbolic of what happens when one accepts Jesus and gets baptized. Their sins, their filth, are washed away, and they come out clean, forgiven.”

As we were ending our time together, I told him that it was okay, as he was on his own private journey to God. I also told him that we (the church) loved him. He was surprised and asked, “Why? You all don’t know me.” I replied, “True, but God does, and He loves you, so we love you.” The Holy Spirit whispered that line to me. I’m not that smart.

I hope and pray those last words will become like a pebble in his shoe. As he walks and continues his journey, the pebble, those words will not depart from him, but will be like a goad that leads him to Christ.

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice in the Hebrew tongue saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you continue to persecute Me [to harass and trouble and molest Me]? It is dangerous and turns out badly for you to keep kicking against the goads [to keep offering vain and perilous resistance]. Acts 26:14 (AMPC)

The Other Side of Love

April 22, 2025April 17, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You’ve heard it said, “There are two sides to every coin.” A true statement. But did you know there were two sides to love? Yep. It is easy to love those who love you. It is easy to do for them: go the extra mile and sacrifice because you love them, and they love you.

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Mat. 5:46-48 (MSG)

But what if you figure out someone is taking advantage of you?
Go the extra mile. Do more than what they ask.

But what about when they hurt you?
Turn the other cheek.

But what if they hate you?

But what if they persecute you?
Bless them.

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously. Luke 6:28-30 (MSG)

Doing what Jesus instructed is so difficult! You don’t want to. In fact, it goes against everything that is within your flesh. But we are called to live by the Spirit of God. A lot of us find it easy to love when loving the other person is easy, but those same people probably find it almost impossible (including me) to love those who hurt us. If you can do this, you will be close to becoming like Jesus in ALL ways.

Our goal, as Christ’s followers, should be to be like Jesus, who only did what He saw His Father in heaven do. So, we should be like God. And God is love—perfect love—to every person, no matter what! That is living “both” sides of love!

She’s Poisonous

April 1, 2025March 27, 2025 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

When I was a teenager, I was hunting crawdads to go fishing with. I had knelt in shallow water so I could grab them. Then, I noticed the tail of a snake dangling near me. He was in a willow tree, which I knew they liked. To see if I was in real danger, I needed to find its head and see if its eyes were slitted or not. In Oklahoma, all poisonous snakes have slitted eyes. I spotted it, and it was about 6 inches from my nose. His eyes were not slitted, so he was just a regular water snake.

The older woman looked nice. Not an auburn hair out of place. No doubt due to the amount of hairspray she had used. Her clothing looked like an outfit purchased from Neiman Marcus. Sorry, I forgot to notice her shoes. In the last two weeks, April and I learned all we needed to know about this woman, even though our conversations only lasted a few minutes.

Every Sunday, she goes to the same Chinese restaurant right after church. The first week, I invited her to join us so she would not have to eat alone, but she responded, “Thank you, but whenever I dine with people, I focus on them, and I don’t get to enjoy my food.” The second week, I said, “Because you’re dressed so nicely, you must go to church before coming here.” “Of course, I go to church,” she responded rather sharply. “That’s good. Which one?” “I go to (name of church). It used to be called (old name of church). I don’t know. I guess someone got into the ear of the pastor and convinced him we needed to change the name of the church to attract younger people.” Then she went on to inform me that she plays the organ there and wanted me to know that she had for 57 years! I said, “You must be good.” “Of course I am!” It was at that moment I looked into her eyes. In my spirit, I heard, “She’s poisonous!”

When April and I got in the car, I told her what I heard in my spirit. Then I said, “I don’t want to be around her ever again. April, who has the gift of discernment, agreed. So why is she poisonous?

She doesn’t like or love people. She would rather sit alone and eat her meal.

She doesn’t like change. She likes things the way they are. Don’t you dare suggest she do something new or different. She will dig her heels in and give you an attitude like changing the name of the church.

She is full of pride. “Well, I’ve played the church organ for 57 years! I’m good at it!” Again, she doesn’t like change.

She is selfish. She wants everything to go “her” way.

She won’t listen to the Godly. She has heard messages from her pastor, yet she hasn’t changed. She has most likely ended relationships with people of God. Probably because they tried to encourage her to “love.” She hears God’s words preached, but they fall on hardened soil. A hardened heart. They take no root. They produce nothing beautiful in her life.

Sadly, she will never change. She will never become a vessel of God’s love.

In my life, I have come across others like her. One thing I have also learned is poisonous people hurt people. They will strike and bite you and feel they are doing it to defend themselves. Therefore, it is best to avoid snakes, poisonous people. I don’t know if she will make it into heaven or not. That is solely up to God, but I do know one thing: God doesn’t care much for snakes!

You May Not Know God

February 25, 2025February 15, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Do you think God is so cold and so hard-hearted that He will not open his arms to the one who comes to him? Do you think He looks in a book and says, “I’m sorry. You messed up too many times.”? Do you believe that what you have done is so horrible that you do not qualify for his love and forgiveness? If so, then you may not know God.

The words that have hurt so many. The lies that have deceived and led astray the innocent. The conniving, the stealing, the murder, the cheating. It has amounted to so much pain. Do you consider that your actions are too much for God to forgive? If so, then you may not know God.

Satan, the devil will tell you it is. That there is no room in God’s kingdom for someone like you. That you have failed, that you aren’t good enough, that you don’t measure up. If you have believed any of these lies, then you may not know God.

For God IS love. Everything He does stems from a heart full of love for you.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Rom. 8:31-39 (MSG)

Ask him for his love and forgiveness, and he will give it to you.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9 (NIV)

NOW, YOU KNOW GOD!

But Then There Were People

February 14, 2025February 12, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

What do you think of people? Do you like them? Tolerate them? Or are they merely interruptions? I have said a few times I could do without them. I know. Shocking. If I had the choice and the resources, I could live in a small cabin away from people. Kind of like Theodore (Ted) John Kaczynski, only without mailing bombs to people.

I don’t hate people, but I have come to realize that interacting with them requires something of me that doesn’t come easily: love. More specifically, God’s love. Consistently producing God’s kind of love in some form or another takes effort. Let’s face it: reacting in our flesh is much easier.

“Jesus had a plan for the day, but then, there were PEOPLE!” – Rich Rubietta.

Dealing with people takes time. But when it happens unscheduled, you have a decision to make. Am I going to stop, talk, minister, help, or what? My response to this person will be time-consuming!

The other day, I was trying to finish my grocery shopping before getting to a doctor’s appointment. I know the store well, so I grabbed the needed items and threw them in my cart. “Can you help me? I’m having chest pains,” the woman said. She got nervous, though, when she saw me pull out my phone and began to dial 911. “I’m not having a heart attack, but I feel anxiety. I only live a few miles from here, and I don’t feel like waiting for the bus. Would you be willing to drive me to where I live?”

I started thinking, why me? Had she asked others? Is this something she does all the time? Do I have a sign on my back that reads “Student Driver of God’s Love?” I’ll probably be late for my appointment. I had a good reason to say, “I’m sorry. I really can’t.” And I probably would have felt justified in doing so. What would you have done?

I agreed but found it challenging to keep her focused. Instead of getting in line like “normal” customers to get rung up, she took her laundry basket with her food around the customers, playing by the rules to the cashier directly. I kept reminding her we had to hurry because I had a doctor’s appointment.

I helped her get her groceries checked out and brought her to my car. As I was driving her to where she lived, I started telling her about God and His love. That God wanted to “love” on her today. Then I made an alter call. I asked her if she had ever asked Jesus Christ into her life for the forgiveness of her sins. I mean, the car was moving. Was she going to jump out to go the bathroom as some do when the minister does this in church? She said she had, but as she told me her story, it became apparent she hadn’t invited Him to be active in her life. I encouraged her to ask Him for help.

I got her delivered to the correct address faster than Uber Eats! I made it to my appointment with only minutes to spare. That wasn’t my plan. The nurse wanted to know why my blood pressure was high. LOL, I said, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I know God needed someone to remind the woman that He was still there and that despite some of her life choices, He still loved her. Honestly, I was humbled that He picked me. I got teary-eyed when I realized that a few minutes of my time could ultimately change that woman’s life and her address for eternity. If you say you love God, then you have to love people.

¹⁹We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. ^20-21If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. 1 John 4:19-21 (MSG)