Inside Out

May 12, 2023May 11, 2023 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“I never wanted you to see The darkest part of me.” A line in a song by Red. I have said that many times. I don’t like it when I lose self-control, and someone gets hurt. I don’t mean it to happen, and I definitely don’t want it to happen, but it does sometimes.

The darkest part of me is big, loud, mean, and ugly. It violates the scripture of Eph. 4:29. (Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, Amp.) Whenever it happens, I am embarrassed and immediately feel guilty. The Holy Spirit quickly convicts me of my sin, and I seek out the person I offended to apologize.

I was thinking about this the other day and wondered, what if I put on God’s armor? I know in Eph. 6:11-12 we are taught that it helps protects us against external attacks by the devil. But could some armor also protect others from the darkest parts of us getting out and hurting them?

If I was to put on a “Helmet of Salvation,” it might remind me I am saved from death. Therefore, I am in Christ and a Christian. Called a, “Christian” means being Christ-like. If I am an authentic Christian, then I need to act like Christ. Jesus Christ would not and didn’t hurt others by any means. Yet he did face frustration and anger but stayed in control while dealing with it.

If I do this and make it a regular practice in my life over time, I think I will change. As I become more like Jesus, the love in him will be in me. That love shining inside will be light that will cast out the darkness. That’s what light does. Eventually, what’s on the inside that comes out won’t hurt people but will cause them to feel loved.

Be Encouraged

February 24, 2023February 16, 2023 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

My life right now is a real call to “walking by faith.” It is taking longer than expected for God to answer my prayers. My cry for help. My need for his blessings to be poured out. God called April and me to do something this past January that has been a big step of faith. Each day without seeing his reward for our faithfulness and obedience to Him is another day of fear, nervousness, and anxiety IF WE ALLOWED.

April and I talk about the challenge. We pray. We encourage and remind each other of God’s faithfulness to his children. We read scriptures that help us and also encourage us. Today was one of those days, and Psalms 31 was one of those chapters, so I am sharing it with you.

Psalm 31 (The Message)

31 ^1-2I run to you, God; I run for dear life.
    Don’t let me down!
    Take me seriously this time!
Get down on my level and listen,
    and please—no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
    your high cliff nest a place of safety.

^3-5You’re my cave to hide in,
    my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
    be my true mountain guide.
Free me from hidden traps;
    I want to hide in you.
I’ve put my life in your hands.
    You won’t drop me,
    you’ll never let me down.

^6-13I hate all this silly religion,
    but you, God, I trust.
I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
    you saw my pain,
    you disarmed my tormentors,
You didn’t leave me in their clutches
    but gave me room to breathe.
Be kind to me, God—
    I’m in deep, deep trouble again.
I’ve cried my eyes out;
    I feel hollow inside.
My life leaks away, groan by groan;
    my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out,
    turned my bones to powder.
To my enemies I’m a monster;
    I’m ridiculed by the neighbors.
My friends are horrified;
    they cross the street to avoid me.
They want to blot me from memory,
    forget me like a corpse in a grave,
    discard me like a broken dish in the trash.
The street-talk gossip has me
    “criminally insane”!
Behind locked doors they plot
    how to ruin me for good.

^14-18Desperate, I throw myself on you:
    you are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
    safe from the hands out to get me.
Warm me, your servant, with a smile;
    save me because you love me.
Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;
    I’ve given you plenty of notice.
Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,
    leave them stupidly shaking their heads
    as they drift down to hell.
Gag those loudmouthed liars
    who heckle me, your follower,
    with jeers and catcalls.

^19-22What a stack of blessing you have piled up
    for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
    to escape an unkind world.
You hide them safely away
    from the opposition.
As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
    you silence the poisonous gossip.
Blessed God!
    His love is the wonder of the world.
Trapped by a siege, I panicked.
    “Out of sight, out of mind,” I said.
But you heard me say it,
    you heard and listened.

²³Love God, all you saints;
God takes care of all who stay close to him,
But he pays back in full
those arrogant enough to go it alone.

²⁴Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up.
Expect God to get here soon.

May you be encouraged as well in what you are going through.

“Thank you, God, for your Word that you gave us.”

What is Love?

February 14, 2023February 14, 2023 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Love, to me, is like riding a roller coaster. When you first encounter a roller coaster, you have never been on before you are filled with excitement, wonder, amazement, and even a little scared. You agree to get on the ride, and the attendant helps you with the restraining device. The ride starts moving, and you get a half smile on your face simply because you really don’t know what you are in for, and then comes the first hill.

At the top of the first hill is the least scary moment of a ride, but seconds later you will be screaming your head off, hanging on to that restraining device as if your life depends on it, and in reality, it does. There are twists and turns and ups and downs and tunnels of darkness, and even loops that can change your perspective, and it is about then you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?” You ride, you hang on, you go through all that commotion and then you are back into the station. The ride stops. It is time to get off. You stagger to the exit, the contents in your stomach have been shaken, not stirred, and you certainly feel it, yet what do you proclaim out loud, “I want to ride it again!”

In a dating relationship, one can certainly get off the ride, but there are some coasters you ride till death do you part. Now that would make an interesting sign above the entrance to a coaster. My kids and I love coasters. There was one Saturday at Six Flags Great America the park wasn’t too busy, and we rode 40 times on roller coasters. On the last coaster of the day, we stayed on continuously 16 times. We, as humans, are addicted to love. We like it, we want it, we crave it, and we need it.

For the past couple of days, I have listened to people on TV try to say what love is. None of them, even the ones with “Ph.D.” after their names even came close. Real love is as described in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and it takes this kind of love (God’s kind of love) to stay in any relationship, from friends to coworkers, to family, and to the spouse. Let me list a few here:

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails. (NIV)

The real test to see if YOU are “love” is to replace the word “love” in the above section and insert your name. You can certainly insert the name of Jesus in there, for we know He is love. So if you are currently in any relationship let love be your restraint, and hang on.

Nine Lives?

February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

They say cats have nine lives, and in some weird cases, that may be true, but a man?

“I have fallen off two roofs, maybe three, I can’t remember. I was digging a hole for a tank, and I hit a transmission line. I was lying on the ground about forty-five feet away when I woke up. A witness said there were lots of sparks and I should have died. Then there was the time I was involved in a vehicle accident where my truck went off the road and landed in some trees thirty feet above the ground,” said a man I had recently met.

I was shocked and amazed, and my reaction showed it. Then he said there had been several other times he probably shouldn’t have survived. The phrase of having “nine lives” was spoken. I sensed the Holy Spirit, and I said. “Man! God really must love you because your life has been spared so many times!”

“I don’t know about that.” He said.

“Well, do you have a personal relationship with God?”

“No.”

I then explained how one could have a personal relationship with God by asking His Son, Jesus, into their heart. How doing so would forgive them of their sin and wrongdoing. He squirmed and acted like he didn’t want to hear this. Then I felt as though he thought if he accepted Jesus into his life, he would have to change his behavior. I explained to him that getting to know God is the best thing to do. Start loving Him back. I mentioned how a relationship with God was not about “rules” or “do’s and don’ts.”

“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)

I went on to explain that everyone will die once, not nine times. Then they will be standing before God giving an account of how they lived their life. I explained how if one has accepted Jesus, they will continue that loving relationship with God for eternity in heaven. Or they will be forever separated from God’s presence in hell if they have not. He said he was a good man, and I agreed that he was. But I then informed him that our good doesn’t forgive us of our wrongs. That is why we needed Jesus. How Jesus was a perfect sacrifice for sin when He died on the cross.

Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation. Heb. 9:27-28 (MSG)

He then told me that he had to return to the project he was working on. My heart was broken knowing how much God loves us all. He simply wants us to receive His love and have a great relationship with him. Before we finished our conversation, I told him that he had heard the truth and there was no way he would ever be able to tell God, “No one told me!” Now you have been told as well.

Prayer: God, may everyone receive your love and your Son, Jesus, into their life. May they experience that love in all areas of their life. May they feel your love and go tell others so that no one will perish but have everlasting life with you.

It’s Not Them, It’s Him

December 20, 2022December 14, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

A woman’s friend stopped talking to her after being her best friend for 30 years. A man’s children disowned him. Another man’s own mother and sister have nothing to do with him. One woman doesn’t get invited to the family’s Christmas gathering.

What is it about these individuals? Why would people not want to be around them? Are they bad people? Rude? Inconsiderate? I know them, and the answer is not at all. But the one thing they all have in common is this; they all walk with God, and God’s presence surrounding them is strong.

People can sense God’s presence even though they do not see it. The funny thing about this is; when they are in that moment, there is a reaction. Some might sense it and celebrate, praise Him, or feel His love and be joyful. Others might sense guilt or conviction. It is this second reaction that drives people away. Little do they know that God isn’t condemning them but drawing them to accept His love, His Son, Jesus, and experience freedom. Yet they do not accept this truth but continue to believe the enemy’s lies that their way is better. Like a magnet, they repel from the one who walks with God.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. John 3:17 (NET)

A fellow blogger and I were discussing this recently. She commented on the price of picking up your cross and following Him. She’s right, but it hurts to be rejected. Jesus knows all too well about that. Yet it is only for a season because, in the end, we will be surrounded by those who love and choose God. So it really isn’t them, but Him.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. John 15:18 (NIV)

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:11 (NIV)

But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason. John 15:25 (NIV)

Because He Does It

November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

For the last several years, God has been nudging me to learn how to love unconditionally. What that boils down to is this; accepting someone just the way they are. That can be extremely hard to do, especially when you are around them. You might live with them, work with them, or be connected to them in another way. You might even know them through the church.

They probably don’t think like you and certainly don’t do everything the way you do or the way you think it should be done. They might even have personal habits that discuss you or you choose to get angry about. It’s hard and, at times, extremely hard! Especially when you are tired or low on patience and understanding. The problem may be with you. Like you may have high expectations. Or you might have arrogance issues thinking your way is the only way.

So how do you love the one that is so different than you? First, you have to make a willful decision to love them. To accept them as they are. They’re most likely not ever going to change, but you can. Then you have to remind yourself what real love is constantly.

Real love demonstrates patience, and genuine love is kind to the other person. Unconditional love puts up with the other person for a long time. It also forgets when they make the same mistake again and again. This kind of love means not having to have everything your way and it wants the best for the other person. That kind of love also does what it can to encourage them. If you practice this kind of love, you will not show how frustrated you are with your face or body language but will smile and assure them everything is alright.

Showing another person the kind of love above, God’s love, will make them feel loved. It might even change them, but that should not be your motive. Love them because it’s the right thing to do. It’s hard, but you can do it because He does it.

Psalms 36:7

7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalms 109:26

26 Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love.

Romans 5:8

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:7

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Romans 5:5

5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

1 John 4:8

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:19

19 We love because he first loved us.

Jeremiah 31:3

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Psalms 86:15

15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalms 136:26

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Romans 8:37-39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3:17-19

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

1 Corinthians 13:8a

⁸Love never ends.

But it Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas

November 25, 2022November 24, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I was flipping through radio stations last week and came across Christmas music. Yeah, one whole week before Thanksgiving, even. Why not? Stores have had Christmas items for sale displayed since Labor Day. But it doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Does it take party invitations or Christmas cards arriving? Making lots of plans for gatherings with family to make it feel like Christmas? How about putting up the Christmas tree? Or hanging some lights on the house? Going around and looking at other homes that put up lights? Do these activities make it feel like Christmas?

What if “Christmas” wasn’t a feeling but an attitude?

at·ti·tude

[ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od]

NOUN

a settled way of thinking about someone or something

So using the definition of “attitude,” I should have a settled way of thinking about Christmas. How does one do that? It starts with a healthy view of who Jesus Christ is. Yes, the baby that was born in a manger who we celebrate at Christmas. But that same child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. And he started his public ministry that wound up killing him. That baby one day hung on the cross and died for our sins.

Having the right attitude of who Jesus is, generates the right attitude about Jesus and Christmas. That means you can get excited about Christmas all year long because that is where God’s love began: He loved us so much that He gave us his only son. And ya know, I can “feel” God’s love; therefore, it can feel like Christmas!

Let us look only to Jesus. He is the one who began our faith, and he makes our faith perfect. Jesus suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.
Heb. 12:2 (ICB)

Why “MB4384?”

November 18, 2022November 19, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Our home WIFI was upgraded the other day, receiving a new gateway. “MB4384” was the name of our old network name, but for a specific reason, we could no longer use it. As I was getting all of our devices reconnected to the WIFI via the gateway’s default name and password, I told April we needed to come up with a network name and password. Of course, something easy to remember.

We discussed many options for both. We finally settled on “KUYA_MARK,” Tagalog for “Brother Mark.” We assumed no one in the neighborhood was using that for a network name. Then we came up with a password we could recall without having to look it up. Again, I reconnected all of our devices to the new network. That’s almost worst than having to turn all of your clocks backward.

“MB4384” became my company user name 17 years ago after SBC purchased AT&T. It took some time to get used to it. I had no idea how in the world they came up with that pattern of letters and numbers, but now I do. God had his hand in it!

Being extraordinarily vulnerable and transparent, getting married again after 24 some years of being single hasn’t been easy. There have been times I have wondered if I did the right thing. I know there were several events and moments of confirmation, but nothing beats what I am about to tell you.

As we were discussing possible names, April disclosed that she thought I changed my WIFI network name to “MB4384” after I met her. She didn’t know it was my AT&T user ID. I was confused, but I told her I used that name when I moved into the house five years ago. Thirteen months before I ever met April. Then I asked her, “Why did you think I changed it after meeting you?” She replied, are you ready for this? “Because that is my birthday.”

Yeah, that’s right. April was born on April 3, 1984, or 04/03/84 or 4384.

I teared up. Then I laughed as I thought about how funny God is. He knew 17 years ago (well, honestly forever) I would need another confirmation that no matter how hard getting used to being married again is for me, it is worth it because God ordained it. When you see that kind of love in action, it’s almost impossible not to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He has to have a purpose for us.

Thank you, God, for loving me.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jer. 29:11 (MSG)

I Was Begging for God

October 7, 2022October 1, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I knew how life was supposed to be lived, but I struggled every day to meet that challenge. I failed to finish high school, failed at being a husband, and now, as a father. So I found myself, despite the weather, on the side of an off-ramp, begging for money.

I understood it was hard for passers-by to give. They didn’t know my story. I looked normal; therefore, they wondered why I didn’t have a job instead of sitting there. As if I liked doing it. They probably thought I was just lazy and didn’t know about the mental illness I struggled with, which made it difficult to concentrate. Employers expect so much, and I found it hard to remember what I should be doing—I needed help!

One bright and sunny Sunday morning, a couple waiting for a green light gave me a $10 bill. I remember thinking, “Oh wow, they’re generous.” The following Sunday, they did the same thing. Now they had my attention. Whether they knew or understood me, they reached out to help me. They gave me the ten dollars the third week and asked, “Hey, we’re on our way to church. Would you like to go with us? They have free snacks, good music, and you’ll hear a positive message from the word of God.” I replied, “Church people don’t want me in their building.” They quickly came back with, “Our church accepts everyone.” I thought, Why not? I could at least get some food and use the bathroom.

The people at this church were friendly, and they actually shook my hand. I used the bathroom, grabbed some snacks, and my hosts got some for me, also. We found our seats, and the service started. The music was loud, upbeat, and positive. I didn’t know the words, but I liked it. Then they took up the offering. But this church was different and announced that if you needed help, feel free to take any cash out of the bucket when it came by. I couldn’t believe what I had heard.

Then they showed a video of the senior pastor. He preached a message about love, God’s love, and how it was for anyone, even people like me. For the first time in my life, I felt hope. I responded to the pastor’s invitation to accept this loving God into my life. There were tears, but they were cleansing. After the service, my hosts had me meet the local branch pastor. I told him what I did, and he hugged me and welcomed me to the family of God. Then he paused, looked at me, and said the church had developed a new program to help people in my situation.

Now I have a job, working for the church, working for people that understand me and my struggles. I contacted my ex-wife, and she is happy for me. She is even considering allowing me to see my kids. I still see the couple who used to give me $10 but giving me the opportunity to hear a message from God was worth so much more than the money.

The above story flashed through my mind while sitting in church last Sunday. April and I had just given a man sitting on the side of an off-ramp $10. I suggested inviting him to church, and April wisely said, “Build up a relationship with him for a couple of weeks.” I’ve been praying for him and looking forward to the coming weeks. Who knows what can happen by meeting someone’s physical needs first? After doing so, they might be open to an invitation to come and hear about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. There are many ways to build the kingdom of God.

But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? Romans 10:14 (MSG)

“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)

He Knew

September 30, 2022September 30, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I don’t usually open with scriptures, but I need to today to set the stage. I love this true story from the Bible. It speaks of love in action and adequately uses of “words of knowledge.”

John 8:1-11 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, ²but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. ³As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

⁴“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

⁶They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” ⁸Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

⁹When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. ¹⁰Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

¹¹“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

One could write about a lot from this passage, but I want to focus on one part. Most theologians, of which I do not consider myself to be one, honestly I had to look up how to spell it, agree that when Jesus bent down and wrote in the dust, he was writing the sins of the woman’s accusers.

So one might ask, “How did Jesus know their sins?” Yes, Jesus was the son of God, but he was the son of man when he walked the earth. Here is the answer; Jesus was filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

^16-17The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.” Mat. 3:16-17 (MSG)

The Holy Spirit filled Jesus the moment the dove landed on him. With the infilling comes power, as Jesus foretold his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Part of that power is knowing things about people. Sometimes, something they don’t want you to know. This is called; “word of knowledge.” This gift of the Spirit is sometimes needed to lead you on how to pray for someone, to get someone’s attention, so they will hear what comes after the supernatural event. One should not focus or get hung up on the gift when it is demonstrated but instead focus on what God wants to do.

I once got word of knowledge concerning a man and a woman in our church who weren’t married to each other. The Holy Spirit whispered, “affair.” After the initial shock, and I didn’t tell anyone in the church, which would have hurt them tremendously, but I prayed for them. A few weeks later, the woman’s husband was offered a job out of state, and they moved. God wanted me to pray, potentially preventing their desires from overtaking them. Am I special? Am I a saint? Am I a super Christian? No! The Holy Spirit chooses who to give this gift to, when, and where. (see 1 Cor. 12:11 but not now. After you finish this post.)

It is humbling to know things, to be used of God. So take it seriously, and be responsible with what you know. Jesus used his knowledge of the woman’s accusers to demonstrate forgiveness and love. Do you think the woman went away unchanged? No. She left forever changed, and no doubt shared her story with everyone. Be filled with the Spirit of God, and be open to being used by God to help change lives for eternity.