God’s love

“I Miss You!”

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image via A.I.

“I miss you!” texted the woman I was seeing several years ago. I was surprised. No one had ever said that to me before. I didn’t understand. “I replied to her, “You just saw me, like, less than two hours ago.”

Fast forward to last Saturday. April was attending her women’s Bible study. Out of the blue, she texted me, “I miss you.” Now I gotta tell ya, it does feel good to be told that. To know that someone in this world misses not being with you in your presence. When I asked her why she said that she responded by saying, “We were discussing “love.”

So, for a few days, I pondered the phrase. I realized and then felt guilty, that we need to love God so much and be in his presence that we say. “I miss you” to God. Being in the presence of God is an incredible feeling! You don’t want to leave because you feel his love surround you.

Being in the throne room of heaven is a privilege we only have because of Jesus dying on the cross. You see, the moment he exhaled his last breath, the veil in the temple of God was ripped from top to bottom. We were no longer separated from God. But now we can enter with boldness and confidence that we are welcomed.

When Jesus died on the cross, God tore the veil in the Jerusalem temple from top to bottom. No one but God could have done such a thing because that veil was 60 feet tall and four inches thick. The direction of the tear meant God destroyed the barrier between himself and humanity, an act only God had the authority to do. (Source: LearnReligions.com)

50 But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
51 At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. Mat. 27:50-51 (MSG)

So, with that, “I miss you, God.”

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

CSI: Heaven

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image generated via A.I.

I used to drive fast.  I mean, really fast, or perhaps I should say, “stupidly fast!”  In the early eighties, in Massachusetts, I was driving my Chevette.  Okay, you can stop laughing now.  As I was going up a hill and into a sharp turn to my left, I saw a car coming fast, straight for me in my lane.  It was going to be a head-on collision, and I said to myself, oh, this is going to hurt!  But right before the point of impact, I shut my eyes hard and screamed, “Oh God!”

My car kept moving around the bend in the road, but my body got pushed back into the seat and then forward.  I remember thinking, what?  When I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw that the car was so close behind me that I couldn’t see the license plate.  Did the other vehicle go through me?

Suppose you could go back and examine the scenes of your life.  The ones that astounded you, surprised you or perhaps hurt you the most.  You might be compelled to look for clues to answer those nagging, lingering questions like, “How did this happen?”

If you could dust the scene for fingerprints to find out who was involved, you know, like a crime scene investigator, would it surprise you if you detected God’s fingerprints?

Not that He was the one who did the damage, but that He was there.  Most likely keeping you from being killed or injured more severely.  Perhaps it was he who got you out of there or got you help in a timely manner.  How many times have you shared your story and have heard people respond something like, “Wow, God was definitely with you.”

I think we will all be surprised when we learn how God was involved in our lives.  Either he did it because he loves those who call him Father, or he did it hoping you would feel his involvement and choose to love him back.  Either way, he did it out of love!

“The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NET Bible)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Self-Idolatry

/ Mark Brady / 6 Comments

I post about atheists or people who worship Satan from time to time. As comments are welcomed, there is one atheist who has an absolute fit when I post the truth about such people. This last time, I didn’t “approve” their comment, allowing others to see it because it was full of lies and hate. I recognize and have no problem with people having free will to believe however they choose, and I have no issues with “freedom of speech,” even if it is negative and against me, but I won’t promote “hate!”

I didn’t respond to this person, and that drove them nuts. During the next week, they kept making comments, knowing I would see them. I wanted to reply to them, but after praying about it, I sensed God said, “No,” I sensed they were simply trying to pick a fight. I did go out to their website, though, and read some posts and comments. What I read led me to believe this person thinks they are omnipotent and omnipresent. They made several statements that are absolutes that aren’t absolutely true, and there is no way they know the hearts and minds of everyone on Earth! It seemed as if this person is a “god” unto themselves. Umm, reminds me of the devil.

This individual has no problem telling how smart they are and how everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is a liar and can’t do anything that Jesus did. They are intelligent, I’ll give them that, and they are well-read, but that is part of their problem. You see, they try to make God fit into their mind and understanding. They try to use reason and or logic to understand the ways of God, but scripture says:

But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. 1 Cor. 2:14 (AMPC)

“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Is. 55:8-9 (MSG)

This person doesn’t believe God gave us free will, either. They think that because a church split when they were young, there can’t be a God because the kind of God they want wouldn’t have allowed that to happen.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? Gal. 5:13-15 (MSG)

 This person first commented on a post I had written about four years ago. I tried to interact with them, praying the whole time. I knew the words I wrote needed to be led by the Spirit of God. I actually received from the Spirit of God a word of knowledge for this individual. I wrote them with the event God showed me. I don’t know this person at all, so there was no way I could have known. When they responded, they said that every kid likes to do that activity. Honestly, I didn’t as a child. Then they proceeded to share with me a story about doing that activity using some of the exact same words I told them they had said.

 This should have gotten their attention, and they should have seen God’s love for them all over it. As I have said before, words of knowledge are to get someone’s attention to what God wants to do or say next. God was trying to show how much He loves them.

I compare this person to Saul in the Book of Acts in the Bible. He was presented with the truth of the gospel, and it ate at him. He hated that believers in Jesus Christ would even die for their belief. He was highly educated, and the message of God’s love didn’t make sense to him, so he tried with all his might to dismiss it. He wanted to get rid of the constant frustration by killing the followers of Jesus Christ. He wound up having a personal encounter and interaction with Jesus Christ, and he then let go of what didn’t fit into his thinking and accepted Jesus Christ into his life. I think the person I wrote about today needs that kind of encounter before they believe. I feel sorry for them, and I pray that they will believe in God soon.

 One note about atheism I don’t understand. To me, something or someone has to be there BEFORE you can CHOOSE to not believe in it or them! So, in other words, someone saying they are an atheist is saying, “God is real!” And by the way, choosing not to believe in Him is exercising the very “free will (freedom)” that God gives us! This person hopes they are right because when they find out they are wrong, they will be held accountable for all of the wrong and sinful things they have said and done.

 Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

They Don’t Know

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

We seem to be living in a world these days that is running with a deficit of love. Every time you leave your house, it seems as if it doesn’t take long to find people manifesting the opposite of love. They only care about themselves. They will cut you off on the road. They accuse you only to divert the attention away from their own selfish actions. You know what I’m talking about. They spread rumors, make false accusations, and seem to get extremely angry very fast. They’re not nice people to be around!

The other day, April and I were talking about something, don’t ask me what because I can’t remember, but it led me to this thought: “People and even some Christians who don’t know how to love have never fully comprehended God’s love for them.”

If they realized the depth of God’s love and understood the price of His love, then they might start allowing it to soften their heart. It could change how they treat others and how they think of others. There would be less family squabbles and a lot less war.

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)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Desperately Seeking God!

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The other day, I had to fast for twelve hours and then have blood drawn for an upcoming doctor’s appointment. Needless to say, I was hungry by the time I finished getting the lab work done. Fortunately, there is a fast-food establishment that serves breakfast right next door to the lab.

When I walked in, I saw a middle-aged lady bent over the front counter, filling out a report. I started checking out the menu. When she saw me, she apologized. I smiled and told her it wasn’t necessary as I was still pondering what to get. I finally decided, and after taking my order, she asked for my name.

I got my drink and stood near the counter to receive my food. Then, I picked out a place to sit. Several times, when I looked into the kitchen, I would notice her looking at me. I am certainly not used to having women look at me. However, last week, I had a beautiful woman at the health club smile at me. I smiled back and then looked around to see if her warm expression was meant for someone else.

When the morning sun rose above a nearby building, its light flooded the dining area and illuminated my face. I’m sure I looked radiant and angelic and just needed a wind machine to blow my hair back! This undoubtedly added to her infatuation with me!

After I finished my breakfast, I cleaned up my space and used their public bathroom. As I was exiting the door, I heard, “Goodbye, Mark.” Nervously, I looked back and saw her at the counter. I said, “Goodbye. Have a nice day.” She probably did after encountering me. LOL

Here is what I think was really going on in the above true story. The woman appeared to have had a rough life so far. I imagine she had been in and out of several relationships with men. Hoping they would satisfy the longing in her heart for God, but she probably didn’t know that is Who she was actually desperately seeking. The woman was not really attracted to me, but to the love of God she sensed about me. She no doubt felt His presence and His peace. We are reps for God everywhere we go. That is why we need to be open to other’s needs and recognize situations where someone is seeking God. Then, we can share with them and introduce them to Him.

If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:15-18 (MSG)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

How Many?

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

A friend recommended a good movie for me to watch the other day. He did say it was a tear-jerker, but he failed to suggest I go first to Costco to stock up on tissues! I’ll admit it. I cried my eyes out mainly because it touched several hurts from my past.

The Hill is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film about baseball player Rickey Hill overcoming a physical handicap in order to try out for a legendary major league scout.*

While watching the movie, there was one line that got my attention. “How many miracles do you need to see?” asked Ricky’s mother to his father (played by Dennis Quaid). The line made me wonder about those who struggle to believe in God.

I know God loves everyone. He may not like how they live, but He still loves them. Knowing just how much He loves, I know He has pursued you and others to the uttermost parts of the Earth, trying to reach you. If you were honest and thought back, you would most likely see countless times God has had his hand in your life. How many times he may have saved you from hurt, pain, or even death! How many miracles do you need to see?

“Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue. Luke 15:4-7 (MSG)

Stop running from God. Stop resisting his love. When an old friend learned that I was a “Christian,” she remarked in disgust, “How many times am I going to bump into one?” It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. But when I did, I responded with, “Well, can’t you see how much God loves you? Every time you disregard one friendship with a “Christian,” God puts another one in your life. He wants to show you his love for you through them!” Sadly, I, too, was thrown away, but I did not take it personally.

“The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent me.” Luke 10:16 (MSG)

Watch The Hill and watch for God’s love in your life. But this time, accept it! God loving us is a miracle in itself!

*via Wikipedia

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Gems

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Enric Caujapé from Pixabay

16 Then those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over. God saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in God’s presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the God-fearers written down, all the names of those who honored God’s name.

17-18 God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, “They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them. Once more you’ll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn’t, between serving God and not serving him.” Mal. 3:16-18 (MSG)

A beautiful portion of scripture. Some have written that God treasures those who wholeheartedly live for Him so much it’s as if they are gems unto him. He values them.

Several years ago, I worked with a man who collected precious stones. He had a complete shop set up in his basement where he would spend hours sanding, shaping, and polishing those gems. They might have been rough when he started, but by the time he finished with them, they were beautiful.

Some of you may be good people. You do your best to help others with the resources you have. You show love to your neighbors. You serve God in whatever manner as He directs. Yet, privately, only a few see it, there is another side of you. One that you wouldn’t want your pastor to know of.

God loves you so much and can see all that you do. He knows it doesn’t take much effort to get you to show love to another in need. But He does know about that other side. I believe God puts people and allows situations in your life that irritate you. Give you a reason to go to that point where the light of God fades.

I struggled for years to understand why He would do that. Then, recently, I received wisdom and understanding of the matter. He puts those individuals in your life to act as sandpaper and to grind the rough edges of your soul away. If you yield to the process, you will become even more precious to God and pure. Thank Him for loving you that much!

6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. 1 Pt. 1:6-7 (MSG)

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

How To Change the World

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“I’m dying,” said the man sitting across from me in the small café. I looked around but didn’t see anyone sitting near him. “Did you hear me? I said I’m dying!” He said again. This time, I looked directly at him. “You talking to me?” I asked. “Well, do you see anyone else here?”

I picked up my drink and laptop and moved to his table. “You must want to talk about it.” “I do. I want people to know what took me a lifetime to learn.” “What is that?” I inquired. “How to change the world. You change the world by changing people. You change people by showing them love. There is no greater love than laying down your life for a friend. This is the exact formula Jesus used. He demonstrated perfect love to people, and then He died for them. He also died for you and me. Shouldn’t you be writing this down?” “Oh, yes, sir. I’m typing it into my PC.”

“To be like Christ, we must love people so much that it changes them. Of course, some people will squirm but remain living their way, thinking they know best. Or, they are afraid they will have to give up too much here on Earth. In other words, they would rather think they have something now for a few days than have everything for eternity.

Love wins! Love always wins, and love will always win! Love is the right way to make things better. Love is the best way to say, ‘I hear you.’ Love doesn’t insist on proving it is right. You see, “love” doesn’t seek it’s own. Love thinks of the other person first. Love understands where they are coming from. Why they are the way they are without compromising who they are.

Love shows they kindly understand but gently challanges the other to grow in the right direction and the proper ways without imposing a deadline for them to achieve, but doesn’t get loud in speech when they don’t. Love hopes for the best in everyone.”

“Wow,” I replied. “I can see how those receiving love would want to respond positively and then share that kind of love with others.” “You’re right,” he said. “I just wished I had learned this much earlier in life. I didn’t, and as a result, I hurt many people. I thought I was loving them by wanting them to live life the way I do. My life has been simple, with little chaos, and extremely organized. I accepted Jesus at a young age, and my relationship with God has made life bearable. I wanted others to have what I had. Though my motivation may have been pure, my words and methods weren’t always the best.”

“I appreciate your wisdom and your honesty. I assure you I will share this with the world. I hope others will take it to heat and start doing more to love people.” I said to the man. He got up and threw out his trash. When he returned to our table, he had a tear in his eye. He thanked me for listening and sharing what took him a lifetime to learn.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 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. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 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 4:7-18 (NIV)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

God’s Love Reflected

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Photo by: srkcalifano via Pixabay

I quietly walked into the bedroom and positioned myself to see through the partially opened bathroom door. April was getting ready to go out. She was busy and didn’t notice me standing there watching her. I was admiring my beautiful wife while she was using the mirror to apply stuff (I have no idea what it was) to her face.

Then, somehow, she noticed me, and without turning to face me, her eyes glistened, and she smiled. I hope I remember that moment and image for the rest of my life because it was the warmest, softest look of love I have ever seen. That one look melted my heart, and I felt loved.

April knows God, and God is love. (1 John 4:8) Therefore, April knows how to love because God first loved her. Even when she was still a sinner, God loved her. April displays a lot of the characteristics of true love. She is patient, kind, forgiving, and understanding, among other things. God watches all of us all the time. I imagine the look of love I saw April share is expressed on God’s face when we stop and look at Him.

The world needs true love these days more than ever! People need to see unselfish love in action. Love, God’s way, takes time but speaks volumes when it is said. The world is hurting and in so much pain. They’re desperately looking, searching for one to love them unconditionally. That is why revealing the source is so important for us who have found that kind of love. Stop hiding it from people. You have nothing to lose by sharing God’s love, but they have everything to gain.

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. 1 Cor. 13:1-7 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.