healing

Why Church?

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

My earliest memories are sitting in the back pew of a church. I was four years old. I remember the minister preaching Truth hard and loud. Some would classify his sermons as “hell fire and brimstone.” He always explained that the wages of sin, is death. Eternal death in hell.

A few years later, I accepted Jesus into my heart. I can honestly say the pastor’s messages scared the hell out of me! Even at that young age, I knew I was a sinner. You see, I was a convicted cookie thief who would later lie about it. “Convicted” because I had been found guilty by my mother. I knew dishonoring my parents and lying were both wrong. They were sin. I had learned that in church.

We went every time the doors were open, it seemed. As a result, I witnessed many signs and wonders. People got healed, repented of their sins, and had significant reformations in their lives. I learned how to minister to people and how to witness to pre-Christians (unbelievers). I had friends who believed in God like I did. I got to know them through the fellowship events that were held. I saw the Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore I saw the supernatural. I learned about tithing and what a joy it was to give.

The supernatural is to get people’s attention for what God wants to do next.

So, why church? Why is it important?

  • People can find God there and accept Him. (Jer. 29:13)
  • People can get prayed for and find healing. (Mark 16:18b)
  • People can find friends who will become a community with them. (Acts 2:46)
  • People can learn how to minister. (Eph. 4:11)
  • People can give their tithes cheerfully. (Mal. 3:10)
  • People can learn how God is relevant in their lives.

The church I wrote about in the beginning is still there and thriving. At least 56 years and counting. The church should preach the entire Word of God (The Bible). A good, balanced church will do and be all six things listed above. I should mention that by the time I was seventeen, I finally realized that it was about having a two-way relationship with God, and that was the real reason to accept him. Not just to have “Fire Insurance!” Meaning, not to only escape eternity in hell. Realizing this has made life with God an exciting adventure.

Do we still need churches? Yes! As long as they are doing the work of God, for God, by God’s power, for His Glory and kingdom.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

You Are the Same God

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments
Photo by: SHVETS production

Yesterday at church, I was so encouraged by the lyrics to the following song, “Same God.” It was good to remember that despite what is happening in the world, in my country, or in my personal world, God is still God. He is not affected by current events or swayed by popular opinions. He is still the same God; if He did it before, then I know He can do it again for me, my country, and my world.

I’m calling on the God of Jacob
Whose love endures through generations
I know that You will keep Your covenant

I’m calling on the God of Moses
The one who opened up the ocean
I need You now to do the same thing for me
For me, for me

O God, my God, I need You
O God, my God, I need You now
How I need You now

O Rock, O Rock of ages
I’m standing on Your faithfulness
On Your faithfulness

I’m calling on the God of Mary
Whose favor rests upon the lowly
I know with You all things are possible

I’m calling on the God of David
Who made a shepherd boy courageous
I may not face Goliath
But I’ve got my own giants

You heard Your children then
You hear Your children now

You were providing then
You are providing now

You moved in power then
God, move in power now

You were a healer then
You are a healer now

You are the same God
You are the same God

You were a savior then
You are a savior now

You’re faithful God
Jesus, You’re the same
Yesterday, today, and forever

You freed the captives then
You’re freeing hearts right now

You touched the lepers then
I feel Your touch right now

Never changing
Oh, forever
We feel You now
You’re the same God

I’m calling on the Holy Spirit
Almighty River, come and fill me again
Come and fill me again

(Let that be your prayer)

Songwriters: Patrick Barrett, Christopher Joel Brown, Steven Furtick. For non-commercial use only.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

This Line Isn’t Moving

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Photo by: Miguel Barrera

Waiting. The final frontier. To boldly go where no man wants to go. I don’t know about you, but I hate to wait on just about anything. No, I’m not that important, where I have to have everything right this second, but it would be nice.

Just today, my wife, April, is at the hospital waiting her turn to have a procedure done. They told us to be at the hospital at 10:15 AM, but they did not get her procedure started until 2:22 PM. As you know, one is not allowed to eat or drink after midnight before an operation, so needless to say, April was hangry! Yeah, that’s right, hungry and angry. I must say, she handled the delay a lot better than I would have. That’s because she is a very patient person. I, on the other hand, am not. It’s just not one of my finer qualities, although I desire it to be.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges (and traffic and lines that don’t move) come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (Words in parenthesis mine.)
Jam. 1:2-4 (MSG)

Waiting in a line of traffic is challenging, and in a line to be served at a restaurant can be worse. Both are excruciating experiences to suffer through especially when the line next to you is moving, but yours is not. I hesitate to pray and ask God for help because I am afraid, He will put me in more situations to practice. Something I am not a big fan of in the first place. James 1:2-4; What challenging verses to live out!

Probably though, the most difficult thing to wait for is for God to provide help with your finances or a healing. It’s a toss-up between the two. If you are in a similar situation at this juncture in your journey called “life,” be encouraged. It may take a while for God to get all things lined up or to get your heart lined up with his perfect will for you, but He will do it.

So, hang on, hang in there. Keep believing, keep trusting, be patient with God because though you may not see the line moving know it is, and you will not be in that same spot forever. You will reach your destination. After all, isn’t that the goal?

[Post note: The surgery went well, and April is resting and recovering now but prayers are always welcome! Thanks.]

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Don’t Follow the Recipe

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

April made the dinner in the photo the other day. She made sweet and sour chicken that I thought was better than most Chinese restaurants’ versions, and I would know. I asked her how she did it and she replied, “I just followed a recipe.” It’s funny though how you can give 12 cooks the same recipe and the final dishes will all taste differently. Most likely due to each individual’s uniqueness.

A few years ago, while attending a church service that featured a semi-famous man of God, I witnessed individuals taking notes, as if they were there to learn the recipe of how to get God to do the same thing in their lives as He had done for them. They failed to realize the man of God was giving his testimony in hopes to boost one’s faith. Knowing that God did something for one can help you believe that God can do something big in your own life.

When one such note-taker tries to implement the same practice in the exact same way but fails to get the same result they can become disgruntled and dissatisfied with God. Attitudes Satan can use to draw an individual away from God.

Keep in mind, that God is extremely creative. He does things in unique ways. Not because He gets bored, but to exhibit just how vast his power and imagination are. He likes to do things in new ways. He may ultimately do for you, what He did for the man of God, but He will do it in a new, fresh way. In a way that is most likely due to each individual’s uniqueness.

See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isa. 43:19a (NIV)

God’s word assures us He likes to do new things.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

God Did It

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

A mother wanted to take her children to a special event where they would learn, grow, be inspired, and empowered. She knew in her spirit it was the right thing to do, but her bank statement was telling her otherwise! She finally told them, “I’m sorry kids. Your father and I have done everything we can think of in order to get you all there, but we just can’t. But, if God really wants you there as well, then He will make a way.”

This is what God says,
    the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
    who carves a path through pounding waves, Isa. 43:16 (MSG)

Thirty minutes later the mother received an email inviting her and the children to the very event they wanted to attend…free of charge.

Yes, there will be times when God’s involvement in our lives is obvious, but there are other times when it is not. In the aftermath, of something good happening, if we were to sit and look back on how it happened, if we were to investigate it, like a crime scene, we just might see the hand of God. There could be a faint trace of his hand, his presence in our lives.

Recognizing that God made a way, when there seemed to be none, when He led us to employment that will meet our needs, or lead us to the right doctor who He can partner with to heal us. They say, “Seeing is believing”, and there is truth in those words, but when we believe “before” we see, it does something within us. It builds our faith, encourages, and helps us know we are loved by God. He will make a way, even when there seems to be none.

Look around your life. You might just see traces of God.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Recovery

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

I have a friend who got severely injured at the end of last year. Satan most likely tried to take her out! Why? Because he attacks those who do what they see their heavenly Father do. Like he took out Jesus, who always said, “I only do as I see my Father in heaven do.” (John 5:19) Satan doesn’t need to bother, or attack those who are content just “going to church”!

I was praying for my friend’s recovery the other day, and the thought came to me, “Perhaps there are other types of recovery?”

  • The recovery of lost items.
  • The recovery of forgotten things.
  • The recovery of time to do the things that got laid aside in the past.
  • The recovery of an old friendship.

I’m sure there could be many more. Healing is a funny thing. I know, and believe God can heal instantly, but there are times He chooses not to. God always knows what He is doing, and what He wants to accomplish in our lives. That’s why trusting him is so important! Maybe He wants us to slow down, or perhaps know what it is to ultimately trust him on a minute by minute basis? To taste and see that He is God, and blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Psalms 34:8)

It would be a good practice to ask God what is his desire for us while we are “recovering”? You may just see a side of your loving, heavenly Father that you have never been able to before. You most likely still won’t like what has happened to you, but you will know when you get to the other side of it, you will be better off.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

“Now Serving Number 5”

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You hear the announcement, and yes, you look down at the number on the tag you pulled out of the dispenser when you walked in, even though you already know it wasn’t your number they called. You might as well be holding number “2275”.

 Sad, but at least in America we are so impatient. We are spoiled. We are used to getting things now. Unfortunately, there are times when we take that attitude toward waiting for things from God. We make our needs known to God, and then we have to wait for the answer. Depending on the situation it can be extremely difficult. We wonder, “Did He even hear me?”

 When we don’t see the answer we expect, and by the time we feel we need it, we can develop an attitude, toward others and even toward God. The truth is how do you know God isn’t working on it? What do you think He is doing? Here is what Oswald Chambers says:

 “We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.”

I like how Chambers worded this issue. When we “ask” God, then our next step is to “trust” God. Know, be confident that He has heard you and that He “is” working things out in the way that is “best” for you. Keep in mind, God isn’t working on one request at a time, but on every request of everyone around the world who ask, all at the same time. He doesn’t take care of one request and then call the next number of whoever is line. Yes God is that omnipotent and powerful, but also so loving that He puts on every job a personal touch designed just for you.  And that my friend is called, “Love”!

Until a Person Finds God

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

My eye doctor informed me that my eyes will never get better, or go back to the way they were before the disease set in them.  He said, “All we can do is maintain them so you can continue to see.” I said, “So the only chance I have then is if God heals me.”  He didn’t say anything.  I continued, “I know God can do it, and I ask him to and thank him for the healing often.”  Still nothing from him.  Then I had the bright idea to ask, “What would you do if God did heal me and I came in with perfect vision?”  He thought, for an awkward amount of time and then stammered.  I said, “You would be speechless like you are now.”  Then he said something I will never forget.  He said, “Well, I know one thing, I would not contribute the reverse in your condition to God healing you!”  After he stepped out of the exam room I said, “Okay God, the stage has been set!”

I do realize it can be difficult for highly educated individuals, doctors, scientist, etc. to get out of their “natural mind”, and think on a “spiritual” level.  The issue is compounded if they struggle to believe in a God they can’t see. They would rather make something up, even if its not true then believe in God. For example; scientist have done that with the subject of evolution. God explains the issue like this:

Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:14 (TPT)

The ironic thing is this; when my eyes are healed the eye doctor will see God’s work done by his hand, which could be thought of as “seeing God”.

A co-worker of mine, many years ago, was trying to see if God was real.  He went on a trip to the Grand Canyon, saw his handiwork and immediately accepted him into his life. Regardless if people know it, or ever admit it, they are seeking God their whole life until they find Him. One’s spirit man desires and seeks to be reunited with the Spirit of God once they have sinned and separation sets in.

Please take my word for it, accept God is real, and that He loves you so much. For He is always there waiting for you to look up and see him and take his hand.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Flakes of God

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

As this past Christmas was April’s first in America, she was just as excited when she heard we could have snow. Growing up in the Philippines it would be her first time to see it, feel it, and see its beauty as it covers the ground. As I witnessed her enthusiasm I thought of people who have heard about God, but have never seen him, or felt his presence.

I have known some people that seem to stay on the fringes of God. They might even hear that God is at a certain location doing marvelous signs and wonders, but despite their own need for him, they won’t go.  They might need a healing, a place to live, or a job, but it’s as if they would rather continue to struggle and hurt on their own then accept Him, and truly know what real living is all about.  They settle for only “flakes of God”. They have never sensed his presence or have experienced the peace of his Spirit, and they have no idea how beautiful it is when their sins have been covered as white as snow.

Come now and let’s deliberate over the next steps to take together.
Yahweh promises you over and over:
“Though your sins stain you like scarlet,
I will whiten them like bright, new-fallen snow!
Even though they are deep red like crimson,
they will be made white like wool!” Isaiah 1:18 (TPT)

I heard this morning there is a chance of snow later this week. Hopefully this next front coming through will generate some accumulation instead of only flakes, or flurries, and perhaps provide enough snow so April can learn how to make a snowman, or a snow angel. I’m forecasting there is a move of God coming soon. I sense He wants to make himself known.  He wants to heal, He wants to rule and reign in the life of those who love him. I pray for those who have not ever experienced God in a personal way will seek him, and know for themselves what it is like to have their sins forgiven, and be white as snow.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

From Hope, to Reality

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

As you faithful readers of this blog know, I have been waiting for my wife’s immigration to America for two years.  Those were very difficult, trying, and long years, but the one thing that kept us going was hope!

Hope is recognizing there is very little you can do, while wanting a certain result.

Well, if all went as planned, I met my wife yesterday at an airport in America.  Waiting for her just outside the doors to the immigration section.  This process has been such a challenge that I have said, “I won’t believe it until I see her.”  But yesterday, my hope turned into reality.  God is so good.  He kept us close to his heart especially on the days when our hearts were breaking, aching, and we struggled to see us crossing the finish line.

I know we are not alone.  Many of you are facing your own struggles where all you can do is hope.  Don’t give up.  Don’t let go of God’s hand.  I know He will never let go of yours.  I recently posted a blog where I wrote about the women with the issue of blood, from the Bible.  Her reality took 12 years to arrive.  Her sickness bankrupted her, but she never gave up hope.  Then the day came where Jesus appeared on the scene.  She was healed by simply touching the hem of his garment as he walked by.  It was her faith in Jesus that healed her and not the robe he was wearing.

“So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.”
Rom. 8:25 (TPT)

So whatever it is you are hoping for, a job, a healing, a spouse, or salvation for a loved one don’t stop hoping.  You never know the day when Jesus may show up on the scene.  It would be a tragedy to give up the day before he passes by. For Jesus passing by in the life of me and my wife I am so grateful.  Praising and worshipping his mighty name all the way across the finish line.  Thank you God.  Thank you Jesus, and thank you Holy Spirit.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.