home

He Knows (cont.)

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34 (NKJV)

Jesus spoke the words above. He was trying to teach the people in his day and us today not to worry. A lot of people do worry today. They live in fear of many things. Will their job last? And if they lost their job, how would they pay their bills? As an adult, I went through unemployment twice. It’s not easy, and it’s not fun at all! It’s hard not to fall into the temptation to worry.

It’s understandable with inflation, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine. We just came through the Coronavirus, and our nation is divided. But can any of us control these things? Or other items not listed?

This is why we need to place all of our trust in God. He can control all things even when He allows humankind free will. He does know what we have need of and wants to make sure we have those things and more. He is a good Father who loves us so much and wants to give us good gifts. He wants to see all of our needs met so that we have enough and am able to bless others out of our abundance.

The key to this life of trusting God is seeking him first. Pursuing the things of God, especially his character. His most remarkable character is love. Everything God did and everything God does is out of love. It is out of this love that He knows.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Clutter? Or Clean?

/ Mark Brady / 7 Comments
Photo by: cottonbro

Is there any correlation between a clean house and a clean spiritual life? Is someone who is too busy, too lazy, or too distracted by life to pick up the place where they live also due to that stuff challenged to pick up the mess in their life with God? I would dare say, “yes.”

I’ll share a truth with ya; if people enter your home and don’t see clutter, they tend to think your house is clean, even if it isn’t, but if they see a mess everywhere, they will sense your home is dirty.

Keeping a house clean is a constant job. There are no days off, vacations, or holidays. The same goes for maintaining your spiritual life with God. I learned from my parents to look around whenever moving about the house and to pick up something out of place and return it. I also learned to put things up as soon as you finish with them. I understand that living with others who do not share your desire to keep items picked up can make your job more difficult.

So how does all of this relate to your spiritual life? Keeping on top of your relationship with God takes desire, time, and effort. You have to make a mental decision to make it a priority. Even when there are things in life that are begging for your attention. Yes, you may be tired, have distractions, hardships, financial pressure, or have relationship struggles, but you still need to make time to spend with God. In fact, if you have anything from that list going on, you would be crazy not to go to God and take it with you to turn all of it to him.

15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
Luke 5:15-16 (NET)

Sometimes you can’t get to the house, but don’t let anything keep you from your time with your heavenly Father. Take the example of Jesus himself. He knew how important it was to spend time with his heavenly Father. Doing so keeps your mind and heart clear, clean, and uncluttered.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Telling The Truth Can Cost You

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

A father was acting out concerning a relationship. He was unhappy about how it was going, and the other person was not acting the way “he” wanted them to, which upset him to no end. There were some names spoken that were not flattering. The father talked about the situation over the phone with his son, and his son listened, but when he tried to correct his father’s attitude, the father got mad and hung up the phone. When the son called back again, he was rudely hung up on by his father.

The son’s motivation was pure as he wrote his father a letter. He tried to get his father to understand how he was treating people in several relationships and was pushing them away, and people did not want to be around him anymore. The son tried to tell his father the truth as lovingly as possible.

The father went ballistic and set out to get revenge on his son. He lied to his son and tricked him into going down to the bank to get him to sign a document that would remove him from all of his accounts and his safety deposit box. Then he removed his son from the deed to his house and even cut him out of his will. Apparently, he really did not like hearing the truth!

When Jesus walked the earth, he successfully told people the truth. Some heard him and accepted his message, changing how they lived, but others did not. They chose to get enraged.

People may not want to lose control over their life, so they will not accept the truth. Or they may fear not knowing what life will be like if they change. Others are deceived into thinking they are fine the way they are, and some feel they will lose status or power if they change. Then there are those who blame others for their actions instead of accepting the truth.

The truth is; the truth will set you free! (John 8:32)

I know of one pastor who won’t share with his wife what the word of God says about how marriage and the home should be set up. On this matter, he once told me, “You may be right, but you will be alone!” What he was saying is that “he” feared being alone if he dared to share the truth with his wife. The sad thing is the problem in their home of the wrong person being the head of the household transferred into their ministry. Whenever the home is not set up right, or the ministry, people get hurt! And in the case of their church, there is a very long list of people who have gotten hurt and have left. If the truth were accepted, their home life would be different, and the wall preventing their church from becoming a world leader would finally be lifted.

Yes, telling the truth can cost you. It could cost you thousands of dollars, your inheritance, a job, or family relationships It cost Jesus his life which is the ultimate price to pay for sharing the truth. Jesus wasn’t afraid of being alone. You may be isolated from friends and family, but you will live in freedom. If you find yourself alone, know that you are not, for you are in the company and presence of God.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

When God Was Still by My Side

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

“Oh, how I long for the good old days,
    when God took such very good care of me.
He always held a lamp before me
    and I walked through the dark by its light.
Oh, how I miss those golden years
    when God’s friendship graced my home,
When the Mighty One was still by my side
    and my children were all around me,
When everything was going my way,
    and nothing seemed too difficult.”

Do you find yourself saying something similar in the days of late?  Are you longing for the days when life seemed easier?  I have.  Reality, though, is this; those days had their own problems, but with that said, there is more “hate” these days and “perverted lifestyles” right in front of our faces.

Another reality is this; God hasn’t changed.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  It may seem harder to detect his presence, see the path He wants us to walk, but He is still there.  He still graces our homes.

Maybe things in life aren’t going “your” way, but they very well could be going “God’s” way.

Though the days may be different, God is the same, so we need to trust in him the way we did back in the “good old days”.  We need to remember not to look, or focus on the lives of those around us, or the hate being spewed by hurt people, but to keep our gaze on him, who is, and will forever be in control of all things, and know this; God is still by your side!

The above quote was spoken by Job in Job 29:1-6 (MSG)

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

The Power of Praise

/ Mark Brady / 1 Comment

Okay.  I’m going to go all Steven Furtick on ya now:
You think you are all ALONE, but God is right there with you!
You believe the lie that your MARRIAGE is over, but God says, “Commit it to me!
”You think your JOB is going nowhere, but God wants to show you why you are there!
You were promised a PALACE, but you are in a PIT, God says, “Its part of the journey!”

Yes, LIVING is hard, but God is greater!
Yes HEAVEN seems so far away, but it is closer than you think!
One way to overcome life is through the power of praise.  It works.  It lifts your spirit, it strengthens your faith.  Whether you simply praise God with just words, or if you add music.

From the song, “Praise Him”
Let praise be a weapon that conquers all anxiety
We sing your name in the dark and it changes everything
Let it rise, let praise arise.
We’ll watch the giants fall

Fear cannot survive when we praise You
The God of breakthrough’s on our side
Forever lift Him high
With all creation cry,
God we praise You

Oh, we praise You, oh

Let faith be the song that overcomes the raging sea
Let faith be the song that calms the storm inside of me
Let it rise, let praise arise

This is what living looks like
This is what heaven sounds like
We praise You, we praise You

Try praising God despite what you see, or hear in the natural.  Then witness the power that comes with it, or through it, for yourself.  You will be glad you did.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

The Conference Room

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You really can “walk with God”.  It’s not a clique only found in the Bible at all, but something you can ask for, something you can expect, count on, and do. 

Leviticus 26:12 “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

Each morning my wife and I join hands to pray over our breakfast. We include the words, “and God lead us this day.  Guide our steps.  Direct us to those who we need to spend time with and when there give us your words to speak to them.”  It’s not something we have memorized, so the actual words may come out different each time, but that keeps it fresh.

I knew of a child and when called upon to pray over their evening meal she said the same thing every night.  It got to be kind of a joke to the whole family.  In fact, it didn’t take long for it to get the nickname, “Prayer number 505.”  The family got seated each night for dinner and settled by 5:05 PM.

I know God has guided my steps for most of my life.  After all, He has lead me to my wife April, and I am now experiencing the fullness of what it means to be married, at least how God intends a marriage to be.  But it seems as if in the last month his direction has been every day, and in the last week especially.

God has lead us to the right people, at the right time, to have the right conversations.  A big blessing this past week has been putting together our new room, “The Conference Room”, as my wife labeled it, because it is there we meet with God.  We dedicate that room for time with God, whether in his word, or in conversations with him, as we pray for friends, family and others around the world.  Or perhaps we will just sit and wait for God to provide wisdom, understanding and direction for a particular need.

The original idea for this room only came about Sunday just over a week ago, and before a week could go by, the room has taken shape, and is only in need of a few final pieces, like photos hung on the wall of those we pray for.  The room came about so quickly because we wrote out a list of what we wanted and we prayed over it.  Then, early in the week, I told a friend of what we wanted.  He mentioned, the next day, seeing a chair for our room at a new discount store where the proceeds go to build housing for those in need.  A cause I can get behind and support, by shopping at the store.

So needless to say we visited the store and bought the majority of the pieces we desired from that store and the bookshelf came from a curbside, discard pile of a homeowner’s furniture. The bookshelf just needed a little cleaning up and some minor repairs.  There have been times in my life when I may have been discarded, thrown out of someone else’s life and Jesus looked at me and said, “He just needs a little cleaning up and some minor repairs.”

My wife’s and mine first action in our new room was to pray, and dedicate it to God.  For his purposes, to his Glory, and to advance his kingdom.  This blog post was also written there, so from “The Conference Room” to your heart comes a message from God to you.

Dream with God.  Ask him to make it happen.  Write it down.  Doing so will increase your faith.  It will help you start seeing it even though it is not there.  Then, ask God to lead you and guide you to the right places, at the right time, to have the right conversations.  That is walking with God.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

A New Chapter

/ Mark Brady / 3 Comments

America.  She changed today.  Maybe the reality is, she changed a long time ago from the innocent days I once knew, but this truth is obvious today.  I grew up in Oklahoma, in a middle class family that somehow, always seem to have enough and then some.  I watched as my parents made good decisions and choices who worked hard for what they wanted.  “The American Dream”.  I believed in this dream and I too sought it out.  I wanted to own my own house, well after paying 30 years of payments.  I desired a good job, a loving wife, 2.5 kids, one of each sex, and to be a happy family.

The truth is, it took me 35 years to buy the house that will be mine in 26 and 1/2 years.  I have two kids, one of each sex, who don’t talk to me, and, their mother divorced me after she made a huge mistake, but convinced everyone our marriage failed solely due to me.  As a result, my biological family doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, so you could say I don’t have the happy family I desired.  Many Christmas days have been spent filling the empty stocking with tears.

After years of checking the “Divorced” box on forms I met and then married a Filipino woman.  I thought perhaps now I would get the happy family I desired.  You know what?  There are cynical, greedy, lying family members in all cultures, but the woman I married is the exception to a few members of her own family.  I have written about it a few times; my wife lives out God’s definition of love.

After our wedding, I was with her for seven months in the Philippines, until I needed a medical procedure, so I left her there thinking immigration wouldn’t take that long and she would come to America on my heels.  There was some delay in the process, but as we were reaching the finish line Covid hit.  Another year without her, another moist Christmas day.  A lot of crying out to God, and asking, “Why?”  The big three set in: Discouragement, Disappointment and yes, even Depression.  As I crawled through those dark days way down, deep inside me, was a mustard seed of faith that was whispering, “God knows what He is doing.”  In full disclosure, my mind was asking, “Are you sure?”

January 7th, we received an email stating my wife has her long awaited interview with the U.S. embassy in Manila.  LIGHT pierced our darkness.  I wanted to wait to share this until she was actually here, but someone needs to read these words now.  We are hoping we will be together by Valentine’s Day.  What a time to reunite our love for each other and for our God who loves us beyond belief.

When my wife is in our home in Oklahoma a new chapter of our lives together will begin.  Unfortunately, she will never know the “America” I grew up in.  Today, those with money want more, and those who “think” they have power want total control.  I sense days may be coming that perhaps will not be comfortable.  Standing up for what is true, for what is right could prove to be difficult.  There will most likely be a separation of those who have a solid relationship with God from those who were pretending, because in the America I grew up in, it was popular to say you were a “Christian”, but not anymore.

Yes a new chapter will be starting soon in my life, but also a new chapter in the life of America.  Our country’s slogan, printed on our currency, may no longer be, “In God We Trust”. Sometimes I wonder who is really holding the pen, writing each chapter.  As for my life, I want God to, because whether I understand his ways or not, He does know what He is doing!

Isaiah 55:8-11(MSG)

8-11 “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.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Seeing the Invisible

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Let’s face it, faith is difficult.  It’s not hard to find it as we all start with a measure of it, according to the word of God. (Rom. 12:3b)  But growing your faith is something else.  One of the best ways is to listen to testimonies.  If God can do it for them, then it’s possible for him to do it for us.  That’s one of the reasons we have the Bible.  Reading the stories of God doing the impossible when a solution looked improbable.  Also, faith grows by hearing the word of God, according to Romans 10:17.

We can use our invisible faith
to believe in the invisible God!

If we learned anything from 2020 we should have learned that no one knows what a year will bring us.  Some had good years while others have bad years before Covid, and I have even heard of a few thankful people for 2020.  What?  Yeah, some have given thanks that the pandemic forced them to slow down, take a survey of what was really important in life, while others are grateful for the time they got to spend with their immediate families.

Businesses found out people can work from home, which reduced commuting, which reduced pollution, which has allowed nature to return to some areas where it has not been seen for a long time.  There are other things to be seen that we often loose site of when things are going well.  Like how precious life itself is, and how valuable time is.  By taking walks, some saw the beauty of nature again.

You know, perhaps 2020 did open our eyes after all, if you were looking.  So the point to this blog has to be, “open your eyes, and keep them open”.  Always be looking for the invisible in life.  Always be looking for God, because he speaks, he ministers and he teaches us despite any circumstances going on around us.

Copyright © 2021 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Home

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

“Here ya go, Mommy,” said the young son.

“Oh, thanks.  What is this?” inquired his mother.

“You said you got lost last night in the big building you now work in, so I drew you a map to help you find your way out.”

According to his mother, he also drew her a map, to guide her home, in the shape of a heart.  He obviously loves his mother very much and wants to make sure she comes home, where it is safe, warm, and love abides.

Grab a tissue, right?

When Adam and Eve sinned they were banished from their home. The Garden of Eden. A beautiful, warm place. Peaceful and full of love, visited by God daily. Man was doomed to be lost forever, unless someone provided mankind with a plan, with a map to find their way home again.

God drew a map. The starting point is wherever you currently are in life, You make your way to the cross where God’s only son died for us for He was the perfect sacrifice to make atonement for our sins, (wrong doing).  Jesus, the ultimate gift, exhibiting the ultimate kind of love.

Once there at the cross you turn right and go straight by reading God’s word which shows us how to live our lives, so we are guaranteed to find our way home, where it is safe, warm, and love abides.

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved. 

Finding Direction

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Believe it or not, after my divorce, when it came to meeting a woman to potentially marry, I used to ask God to send her to my door and have her say, “Hi.  I’m God’s woman for you.”  In turn, I would say, “Great.  Let me get my coat.”  I was living in the Chicago area back then and it is cold 9 months out of the year.  Guess what?  It never happened.  I didn’t like all of the effort it took to date after divorce, and I wasn’t real sure I even wanted to remarry, but one thing I did know, if God wanted to lead me that way He could have.

My approach was kind of like praying for money, but not going out and looking for a job.  I used to tell my concerned friends, “Hey, I’m not looking for a wife, but my eyes aren’t closed either.”

One sure way to receive direction from God is to be moving.  You can’t steer a car if it’s not rolling.  With that said, you don’t stop praying while you are in motion.  God can certainly open and close doors, or lead you to someone who knows someone who God can use to meet your need, or desire.

I know of a single woman who is looking for a mate.  She keeps doing it her way, which seems as if she takes the first man to message her, and she gets involved in another long distance relationship that eventually ends badly.  After a few days of hurt, and anger she’s back at it again.  The problem is this; her expiration date is approaching.  I get the sense she is not focusing on God first, and trusting him to lead her.  There is nothing wrong with saying, “No” to a man when you get a check in your spirit.  God will give her the desires of her heart when the right man comes along.  In the meantime, she can have intimacy with God.

It’s important to yield to the plans of God.

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)

For six years, before my retirement, I planned on buying an RV, travel America, and write.  That didn’t happen then, but I now see a chance where it may happen in the future.  My wife likes to add this phrase after making plans of her own, “If God permits.”  Not a bad way to live at all.

“for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]” 2 Cor. 5:7 (AMP)

It’s not easy walking with God, I get that, but it sure is exciting!

Whether you need direction for a spouse, a job, a place to live, what to say to someone who needs to hear from God, etc. choose to live in boldness.  Don’t sit in your living room and wait for the answers to come to you, oh, and don’t expect a billboard along the highway either, but get up, get out, and move.  Then trust the one who has the wheel of your life.  You’ll enjoy the destination that much better!

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.