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What Happens in Vegas… Doesn’t Stay in Vegas

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
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Las Vegas glows like a neon oasis in the desert—bright lights, loud music, endless entertainment, and a reputation built on one famous slogan: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

It’s catchy. It’s clever. It’s also completely false.

Because while Vegas may promise secrecy, heaven does not. God sees what happens in every city—including the one nicknamed Sin City.

The Mirage of Hidden Sin

Vegas markets itself as a place where you can reinvent yourself for a weekend, indulge without consequences, and leave your actions behind when you fly home. But scripture cuts through that illusion. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.” (Hebrews 4:13) The city may offer anonymity, but God requires accountability, not to shame us, but to save us. Sin thrives in the shadows, but God sees clearly. Sin whispers, “No one will know.” God answers, “I already do.”

Sin Is Fun… for a Season

Let’s be honest: sin has a thrill to it. The Bible doesn’t deny that. “The pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:25) Vegas is built on that season—quick pleasure, fast excitement, instant gratification. But seasons change. The bill always comes due. The hangover always follows the high. The emptiness always returns after the excitement fades. Sin promises freedom but delivers chains. It promises life but drains it. It promises escape but creates bondage. The enemy sells sin like a vacation package, but the fine print always includes regret.

Vegas as a Mirror of the Human Heart

Here’s the twist: Vegas isn’t the problem. It’s a mirror. The same temptations that glow on the Strip glow in the human heart: indulgence, lust, greed, escape, and self‑worship. Vegas just puts them on billboards. The real battleground isn’t Nevada—it’s the soul. Jesus said:

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts…” (Mark 7:21)

Vegas is a symbol of what humanity gravitates toward when left unchecked. But it’s also a symbol of what God longs to redeem.

God Walks the Strip Too

If you could see Vegas through God’s eyes, you wouldn’t just see sin. You’d see souls. You’d see:

  • the lonely man at the blackjack table
  • the woman searching for worth in flashing lights
  • the couple trying to escape their pain
  • the addict hoping one more thrill will numb the ache
  • the worker behind the counter, praying for a better life

God doesn’t avoid “Sin City.” He walks right into it. Just like Jesus walked into Samaria. Just like He ate with tax collectors. Just like He touched lepers. Just like He rescued the woman caught in adultery. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) If Jesus had a ministry tour today, He’d stop in Vegas.

The Light Shines Brightest in the Dark

The darker the place, the brighter the light of Christ shines. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Vegas doesn’t intimidate God. Sin doesn’t overwhelm Him. Darkness doesn’t scare Him. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more (Romans 5:20). God doesn’t write off cities. He redeems them.

The Real Message Behind the Slogan

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” is a lie. But here’s the truth:

What happens in Vegas matters to God. What happens in Vegas follows you home spiritually. What happens in Vegas can be forgiven, healed, and redeemed.

God sees not to condemn, but to restore. Not to expose, but to rescue. Not to shame, but to save.

Final Thought

Vegas is a symbol of humanity’s search for pleasure without purpose. But God offers something Vegas never can: joy instead of thrills, peace instead of escape, freedom instead of addiction, purpose instead of emptiness, and forgiveness instead of secrecy. Sin City is not beyond God’s reach. Neither are you. Nor is anyone who walks its streets. Ask Jesus into your life. Loose the guilt, the condemnation, and the chains and receive grace, redemption, and forgiveness.

Copyright © 2026 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

“The Photo”

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Calvin had a unique conflict‑resolution strategy. Unique in the same way raccoons shopping at Walmart instead of raiding trash cans is unique: fascinating, chaotic, and guaranteed to end badly. Whenever he got mad at his wife, Denise, he didn’t yell, sulk, or stomp around. No, Calvin deployed his secret weapon. He put “The Photo” on the refrigerator.

Not just any photo.
Not a cute photo.
Not even an embarrassing photo.

It was the photo of Calvin, shirtless, wearing sunglasses indoors, holding a fishing pole with no fish on it, flexing a bicep that looked less like a muscle and more like a confused dinner roll.

Denise hated that photo with the passion of a 1000 members of a mob. She said it made the fridge look like it was trying to warn people about the dangers of low self-esteem.

So, whenever Calvin felt wronged, forgotten laundry, missing leftovers, Denise “accidentally” deleting his favorite show, he’d march to the kitchen, remove a magnet from the refrigerator, and slap “The Photo” onto the fridge door with the dramatic flair of a man declaring war.

Denise would freeze. “Oh no. Not that thing.” Calvin bowed his head slightly, acknowledging her discovery, arms crossed like a disappointed gym teacher.

One time, she tried hiding it. He printed three more. Another time, she replaced it with a picture of Ryan Gosling. He replaced thatwith a bigger version of himself. When she threw it away, he replaced it with a laminated one.

Eventually, Denise developed a sixth sense for incoming nonsense. If Calvin got quiet, she’d whisper, “Don’t you dare fridge yourself.” But one day, after a minor disagreement about whether the dishwasher was “loaded wrong” or “loaded creatively,” Calvin stormed off to deploy “The Photo” … only to find a brand‑new picture already on the fridge.

It was Denise.

Wearing sunglasses indoors. Holding a fishing pole with no fish. Flexing a bicep that looked like a confused dinner roll. Calvin gasped. “You wouldn’t.” “Oh, I would,” she said. “Welcome to mutually assured fridge destruction.”

They stared at each other. Then they burst out laughing. And the photos stayed side by side like two warning labels about marriage, pettiness, and the power of strategic refrigerator décor.

God’s X-ray Machine

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An X‑ray machine can do something our natural eyes will never accomplish. It looks straight through the surface, revealing what is hidden beneath. Bones, fractures, blockages, foreign objects. All the things we could never see on our own suddenly become clear.

In the same way, God has given His people spiritual “X‑ray vision”. Not to judge others harshly, but to see beneath the surface of the heart through the gifts of the Spirit, especially discernment. Words of knowledge are very similar.

An X‑ray machine doesn’t care about outward appearances. It doesn’t admire clothing, hairstyles, or smiles. It goes deeper. That’s exactly what scripture says God does:

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

God sees motives, wounds, hidden sins, and hidden strengths. Nothing is concealed from Him. And because He loves His people, He equips the church or individuals with spiritual gifts that help us see what He sees, not perfectly, but purposefully.

The gift of discernment is like a spiritual X‑ray. It helps believers recognize what is true, what is false, what is healthy, and what is dangerous. Paul describes this gift clearly:

“To another the discerning of spirits, and words of knowledge…” 1 Corinthians 12:10-11

Discernment is not suspicion. It’s not intuition. It’s not a personality trait. It is a Spirit‑empowered ability to see beneath the surface. To detect spiritual realities that are invisible to natural perception. Just like an X‑ray reveals a fracture that explains the pain, discernment reveals spiritual fractures that explain confusion, conflict, or deception.

A doctor doesn’t order an X‑ray because someone looks sick, but because something deeper is wrong. Likewise, God gives discernment so the church can identify:

  • Hidden motives — when actions don’t match intentions
  • Spiritual deception — teachings or influences that look right but aren’t
  • Unhealthy patterns — cycles that keep people stuck
  • God’s direction — clarity when choices are cloudy

Discernment protects the church the same way an X‑ray protects a patient, by revealing the truth before the damage gets worse. An individual with these gifts is not special, but only in the way they have made themselves available to God to be used by him.

Before God ever uses us to discern others, He lovingly shines His light on our own hearts. David prayed:

“Search me, O God… and see if there is any wicked way in me.” Psalm 139:23–24

This is a spiritual X‑ray at its finest. God reveals what needs healing, cleansing, or strengthening. And when He shows us something about ourselves or someone else, it’s never to embarrass or shame us; it’s to heal us.

Just as a doctor uses an X‑ray to help, not harm, discernment or a word of knowledge must always be used with:

  • Humility
  • Love
  • Restoration

Discernment without love becomes criticism, and discernment with love becomes healing.

An X‑ray machine reveals what is hidden, so healing can begin. God’s gift of discernment does the same. It exposes what the enemy hides, reveals what the heart conceals, and guides the church or an individual into truth, purity, and spiritual health. When using these gifts to minister to an individual, I find it important to “ask” for permission to share what God has shown me. There is power in invitations.

When the Spirit gives an individual the gift of discernment, or a word of knowledge, and they speak to an individual and reveal what God has shown them, it’s not to embarrass them but to get their attention. Someone should never be in awe of the spiritual gifts but rather be in awe of the loving God behind the gifts. Words of knowledge or discernment, knowing things that only God knew, are only to get someone’s attention for what God wants to do or say to them next!

May God give us eyes to see what He sees, hearts to love what He loves, and courage to respond to what He reveals.

1-3 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.

4-11 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. 1 Cor. 12:1-11 (MSG)

Copyright © 2026 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

What a Mess!

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Reuben’s voice rang out without warning. No one addressed him, and no one asked. He just started telling us men in the circle about what was going on in his life.

Reuben mentioned his divorce and how it had been a three-year struggle. He talked about his job and how they demanded more out of him.  Then, he spoke of his new apartment and how much stuff he needed.

He mentioned his son and daughter, informing us that that very evening, his son was in a rollover accident but was okay. Reuben talked about all of the bad things that had happened to his daughter as well. And then he started divulging his finances and what little he had. He also told us that his income tax refund was nine weeks overdue, and that there were problems with it, and now the IRS wanted to verify it was really him.

I started noticing a pattern. Every time one of the men tried to suggest something that would help him, Reuben would find a way to dismiss it or say why it wouldn’t work. When another one asked him what he specifically needed for his apartment, he would only list what items he had.

It was about then that I realized that Reuben was experiencing a lot of pain, and the only item he actually needed was to be heard. He wanted someone to care about what he was going through. I glanced over while the group was praying for him, and he was wiping tears. The saddest part of this whole story is that Reuben doesn’t seem to realize that, as a child of God, life doesn’t have to be this way. He doesn’t know that Satan is the one who is keeping him down by stirring up “drama” and “chaos” in his life. Reuben should know that with God, he can take control over his life in the name of Jesus Christ. He just needs to do it and believe it, and then walk it out.

There are hurting people all around us. Not all of them start leaking pain, like Reuben in our group, but if you take the time to dig a little, you may discover they are hurting and need to be heard. The great thing is you don’t even have to know what to say because most of the time they simply want someone to listen and know.

Proverbs 18:13 — “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — God comforts us so we can comfort others.

God is listening and He knows how to help the broken-hearted.

Isaiah 41:10 — “Do not fear… I will strengthen you and help you.”

Psalm 56:8 — God keeps track of your tears.

John 16:33 — “In this world you will have trouble… but take heart!”

1 Peter 5:7 — “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”


(The above is a true story, but the name was changed to protect the hurting.)
Copyright © 2026 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

How Many Times do I Have to Say It?

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I did a favor for someone recently. The recipient acted as if they didn’t even notice. They never said, “Thank you.” That bothered me–a lot. So, after a few days, I asked them about the situation. I asked them, “Why didn’t you say thank you?” Their reply shocked me. They responded by asking, “How many times do I have to say it?”

I wanted to say, “How about 70 times 7?” That was Jesus’ response, though to a question about how many times to forgive someone. I couldn’t let it go. I wondered, does this person treat everyone like this? What about “Love thy neighbor?” Would you treat your neighbor that way? They do you a favor, and you don’t even acknowledge it?

The second part of the command to love thy neighbor is to love them as you love yourself. Well, what if a person doesn’t really love themselves? Does that hinder them in saying, “Thank you?” Because they don’t have a heart of gratitude? That would be a problem.

  • Perhaps they aren’t grateful for what Jesus did for them on the cross.
  • Maybe the issue is that they have done something they can’t forgive themselves for.
  • It could be something that happened to them by someone else, but they blame themselves.
  • Maybe they don’t feel they are worthy of forgiveness.

Whatever it is, it hinders them from having a heart of gratitude and, therefore, being grateful when others do something for them. I pray for them. I pray that whatever is hurting them, hindering them from having a heart of God, a heart of love, would be healed. That they would be able to say, “Thank you” whenever someone does something for them.

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mat. 12:31 (NIV)

Copyright © 2026 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Overcoming Rejection

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There was a news story a few weeks ago, about a baby macaque monkey (snow monkey) at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Japan (about 20 miles east of Tokyo), the zookeepers named “Punch.”

His mother abandoned Punch at birth. The zoo staff stepped in and started raising Punch, even giving him a stuffed, orange orangutan to help him deal with the enormous amount of rejection he was facing and the loneliness. Even the other monkeys in the compound ignored him at first. Lately, though, the other monkeys have accepted him. Not sure if they realized he was now a celebrity, or, more likely, saw something in Punch they admired. Maybe they saw how he was handling the rejection. Maybe they noticed how he still cared for others even though others didn’t care for him.

I heard a line once in a movie that went something like this: “It’s not that they like you or that they don’t like you. You’re different from them. They don’t understand you, and sooner or later, people fear what they don’t understand.” Rejecting an individual because they are different from you is crazy. Sadly, people get rejected for most likely the stupidest of reasons every day. How you deal with it is important.

Take a cue from Punch. Don’t let it bother you. Know who you are and how special you are. Discover your talents and strengths and then excel in them. Know that you were fearfully and wonderfully made by God. (Psalms 139.14) And treat others the way you want to be treated. I wouldn’t necessarily walk around with a bright orange, stuffed orangutan, but a nice smile may do it. And remember, if you are really struggling, please talk to someone. And in America, you can dial 988 for help. Jesus was rejected. He knows your pain, and He is there ready and waiting to help if you will ask him to.

For copyright issues, I couldn’t show an actual photo of Punch, but you can go to any reputable news source and find one.

Copyright © 2026 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

The Tale of Two Women

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Earlier today, I was doing our weekly shopping at Walmart. I ran into two different women, who had two different tales to tell. The first one made me laugh, but the second, the second one caused me to tear up.

The first one, Nancy, was shopping while carrying a new white, plastic step stool. I saw it and instantly knew why. I thought, if she was going to purchase it, then it would be in her shopping cart, but it wasn’t. That means she was using it to reach items on the top shelf that she wanted to purchase. I found her in the soda aisle.

I helped her by retrieving two two-liter bottles of Coke. Yes, I was tall enough to reach them, although I was standing on my tippy toes! I asked her about the stool, and she confirmed I was right. She mentioned that she had complained that they put items too high and that when her shopping was done, she put the stool back until next time. I laughed at her creativity.

The second one, Sharon (changed to protect her), works there. I see her most weeks. She always looks tired, and it bothers me to see a woman who looks as if she should be at home knitting, working. In the past, I have treated her with respect, as if she were the owner.

Today, she told me her daughter suffers from a mental illness and that yesterday, she had her committed to a facility. She said, “I’m her mother, but there is nothing I can do to help her.” I replied, “That is why you need God. He can.” Tears swelled up in her eyes as she asked me to be praying for her daughter,” I matched her with tears in my own eyes as I assured her I would. I asked for her daughter’s first name and explained that April and I have a board where we list people and needs to pray for.

Whenever you go out into the world, you never know who you will meet or see again. The ones that you see repeatedly, please, I hope you take the time to get to know them.  You never know when they will open up to you and share what is consuming them or their thoughts. A lot of people are hurting and dealing with heavy things in their lives. To them, the world is dark! We need to be there for them just as God is.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Mat. 5:14 (NLT)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

“You Give Love a Bad Name”

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You live life however you want to. It’s all about you. You are the only one that matters. Your opinions are always right. You build yourself up while putting others down. It’s your way or no way.

Have you ever met someone like that? I hope you aren’t married to one. It’s bad enough when you have one in your family. If you must deal with someone who lives like that, then you know firsthand how difficult it is. You also know how many times they have hurt you. I’m sorry if you have.

To make matters worse, they will lie about you and spread lies. Truth is whatever “they” believe. They tend not to have any true friends. And the ultimate insult is when they go to church and claim to have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. They give love a bad name!

I have known a few. Most people probably do, too. I have thought about one of them, in particular, standing before God. I wonder if He will say, “Depart from me. I never knew you.” Now, I’m not judging them, but it is biblical to judge the fruit of their life. And I gotta say, it’s sour!

When one accepts Jesus into their life, it should change them. They should trust him to help them deal with whatever demons are slow to come out of them. There may be reasons, valid ones, as to why they are full of hate, but after inviting Jesus to rule and reign in their life, they need to let those things go.

“Christian” means follower of Christ. If you claim to be a Christian, then you should strive to be like him, full of love. Loving people as you love yourself after loving God first. Reading his word, the Bible, learning what truth really is, and walking it out daily.

If you are one of these types of individuals, then I pray for God to help you and let him do a work in you. You can overcome anything going on now and anything that happened in your past that might be causing you to be resentful or, perhaps, jealous of others and their lives.

Don’t be a person who gives love a bad name. Be known as one who, no matter what, loves. And one who walks this planet with the presence of God about them, demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit. If you do, you will probably find others wanting to be around you instead of avoiding you. He’s got this because He’s got you. Give love a good name.

16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Mat. 7:16-20 (NLT)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3 (NIV)

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Mat. 7:21-23 (ESV)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

God – No Matter What

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“They drove me away from the church because I was divorced.” — Kathryn Kuhlman

On one occasion, Kathryn Kuhlman was preaching in a church. Someone informed the pastor that she was divorced, which led the pastor to walk up to the front, grab the microphone from her, and apologize to the crowd for having a “false prophet” preaching. She was escorted by the ushers out of the church and ran out of town. SHE WEPT!

On a rare occasion when Kathryn would address her past, she made this comment about her peers during her crisis. “… You know, sometimes it’s a thousand times easier to die physically than to keep on living. You see, the Lord forgives, but people don’t. They’ll drive it in, and they’ll drive it in, and they’ll drive it in, and they’ll drive it in. And they’ll pierce your heart, and they’ll pierce it clear through.”

Kathryn Kuhlman Died! This was her popular phrase. She would go on to say it was the price she paid for the glory. Kathryn vividly remembers the days she died to carry God’s glory. “It’s much easier to die than to live, death to the flesh and the opinions of this world. Today, I feel it was part of God’s perfect will for my life.”

For Kathryn Kuhlman, her greatest anointing began to manifest from 49 to 59 years of age.

In those days, she walked past people, and they collapsed to the floor because of the heavy presence of the Holy Spirit she carried. Healings and strange miracles never before recorded accompanied her ministry till death.

Even though Kathryn Kuhlman was out of public ministry for almost 8 years, when she hit the platform again, the glory of the latter house surpassed the former. Suddenly, all the churches that attacked her because of her divorce opened their arms wide like they weren’t the ones that almost drove her into suicide.

The anointing was always there. All it needed was activation and constant use. God’s grace is irreversible. He does not change His mind about what He gives. He’s not two-faced. Your perspective or mindset about Him may change, but he does not.

So many may have left the ministry because of one thing or the other. You may have stopped pastoring, holding meetings, or whatever form of ministry because of pressures, financial, marital, or personal issues, but know that God uses these pressures to bring out His best in us.

The Apostle Paul says, “8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Cor. 4:8-12 (NIV)

From Kathryn’s example, we have learned that no one is too far gone, no one is out of God’s use, and instead of driving the word of God against people who are under pressure, let’s help them heal. Let’s get them back on track. Handle that brother or sister with care. God does not just want some individual spiritual giants; He wants to build His body! God is not just interested in your denomination; He wants to build His Church!

HER LAST MEETING….

As everyone left the auditorium, Kathryn walked quietly to the end of the stage. She raised her head and slowly scanned the balcony as if she were gazing at every seat. It seemed like an eternity. Then, Kathryn dropped her gaze to the second balcony, following every row and every seat with her eyes. Then, she looked at the ground floor, studying every seat.

We can only imagine what was going through Kathryn’s mind: the memories, the victories, the healings, the laughter, and the tears. Was it possible that Kathryn knew she would never return to the platform? Was it possible that, at that moment, she said goodbye to her earthly ministry?

In just a little over three weeks from that November date, Kathryn passed on into glory in the Hillcrest Medical Center of Tulsa, Oklahoma, after open-heart surgery.

(The author is unknown, but I saw this posted on Facebook and wanted to share it.)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

The Other Side of Love

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

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

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

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

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

But what if they hate you?

But what if they persecute you?
Bless them.

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

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.