Jesus Christ

“Glad You’re Doing Okay”

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments
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I received an email the other night from an old friend. I had not seen them in several years. They said they had been thinking about me and wanted to know if I was okay. We exchanged emails and got caught up, somewhat.

I learned a little bit about their life since I last saw them. It was basic information. Their spouse is okay, their child is now nine, they aren’t working, and why. Stuff like that. Sadly, I got the overwhelming impression that they weren’t happy. In fact, they made the statement that their life was boring.

I shared how much I was enjoying my retirement years, that April liked her job, about the new church we started attending this year, and our involvement there. I also shared that I had finished remodeling the house and that we had new furniture that April had picked out, and how she had done a great job. I did mention how I didn’t like getting old, though.

I wasn’t exaggerating or embellishing, but just telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. In their final reply, they wrote, “I’m glad you’re doing okay.”

Their comment got me thinking. Was I bragging? Was I trying to impress them? Why was my life doing okay?

I know in my heart that despite body aches and pains, some hiccups in life, some frustrations in our marriage, and working hard to pay off the bills, our life isn’t bad. Why? Because April and I have accepted Jesus Christ and have had our sins forgiven, and know that he is still forgiving us of our new ones. We both read God’s word, the Bible, regularly, and we tithe faithfully. We are committed to our local church and do what we can to help there, which has allowed us to develop relationships with real people who believe like we do.  We also do what we can to share God and His amazing love with others as the Holy Spirit leads and gives us boldness to speak up. That is why we are doing okay!

I do realize some may say, “I do all those things and yet my life isn’t okay.” I honestly don’t have an answer as to why that is for some. But I know that April and I both invited God into our lives at a young age and have tried our best to surrender our free will to him. Perhaps that has something to do with it as well. God tends to bless obedience, and I know that faith pleases him.

But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. Heb. 11:6 (AMPC)

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. Jer. 29:11 (AMPC)

5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. Prov. 3:5-6 (AMPC)

If there were such a thing as a “recipe” for living a life pleasing to God, then this may be it. April and I enjoy our lives. We feel blessed because we are. It’s like living in a garden, and after all, in the beginning, isn’t that what God intended?

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Are You Being Goaded?

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People come to God in different ways. I had a coworker who was seeking God. He traveled to the Grand Canyon and declared, “There must be a God!” Sitting on the rim, he accepted God’s gift of salvation, had his sins forgiven, and began his walk with God. Others may be moved by a situation or circumstance that takes place in life.

Saul, from the Bible, was highly educated. He had heard Jesus’ claims and teachings, as it was always a popular topic of discussion. Why? Because Jesus promoted living a life of love. This went against the culture of the day, and to this day! Saul was there when Stephen was martyred. He heard Stephen’s speech and saw his face as it glowed there at the end of his life, and it messed with him severely! Saul was goaded. (Acts 6:8 – 7:60)

Saul eventually accepted Jesus Christ. During his conversion:

And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance]. Acts 9:5 (AMPC)

Goad means – provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate an action or reaction.

More recently, Jimmy Kimmel got teary-eyed when he talked about Erika Kirk forgiving the man who killed her husband. Jimmy, too, is highly educated. He lives a very different life from the one Charlie did, and Erika Kirk still does. I believe Jimmy Kimmel is starting to feel some goads. Erika’s willingness to forgive is messing with his mind. He doesn’t understand how she can do that because it’s the way of love.

Acts of selfless love penetrate one’s mind and spirit.

I guarantee you, there are a lot of individuals walking all around us who are struggling with the message and lifestyle of Jesus Christ and of those who follow him. The Holy Spirit is drawing them quietly to God. That is one of his duties. He convicts men of their sins and shows them they need forgiveness in order to have real life.

If you are related to an individual going through this, or you work with, or live near, pray for them. Pray they will stop fighting against the goads and surrender their will to God’s. Their future and where they spend eternity depend on it. If it is you, then do the right thing and live.

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

What a Horrible Way to Die

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I had been spending my devotional time reading the book of Isaiah (in the Old Testament). I read it from “The Message,” which is a modern-day English translation of the Bible. I enjoyed the words of encouragement and God’s promises. As I was finishing up, a high school friend posted the following on Facebook. (I edited parts of the post to shorten it.) I knew some of this information but not all of it. I was especially moved to learn that the prophet Isaiah was cut in half.

Isaiah – was cut in half for the gospel we are enjoying today.

How the Apostles died:

Matthew – suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Mark – died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

Luke – was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John – faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter – was crucified upside down on an X-shaped cross. According to church tradition, it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James – The leader of the church in Jerusalem was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club.

James, the Son of Zebedee, – was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was beheaded in Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James was amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew – also known as Nathaniel, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present-day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia, where he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew – was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece, after being whipped severely by seven soldiers. They tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

Thomas – was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

Jude – was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias – the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

Paul – was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in 67 A.D. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the faith.

(Original source and author unknown.)

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Mat. 24:13-14 (NLT)

Did their murderers stop God by killing the prophets and apostles? No, and the servants of God have changed the world.  Are you changing the world? Am I? There may be, or there may come, persecution for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. For showing the world a better way to live. God’s way. A way that is based on love. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to tell others about Jesus.

Yes, as a servant of God, what a horrible way to die, but what a wonderful way to live!

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Wall Drug

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If you have ever traveled Interstate 90 in the state of South Dakota, you don’t have to go far before you start seeing billboard after billboard advertising Wall Drug. You see so many, you start thinking, This must be the most incredible place on Earth! Spoiler alert: It’s not, but it is a fun place to stop and see.

 The billboards tell you how far before you get there. They promise you what you can experience and how wonderful it will be. What started as a place for travelers to stop and get a free glass of ice-cold water has turned into one huge tourist stop.

If you have been traveling through life and have yet to accept God’s Son, Jesus Christ, into your life, I would dare say if you looked back, you would see signs, billboard after billboard, about Jesus. You would have had several opportunities to stop and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. You would learn that He offered “living water” that refreshes your soul. You would see the promises He makes about helping you, guiding, providing, healing, and more for you. You would know that wherever you go in this world, He would always be there with you.

You might be thinking, “I’ve never seen signs or billboards!” You have. You didn’t realize it. A friend invited you to attend a church service with them, and you said, “No, that’s okay.” Someone shared Jesus with you and how He has helped them. You probably dismissed their testimony by saying, “Well, that’s good for you, but Jesus doesn’t fit into my plan.” Perhaps you experienced some misfortune and had a minister come alongside and minister God’s love and concern for you, and days after, you forgot about how good God’s love felt.

 The devil will try to convince you that you don’t need to stop. That you are fine doing life your way. The truth is that your way leads to destruction.

You may think you are on the right road and still end up dead. Prov. 14:12 (CEV)

There are a lot of billboards along the road of life that are viding for your attention. This is why you need God’s help to provide you with wisdom so you don’t make any unnecessary stops or detours. Be a smart traveler. Don’t go it alone. Choose today to walk with the one who has your best interest in mind and has prepared the ultimate destination for eternity.

 Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Nope!

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A man once told his wife that the reason he didn’t go to church and had dismissed his belief in God is because he was abused as a little boy in a main denominational church, and he couldn’t believe a loving God would allow that to happen. I hate that it did happen. It was so wrong, but the truth is this: you will not be exempt from hell because of someone else’s moral failure! Nope! Notta!

The Bible is clear about this issue. “Everyone must die once. After a person dies, he is judged.” Heb. 9:27 (ICB) That same man will not be judged for the sins of someone else, but he will be judged for how “he” lived his life.

All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. 24 People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25 God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. Rom. 3:23-25a (ICB)

Recently, a famous senior pastor, who proceeded over several campus locations and was on television, had his past sins revealed. The indiscretion took place many years ago but was disclosed. He probably thought it was hidden and would never be known publicly. This shows that scripture is true when it says, “Everything that is hidden will become clear. Every secret thing will be made known.” Luke 8:17 (ICB)

My point in bringing this up is no one can say, “See. The church is full of hypocrites, and I don’t want to be like them. I’m just as good as they are. So, I will live my life how I want to!” The church is indeed full of imperfect people, but they are forgiven if they have asked God to forgive them in the name of Jesus.

A reporter once asked President Bill Clinton, “You have committed an indiscretion in the Oval Office, yet we see you go to church and carrying a Bible.” President Clinton smirked and replied, “If anybody needed to be in church, don’t you think I should have?” Honestly, he was right.

There is no getting around this matter. There are only two eternities. One is heaven, and the other is hell. God cannot allow people into heaven who are filthy and have not been washed in the blood of Jesus. Fair or not, that is the way it is and must be. For God is Holy.

It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you.  And then he does not hear you. Is. 59:2 (ICB)

Each creature was calling to the others: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heaven’s armies. His glory fills the whole earth.” Is. 6:3 (ICB)

God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 Jn. 1:5b (ICB)

Your eyes are too good to look at evil. You cannot stand to see people do wrong. So how can you put up with those evil people? How can you be quiet when wicked people defeat people who are better than they are? Hab. 1:13 (ICB)

That is why God had to turn his back on his Son, Jesus, while he was dying on the cross because Jesus took on the sins of the world. So get it through your head today: either accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ or die as a sinner and be condemned to spending eternity in hell. It’s your choice. You will not be able to blame anyone else.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

The Standard

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I got spoiled and took it for granted. I love Chinese food! When I lived in the Chicago suburbs and worked in downtown Chicago, I had several excellent Chinese restaurants around me. Within a five-mile radius of my home I had five alone that were good! I didn’t realize how good I had it until I moved back to my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, after retiring from AT&T.

April and I tried another place today for lunch. I was excited, and my hopes were high. Let’s just say I tried to like it, but the taste fell far below what I wanted. I have analyzed the situation and realized the bar was set high when I lived in Illinois. There was one place where the head cook was known as “Grandma.” I would walk in and ask, “Is Grandma back there cooking?” If the answer was “Yes,” then I knew it was going to be good. In fact, when Grandma retired, the quality went downhill, and I stopped eating there. Grandma had set “The Standard.”

There are many “religions” around the world, and those who follow them will say they are satisfied with their choice of following that “religion.” My choice is Christianity, where I don’t follow a “religion” but rather have a “relationship” with the Creator of the universe, God Himself.

“Religions” usually come with a set of rules and spiritual practices that one must follow in order to achieve some kind of spirituality with the hopes of being “good enough” to make it into heaven. In my relationship with God, as long as my sins have been forgiven via his Son, Jesus, and the attitude of love resides in my heart, I am promised by God himself to live with him in heaven for eternity. In my opinion, what I have learned about other “religions” seems lifeless, burdensome, and demanding. God has set The Standard when it comes to being spiritual and Jesus Christ set the bar!

Jesus Christ is the only One who taught, walked, and lived out a life of perfection and love but then died and rose again to be with his Father in heaven. No other priest or teacher did that. Not Buddha, Muhammad, or any other person. They’re still dead!

As I watched today several customers come in to eat or pick up their orders, I asked myself, “If the food here isn’t that good, then how can this place be so busy?” Then the answer hit me. “Duh! Their standard of good quality Chinese food is low. They haven’t partaken of the best!” The same goes for the masses who have not accepted Jesus Christ into their life. Asking for forgiveness for their sins and then walking in a loving “relationship” with God.

Consider a “relationship” with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. That is why He died a horrible death for you on the cross! Even if you were the only person on Earth and you sinned and did something wrong, Jesus would have gone through the pain and agony of dying for you. That is how much He loves you.

O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Ps. 34:8 (AMP)

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Wedding Vows

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Most of us have either heard or said traditional wedding vows. There was my nervous cousin who said, “Till death do we fart.” Of course, we all laughed, especially me and my father. At least until my mother rib punched both of us. His twin brother kept shaking as he tried to maintain his composure.

In case it has been a while, here they are:

“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

Some of us would prefer these vows:

“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for richer, and in health, to love and to cherish, happily ever after.”

But life isn’t a fairy tale, and there are ups and downs. Do you realize that after you accept Jesus into your life, you become the Bride of Christ? It’s true.

One of the Seven Angels who had carried the bowls filled with the seven final disasters spoke to me: “Come here. I’ll show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” Rev. 21:9 (MSG)

Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
    let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
    his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
    of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints. Rev. 19:7-8 (MSG)

So here is my point to today’s blog post: When we accept Jesus, we enter into an intimate, personal relationship with Him. In sickness and in health. For richer and poorer. For good days and bad days. He helps us get through all the days of our life. But here is the best part: we don’t separate at death but actually come face to face for eternity!

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Enemies

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The last few nights, I have had dreams that included a person who was so unfair and mean to me that I had hoped I would never see them again. They probably wanted me dead. Not because of who I was, but because of Christ who dwelleth in me. I do my best to live my faith out loud. Ya know? They might have been part of the inspiration behind my novel, Kill the Preacher Man. (Available on my website, bradymarka.com.)

After I woke up this morning and had another one, I asked God, “Why?” He quickly whispered, “I want you to pray for them.” It is part of my spiritual practice to pray for people when I think of them. Especially ones thought of out of the blue. Honestly, I would rather not pray for this person, but I can’t ignore what God told me to do. I must obey.

This person’s sisters once told me that their mother took them to church regularly. That told me they knew of God. The problem is they are striving like crazy to do life their way, but it isn’t working, and they are extremely angry about that. So you see, they weren’t warring with me but God.

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Luke 6:27-28 (ESV)

“So, God, I pray for the individual you have brought to my mind. I pray that they stop resisting your love and they run into your waiting arms. Help them, Father, to know your forgiveness is waiting for them. Give them the strength to believe you and to stop listening to the lies of the devil. May they find the people you have put in their life, and may those people help them to get back into a Bible-preaching, love-flowing church. Thank you, God. Amen.”

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

But It Hurts!

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Sometimes it takes a while. Perhaps even years. But it always appears. You will eventually see it. The event(s) that causes it to appear can be different.

“I have taken care of her since I graduated high school. Now, forty years later, why she couldn’t understand that we had a personal tragedy in our family and that I needed to close my shop so I could be there for my family is beyond me. It hurts!”

The above was part of a conversation I had earlier this week. I tried to comfort my friend because I knew the person who was mean and evil. If I thought of how April would have said it, I would have. She would have said, “They showed you their face!” A Filippino expression that means they showed you who they really are. Again, it may take a while, but they usually do.

Knowing the offender very well, I shared with my friend what God revealed to me about them. I told them, “The spiritual eyes of their heart are closed.” Even though this person goes to church almost every time, the doors are open. Perfect attendance at church doesn’t mean they live a perfect life. A lot of people fall short of living a life of love, peace, and understanding.

When you see someone’s true face, and it hurts, usually, the only thing you can do is forgive them and pray for them. Respond in the most loving way possible, as Jesus Christ himself would. I read in a book by Dr. Henry Cloud (paraphrasing), “If it is someone who continues to hurt you, it’s okay to stay away from them.” Life is too short to live with unneeded or unwanted pain.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

If They Knew

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Once upon a time, there was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, “Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.”

But Abraham said, “Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.”

The rich man said, “Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.”

Abraham answered, “They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.”

“I know, Father Abraham,” he said, “but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.”

Abraham replied, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.”

As a young man, I heard our pastor preach many sermons described as “hell fire and brimstone!” He held nothing back, ensuring everyone knew what the Bible said about hell. How awful it would be there if we did not simply accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and ask him to forgive us for our sins. I knew I didn’t want to be there!

The above story was initially told by Jesus himself. It is recorded in Luke 16:19-31, and the version I pulled from was The Message. It makes me wonder, though, if someone did come back to life and had been in hell as their sentence from how they lived their life and told everyone about hell, would people believe them? Would you?

You probably won’t ever hear of someone coming back from hell. But you do have the Bible, which is full of truth. Some of those truths are:

All have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)

After you die, you will stand before God and give an account of how you lived your life on earth.
(2 Corinthians 5:10)

Unless you are “born again,” meaning you accepted Jesus Christ, you cannot enter heaven.
(John 3:3)

Accept Jesus. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and live forever in heaven. If the living knew what the dead knew, the whole world would follow Jesus the Christ!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.