Jesus

Service

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Before I retired, I had dreams of living in an RV and traveling across America, seeing the places I still haven’t gotten to. I enjoy traveling and have been fortunate enough to have been to forty-nine of the fifty United States. I have also been to a few international locations. Hong Kong has been my favorite so far.

One of my hair-brain thoughts was to contact Sonic Drive-In and see if I could work for them as an undercover quality control of each location. The plan would include cleanliness, quality of food, and, of course, service time. I will tolerate minor issues with a restaurant if their service is good. Did I mention I love Sonic and their food?

Serving others is important. And how you serve is also important, meaning to do it with the right attitude. Even Jesus once said:

“It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” Mark 10:43-45 (MSG)

There is a fine line between serving and being taken advantage of, though. I struggle with this distinction sometimes. The other day, I should have helped April, but I was mad at her for not helping me. I knew, in my heart, Jesus would have. I have since apologized for responding incorrectly.

It comes down to “love.” Reacting to someone else’s behavior raises the question, am I going to respond out of “love” or out of my flesh? I’m still learning to choose “out of love” first. And if someone is taking advantage of your goodness, I think it is okay to set limits and boundaries. They are healthy, too, and may help keep your heart from getting hurt and having a negative feeling inside.

“Help us, God, to have your wisdom in the moment and to know what to do and then to do that with love and concern.”

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

God’s Name in Vain

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“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Exo. 20:7 (NKJV)

Not to use God’s name in vain is one of the Ten Commandments. But have you ever stopped and wondered, “Why?” I hadn’t either. Then, the other day, out of the blue, I believe I got a download via the Holy Spirit as to why.

I used to ride a commuter train in and out of Chicago. If you take it as long as I did, twenty-four years, you will wind up encountering all types of individuals. I was always tempted to write a sitcom based on four friends who commuted together, but it seemed a lot like the hit show, “Friends.”

One day, I came across a lady who used God’s name in vain a lot! I mean all the time. Once, it was just me and her in the vestibule. She did it again, and I said to her, “You know, you using God’s name in vain is so offensive to me. He is my heavenly Father. Why don’t you use your father’s name in vain, instead?” She thought about it for a moment and then said, “I never thought of it that way. I’m sorry.” I don’t know if she quit because I didn’t see her after that.

Because of the greatness of the name of God, any use of God’s name that brings dishonor on Him or on His character is taking His name in vain.

Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Mat. 6:9 (AMPC)

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. Prov. 18:10 (ESV)

“Don’t swear falsely using my name, violating the name of your God. I am God. Lev. 19:12 (MSG)

No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name. Deut. 5:11 (MSG)

Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of [a]His holy name. Ps. 30:4 (NKJV)

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:13 (NKJV)

So is the name of Jesus. His name can do the impossible. It can heal, it can provide for your needs, restore relationships, and, best of all, transform a life.

I could be wrong, but I feel the reason God doesn’t want us to use his name in vain is because it is “wasting it,” if you will. Like his name should be spoken for good. He’s good. Not because you are angry. So, think about it the next time you are tempted to waste God’s name. Misusing it is just downright rude.

If you have used his name wrong in the past, you can ask for forgiveness, and He will do that. Forgive you for the offense and for all the other ones, too.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Faultlines

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I read a poem today, and I was not too fond of it. The person who penned the words claimed that because the world is “flawed,” the one at “fault” is the Creator. I see this as a huge problem today. Nobody wants to take responsibility when they are wrong. Even an extremely popular, major online shopping company won’t admit it and do something about it. I decided to stop ordering from them. If I can’t find it somewhere else, then do I really need it?

Someone cuts you off on the road. You honk. Yet you get the finger! Oh, maybe they’re showing me they are my number one fan! It can be very frustrating, to say the least. Knowing someone is wrong, but they won’t admit it. And the truth is, they know they were wrong, too.

Below is one person’s comment to the poem:

“Interesting perception, I have made products that work perfectly well until the people who buy them get their hands on them. It’s worth reading the historical records of all the creation accounts they point to a perfect creation and interference.

Your final analysis is also flawed because if I don’t read the instructions and follow direction how is it the manufacturers fault that the product doesn’t work.

The Creator is perfect, the creation was perfect but decided it didn’t need the creator it exercised freewill and the flaws are the product of thousands of years of poor decision making by the product. But thanks for sharing the poem.”

What they are saying is true.

God created the world. He made man and gave him free will. Man decided not to live life according to God’s commands. As a result, sin entered the world. Then sickness, disease, anger, pride, and so on bringing down mankind and, thus, the world.

Today, we have God’s instruction manual, the Bible. Yet mankind still wants to exercise his free will and drive, I mean live life his way, contributing to the downfall of the world. But if asked, they would probably say, “It’s not my fault!” They would instead place the blame on anyone or anything else. The problem with that is this: they are still wrong and will pay the price ultimately for their wrong or sin.

The ONLY solution is to accept Jesus into your life and ask Him for forgiveness of your sins. Then, get a Bible and read how God says we should live. The book of Proverbs is a great place to start. I am wrong a lot! But I admit it and ask God and, if needed, an individual to forgive me. It is so freeing!

Proverbs 11:17-31 (MSG)

17 When you’re kind to others, you help yourself;
    when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself.
18 Bad work gets paid with a bad check;
    good work gets solid pay.
19 Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live,
    or chase after phantoms of evil and die.
20 God can’t stand deceivers,
    but oh how he relishes integrity.
21 Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free,
    and God’s loyal people will triumph.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful face on an empty head.
23 The desires of good people lead straight to the best,
    but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.
24 The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
    the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
25 The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
    those who help others are helped.
26 Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!
    Blessings on all who play fair and square!
27 The one who seeks good finds delight;
    the student of evil becomes evil.
28 A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;
    a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.
29 Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;
    common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.
30 A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;
    a violent life destroys souls.
31 If good people barely make it,
    what’s in store for the bad!

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

DNR

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When I was in the hospital recently, as I was getting evaluated, they kept asking me if something happened, would I want to be resuscitated. I found this odd because if I didn’t want to live, then why would I have sought medical attention? (NOTE: I’m okay and will continue to write award-winning blog posts! LOL) If I had answered them “No,” then I would have been labeled as “DNR.” (Do not resuscitate)

My father chose “DNR” when he was asked. He said he didn’t want to go through dialysis just to extend his life another year or so. He was 83. He said he had lived a good life and was ready to stand before God, so he decided to leave his fate in God’s hands. He told me once he had asked God to let him die in his sleep. He did seventeen days later.

I have met people who need to be resuscitated. Even some who claim to have accepted Jesus before. They know right from wrong and good from evil. Yet the way they live their life or the words they speak to others demonstrates a lack of God’s love. Therefore, they need “CPR” (Christ Power Resurrecting).

3 I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.
4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love]. Rev. 2:3-4 (AMPC)

Many of them do not see anything wrong with how they do life. They are also never wrong in their minds. It’s as if they are wearing a hospital bracelet that is labeled: DNR. If you know such a person, then pray for them. Pray that the spiritual eyes of their heart will be open. Pray they will fall in love with Jesus again and renew living out of an attitude of love.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Christmas Hangover?

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Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

I drive April to work early each morning. Today, on the way back home, I was listening to a Christian radio station. They wound up playing four Christmas songs. You know I was singing along! Loud! I think the station’s computer had not been updated, removing those songs from its playlist.

 I heard someone say the other day, “The build-up before Christmas was huge, and then it was all over before I knew it!” According to Urban Dictionary, “A Christmas Hangover is the feeling you get in your stomach when you realize it’s no longer Christmas.”

Do you feel that way? Did the holiday go the way you wanted it to, or had hoped? Are you disappointed for some reason? I propose the issue for you, may be that “The Day” is more significant than “The Reason.” In other words, the gifts, the food, being with family, etc., mean more to you than the fact that Jesus was born that day.

When you accept Jesus into your life and know that your sins have been forgiven, a particular life or light should start growing within you. It happens as your relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, begins to grow. As it develops, you realize that Jesus becomes very real and is walking along with you. Conversations start to take place, and soon, you know that Jesus is close and will never leave you.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.” Heb. 13:5 (NIV)

This kind of “living” relationship changes your approach to Christmas and every day before and after and is the best cure for a Christmas hangover.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

It’s Not Until

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“It’s not until you know how to die that you begin to know how to live.”

April and I were watching the movie “I Can Only Imagine” when the words above spilled into my heart. I have been thinking about them ever since.

Jesus knew how to die; therefore, He knew how to live. And He came to Earth as a baby, no less to show us. In a few days, we will be celebrating that birth. The birth of Jesus. He quietly entered the world, and only a few noticed. But his death shook the Earth and is still making headlines in the hearts and lives of people all over the world today! Jesus knew how to die.

Between the start of his life and his death, He showed us how to live. He laughed with us, cried with us, accepted us no matter what we had done in the past, and loved us. It was with love he lived, and it was in love He died. It was because of love and the love of His Father in heaven that He came in the first place; He did not want us to die eternally. Jesus knew how to live.

You see, it’s how you live your life that will determine where you spend eternity after you die. If, in your ever so brief life, you decide to accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation and ask him to forgive you of your sins, then you will live forever in heaven with him and probably a lot of your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members. But only if they accepted Jesus as well.

I know I’m not perfect. I have made a lot of BIG mistakes in life. I have hurt a lot of people, and I feel bad about that. The only thing that helps that pain is knowing that God has forgiven me through Jesus’ death on the cross. And every morning that I wake up, I have another opportunity to try my best to get that day right. That is what makes life worth living. So, I, too, know how to die, and I know from God’s word how to live, and that is with love.

16-18 “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)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Sensing Jesus – Nose

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The body’s nose is probably overlooked and perhaps underrated. Some joke about those who stick theirs in one’s business. Others may tease about one at work having a “brown” nose. Yet, the nose has the ability to bring fond memories back to one’s mind. I know whenever I smell dinner rolls, I recall walking into the house I grew up in and smelling homemade dinner rolls baking in the oven. They were usually the last item cooked, so the smell of rolls meant we would be eating soon.

Yet the nose has the power to save lives. Even now, as I am writing this post, I can still smell the remnants of the fire we had here last night. I was upstairs working when I started smelling the strong odor of a burning wire. I found where it was coming from. An outlet in the bedroom. I went and got my tools. When I removed the cover, a flame ignited from the smoldering wire. I didn’t think I had time to run to the garage to kill the power, so I picked up a pair of pliers that had rubber handles and shorted the circuit out.

I removed the burnt outlet and replaced it with a new one. I believe the culprit was a heater drawing too many amps and the breaker not doing its job. (I’m not an electrician, so I’m not sure about that, but I know I need to hire one to check things out.) April and I were relieved and thanked God for allowing me to smell the issue before it caught the house on fire.

Odors can save our homes and our lives. God likes odors or aromas, too. In the Old Testament, we can read that he took delight in the smells rising from the altar of the Holy of Holies. He also took delight when His Son gave himself up for us.

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Eph. 5:2 (NKJV)

We, too, should enjoy the fragrance of Jesus’ death on the cross that provided atonement for our sins. He willingly laid out his life on the altar for us. This Christmas, take time to take in the smells of the season and think about how sweet the aroma of life is through the gift of salvation.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Sensing Jesus – Touch

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Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Physical contact with infants is crucial for their development. Studies have shown that babies who receive more physical contact from their mothers had a lower response to stress-inducing situations later in life. Another study found that premature babies who received three 15-minute sessions of touch therapy per day for five days showed improved brain activity.

On the other hand, babies who do not receive ample physical and emotional attention are at higher risk for behavioral, emotional, and social problems as they grow up.

Newborns denied physical contact with other humans can actually die from this lack of contact, even when provided with proper nutrition and shelter. (See references below.)

As you can see from the studies referenced above, “touch” is extremely important and powerful. When Jesus was born, those in the area would have received a lot if they had only stopped their business, sought Jesus out, and held him in their arms. Simeon did just that. He waited for the King of Kings to be brought to the temple and presented to the priest.

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, (Luke 2:28 (NIV)

Then there was the woman who was healed of a twelve-year plague simply because her faith prodded her to “touch” the hem of Jesus’ robe. (Mat. 9:20-22)

In this busy holiday season, if you will stop and seek Jesus out, you will find him. There is nothing like a touch from the Master. There is nothing that can compare to sensing His presence. It will touch your heart. Jesus welcomes you no matter what you have done. It’s interesting that when Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of sin, his arms were wide open. That is a position of acceptance.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Sensing Jesus – Mouth

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Image by Giulia Marotta from Pixabay

“For as often as you eat this cup and drink this bread,” said the senior pastor as he was leading us in the monthly ritual of communion. I was 21, a youth pastor, standing on his left, and I had to stare at the floor to keep from laughing.

Jesus made reference that we should drink his blood that was poured out when He died on the cross. And partake of his body, which was broken for us. Now, He did not mean this literally, of course, but suggesting that we take him in and remember what He did on the cross that provided salvation for us and the forgiveness of sin.

The mouth is not only for taking communion, but it can serve as a means to share God’s love through verbal speech. It’s sad when it happens, but it can also tear someone down.

Words kill, words give life;
    they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. Prov. 18:21 (MSG)

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
Jam. 3:10 (NIV)

The mouth is an integral part of the body. With it, you can praise and worship God or read his word out loud to yourself or others. You can encourage someone with words spoken over them. Jesus used his mouth to speak of loving God first and then your neighbor. He used his mouth to invite people to accept him.

This Christmas season, sense Jesus. Get quiet somewhere and take him in. Speak the words He spoke. Invite others to accept Jesus. Encourage people with loving words. Use your mouth for good and not hurt or hate. Use it to give praise and worship to Father God. Thank him for his Son, for his blessings. Spread joy throughout this season of giving.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady

Sensing Jesus – Ears

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In the hustle and bustle of the times, people most likely didn’t notice the cry of a baby coming from the stable. Of if they did, their intellect convinced them that there was no way someone would have a baby there. A lot of Jesus’ story didn’t make sense, so why not where he was born?

Jesus came here with a message that people needed to hear and still do to this day. That word was of God’s plan to redeem us through the sacrifice of his Son. People’s brains had a hard time understanding, accepting, or believing it. God’s action would require “faith” and lots of it.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom. 10:17 (KJV)

Jesus also shared a message of acceptance and one of love. For instance, when He spoke to the woman at the well. (John 4:1-42) Or when He ministered to the man who was possessed by a demon. (Mark 5:1-20)

One can use their ears this holiday season to sense Jesus. Like the last blog, pausing, finding a quiet place to focus, and hearing what message Jesus would say to you. It may be a word of love, acceptance, inclusion, comfort, or guidance. It may be an invitation to accept him. His message may not make sense in your mind, but it is truth. No matter what message Jesus would love to give you, I hope you will hear it, believe it, and accept it.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady