Fun for all ages

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Have you ever met someone for the very first time, and you immediately like them? They are usually smiling, relaxed, mild mannered, and you just begin to match their level of gel. You find yourself feeling like they value you, and they aren’t in a hurry to get away from you. As if in that very moment, you are the only thing and one that matters.

I believe Jesus was just that kind of person. I think this is why he appealed to men, women, some high ranking officials, sinners and children. Honestly, the only ones that he didn’t appeal to were the ones who felt as if his way of living threatened their livelihood, or power.

It was this kind of appeal that gave him the ability to talk about “love”, “forgiveness”, and “the Kingdom of God”. Because of how he made them feel they listened! And many times they responded positively. Would we get the same results if we drew people toward us as he did? That should be the goal anyway.

It was Paul who said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Cor.11:1) Paul obviously recognized this about Jesus and strived to imitate him. Three practical steps to living this kind of life:

See the people. Be observant to the people around you while being attentive to the Holy Spirit who may prompt you to speak to them.
.See the need in their life. You do this step by listening to them. Not just talking about yourself. It’s not always about you!
.See the path they should take to find God. Whether they need forgiveness, healing, or some other type of ministry, we should then lead them along that path.

Ask God to help you declutter your own life so you will have the time to spend with people. One thing I learned from my father is this; spending time with people is a gift. We should be generous.”

The Results Will Be Worth the Pain

July 2, 2021July 1, 2021 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

“Dad, I’m scared,” said my ten year old son. He had a lymph node die in his throat and it was decaying causing swelling and in a few hours it would completely suffocate him.

I decided to do something perhaps I shouldn’t have, but at the time it seemed wise. I told him, “Having surgery is up to you. If you decide to have the surgery they will make you go to sleep, and they will remove the problem and you will wake up and be on pain meds until you are better. If you don’t have surgery, you’re going to die.” He laid there in his hospital bed and thought for a few minutes and then said, “I think I’ll have the surgery.”

I don’t understand why, but we are usually afraid to let those who know what they are doing remove something that is hurting us. The choice should be obvious, but yet we fear.

The same thing tends to happen when God wants to remove a part of our personality that hurts us, and or others. Usually others. I am currently lying in a hospital bed (figuratively) about to undergo the removal of one such part of me. I know God knows what He is doing, but I’m afraid. I think I fear what I will be like after the procedure. I know time is of the essence and this cannot be put off any longer, so I am saying to God tonight, “I think I’ll have the surgery.”

“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” PHI. 1:6 (MSG)

What Makes Me Hard to Love?

January 22, 2020January 20, 2020 / Mark Brady / 5 Comments

Charlie 012220 Well this isn’t going to be fun, but I feel the need to write out a self-evaluation. While reflecting on some recent events I was reminded of the following flaws in my personality:

I expect others to do the right thing. When they don’t, I want to be the one to tell them they screwed up. (In love of course!)
I have no trouble pointing out the truth of situations, but I forget few want to hear it.
I seek perfection in others, and though I try so hard, I overlook that I too come up short.
I do to others what I am want them to do to me, but I have learned not everyone knows that rule.
If I’m willing to listen to you, I expect you to listen to me.
I tend to “nick pick”, because I think people should do everything the way I do it.

I could go on I’m sure, but this hurts. Looking into a mirror, that sees deeper than the exterior, is hard to face. When you see who you really are, you wonder, how can anyone love me? Then, you might ask, how can God love me?

When God first made man, he was perfect. But God refused to have robots obey commands to choose him, so he gave man “free will”. It was the only way to see who would love him, because they wanted to. God first loved us, even though that “free will” opens the door to imperfection, and makes us hard to love, he loves us anyway. There is no means to measure, or weigh how much God loves us. Love, is God’s core nature.

But just how does God do it? Love us even though we are hard to love?

He looks at us through rose colored glasses. The ones that were stained, by the blood of his son, Jesus’ when he died on a cross to forgive us of our sins. I would be more lovable if I saw others as God does.