promises

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

- 2 Peter 3:9

 

There are all kinds of promises.  

Pinkie swears are promises. 
Promising a friend or co-worker a secret would not be shared.  
Promises made in marriage vows. 
Promising children that they can stay up late or have dessert or a desired toy.

Many promises get broken, there are probably more broken promises than there are kept promises.

Sometimes, keeping a promise requires patience, and that is not always easy.

Think about how patient God is with us, He gives us free will to make our own choices, even the bad ones, yet He promises that He will always be there to pick us up when we fall, to rescue us from the darkness we have hidden ourselves under, all we have to do is call.

We call out to Him, we ask for forgiveness (and we don’t keep repeating our sin) and He follows through on His promise.

He will never leave us or forsake us, as He said over 100 times in the Bible.

And God will always keep His promises, we are the ones that are slow.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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out of the mouths of all

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.

- Matthew 15:11

 

When you hear someone say “out of the mouths of babes” they are probably referring to either a profound statement or a silly comment made by an innocent child, but it is actually scripture! (Psalm 8:2) 

While some things that come out of our mouths can be wise, other things are not.

People tell lies, half-truths and sometimes even make up stories.

Often they do it to be vindictive or maybe they are just bored.

Rumors get started and lives destroyed.

I was in high school when a classmate who did not like me very much said something very loudly in class about me, a hateful, disparaging derogatory remark at the beginning of class and by the end of the day everyone in school had heard the rumor and was talking about me behind my back.

Even though it was a vicious, inappropriate lie, that rumor followed me for many years, and it nearly destroyed me.

I see her on social media sometimes, and part of me would like to confront her but the truth be told, she probably doesn’t even remember that she said it.

Be aware of what you are saying and when you are talking be aware of your surroundings.

“Garbage in, garbage out”

Filling your mind and soul with evil thoughts, false testimonies, adultery, immorality and slander will eventually come out of your mouth.

And what comes out of your mouth is what people use to define you.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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don’t be foolish

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

- James 1:26 (NLT)

 

Has there ever been a time where you have opened your mouth and the words that spilled out were so hateful, sarcastic or mean that you immediately wished that you could take them back? 

Anyone that answers that question no probably doesn’t need to read any further.

Since all of us are still here though, we can talk about this . . .

I know a lot of people that won’t go to a church because the churches they have been to have been filled with hypocrites, people that are Christians on Sunday morning and anything but the rest of the week. 

I have seen a recent uptick in the number of posts on social media about “treating people right is better than posting Bible verses every day that you don’t even practice”.

Things that make you go hmmmmm. . . . 

If we are claiming religion but we are doing the opposite of what His word says, then the religion we claim is worthless. 

Can we not care for people that need us?

True religion is not talking at others, but giving to others.

Hear the real Word.

Let it soak in. 
Control your tongue. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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hang on

For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”

- Mark 5:28 (NLT)

 

Sometimes we just can’t go on any longer.

It seems like the whole world is against us, that there is no end to the struggles we face, that bad things just keep piling on our shoulders.

Just when we think that it can’t possibly get any worse, one more bomb drops and we find ourselves barely hanging on.

I saw a photo on social media last week that said “when you are hanging by a thread, make sure it’s the hem of His garment”.

The woman in the story from Mark 5 had been sick for many years, she spent everything she had seeking healing, she was hanging by a thread.

The Bible tells us that she had suffered a great deal and was only getting worse.

But she heard that Jesus was coming and she just knew that all she needed to do was touch His clothing and the illness would go away.

Further in the story, Jesus says to the woman “your faith has healed you”. 
We may not be able to physically touch His clothing in 2021, but our faith can still be strong. 
Listen to the lyrics of Lauren Daigle’s song Hold On To Me: 
When the best of me is barely breathin'

When I'm not somebody I believe in

Hold on to me

When I miss the light the night has stolen

When I'm slammin' all the doors You've opened

Hold on to me

Hold on to me

Hold on to me when it's too dark to see You

When I am sure I have reached the end

Hold on to me when I forget I need You

When I let go, hold me again

When I don't feel like I'm worth defending

When I'm tired of all my pretending

Hold on to me

When I start to break in desperation

Underneath the weight of expectation

Hold on to me

Hold on to me

Hold on to me when it's too dark to see You (I'll hold on)

When I am sure I have reached the end

Hold on to me when I forget I need You (I'll hold on)

When I let go, hold me again

I could rest here in Your arms forever

'Cause I know nobody loves me better

Hold on to me

Hold on to me

Life is hard.

Hang on to Him.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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lead on

Lead me by Your truth and teach me, for You are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You.

- Psalm 25:5 (NLT)

 

Remember playing follow the leader as a child?

You had to trust that the person leading you was going to keep you safe, your leader wasn’t going to run out into traffic or jump off the edge of a cliff.

As adults, we have a different leader, one that truly cares about us and would never lead us into danger. 

He leads by truth, He teaches us how to live, to love, to be like Him.

He saves us from our enemies and even more He saves us from ourselves. 
A quote from author Fyodor Dostoevsky “To live without hope is to cease to live.”

It is good to put our hope in the Lord, He is the God who saves us. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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let’s go!

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

- Psalm 122:1 (NLT)

 

As you are reading this (if you are reading it on Friday October 22nd, 2021) I am gathering with a community of people who love Jesus and love motorcycles.

It’s a revival filled with worship, praise, learning, teaching and motorcycles!

Gathering with others to share the Gospel is something that I look forward to, whether it is small scale like a chapter meeting of the local Christian Motorcycle Association, a medium event such as Sunday morning church, or a large event like a national rally.

I am almost giddy to attend conferences where the main focus is Jesus, hearing testimonies of what He has done in the lives of others, real people, real life, real miracles.

Do you have somewhere that you can go that makes you excited to hear about Him?

Does the idea of being with other like minded people, sharing, teaching, learning make you happy?

I am so glad that I have people that take me with them when they go to the House of the Lord, regardless of if it is a house, a large building, a tent or an open field because I know that God is in that place and I am going to see Him move! 

Let’s go, I’ll hook you up!  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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gone fishing

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

- Luke 5:4-6

 

My dad used to take me fishing every weekend from May until September.

I never really understood why, it seemed boring and somewhat cruel when I was little and those who know me absolutely know that I did not have the patience to sit quietly in a boat or on the shore waiting for a bite on the line. 

As I have gotten older, I do understand the sport more and maybe have even gathered a little patience to wait for that bite (but not much!!).

In Jesus’ day they didn’t use fishing poles and hooks, but would go out in boats with huge nets, cast them into the water and draw them back into the boat (hopefully) full of fish. 

As Christ followers, we should be casting our nets, drawing them in full of people that don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

We’ve all been in a position where we have been afraid to talk about our faith due to potential repercussions, society has made it wrong to share His word.

Just as Simon trusted in Jesus to cast out the nets when they had not caught anything all night, we need to trust Him and cast our nets wide and deep.

We don’t have to turn into “Bible thumpers” to share His word, we just have to live it each day.

People are watching us, every minute of every day – they see us holding open the door for someone, paying it forward in the coffee line, for helping a friend who might just need someone to talk to. 

We don’t have to pray loudly and boast about our good deeds for others to hear.

But we do need to make sure we are following His example so we can draw in the non-believers.

They will know we are Christians by our love.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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just once

Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

- Hebrews 9:26-28

 

In life we happen across many situations where we think to ourselves “I’ll never do that again”.

It could be trying a new food that was just terrible or going to an event that completely missed our expectations.

Sometimes we say that we will never do that again, but we do.

How quickly we as humans forget when our choices are not the wisest and we often end up making the same mistakes over and over again.

Sin is one of those things that manifests itself as something fun or exciting that will turn around to bite us, yet some of us repeat those sins often.

In the Old Testament, people would atone for their sins via sacrifice, an animal or crops.

Some people think that money will buy them a spot in Heaven.

I’m thankful that we no longer have to give burnt offerings because Christ came.

He who was without sin came to earth to live among us, to teach us and His purpose in coming here was to die for us.

Jesus sacrificed Himself, just once, and by doing so He wiped out our sin, the sin of many.

We have salvation, we have a way to Heaven, and we need to live like it.

He is coming back, but this time He is not going to die for us – He only did that once. 
As we wait for Him, we need to follow His example – the old saying “what would Jesus do”, while over used and cliché has a ring of truth to it.

Let’s live our lives as if He is coming back tomorrow and we want to go home with Him.  

 

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great

How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

- 2 Samuel 7:22

 

Great are You, Lord!

You give life, You are love

You bring light to the darkness

You give hope, You restore

Every heart that is broken

And great are You, Lord

It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise

We pour out our praise

It’s Your breath in our lungs

So we pour out our praise to You only

And all the earth will shout Your praise

Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing

Great are You, Lord

That is one of my many favorite worship songs!

I love worship songs because we hear them with our ears, we feel them with our hearts, there is nothing quite like music to stir our souls.

Many times I have stood in church singing with the congregation with tears flowing down my face because a worship song has moved me so much.

I truly believe that is God at work, repairing my heart, refreshing my soul.  
God is good (all the time). 

There is no one like Him.

He still works miracles and He loves us very much – yes, He even loves you!

Praise Him at the top of your lungs, there is no one like our God!  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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family feud

Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

- Mark 3:25

 

“Mooooooom!! He’s touching me!!!” 
Children, even teenagers have made this phrase pretty common, I’m sure we have all heard it if not spoken it ourselves.

I think that all siblings have a battle royale at some point growing up, maybe more than one.

Sometimes those battles morph into adulthood, and even cause animosity between adult siblings, sometimes extending to other family members.

We might have an aunt that is always negative, that never has anything nice to say, or an uncle that causes trouble wherever he goes.

Perhaps it is the cousin that we dread seeing at family gatherings because as children he was a bully and he never outgrew that.

Family is a strong bond, it is often said that you can choose your friends but you are stuck with family.

But family is not always healthy, there are many toxic people out there, and at some point, family or not, we have to draw the line before they destroy us.

Family doesn’t have to be by blood, but we need our family to be strong, whether it is church family, work family, or friends family, we need family.

Family to hold us up when we are falling down, to encourage us when we fail, to love us when we feel unloved.

We should try to make amends, to be adults and repair family rifts because we all need each other.

Leave the feuding behind.

I know it can’t always happen that way, we are not all from strongly bonded families, but at least try to make peace and if you are the one that no one wants to be around, maybe you need to do some soul searching and make some changes. 

It’s not too late.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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press on

 One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 3:13-14

 

We often take what has happened in the past and dwell on it.

Stop it right now!!

Don’t live in the past, you can’t change it.

Move along, nothing to see here.
Oh yes, the past can hurt.

But the way I see it you can either run from it or learn from it.

~ Rafiki The Lion King

Though we have been shaped by our past, something else can shape our future.

We can let what happened turn us into hateful, withdrawn or downright evil people.

Or, we can take what we have experienced and use it to make us better and to help others.

Don’t let your past mistakes hinder you from pressing forward.

Move forward, build your relationship with God, let go of the hurt and anger of the past.

Forgive and be forgiven, love and be loved.

One of my friends told me once that she wishes that she had my faith.

I thanked her for that, but assured her that it is not always easy.

Just like everyone, I have had terrible things happen, things that should have broken me, but my faith is what kept me going.

I may not know what will happen tomorrow, but I do know that I can’t live without God, nor would I want to.
It’s time to let go of what is behind you to embrace what is in front of you.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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directions

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.

- 2 Thessalonians 3:5

 

These days we have all sorts of devices to get us where we are going.

We have maps that give use verbal directions right in the palms of our hands. 
We have cars, trucks and motorcycles with built in navigation systems that can take us from point A to point B using the best possible route.

But if we deviate from that path even a little (Siri never accounts for fuel stops or bathroom breaks) out handy assistant immediately begins recalculating to get us back on the right path. 

It’s too bad that we don’t had GPS for our hearts and a Biblical Siri that could tell us to make a U-turn as soon as possible. 
Yet we do. 

We have prayer and Bible studies, we have spiritual leaders and pastors, and we have our Bibles.

We can ask the Lord to guide us.

If we give our hearts to God, we get His love in return.

Stay strong my friends, may the Lord be your GPS!

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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hungry

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

- Psalm 34:10

 

Remember watching National Geographic or Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (I may be dating myself there!) ? 
Remember watching the lions hunt, sometimes they would miss their prey and you just knew that the lions would be hungry?

Lions, like every other predator hunt when they are hungry and if they don’t find food, they grow weaker until they eventually die.

All creatures need food to survive.

Our souls are like lions, without God we become weak and hungry, we struggle and fight and soon we too may die.

But when we seek the Lord, and devour His word, we become strong and as we grow stronger in our faith we find that we no longer struggle or fear the pangs of hunger. 
God will take care of the lion, and He will take care of us. 

Seek Him.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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training

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

- Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)

 

We often look at families and wonder why the children are so different.

Sometimes children really do follow how their parents taught them, and other times, well, you look at them and wonder how they all came from the same gene pool when they are so drastically different. 
Once in a while there is the parent that feels like a complete failure because their child (or one of their children) is just making so many mistakes and the parent is watching them go 1000 miles per hour heading straight toward a brick wall.

I saw this the other day on FaceBook and it really resonated with me: 
People can have the same parents, live in the same house and be raises by the same morals . . . but still one can be a crackhead and the other one a preacher, so you can’t say it was how somebody was raised.  It’s the decisions YOU choose to make!

Wow.

We can train and discipline and raise our children by the Book, but it truly boils down to their own decisions.

Moms & Dads, it is not your fault.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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listen

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

- Proverbs 19:20

 

I can’t say that I have ever been good at listening when people have offered me advice.

Have any of us though, really? I bet that we are all ready to give advice whether we are asked or not!

It really drives me crazy when my kids ask me for advice and then do the exact opposite of what I said!

Any one else?  No? Maybe? 
God left us some pretty good advice in His book, the Bible. 

God doesn’t ask us what we want, but instead tells us that He knows the plans He has for us, and that we need to be still and listen.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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I am enough

 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—Romans 8:38-39

 

Today there is a lot of focus on our mental health.

Some of us have gone through rough patches that leave us believing that we are not worthy of love, much less the love of an almighty Father.

You are enough. 
A few years back I was attending a Bible study where the leader had us find verse that show us how much God loves us, if this verse doesn’t show us we are loved, well, I am not sure what else to say.

Nothing could keep Jesus from coming to save me.

No distance between heaven and earth, not a maniacal king who sought to snuff out His life, not jeering mobs crying “crucify him”, not disciples that abandoned Him, not soldiers that mocked Him, not a whip that raked His flesh, and not a cross that claimed His physical life.

Not one thing stopped Jesus from saving us.

Not one thing.

You are enough.

We will never be in control of our life circumstances, but if we fully trust in Him we will find that we are more relaxed, more at peace.

Oddly enough, this verse says nothing about trust.

Read it again: 
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Trust that He will keep you safe.

Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we can know we won't have to ever be separated from God's love.

You ARE enough.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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just believe

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

- Mark 5:36

 

As children many of us spent our childhood believing in things like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.

As we got older, we may have caught our parents putting out gifts or an older sibling or adult may have told us that there were no such things.

Or we simply stopped believing, and then we carried on until the next generation needed a fantasy.

Have we simply stopped believing in God?

So many things on this earth prove that He exists, yet many still walk around in darkness, alone.

People think that God is nothing but a fantasy.

In this story in the book of Mark, Jesus was in the process of several miracles, He restored a demon possessed man, He healed a woman who had suffered from sickness for twelve years, and He raised a little girl from the dead. 

People were telling the father of the little girl to leave Jesus alone when he asked for healing of his sick daughter, they told him it was too late, that his daughter was dead.

Jesus told the man “just believe”, he went to the man’s house and the little girl was brought back to life.

Just believe.

Two very simple words become very powerful when spoken by the right person.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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sometimes we have to fight

 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

- 2 Timothy 4:7

 

There are some things in life that are definitely worth fighting for.

I listen to a lot of different types of music, it really depends on my mood. 

I have some that inspire me even though they are not Christian songs, I will share two examples:

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

We have all been through struggles, battles, trying times, some of us have had to fight for our lives. 

Our battles may be medical, physical, or emotional, but they are our battles, they are very real and very big.

Some of us are still fighting.

Do not give up.

Second example:

I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up

I'm still looking up

Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)

God knows I'm tough (I am tough) he knows (I am loved)

We got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)

God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I have seen a lot of marriages fail because people gave up. 
I have watch God work miracles in marriages that could have very easily ended.  
What ever it is that you are struggling with, keep fighting. 

God is with you - even when you feel the most alone, keep your faith, keep Him as your strength - when you feel like the world is closing in, reach out and feel His arms around you. 

Find your peace, make God your hero, make the Bible your fight song. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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