it’s difficult

The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him— my father’s God, and I will exalt Him!

- Exodus 15:2 (NLT)

 

Here we are in the year 2022.

We have just experienced some of the craziest things ever, things we never thought were possible.

We have been forced into isolation.

We have seen friends and loved ones destroyed by a virus that was supposed to be no worse than the flu.

Then we were forced to take vaccines that we knew very little about, but we were supposed to trust the very people that have mislead us for years.

Additionally, many have lost their jobs, their homes and are living just above poverty level, barely making ends meet.

Where does it end?

Why is this happening?

What did these people do to deserve the trials they are suffering?

I don’t have all the answers, I wish I did because I see this suffering in someone that I love very much.

All I know is that God has a plan, and that for all the awful times we go through, there is a lesson, there is a way.

All I can say to my friends and loved ones that are going through struggles, is keep your faith, keep praying, keep loving God because He is real and He will see you through this. 

**side note – I will not be sending “daily bread” April 25-29 as I will be on vacation. Please enjoy some of my previous posts by visiting my blog.  Have a blessed week!!**

 

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it hurts

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

- Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

 

I’d like to think that I am a very forgiving person.

I’d like to think that, but as it turns out, I may not be as forgiving as I would like to believe that I am.

I had a friend (past tense) who for some reason decided that she could no longer be my friend.

I had done nothing to her and she has never explained why she chose to turn away although I have my suspicions.

When I see her, she turns away.

It hurts.

I have tried to talk to her and it is the most uncomfortable conversation, like sitting on a cactus.

I have another friend that hurt me very deeply, but that friend has not hidden from me and encourages me to talk about the pain that I feel by the betrayal as I work through the forgiving process. 

It still hurts.

One of the best things that I have heard a pastor say is “forgiveness is when you no longer wish ill against that person”

Whoa . . . we have to want good for the people that hurt us.

Forgiveness does not mean that we will be close with the people that hurt us again, some people are toxic and we simply do not want or need them in our lives.

There re some hurts that are big hurts, that affect us spiritually and emotionally as well as hurting our soul.

We have to forgive in order to heal and yes, it is hard.

Ask God for His help on this, He will be there for you.

 

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a message for you

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved.

- 1 Corinthians 1:18 (CEB)

 

Easter may be over for this calendar year, but it is hardly over for those who follow Christ.

I know there are a lot of people that don’t believe, but those of us who do, those of us who have seen His work, we know His power.

The beauty of the Gospel is that we are FORGIVEN.

That is right, forgiven.

There is nothing that you can do that God won’t forgive, but the caveat is that you have to come to Him.

And the only way to come to Him is through Jesus.

I am saved by the power of His blood and I really strive to change the minds of those that don’t believe - I mean there are miracles around us every single day.

YOU are miracle!

Let’s make it a goal to talk about our faith, to change lives by changing hearts.

God’s power is amazing, why wouldn’t you want to share?

 

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pay up!

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

- Romans 13:6-7 (NIV)

 

Hopefully everyone has filed their taxes or requested an extension for 2021.

In the US we pay taxes on everything from food and fuel to clothes and activities.

We pay taxes when we receive our paychecks and we pay taxes when we buy stuff.

We pay taxes when we live and believe it or not we pay taxes when we die!

And we still have to file taxes before the middle of the third month and sometimes we have to pay more taxes then!

It feels sometimes like we pay more in taxes that we do for actual products or services!

Accountants love tax time (I can’t imagine loving math and all those numbers!) I think the general population hates tax time.

Regardless of how we feel about taxes, it is the law that we pay them, both government law and God’s law.

I am glad that most tax collectors are nicer today than they were in Jesus’ time.

God directs us to give what we owe, and that is often more than just money, it is also about honor, respect and even love.

You can’t expect to be honored, respected and loved if you don’t show the same to others.

 

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alive and well

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

- Mark 16:5-6 (NIV)

 

He is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

Jesus died, was buried, He descended into Hell, on the third day He rose again, He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. (the Apostles’ creed).

The resurrection was and still is one of the greatest miracles of all time.

He lives so that we can live.

He suffered so that we don’t have to suffer.

God loves us so much that He wants us to live with Him forever and to ensure that happens He gave up His Son for us.

Even though there has been sorrow in my life, I am so happy to be alive!

In Him I have life!

Celebrate the risen King!

 

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a compelling theory

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)

 

Starting today’s verse in the New International Version, I struggled a bit with what to write, how to work this into a “daily bread” that makes sense.

So, I opened my Bible app to the compare section and found The Message translation that also included verses 11-13: 
That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It’s no light thing to know that we’ll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That’s why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We’re not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we’re on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in His life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

That is pretty deep, I know.

I like multiple translations because it helps me understand His word better.

For example, the NIV translation reads “One died for all, and therefore all died.”, that can be confusing trying to discern the meaning behind the verse but know that as the Message translation reads that Christ “included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in His life”, well that is pretty powerful, and that is just what I need to know,

Jesus didn’t just die.

Jesus didn’t just die for use.

Jesus died to give us life.  

That my friends, is a very compelling theory.

I like it.

 

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richness of grace

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

- Ephesians 1:7 (NIV)

 

I’ve talked about forgiveness in my “daily bread” before.

Isn’t it amazing that we can be forgiven for everything only by asking?

There is more to it than that really, not only do we have to confess our sin and ask forgiveness, but we must sin no more - that is when the richness of God comes through.

We are redeemed, we live by faith, we are richer than all the billionaires in the world when we have the riches of God’s grace.

That’s rich my friends, very rich indeed.

 

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tell me

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

- James 5:16 (NIV)

 

Guilt is a crazy thing.

It can eat you up inside.

The tiniest transgression if left unmentioned can tear a hole in your heart that can take over and make you miserable.

One time I was cleaning house while my husband was off doing something (probably one of his crazy iron-butt rides!).  

In my cleaning frenzy I put things away and moved stuff around to “organize”.

Several days later while I was out my husband was looking for something that he knew he had left in a very specific place so he could find it.

I had completely forgotten moving said item – it did not seem like a big deal to me – but when I realized where it was and that I had moved it my guilt was overwhelming because it had cost him so much time searching. 

I took the item to him, and I could have let him believe that he’d moved it, but I confessed to him that it was me.

This may be an insignificant example, yet it speaks volumes when we sin, no matter how big or small that sin can eat at us opening wounds that should have healed long ago.

But when we confess our sin and ask forgiveness and prayer the relief of unburdening is powerful.

We are freed from that gnawing ache that we’ve done something terrible.

We’ve all done some unspeakable things in our lives before Jesus, sometimes we do unspeakable things even after we’ve come to know Him.

It’s good to know that we have friends that will pray for us and with us when we confess our sins.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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live by faith

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

- Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

 

“I’m alive.”

That used to be my go-to answer when people would as “how are you?”.

I wasn’t really alive though.

I mean I had a heartbeat, and I was breathing, I would eat, sleep, work and play but my spirit was not really alive.

For many years I simply existed taking up space on the planet.

But God… God had plans for my spirit, for me.

Before I knew who He was He knew me and the plans He had for me.

He knew I would sin, but He loved me enough to send His Son to save me.

Christ died to save me and now He lives in me.

I pray that my life reflects Christ Jesus and that I live by faith in Him.

 

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hunger

The days are surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send hunger and thirst on the land; neither a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Lord ’s words. They will wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they will roam all around, seeking the Lord’s word, but they won’t find it.

- Amos 8:11-12 (CEB)

 

End times are near.

We may be living in end times now in fact.

Since at least the 1970’s people have been standing on street corners holding signs that say, “The End of the world is upon us”.

Nostradamus predicted many events that proved to be accurate as well as predicting end times which scientists say we very well may be seeing the end of the world in our lifetime.

We’ve lost God in our lives by the choices that we’ve made.

We no longer hear His word, or we twist what He said to fit our needs, our lifestyle.

We wander looking for God, but we don’t find Him.

The sad thing is that He has been right in front of us the whole time.

We need to start living like we believe that we are facing end times.

We need to stop the hatred and evil to simply love.

God loves us, we should return His love by loving His children.

ALL His children.

 

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foolish hearts

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

- Romans 1:21 (ESV)

 

A couple of years ago, I borrowed the Message translation of Romans 1:18-32 and my pastor’s sermon as one of my “daily bread” blogs.

I borrowed it because well, the truth hurts.

He referenced current culture and social media saying that if you are on social media, what are you reading and more importantly what are you posting?

At the beginning of his sermon on this verse my pastor said, “When you try to counter anger with anger, there is never a time that you look less like Christ.”

Ouch.

I am guilty of arguing with people on Facebook, and I have lost friends over those petty arguments.

People say things on social media that they would never say to someone’s face.

No matter what you say or do, Jesus loves you, but He still hates your sin.

Don’t forget who you are – look in the mirror – you are a child of God.

To quote my pastor once more, Jesus became truth and love by reaching into people’s lives, Jesus continues to be truth and love by sending us into people’s lives.

Will you go where He sends you?

Not everything on social media is bad.

I follow a gentleman on Facebook (I hope to meet him in person some day – he is a pretty cool and knowledgeable dude!) that posts every day a weather report for his area, some humor, some trivia, new vocabulary words, historical things and fun things, he really is a hoot.

Recently he posted this verse along with some wise words: “I am not a preacher and I refuse to tell anyone how to live their life.  I will offer that when I am futile and foolish life is sure tougher. There is a reason for that.  Give it some thought.” 

I sure am lucky to have wise people in my life to remind me of these things.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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great things

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.

- Joel 2:21 (KJV)

 

The future is a scary place.

We all know someone with children who will graduate from high school or college this year, or we know someone that is getting married or having a child.

Change is scary.

We have loved ones that are going through the loss of a family member or the end of a relationship.

New things are frightening.

We do not have to be afraid.

Raise your voice in praise and prayer when you are struggling, God is there for you!

We must endure hardship to appreciate the good times and even the bad things maybe aren’t as bad as they may seem.

We do not have to be afraid – God’s got this.

He will do great things – after all, He created you and you are pretty wonderful!  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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still strong

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

- 2 Samuel 22:33 (NIV)

 

At some point in our lives everyone of us will be dealt a crushing blow, probably more than one.

It could be the death of a loved one, the end of a career a huge health scare.

Often these things keep us stressed out and feeling pretty defeated.

How about a song reference:

Hey, heard you were up all night

Thinking about how your world ain't right

And you wonder if things will ever get better

And you're asking, why is it always raining on you

When all you want is just a little good news

Instead of standing there stuck out in the weather

Oh, don't hang your head

It's gonna end

God's right there

Even if it's hard to see Him

I promise you that He still cares

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

And things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

Gonna make you stronger, stronger, stronger

Believe me, this is gonna make you

Try and do the best you can

Hold on and let Him hold your hand

Go on and fall into the arms of Jesus

Oh, lift your head it's gonna end

God's right there

Even when you just can't feel Him

I promise you that He still cares

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

Things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

'Cause if He started this work in your life

He will be faithful to complete it

If only you believe it

He knows how much it hurts

And I'm sure that He's gonna help you get through this

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

Things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

God will give us the strength we need to endure what ever life throws at us.

It may not feel that way at the moment but once we get over the mountain and look back at this situation, we will know that God had us in His arms the entire time giving us strength and keeping us secure.   

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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stronger than that

Weapons made to attack you won't be successful; words spoken against you won't hurt at all.

- Isaiah 54:17a (CEV)

 

One thing that I have learned in this lifetime is that people can be very mean, sometimes they are mean without even trying.

Over the years I have held roles in different organizations ranging from small group leadership to praise bands, from military auxiliary support groups and motorcycle associations, to cat rescue and to the various positions I have held at work. 

There is something that seems to never change no matter what sort of role we have and that is people we have to deal with on a regular basis can be vicious and dramatic.

I’ve had people use words as weapons against me and it did hurt.

I’ve been told the choices and decisions I made were wrong for a group I was leading, that I was not making the group a priority, that I was no longer needed in a role that truly made my heart glad. 
I’ve been given an ultimatum on my participation and on more than one occasion I have left groups that I loved based on someone else’s behavior.

I know that I am not the only one that sees this happening and I know I am not the only one experiencing these sort of weapons.

I also know this: wounds heal.

Scars may remain but we can pull ourselves together and know that we are strong in the Lord. 
For those that use their words and actions as weapons I implore you to think before you speak or act and if you have wronged someone – even if you feel that you were right – apologize for your behavior, a true heartfelt apology – not “I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt” but “I am sorry for what I said or did and for hurting you”, we are stronger than that.

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daddy’s hands

I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.

- 2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)

 

Yesterday would have been my dad’s 95^th birthday on earth, the last 37 years he has celebrated his birthday with the almighty Father in heaven.

He died when I was 15 and as I have aged there are things that are not quite as clear as they used to be, but one thing will always stand out as what made my dad so special is that he adopted me. 

He didn’t have to raise me, he didn’t have to love me, he chose to bring me up as his child and he wanted to be my daddy.

God is the very same in that He wants to be our Dad, He wants us to run to Him when we are hurt or crying.   

Here is a secular song reference for you: 
I remember daddy's hands folded silently in prayer

And reachin' out to hold me, when I had a nightmare

You could read quite a story in the callous' and lines

Years of work and worry had left their mark behind

I remember daddy's hands how they held my mama tight

And patted my back for something done right

There are things that I'd forgotten that I loved about the man

But I'll always remember the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

I remember daddy's hands workin' 'til they bled

Sacrificed unselfishly just to keep us all fed

If I could do things over, I'd live my life again

And never take for granted the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

We sometimes feel that God is hard on us, maybe He has us going through some really tough times that make us feel like He isn’t gentle.

That is when we need to remember that He did sacrifice for us by sending His one and only Son to die for our sin, so we could be closer to Him. 
I don’t want to take for granted the love in our Father’s hands.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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He’s no fool

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

- 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NIV)

 

April 1^st used to be a scary day in my house, you never knew what shenanigans we would be up to, whether it was my husband trying to get me or the kids trying to get each other or us getting the kids, someone was going to get pranked. 

It was bad enough that one year when my husband and I didn’t do anything, the kids were terrified that we were pulling the all time biggest prank (in all honesty we had forgotten!) 
Some people believe that God was foolish to send His only Son to die for humankind. 
Some people believe that in doing so God was setting Himself up for the greatest disappointment.

There are a lot of people out there that don’t appreciate the sacrifice that God made but you might be surprised at how many people do appreciate Him.

God knew what He was doing, He still does. 
I’m glad that my wisdom and strength are in Him. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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