we all cry sometimes

Jesus wept.

- John 11:35 (NKJV)

 

We all cry sometimes, even Jesus.
The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35 – Jesus wept. 
In October 2020 I used this verse, and I wrote “Jesus was moved to tears by the sorrow of Mary and Martha over the death of their brother Lazarus.

All their friends were crying, mourning the death of their friend.

Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were friends of Jesus too, and He shared in their sorrow.

I’d like to think that Mary and Martha found comfort in His tears.

I’d like to believe that when I am sad, Jesus cries with me too.”

Apparently, I am not the only one who believes that because in 2023 Riley Clemmons released Jesus Cries:
It's no secret that life

Gets a little heavy sometimes

Like it's too much for one heart to take

Your smile's wearing thin

Just tryin' to hold it all in

But it feels like the dam's gonna break

You are not alone facing that flood behind your eyes

Heaven already knows every tear that you cry

So let 'em fall like the rain

Let 'em roll down your face

Let 'em run like a river

That carries your pain

To the Savior with scars

Right there holding your heart

When you weep, He's there weeping with you

Jesus cries too

Mm-mm-mm

There's no answer sometimes

For the hurt that's inside

When the healing feels so far away

But in the ache of your soul

There's a love that comes close

And catches your tears when they're all you can pray

Let 'em fall like the rain

Let 'em roll down your face

Let 'em run like a river

That carries your pain

To the Savior with scars

Right there holding your heart

When you weep, He's there weeping with you

Jesus cries too, Jesus cries too

At the edge of the grave

In the valley of pain

When the sadness won't shake

It's true (Jesus cries too)

When the suffering is long

When you can't see the dawn

He feels all the sorrow with you

Jesus cries too

Jesus cries too, yeah, yeah

Let 'em fall like the rain

Let 'em roll down your face

Let 'em run like a river

That carries your pain

To the Savior with scars

Right there holding your heart

When you weep, He's there weeping with you

He's never been closer

It's true

Jesus cries too
It is such a comfort to know that I will never cry alone. 
A comfort in knowing that someone cares enough about me that He is right there, holding my heart.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

step by step

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

- Psalm 63:1 (NIV)

 

Some of us remember The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show from the 1960’s – “Now here’s something we hope you’ll really like”!
Most of us just saw re-runs, but this show was fun, had multiple characters with their own plotlines and there was even history to learn!
The “Peabody’s Improbable History” segment had a fictional time machine invented by Mr. Peabody called the “Wayback machine” that would transport Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman to a time and place of historical importance so Sherman could learn the history of the world. 
So, let’s hop into the Wayback machine today and return to 2002 when Michael W. Smith released the song Step By Step.
Oh God, You are my God

Oh God, You are my God

And I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning

And I will learn to walk in Your ways

And Step by step You'll lead me

And I will follow You all of my days
King David, while in the wilderness of Judah, knew that the only one he could rely on was God.
He knew that his spiritual survival would not last long with out the help of God.
The intense longing that he felt for God mimics that of extreme hunger or thirst.

We cannot live without food or water, and we should not try to live without God.
We should find out way to him, step by step. 
 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

can’t get enough

Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.

- Proverbs 27:20 (NKJV)

 

Our outlook on life often seems to depend on our circumstances, wouldn’t you agree?
If we are healthy and have plenty of money, a great job that we love and a wonderful family, we have a positive attitude and a pleasant demeanor.
Sadly, so many people in the world just can’t get enough of even one of those things, and therefore are never satisfied.
I heard a song on the radio last week just released in 2024 from Cochren & Co. called Money Can’t Buy and I was floored at how the lyrics resonated with me:
I set my sights on shiny things

That crumble into rust

That fade into the dust

I bought the lie that someday I

Would finally have enough

But it never is enough

So, wake me up

From this slumber that I'm in

Take me up

To a brand new horizon

Oh Lord, give me eyes to see

That what I need don't cost a thing

You fill my life

With something money can't buy

I'm done chasing after gold

Rip the price tag off my soul

You fill my life

With something money can't buy

(Something money

Something money can't buy

Something money

Something money can't buy)

It's the peace that comes from perfect love

The wonder in the stars

The beating in my heart

Sometimes you gotta stop

And look at what you got

That's when you realize

Ooh, the gift it is to be alive

Oh Lord, give me eyes to see

That what I need don't cost a thing

You fill my life

With something money can't buy

I'm done chasing after gold

Rip the price tag off my soul

You fill my life

With something money can't buy

Your love is all I've ever needed

Only You, only You can wake me up

From this slumber that I'm in

Take me up

To a brand new horizon

...
Some of those lyrics may have hit a little too close to home.    

Sometimes we really do need to stop and look around, to see everything that we have no matter how little that may be and realize that it is a gift to be alive.

We try to set an example for our children and our grandchildren and it seems as though the last few generations have been setting the wrong example.
Money can’t buy our way into heaven. 
Money can’t by love. 
Money can’t buy happiness. 
Money can’t buy life. 
But God can give us all of that and more. 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

 

words with a purpose

The words I speak are like that. They will not return to me without producing results. They will accomplish what I want them to. They will do exactly what I sent them to do.

- Isaiah 55:11 (NIRV)

 

Words with a purpose . . . 
It would be rather interesting if everything that we said would produce results. 
I say interesting because sometimes we say terrible things, and we would not want those words to come to fruition.
When our parents told us that if we kept making that face it would freeze like that – there is an example of me being glad that our parent’s words did not produce results!
We’d be walking around with our tongues sticking out, our noses wrinkled, our eyes crossed, we would accomplish nothing!!
But God's word will accomplish what He desires and will succeed in its purpose.

God speaks lovingly and truthfully to us, His only desire is that we return to Him, to receive His unconditional love and salvation.
There was a sermon from the Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church back in July 2017 that stuck with me, these are a few of the things that Pennsylvania Pastor said:
Things can become very frustrating for the person who seeks to serve the Lord in this world.  A preacher prepares a sermon that less than half of the congregation will hear.  A congregational leader tries to recruit new people for Bible study and for serving the congregation through its various offices, only to find out that the people who do get involved are the same ones who always have and always will.  A Sunday School teacher carefully prepares her lesson but when Sunday morning arrives her class is empty--everyone is absent.  Some of these scenarios may sound familiar to you, or maybe not.  But I can assure you that they are commonplace for those who are involved in one way or another with sharing the Word of God.  These experiences can be quite discouraging.  They can make a person wonder whether he or she should be pursuing other, more profitable endeavors rather than trying to proclaim God's Word to deaf ears.
. . . 
When you get right down to it, our assurance that the Word works lies in the promise of God Himself.  And if there is one thing that we know about our God, it's that He keeps His promises.  His promise in the Isaiah passage before us is that the proclamation and sharing of His Word is never done in vain.  It is never worthless or without purpose.  Whenever, wherever, and to whomever the Word of God is proclaimed, the will of God is being carried out.  What a comfort that promise is to us!  What joy and encouragement it gives us when we feel as if our efforts just aren't worth all the bother!  Whether we think so or not, God's will is being done in us and through us (and sometimes in spite of us!).  We can't go wrong if we share that Word, because sharing that Word accomplishes the will of the God who sent it.

As many of us know all too well, sharing the Word of God is not always an easy task.  At times it can be just plain frustrating.  But is it worth it?  You bet it is!  It's worth it because in sharing God's Word we are God's representatives, since the message that we share is His, not ours.  It's worth it because there is power in the Word that we share and that power is from the Spirit who works in and through that Word.  It's worth it because the Holy Spirit accompanies our sharing of God's Word.  It's worth it because there is no other work as important as sharing the Word of God, since that Word communicates the love, grace, and forgiveness that God offers in His Son Jesus Christ to poor lost sinners who need it so desperately.  And finally, it's worth it because of the assurance that we receive from God's promise--an assurance and a promise that we can receive nowhere else: the promise that it is God Himself who accomplishes His good and gracious will through the sharing of His Word.

I’m not sure that I can say it any better than that.
Words with a purpose are worth sharing and God’s word has purpose, so let’s share it!

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

the second time

It is the same with Christ. He gave Himself once to take away the sins of many. When He comes the second time, He will not need to give Himself again for sin. He will save all those who are waiting for Him.

- Hebrews 9:28 (NLV)

 

At least once in our lives we experience something where we think to ourselves “I’ll never do that again”.

After trying a new food that was just terrible or attending an event that completely missed our expectations, we say we won’t do it again.

But often even as we say that we will never do that again, we are taking steps to repeat ourselves.

How quickly we forget the choices we made that were not the wisest and we make 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 such as an animal or crops, I’m thankful that we no longer give burnt offerings because Christ came to earth to live among us, to teach us, 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 overused 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.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

wise words

People should listen to the quiet words of those who are wise. That’s better than paying attention to the shouts of a ruler of foolish people.

- Ecclesiastes 9:17 (NIRV)

You can always tell when election time rolls around by the shift in ads and attitude.

I feel like the political stance in this country has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind for the last two decades.

We live in a world that thrives on the “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” mentality.

Many great things have been accomplished by people who speak up and fight for what is right.

But are we really fighting for what is right, or are we just fighting to fight?
It is sad to observe the shouts of those who consider themselves pioneers and leaders because quite often we find that those who are shouting the loudest don’t even know why they are shouting.

Please don’t misunderstand me, there are numerous causes that need publicity to raise awareness.
Change has happened because people stood up for a belief or a right and made change happen.

Some of the squeaky wheels honestly know nothing about the actual situation, they are following the crowd or doing the “in” thing.
They are clueless of the impact their actions will ultimately bring. 

Sometimes it is the quiet words of the wise that are needed to bring about change.

Maybe this is another place where we are being told to be still and listen?

 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible

know it all

You don’t know the path the wind takes. You don’t know how a baby is made inside its mother. So you can’t understand how God works either. He made everything.

- Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NIRV)

 

Over the years I have met a lot of people.
There are some that I click with instantly, we become fast friends and remain friends to this day.
There are some that I can have a working relationship with, but I will evade social situations with them.
Then there are the ones that if I never see them again it will be too soon. 
This may come as a surprise to some because I seem to make friends so easily, but there are a few character traits that I despise in people and will avoid those who practice those traits.
Liars are at the top of this list, if you are gong to base your life and my friendship on lies then just stay away – I don’t need you.
Next up are the “one-uppers”, the everything you can do they can do better people, the ones that are always richer, sicker, smarter, better than you.
Also high on the list are the ‘know-it-alls”, the ones that know everything that everyone will do/say/think before it happens.
We can’t possibly know everything. 
No one can. 

Just like it says in the Bible, we don’t know what path the wind will take – made evident by any storm that comes through, the weatherman can try to predict, but he will never be exact. 
We don’t know how a baby is made – we have a lot of guesses and have spent years studying everything about it, but the miracle still belongs to God.
And we can’t understand how He works, no matter how much we examine His work, we will never know the depth of His masterpieces.
He is God and we are not. 
It is that simple. 

#dailybreadbykitty

Daily Inspiration from the Bible