the source of power

They promise that these men will be free. But they themselves are chained to sin. For a man is chained to anything that has power over him.

- 2 Peter 2:19 (NLV)

 

It is no secret to anyone that knows me that I love cats.

OK, I am kind of known as a “crazy cat lady”, so many of my friends buy me cat related items and I subscribe to a monthly “Cat Lady Box”. 
I have a magnet that reads 

Cat Owner’s Manual

1. No one owns a cat. 

A cat owns you. 

B. Refer to A.

If you have ever had any sort of furry friend, you know this to be pretty accurate and I personally have felt the chains of being owned by my cats.

Let’s get real though because having pets is not a sin, but some of the vices that humans have can be dangerous, some of the fear we have from having been surrounded by this danger has a terrible grip on us. 

Fortunately for humans, we do not have to remain in the shadow of our sin, we can turn to the chain breaker, Jesus.

We have freedom in the blood of our Savior.

I’m no longer a slave to fear, my chains are gone, I’ve been set free, I am a child of God.

And all those other song lyrics that remind us of who we are, whose we are.

Turn to our source of power, the King of kings.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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hallways

I know what you are doing. See! You do not have much power, but you have obeyed My Word. You have not turned against Me. So I have given you an open door that no man can shut.

- Revelation3:8 (NLV)

 

There are lots of sayings about opening doors, from the optimistic “Tomorrow’s door will only open when you walk through today’s” to the foreboding“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us”.

Crazy things happen in life.

People go through many ups and downs - don’t ever let anyone convince you that they have never had a bad day, because it’s all part of growing - life is messy, not perfect.

We all have disappointments and struggles; we all have had doors slammed in our faces, but it is important when we are dealing with the stress that we don’t forget who made us.  

God knows we are tired and hurting, and that is when we need to turn to Him fully.

He knows, and He is with us.

Here is a new one for you “Until God opens the next door, praise Him in the hallway ”. 

That is a big ask for some of us.

Many times we pray for doors to open, but we forget to pray when they are closed. 
Let’s start praising Him in the hallway. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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I asked for strength

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

- Psalm 46:1 (KJV)

 

Social media can be interesting to say the very least.

I am thankful for the reconnections with friends and family, and for the new friends.

I love seeing pictures of pets, children, and grandchildren, I even giggle at the occasional meme or video clip.

A friend posted this last week, and I felt the need to share:

I asked for strength –

And God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom –

And God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for courage –

And God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for love –

And God gave me troubled people to help.

My prayers were answered.

Here is where I really appreciate social media.

We spill our lives on social media, we share our joys and our sorrows.

I am very fortunate in that if I post a struggle or sorrow my friends are quick to respond with prayers and well wishes.

But what about before social media? 
Where did we turn for wisdom, strength, courage, and love? 
We should have been turning to God and as convenient as social media is, we should still turn to Him.

We might get answers from our friends or internet search engines, but the right answers come from one source – God the Father.

And if we really consider our lives, we will see that He has answered all our prayers.
It may not be the answer that we want, but it is definitely the answer we need. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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it’s difficult though

Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.

- James 1:2-3 (TLB)

 

Everyday we hear of someone going through a rough time.

Sometimes that “someone” is us.

There are many kinds and sizes of trials out there that humans face and each person handles their trials differently.

One of the cringiest sayings I’ve ever heard is “I know how you feel” because while I may have gone through the exact same thing that someone else is going through, I do not know how they feel. 

My dad died when I was 15 years old so I do know how I felt growing up without a dad and how sad I am sometimes that he can’t share my successes with me, but I don’t know how my friend that lost her dad recently feels. 

My mother passed away in December of 2021 – although I really lost her twelve years before her death because of the disease, so I don’t even know how to explain my feelings when she passed into the arms of her Savior.

No matter how hard we want the situation to be the same, each person feels their struggles differently.

Each situation is a test of faith, a chance for us to grow in our relationship with God.

Our troubles are hard – there is no doubt they are hard - but we need to remember that we are not alone and when we come out on the other side of the situation, we are stronger because of our faith.   

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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the struggle is real

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.

- Ephesians 6:12-13 (TLB)

 

The first thing I think about when I read the first part of this verse is ghosts.

A lot of movies have been released that focus on ghosts, some are good some are not. 
If you take a moment to consider ghosts and whether they are real or perceived, keep in mind that some people deal with ghosts every single day.

These ghosts may be disguised as anxiety, pain, or depression.

I have faced all three of these demons and some days it is extremely hard to push them away.

My husband is amazing – over the years he has learned what sets my ghosts free and he tries to stop them before they become an issue.

But the struggle is real.

Read that again, the struggle is real, very real.

With every ghost that I encounter, one thing is consistent – God is there giving my husband the tools he needs in the moment.  

Every “thing” that freaks me out or holds power over me, those are not things of God, those are little forces of evil trying to break my faith.

Sometimes, the ghosts merely scratch the surface but there have been times when they have left huge gaping wounds and the darkness comes close to winning.

Then I run to God, my Father, my protector.

The rest of this chapter in Ephesians talks about putting on the whole armor of God to protect yourself from the forces of evil, to help you in choosing His way.

Our struggle against evil is not even close to being over, but we can protect ourselves by leaning on God.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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call someone

If you do not have wisdom, ask God for it. He is always ready to give it to you and will never say you are wrong for asking.

- James 1:5 (NLV)

 

Sometimes we have questions, I mean who doesn’t?

Sometimes we go to other people for answers and sometimes we “google” the answers.

When I was growing up (I am about to age myself here) if I asked a question I was often told to look it up, which meant going to the Encyclopedia or the library.

Kids today have things so much easier with “the googles” but they still need to be careful because not everything on the internet is true (what???).

Wisdom can be found through many sources, but the best wisdom will come from God.

Check out this song:

I'm so very ordinary, nothing special on my own.

Oh, I have never walked on water,

And I have never calmed a storm.

Sometimes I'm hiding away from the madness around me

Like a child who's afraid of the dark

But when I call on Jesus,

All things are possible

I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar

When I call on Jesus,

Mountains are gonna fall

'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

Weary brother, broken daughter,

Widowed, widowed lover, you're not alone

If you're tired and scared of the madness around you

If you can't find the strength to carry on

But when I call on Jesus,

All things are possible

I can mount on wings like eagles' and soar

When I call on Jesus,

Mountains are gonna fall

'Cause He'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call

Call Him in the morning, in the afternoon time

Late in the evening He'll be there

When your heart is broken,

And you feel discouraged,

You can just remember that He said

He'll be there

When we have something on our mind that we just can’t figure out, we can find answers by calling God.

There was also a thing called a phonebook when I was growing up, another place you could find information.

The Bible has a phonebook:

Problem	Call:
When in sorrow	John 14
When men fail you	Psalm 27
When you have sinned	Psalm 51
When you worry	Matthew 6:19-34
When you are in danger	Psalm 91
When God seems far away	Psalm 139
When your faith needs stirring	Hebrews 11
When you are lonely and fearful	Psalm 23
When you grow bitter and critical	I Corinthians 13
When you feel down and out	Romans 8:31
When you want peace and rest	Matthew 11:25-30
When the world seems bigger than God	Psalm 90
When you want Christian assurance	Romans 8:1-30
When you leave home for labor or travel	Psalm 121
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish	Psalm 67
When you want courage for a task	Joshua 1
When you think of investments and returns	Mark 10
If you are depressed	Psalm 27
If your pocketbook is empty	Psalm 37
If you are losing confidence in people	I Corinthians 13
If people seem unkind	John 15
If discouraged about your work	Psalm 126
If self pride/greatness takes hold	Psalm 19
If you want to be fruitful	John 15
For understanding of Christianity	II Corinthians 5:15-19
For a great invention/opportunity	Isaiah 55
For how to get along with fellow men	Romans 12
For Paul’s secret to happiness	Colossians 3:12-17
ALTERNATE NUMBERS:
For dealing with fear	Psalm 34:7
For security	Psalm 121:3
For assurance	Mark 8:35
For reassurance	Psalm 145:18

 

PLEASE NOTE:
Emergency numbers may be dialed direct.
No operator assistance is necessary.
All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day!

 

We can trust the wisdom received from the Father way more than the internet.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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lashing out

Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense. Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

- Proverbs 18:1-3 (NLT)

 

I am learning. 
It is surprising how some people come into your world with the sole intent of destroying it and you along with it.

If you call them out on their behavior suddenly, they are the victim.

I’ve witnessed a few scandals and contemptuous behavior.

Check out the lyrics of this secular song:

In a time full of war, be peace

In a time full of doubt, just believe

Yeah, there ain't that much difference between you and me

In a time full of war, be peace

In a world full of hate, be a light

When you do somebody wrong, make it right

Don't hide in the dark, you were born to shine

In a world full of hate, be a light

(La-la-la, la, la, la, la)

In a place that needs change, make a difference

In a time full of noise, just listen

'Cause life is but a breeze, better live it

In a place that needs a change, make a difference

In a world full of hate, be a light

When you do somebody wrong, make it right

Oh, don't hide in the dark, you were born to shine

In a world full of hate, be a light

La-la-la, la, la, la, la

La-la-la, la, la, la, la

La-la-la, la, la, la, la

La-la-la, la, la, la, la

In a race that you can't win, slow it down

Yeah, you only get one go around

'Cause the finish line is six feet in the ground

In a race you can't win, just slow it down

In a world full of hate, be a light (oh-oh)

When you do somebody wrong, make it right (make it right)

Don't hide in the dark, you were born to shine

In a world full of hate, be a light

Yeah, it's hard to live in color, when you just see black and white

In a world full of hate, be a light

I’m learning.

I’m letting go of the anger that the unfriendly people created.

I’m letting go of the unfriendly people that lash out at common sense.

Those that have no interest in understanding and value only their opinion are no longer going to be welcome in my life.  

It has been a wild ride these last few years, but I am coming out on top, if you’re still with me at the end, thanks for hanging in there.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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