Category: salvation

Peace On Earth

If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The word that stands out to me more than anything at the moment is: “IF”. If my people will humble themselves, seek, pray, and turn. This requires some heartfelt repentance here. This means there is going to be some deliverance, healing, restoration and going home. Most importantly a right relationship with the Lord.

We have got to be a people that acknowledges our weaknesses and submits to God’s authority. Take time to talk to God asking for his intervention. Desiring His presence and will, not just asking for His blessings. We need to stay in an active place of repentance, we have to consciously make a decision to stop sinning and start being obedient. We as parents don’t just keep blessing our children when they are doing the wrong thing, we make them earn it through respecting our authority over them, God does the same thing. We are trying raise obedient children and so is God.

God’s Promise, (“Then”) That’s when we receive the promise of His grace over judgment “when” His people return to Him. I know this promise was made to the ancient nation of Israel, but the principles apply to believers today to. God’s ultimate desire is restoration and forgiveness rather than permanent punishment. If we can do that we can have peace on earth.

Remember “IF” & “When” two very important words. If and when we will do it His way.

Authenticity

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2)

An authentic U.S. flag must strictly adhere to the standards outlined in the U.S. Flag Code. Such as the Colors: Red, White and Blue. Specific shades are “White” “Old Glory Red” and “Old Glory Blue”. Variations (such as black-and-white or altering colors) are not legally considered authentic versions of the U.S. flag. The Elements: There are thirteen alternating horizontal stripes (7 red, 6 white) representing the original colonies, and a blue canton containing 50 white stars representing the current 50 states. The Union: The 50 stars are arranged in nine alternating rows of six and five stars, staggered horizontally and vertically. There are federal laws requiring purchased or displayed American flags be clearly labeled with their country of origin. The FMAA LAbel: Flag Manufacturers Association of America certified seal, guaranteeing they are made entirely in the U.S. by U.S. labor. And then of course there is the Material Integrity: Genuine outdoor flags are typically crafted from durable, weather-resistant materials like heavyweight nylon, spun polyester, or cotton, built to withstand sun and UV damage.

There is a biblically authentic way of living. It means first seeing our self as who God created us to be, walking in truth, and reflecting Christ in our daily life. It’s surrendering our identity, desires and purposes for Him, allowing His love and grace to shape every aspect of our life.

Who am I in Christ? The world likes to define our identity by success, the way we look, our achievements or lack of, but God defines us by His love and purpose. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17) There we have our root of identity, it’s in Christ, being born again. Authentically made new by Him.

Jesus also calls us to be truthful in our words, actions, and relationships. People of integrity, not pretending to be someone we are not. We are to live boldly regarding our faith. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). We are to be seeking God’s approval not man’s. Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Jesus is the perfect example of authenticity. We need to stay connected to Jesus on a daily basis so that we can live a genuine life of authenticity through spending time in His Word, prayer, and worshipping Him. Remember He is the vine and we are the branches and we cannot do anything without Him, (John 15:5).

Like the flag here is the standard for living authentically in Jesus, embracing His truth, walking in love, standing firm in our faith, living as the person God created us to be, glorifying Him and inspiring others to seek His truth. Be bold, be real, and let your life reflect Christ.

Be Authentic

Pick Up Your Cross And Follow Me

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If any would come after me. let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mark 8:35-38, 9:1)

The cost of discipleship includes being able to follow Jesus and to confess Him courageously. I wrote a couple days back regarding the attacks I had been receiving due to being courageous or my newfound boldness rather in speaking publicly in my blog which breadandwater.blog happens to be reaching people all over the world about Jesus Christ the Son of God. Just because people aren’t beheading me, or imprisoning me for speaking out about Jesus, there are people that don’t agree with me and will say and do things to try to shut me up. That is a type of persecution here in America. Over the past few years I have learned about surrender and that is what it is going to take to pick up your cross; complete surrender to God. It is a daily decision to deny your own selfish desires, put your ego and personal plans to death, (that’s what kind of death he is talking about), then follow Jesus’ teachings no matter the personal cost, that’s obedience. Jesus commands this in the Gospels, it is an absolute requirement for being His disciples, (Matt.16:24), (Mark 8:34) and (Luke 9:23).

Jesus meant that a true follower must be willing to put their old, self-centered life to death in order to live for Christ. Choosing God’s will over our own comfort, reputation, or worldly success. It is a daily willingness to accept the challenges and sacrifices that come with living righteously. It is a willing, active choice of surrender and obedience to God. These are areas I have been trying to exemplify for the past three years. I admit the cross can get pretty heavy at times, but I know the end results of picking it up and carrying it. I have been in another group as an admin. with a lifelong friend of mine for the past 6 years called Encouraging Each Other. I believe the Lord would have me step away from the administration part of that and pour my heart, soul and strength into my Blog. For one, my blog is under the direction of the Holy Spirit, there is an anointing on it and He tells me what to write. Encouraging Each Other can be anything that would lift another person up; such as positive sayings, quotes and testimonies of the wonderful things the Lord has done in people’s lives and I have shared many of those myself and plan to continue to. All of this is absolutely great. Except I believe the direction of my breadandwater blog is going more toward life instruction, growth, relational, and testimonial as well reflecting on the way we are living versus the way God tells us to live and of course the message and the urgency of salvation. I have been blessed to have been an administrator of Encouraging Each Other, one of the greatest parts of it for me, was welcoming new members into the group. I love seeing all the people that enjoy this group and how much it has grown. But, now it is time for me to pick up my cross and follow Jesus to where he is calling me. It has taken me forever to learn Surrender and Obedience and one day I want to hear well done good and faithful servant. As much as I want to see where he is leading me right now.

Now don’t hear what I am not saying as a Pastor I know once, actually many times would say. I am not asking y’all to leave Encouraging Each Other, matter of fact I am not leaving, but I won’t be admin. anymore, nor will I be posting my Blog on there anymore after today, but I will post words of encouragement when I have them and I will definitely be reading yours. I would like to ask any of you who have not already subscribed to my Blog if you find it of interest please do go ahead and subscribe. You will receive an email every time I post by subscribing. Or feel free to just pop in from time to time. I love all of you who are supporting me by reading now, y’all are the best and we are still family. And keep on Encouraging Each Other.

Friends

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Do you have a friend that will stick by you even in your worst times? That’s the kind of friend this scripture is talking about. Proverbs 18:23-19:4, talks about friends & companions. How some, the majority rather only stay close by as long as your fortune is good; in bad times, they disappear. I’ve experienced both as I am sure you have to. I believe that is just life. Take the good with the bad. Though I am very pleased to say, I do have a few select friends that resemble this verse above, I am blessed.

The Bible describes true friendship as a steadfast, loving covenant. Loyalty, speaking truth in love, and offering mutual support in times of hardship. True friendship is NOT a one-way street. Friends should encourage one another, be uplifting when your down, helping us keep our character in tact, when we are losing our whole mind and about to make a huge mistake. Boy, the times I can thank a friend for that one. A loyal friend will love you at all times, no facade needed, they know you and they love you, that simple. They stand by you and have your back when others are attacking you from behind. They are there no matter what the season is that you are in. Of course I personally have not experienced this one, but I hear it on the news a lot, the friend that will lay down his life for you. Give it up to our men and women in blue that every day go out and put their lives on the line for each of us. That is the ultimate example of friendship, laying down one’s life for others, as modeled by Jesus Himself. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We have a friend in Jesus, unlike any other friend out there. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20 talks about his personal relationship with Christ Jesus, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. You can have that same relationship that Paul speaks of by saying this simple prayer.

I believe that you Jesus died on the cross for me and rose from the dead. I ask you right now to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins. Help me Lord to live a life pleasing to you. Thank you Jesus, for laying down your life for mine. Amen

I have a friend in Jesus! Now you do to.

Half-Minded Living

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:27)

Max Lucado is one of my all time favorite authors. I love to read his books and listen to him teach, he just seems to speak my language. I don’t get rid of books I have read very often, mainly because I write in them, I take notes on things that really stick out to me and later I go back and re-read them. Well, this is one of those books, I’m about to share something he said about worry. He used two words; “whaddifs” and” howells.” Here are a couple examples of what those two words look like in a sentence. “Whaddif it rains at my wedding?” Whaddif after all my dieting, they learn that lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn’t?” “Howell I know when to discipline my kids?” “Howell we pay for our baby’s tuition?” Like I said he uses my language. Worry really does empty us of tomorrow’s strength. Worry divides the mind. The biblical word for worry (merimnao) is a compound of two Greek words, merizo (“to divide”) and nous (“the mind”). Anxiety splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems. Part of our mind is on the now and the rest of it is on the not yet. That’s half-minded living.

Let’s look at it from another aspect, what else does worry cause? Worry of itself is not a disease, but it causes diseases. High blood pressure, heart trouble, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions and a whole slew of stomach disorders. Worry has NEVER brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease, yet here’s your transparency moment with Deb …GUILTY on all accounts of worry. I know one of my biggest health issues comes from just that worrying and your probably thinking, “If you know that why are you doing it?” Good question, I’m still asking myself that to. This is just another area of life I am trying to hand over to Jesus, laying it at His feet and letting Him carry the burden. It takes practice, like anything we are trying to learn in life, practice is required. I can’t think of anything I have done in life that was a true accomplishment the very first time I tried. Thank God, that He is patient. He wants us free of anything that is keeping us from living our best life. Worry doesn’t have to be one of those things hindering my best life or yours, keep surrendering it until one day victory is yours/mine. By the way the photo in the blog hangs on my bedroom wall, I see it everyday, multiple times. I love how God is constantly ministering to me while writing these blogs. Time with Him is so rewarding, I am learning and receiving so much while sharing with y’all. To God be all the glory.

A Generous God

“He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matt. 5:45)

I have four Doodles and they must have been reading the same book as this dog in the picture. I absolutely love my little fur-family, heck I bred Mama and helped her deliver 15 babies. I now have Mom, Dad, one of the daughters and one of the sons and let me tell you, Mom and her daughter Miss Pearl Jean can be mischievous. When I take one of the boys out for the day and the girls get left at home or if I am gone a little longer on a day trip then what they think I should have been, it is surprize time for me when I return. They have eaten my socks, a shoe, found goodies that I left for us up on the bar, heck they have even been known to eat a whole pecan pie and make it look like the dish was never touched. They are good at being bad. Nevertheless they know when it gets treat time, they will be getting one to.

God is universally generous. He does provide earthly, physical blessings like success or good weather, but true blessings come only through repentance. God will ultimately separate those who are doing evil from those seeking righteousness. Psalm 37:1-2: “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.”

Though God does love sinners and does bless them, His ultimate blessing is restored relationship with Him. Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Being blessed isn’t always about money or material wealth, it’s about spiritual well-being, inner peace, and eternal reward. If you want a true blessing get right in your relationship with God, not worldly success. Proverbs 13:21: “Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.”

Summary: People doing bad things may receive material blessings an enjoy them for a while in this life, but that doesn’t mean God approves of their behavior. Just because I give the girls treats when the boys get one, doesn’t mean I approved of them eating my sock or pie, I’m just being generous and reaffirming my love for them. For us, the ultimate fate of the wicked/wrongdoings is separation from God. He created us and He loves us, that is why He made a way for us to leave our old ways, our sinful ways and be reunited with Him through His Son Jesus Christ, God is full of blessings of all kinds, and we can be His family FOREVER all it takes is repentance and confession. Here is a prayer you can pray that you may be reunited with the Father.

God, I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead. Through my confession I am saved. I ask that you to forgive me of my sins and wash me clean, make me new. Thank you Lord for loving me, receiving me and giving me life everlasting, I now belong to you, Amen.

All Have Sinned

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Understand, there are NO perfect people, EVERYONE has sin or has sinned and we are all in need of a Savior!

God looks at sin differently than we do. We have a tendency to see sin as; big sin, small sin, Not that bad, really bad. I just told a little white lie at least I’m not like So & So, God will forgive me. God sees sin as a serious transgression that separates us from Him, disobedience and not holding up to the standard He set before us, sin is sin and that’s that. Sin separates us from God, because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin because it destroys the lives of His creation/us, this is a spiritual death. He loves us so much even in our worst of worst kind of sin He still gives us a way to be redeemed from the destruction of our sins. He says, “If we will confess our sins, turn away from them, and accept Christ, He promises that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

It’s time we quit letting sin dominate our lives, it is possible to live a holy life. Will we ever be perfect? No, but why not do what you can to be the best you can? If God is willing to provide us a way out through faith in Jesus, why not take it? It’s a free gift, who doesn’t like gifts? Underserved gifts at that. I know I don’t deserve what Jesus did for me on that cross, but He did it and that is my gift from Him. Have you ever tried to give a gift to someone and they refused it? Maybe they were hesitant about receiving it because they didn’t feel they deserved it. Do you remember how that made you feel, the giver of the gift? Maybe you didn’t have the extra cash to get the gift so you sacrificed something else so you could afford it. Maybe you made this person something, it came straight from your heart. When I think about all that Jesus went through, so that I could receive His gift, it literally tore me up inside when I realized one day that I wasn’t receiving it because I didn’t think I was worthy of it and how that had to make him feel. Like He didn’t do enough, maybe He should have suffered a little more, then I would have felt worthy of the gift. Seriously y’all? Get rid of the pride. Again, I didn’t deserve it, you don’t deserve it, but guess what? He wants you and I to have it, and though it doesn’t cost us a thing, it cost Him everything He had. I get that we have a sin nature, but we also have saving grace. I feel like I know that better than anyone. My sins have been more than I could bear so I am grateful for the gift and you should be to. I honestly don’t know what this new thing is God is doing in me, there seems to be new boldness rising up in me that I never had before. Maybe it’s because we are getting closer to Jesus returning or maybe it’s just me getting closer to going to be with Him. Whatever the reason, there seems to be an urgency within me to get the message across to everyone I can, that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Y’all whatever your sin is, it’s not worth it, let it go, let Jesus redeem you from it, take the gift.

Faith Born Out of Fear

“Lord if it is you ….tell me to come to you on the water” (Matt. 14:28)

Peter feared what he saw on the water he thought it was a ghost, but when Jesus called out to Peter to come to Him, Peter answered Him, “Lord if it is really you, command me to come to you on the water.” So he got out of the boat, walked on the water and came to Jesus. Immediately after that he saw the wind and out of fear, (no longer in faith) he began to sink, calling out, “Jesus save me.” When Peter heard the voice of Jesus calling him, then in faith he got out of the boat; through faith he believed he could walk on water, it wasn’t until fear came back that he lost his faith. How many times in life do we fear things? I know for myself I have feared failure, loneliness, making mistakes. What if this person ends up not liking me? How will I ever recover from a bad decision I have made? What if; this, that or the other thing? But you know what? There were some pretty bold disciples in the Bible that had some honest terror in their lives, feared death and persecution, but when Jesus calls us, He also equips us to be able to do whatever it is we are called to. I have heard God’s voice speaking directly to me, not audibly, but in my spirit and out of fear I have not responded to Him. I have also heard His voice and took that leap of faith and said, YES here I am, I’m on my way, Okay, whatever you say, I trust You. Staying in faith seems to be my biggest problem, just like Peter, once he took his eyes of Jesus his faith became weak and he began to sink. God doesn’t ever reveal things to me that He hasn’t already equipped me to be successful at. The problem is I put my faith in me instead of Him, seeing what I can do, not what He can do through me. Noah had never even seen rain before, referencing (Gen.2:5-6), yet he did what God told him to do, that is some kind of faith y’all. How can we receive Jesus as our Savior who we have never seen only heard about, yet not believe God when He calls us to something that He says He has prepared for us, or already done for us, etc. What kind of faith are we standing on? There are so many promises in the Bible yet we have a tendency to only believe some of the truth. When I think about my salvation, I think that has got to be the MOST faith a person could have. Especially living in my day and age, reading a Book that is 2000 years old and more. I never lived any of the stories in the Bible, yet I believe them. As a child I received salvation partially out of fear, fear of the unknown, what “if”? Today, I know my salvation is real, I’ve come to know my Creator and I have witnessed Him personally, His promises in my life have become reality. Faith that was once born out of fear, is now Faith unshakable.

Is Your Mouth Saved?

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

How many times in life have you said things then you pray, “if only I could take that back?”

It’s not really a mouth problem, it’s a heart problem. I have to ask God daily to search me, know my heart ….see if there is any offensive way in me. That’s scriptural y’all. If we are going to start speaking right we are going to need to examine our heart, what’s in there? Is it deep-seated roots of bitterness? I’ve had to do some up-rooting in that area. Maybe hidden sin, sin your not even aware of that is why we ask God to reveal things to us. I have battled with the unknown cause of things time and time again, then suddenly, God reveals something I had forgotten all about and in a moment of repentance everything changes. God wants to purify our hearts so when we speak, out of the mouth flows issues of life. Life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Our words are either building up or destroying, either bringing encouragement or inflicting harm and shaping destinies. I have caused so much damage in my own life due to words I have spoken, all because of the issues of my heart. That’s where the scripture verse says, “they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof,” that’s the consequences of what you say, it will eventually return to you. You know our speech reflects our internal character to. I’ve been guilty of having the character of speaking death into my own life as well as other people by, gossiping, encouraging fear by speaking possibilities of something happening “what IF?,” I have even created conflicts in relationship due to words I have spoken. These are not things I am proud of, but seriously I write in transparency. As I always say, “I am a sinner in need of a Savior.” Thank you Jesus for saving me, and yes my mouth needs saving to. I do speak life as well. I try to encourage people just like in writing the breadandwater blog or Encouraging Each Other Facebook Group my friend and I have had for the past 5 plus years. I have gotten better about speaking truth, the Word over people’s lives, building in them a hope for their future or whatever they may be going through at the moment. My husband likes doing little construction projects occasionally and I have watched him use his tools to tear things down then turn around and build something beautiful with those same tools. Words are like tools; either to build people up or a weapon that breaks spirits. So the question here, is our mouth saved? Well I’d say is your heart healthy? Do you have the love of Jesus living in you? Do you even have Jesus in you, first and foremost? If the answer is yes to those questions, then I believe you can have a saved mouth. Like all things in life, it’s a choice. How we speak is a choice. We need to start doing more self-examining, I’m speaking to myself here, just saying. Start discerning the thoughts and intentions of your heart, why you say what you say. Something else I have learned over the past year, it that it is always better to respond versus react. Response can sometimes be silent. Reaction can lead to words that may cause regret. I have experienced enough regret to last a lifetime and again. Final word for today …

Shalom

Life is a Gamble …Unless

Whatever one sows, that he will also reap (Gal.6:7)

Yesterday I was at church and my Pastor was speaking about the power of a purposeful life. Blessings and curses. Seeds being sown. Sowing seed in a famine. This past week I felt as though my life was heading into a season of famine. There just seemed to be death all around me, not physical death, though there have been those as well and several illnesses that looked to be leading in that direction. But emotional, spiritual, relational death. I realize the word famine means the most severe form of hunger crisis, an extreme shortage of food, that brings about death, but I was feeling starved in these other areas of my life. Deprivation; lacking the nourishment my soul needed. I am not a boaster, but I am going to say that my heart is BIG and when depleted it is like poverty in its most extreme way. I reach a place where I don’t see where I have any seeds left to sow. Anything left I must feed to my myself, because I am about to parish, but then I heard my Pastor say, “sow the seed even when your tears are the only watering the seed gets.” I realized at that moment I had to make a choice, I was about to gamble with life or death. I could shrivel up and die inside or I could pray. I had the choice to use the seed of prayer, watered with my tears to see life spring back. It really wasn’t that hard of a decision to make because of my relationship with the Lord. I know how many times in the past He has had to breathe life back into me due to circumstances when I was literally dying inside. Still we see it as a gamble many times trusting, if He will do it this time. When I left the church I knew what I needed to do, what choice I would make, I know what I believe and Who I believe in. Because of what I was feeling, that starvation inside of me, I knew what it would take to replenish and nourish me back to health. I knew the WORD; I will reap a harvest, “IF” I don’t give up (Gal. 6:9). I needed reminded of that Word. I believe there are many people that are gambling with their lives. Some of you are gambling with your eternal life, where you are going to spend it. You haven’t made the choice, your still rolling the dice. Can I just be honest for a minute? Gambling is not the answer EVER. You may have some good days, win Big, but it won’t last. There is only one right choice. Surrender your gambling addiction, trust the One who gave you life. There is no gamble there, it is life or death, so choose life.

God said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I set before you life and death, blessing and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.”

Stop Gambling