Author: Charlie Brignac

I am forever a student of the Word and a disciple of Jesus Christ, finding life applications in Scripture. I write about Christian themes, including bringing others to Christ, the matchless name of Jesus and various spiritual concepts like a penitent heart and overcoming darkness. I focus on Christian teachings, personal faith and reliance on the Holy Spirit. I invite you to read through my daily writings. Think them out for yourself through your study of God's Holy Word. Pray on the meaning of the message. Then let the message come alive in your life.

From Slaves of Sin to Bondservants of Jesus Christ

John 8:34
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

Jesus used the adulteress to teach the Pharisees that He is the way to a life that is free from the bondage of sin.  Through the Holy Word, we are taught that Jesus is the only way that we can attain freedom from the slavery of sin that we have been born into. 

It is through Jesus Christ that we have victory over our sins.  Once we have accepted Jesus as Our Savior, He comes to dwell within us.  With the presence of His Holy Spirit within us, we are set free from the bonds of slavery of sin.  Sin is no longer the ruler in our house, Jesus Christ is.

Because our freedom of choice is never taken away, our flesh constantly battles to take control and make us slaves to sin again.  But Jesus Christ stands with us and, in accordance with His promises, He perfects His strength in our weaknesses.  He provides all that we need to overcome our sins.  If we choose to submit to His urgings, we shall be free indeed.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love that provided Your Son to free us from the slavery of sin.  We praise the name of Jesus for taking on all sin so that we may become heirs to Your holy kingdom.  We ask forgiveness for all the times that we have chosen to offend You through our sins.  We repent of these sins and ask for the fullness of the promise of Jesus to perfect His strength in our weakness.  We pray for the grace to surrender today and live forever as bondservants to Our Savior, Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Faithful in the Smallest Things

Luke 16:10
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

While it is generally understood that this passage is about money management, it is can be used to bring light on every resource that we have been given.  It also can be taken down to the very basic level of how obedient we are in carrying out even the smallest of tasks that the Lord has put on our hearts to do.

As a parent or an employer, the assessment of how our children or employees carry out their assignments is the basis for our decisions concerning assigning them greater responsibilities in the future. As a good parent or employer, we want the best for those under our care.  We want to see them succeed.  Because we view their position from a higher level, we know that we should only give them greater responsibility when they have shown that they are ready to handle it.

It is in this same way that Almighty God gives us more of anything, whether it be material things or greater responsibility.  He will only bless us to the extent that we have proven through our obedience that we are ready to handle more.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving patience with us as we struggle to properly manage all that You have given us.  We ask forgiveness for the times that we have squandered the gifts that we have been provided. We rejoice in knowing that with every act of obedience that You are ready to graciously release more to us.  We pray, Father, that we will come to a place where we are obedient in every small thing that You place before us.  May our eyes be opened that we may see Your ways, and not our own, in all that surrounds us.   

Living for the Glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If life were a business, it would be all about the bottom line results.  In truth, this is how most people approach life.  We are too often focused on getting everything we can out of life from a physical and material standpoint.  So focused in fact, that we do not even take a moment to consider God’s perspective of what we are doing, how we are doing it, or why we are doing it.

Even people in ministry often get caught up in the numbers.   Their focus turns toward man’s measurement of what they are doing and not God’s.

In God’s eyes, it is not about how much or how many.  God takes full responsibility for the bottom line.  What He is concerned about it is the “how” and “why” behind our efforts.  Are we leaning on Him for our accomplishments and not on our own abilities or the capabilities of the world?  Are we doing what we are doing for our own personal gain and recognition or are we doing it for the gain of God’s kingdom and for His glory?

Our model for life is Our Savior.  Through His obedience, His suffering and His death, He lived to make intercession for us.  He lived in accordance with the will of His Father.  He lived to bring glory to His Father in heaven.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us living proof of Your ways through Your Son, Jesus.  We bless His name for the way, the truth and the life that He revealed to us through His time on earth.  We pray, Lord, that You will prepare us to walk this earth in the same manner as Our Savior.  May we love You above all things.  May we seek You in all things.  May we love our neighbors unconditionally as we love ourselves.  May it all be for Your glory.

Living in the Fullness of Jesus Christ

Galatians 2:20
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.

The living water, which is Jesus Christ, is within us when we receive Our Lord as Our Savior.  The living water is ever present.  It is never removed.  It is always available to us and to those around us.  The only restrictor of the living water is our own faith.

When we have no faith in the indwelling power of Our Lord, we build a dam from which no living water can flow.  With little faith, we restrict the level of the flow.  With great faith, we release an unlimited torrent of absolute power into our lives and into the lives of those who surround us. 

Doubt should never be an option for a believer under any circumstances.  Jesus loved us so much that He was willing to die for us.  How could we ever doubt His presence and His power in our lives?  How could we ever fear with the King of Kings as our protector?  We should live in the triumphant belief of who He is.  Our faith must be, not in ourselves nor in the world, but in the One from Whom our salvation springs.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the Cornerstone of our faith, Your Son, Jesus Christ.  With His death on the Cross, we received victory over all evil.  We bless the name of Our Savior who made it possible for us to live our lives without fear.  May we live by the faith that we have been given.  We pray, Lord, that You will give us the wisdom and the strength to fasten ourselves upon Jesus Himself.  May we learn to live in the fullness of the One who dwells within us.

Walking in the Light

John 14:20
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

As new men and women in Christ, we are identified by our obedience to God’s commandments and the fruit that we bear from His callings.  Our lives become expressions of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that have been given to us – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  In everything we do, we share the perfect love and forgiveness that we received from the Father with the world around us.  We please the Father by bringing honor and glory to His name, the name of His Son, Jesus and to the Holy Spirit.

And we know with absolute certainty, that there is no possibility that our lives are the result of our inherent holiness.  All that we see that is good that is being manifested in our lives is being worked out through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  The indwelling of Our Savior is the foundation of our lives and our reasoning.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to be Our Savior.  We rejoice in our new lives that we take on when we receive and accept the redemptive work of the Cross.  We pray, Father, that we be emancipated completely from the darkness in our old lives.  May we walk in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.    


The Faith of Abraham

Genesis 22:2
He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

We are going to experience trials in our lives.  This is as certain in our lives as death and taxes.   Some of the trials will be small and some will be so big that we will nearly faint.  In each case, no matter the weightiness, the real test will be the test of our faith. 

Who of us could have answered God’s request to sacrifice a child like Abraham did?  It was his faith that allowed him to go.  Notice what Abraham said to the men who was with him before he headed up the mountain to the place of sacrifice.  “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”  Abraham was resting on God’s promise to make him the head of many nations.  Abraham knew that this was only possible through his son.  Abraham had the faith that in some manner God would provide a way through this test.

Trials and tests are God’s way of drawing us close to Him and teaching us His ways.  It is through the trials and tests that our faith is built up so that we can become the person that God has intended for us to be.  God may not have created us to be a leader of a nation like Abraham, but He does have a specific plan for our lives.  We can only fulfill this plan by putting all of our faith in the One in whose hands we rest. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for each trial that You allow in our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we are resting in Your hands as we go through each of these challenges to our faith.  We ask, Lord, that we will have the faith of Abraham.  We pray that we will not turn away from any test that you set before us.  May our character and our faith be built up in accordance with Your perfect plans for our lives. 

Coming Out of the Thicket

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

When we are in full submission to Jesus Christ, we have prepared ourselves to allow the bountiful power of the Holy Spirit to be released through us to the world around us.  At this juncture, we are capable of doing all that God has created and willed for our lives.

Even when it seems to us that our lives are a tangled mess, there is always the wonderful hope in the promises of Almighty God.  Through His grace and His mercy we will come through the thicket that we see ourselves caught in.  We will find our comfort and our strength by listening for and responding to the urgings of the Holy Spirit.  If we are diligent in listening and responding to the Holy Spirit, our paths will be productive and our fruit will be plentiful.

We have to learn that God is using us from His personal standpoint.  All that He asks is that we trust in Him, 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the free grace and mercy that our hopes are based on.  We praise the name of Jesus, who is the fountain of all the good that we have hope for.  Father, we pray for the strength to overcome our doubtful minds that make us halting in our duties.  May You grant us the unwavering faith that we need to set aside our own self-reliance and to learn to trust in Your promises.  May we be comforted in our hearts as we await all the good things that You have already set aside for us and our loved ones.

The Extraordinary Work of God in Our Ordinary Lives

1 Corinthians 12:6
There are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

When we try to teach, preach or evangelize by our own strength and capability, we will be unsuccessful.  The power is not in us.  The power is in the Holy Spirit that is within us.  We must let the Holy Spirit lead us and let the outpouring of the Holy Spirit be our product.

It is not our job to convert people.  It is our job to have people drawn to us by the way that we live our lives in Jesus Christ.  Even though our labors may be ordinary, if they are done as works of faith, labors of love and with persistent hope in Our Savior, the Holy Spirit will carry on and complete the work of Our Heavenly Father in His children.  

Once drawn to us by our walk with Jesus, the people around us will have Jesus revealed to them as the way, the truth and the life. Through our living testimonies, those around us will be able to receive every good and perfect gift of The Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for revealing Yourself through all Your works in nature throughout the universe, including Your humble servants who are so undeserving.  We thank You, Lord, for assigning to us various gifts, administrations and operations for us to carry out in the name of Jesus.  We rejoice, Father, in knowing that the world can learn of Your good and perfect gifts by observing the lives of those who have already accepted Your gift of salvation and are obedient to You in the ordinary things of life.  We pray, Lord, that Your grace will fill our hearts so that the world will know You.

Repositories of His Gifts

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We are vessels of the living water that dwells within us.  We are not the the stream or the rain shower that brings the precious water.  We are only the collecting places where the thirsty can come to be quenched.

We are the lanterns of the Light of the World.  We are not the sun or the moon that brings the precious light.  We are only the beacons that allow the light to shine into the darkness of the world around us.

We are the temples of Jesus Christ.  We produce nothing on our own, but we are the repositories of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We are conduits of the perfect love and forgiveness of Our Heavenly Father.  Nothing that flows from us is of ourselves.  It is all the perfection of Jesus Christ within us.  God could have chosen angels to deliver His message, but He chose weaker vessels so that His power might be glorified and His treasures might be shared with all men.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for choosing us to deliver Your treasures to the world.  We rejoice in knowing that You have pulled us from the pit, cleansed us with the blood of Your Son, Jesus, and made us worthy to be lamps upon a hill.  We pray, Lord, that You will reveal to us everything in our lives that hinders the flow of Your gifts.  May we live in the fullness of Our Savior.  May all the glory be Yours.


We Are All Intercessors

1 Thessalonians 5:24
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

New government authority, new boss, new co-worker, new neighbor, new acquaintance, new friend – not a single one is new by chance.  God has placed each of those that are around us to teach us new things about ourselves.  It seems impossible that such a plan could be put in place for each of us.  But our God is a God of the impossible.  He has no limits to His power and His authority.  He loves us so much that He goes to an extraordinary, nearly unimaginable, level to insure that we are surrounded by a host of intercessors.  These intercessors in our lives are placed there for one reason.  God in His mercy and His grace wants to insure that we are properly prepared to spend eternity with Him.

In the life of the believer, there is no such thing as chance.  Our sovereign God is always in total control of everything.  Do not miss the flip side of our relationships with our surrounding intercessors.  We are simultaneously the other half of all of these relationships in our lives – the new boss, new co-worker, new neighbor, new acquaintance, new friend – and again, not a single one is new by chance.  God has purposely placed us in each relationship to be a giver as well as a receiver of His intercessory work in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your providence in our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that You understand our weaknesses and provide intercessory support through those that You place around us.  We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will alert us to the intercession that You have planned for us.  May we learn to grow through the circumstances that engulf us from time to time.  We pray that You will provide the wisdom that we need to be fruitful intercessors for others as we engage them in the journey that is life.