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.

The Greater Work That is Prayer

John 14:12
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Most of us will never set foot on foreign soils in an effort to win souls.  Nor will we step to a podium to stir a great revival.  So what are these greater works that we will do when we believe in Jesus?

The answer is certainly different for each one of us as God has created each of us with a unique plan for our lives.  In our own individual ways we will be called to be laborers in the field bringing light to the world of darkness around us.  We may be called to serve the poor.  We may be called to lead a bible study.  Who knows, we may even be called to a ministry of healing and deliverance.  But in all of the various ways that we are called, there will always be one element of our works that will be the same and that is the work of prayer.

Jesus was our role model is this regard.  He never attempted any work without going to the Father first in prayer.  Prayer was one of His greater works as He went to the Father to have His power and His purpose released.  One could argue that prayer is the greatest work that we will do as we go to the Father to have His power and His purpose for us released in our lives. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us vessels for Your perfect Light to be released in the darkness of the world around us. We bless the name of Jesus for showing us the way in which we should approach the purpose for our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we can share in Your good work by accessing through prayer the power and authority of Your Son.  We pray, Father, that the greater works of the Son will be released in our lives as we seek You and surrender to Your plan for our lives through our prayers.

Love Without Bounds

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for the sins of all of mankind.  In this one act, we see the perfect love and the perfect forgiveness of both the Father and the Son.   

When we receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as Our Savior, we are receiving the fullness of His perfect love and forgiveness.  We also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit who instills in us this perfect love and forgiveness to share with the world around us.

As it is with the Father and the Son, we are to withhold love and forgiveness from no man.  We should not withhold even the smallest portion from any man anywhere. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unlimited flow of love and forgiveness that comes from Your Throne.  We bless the name of Jesus for becoming sin for every man so that we all could receive the eternal gift of salvation.  We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we learn to become free flowing vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We ask for the grace to overcome all bitterness, anger and unforgiveness in our lives so that we may in no way hinder the provision of Your love in the world around us.

For His Pleasure and His Glory

Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  

Jesus proclaimed His authority over all things before He told His disciples to go out to all nations.  He wanted them to know that He was with them every step of the way.  He wanted them to know that there would be no day nor hour in which He was not present with them.  He wanted them to know that there was nothing that could not be accomplished through Him.  He wanted them to know that He wanted to accomplish His work through them.

What He did not say to the disciples was, “Thanks, I could not do this without you.”  God can accomplish His plans without any help from us.  If we are not obedient in doing the things that He asks us to do, the loss is not His.   He will find a replacement to do His good work because He loves to use His children to accomplish His work.  It brings great pleasure and glory to Him. 

But if we are not obedient to the things that He asks us to do, it is our loss.  The work that we do for the Lord is more about our sanctification process than the results of our work.  Who we are in Christ is defined by our obedience to His calling.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of serving You on this earth.  We rejoice in knowing that we bring You great pleasure and glory when we do Your good work.  We pray, Father, that You will open our eyes so that we may see the ways in which You are calling us to serve You.  We pray, Lord, that You will prepare our hearts to surrender to Your will for our lives.  May all that we do be for Your pleasure and Your glory.

Mature Enough to Handle the Harvest

Exodus 2:11
One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.

Every man is called to lead his family spiritually.  We are all called to lead others spiritually in some manner.  When the fullness of the calling hits, we soon realize how ill equipped we are for the work and how ill prepared those around us are to receive us.

At this point when we have received God’s calling and are responding to it, God begins to do His good work in us.   Then something strange happens.  We have the vision and a very clear understanding of what needs to be done, but like Moses, we feel like we have been left out in the wilderness.  It seems as if God is ignoring us.

In actuality, the opposite is true.  God is fully and perfectly engaged in our lives.  His plan is to discipline us so that we are focused on Him and not on our vision.  When our focus is corrected, the fruit of the vision is released.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfectly patient hand in our lives.  We thank You for taking us through our wilderness experiences in order to draw us closer to You.  We bless the name of Jesus who carries us through our discouragement.  We praise His Holy Name as He releases the fruit of our lives when we are mature enough in our relationship with Him to handle the harvest.

Walking With Almighty God

Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God;

“Enoch walked with God.”  How cool would that be?  At any given time, just dial up the ruler and creator of the universe and invite Him for a walk.  Impossible, you say.  Unimaginable, you claim.

Yet beyond what seems logical to us, it is absolutely within our reach to dial up Almighty God.  The only issue is that to connect we have to be on the same line.  We can only get on the same line by disconnecting from all the other lines of distraction that we are dialed into.  A lot of work to be done there, but well worth the effort.  Spiritual truth awaits.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for granting us the privilege to be alone in Your presence.  We praise You for making Your throne accessible to us.  We bless the name of Jesus for dying on the cross for us so that we are worthy to come before You.  We pray, Lord, that You would teach us how to shed the distractions of the world long enough that we could find time for You alone.  May we all learn to rejoice in complete comfort in Your sweet presence.

Only the Best Ingredients

John 11:6
So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

“Mommy, I really want chocolate cake.  I want it right now.”  

“OK, Dear, but not now.  I will make it later when I have all the special ingredients that I need to make it just the way you love it.”

This is a conversation between a mother and her child.  To the child, the wait may seem painful.  To the loving mother, everything is right and in perfect order.

This is how our loving Father in heaven works with us.  He hears our prayers and He answers them.  He does not rush to provide the answer, even though He could.  He waits for all the best “ingredients”  to be in place.  He wants to prepare only “the best” for us – just like Mommy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for always giving us what is best for us and not what we ask for and certainly not what we deserve.  We exalt You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You extend to us endlessly.  We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to wait confidently in faith for all that You have prepared for us and those around us.  We rejoice in knowing that Your timing is perfect.

Living As A Child

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.

As parents, teachers or caretakers, we understand the joy and the pleasure of an obedient child.  The obedient child’s constant compliance to our instruction melts our hearts.  It is easy and very natural for us to give compliant children greater responsibility because we are confident that they will handle the responsibility appropriately.  On the other hand, we are likely to hold back from a child that is disobedient and disrespectful to authority.

So it is when we become new born babes in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Almighty God rejoices when we are obedient and we demonstrate our faithful compliance to His laws, His commands, His Holy Word and His callings on our lives.  When we come to Him humbly and in awe of who He is, He rewards us with more knowledge, more wisdom and more responsibility in His kingdom.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for receiving us as innocent babes in Christ.  We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible that we could stand before You in righteousness.  We bless the name of the Holy Spirit who inspires us to come to You as expectant as young children who go to their fathers eager to learn about the world and anxious for their dreams to be fulfilled.  We pray for the grace to please You in all that we do.  We ask that You release to us the knowledge that we do not have and the wisdom we seek.  May it all be for Your glory and the gain of Your kingdom.

There is Only One Path

Romans 6:13
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

When we were born, we inherited a sin nature through the bloodlines of Adam and Eve.  Through the grace of Almighty God, we were given the choice to keep the sin that separates us from Him for all eternity or receive the atonement for our sin provided by the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is a choice that must be made.  There is no place for indecision in selecting where we want to spend eternity.

When we accept Jesus as Our Savior, we are washed clean of all of the sin in our lives.  Nonetheless, the sin nature remains.  It then becomes the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us away from the iniquity in our lives and toward the eternal, holy resting place that we will one day find in the presence of Almighty God.  Again with the grace of God, we are provided all that we need to overcome the sin in our lives.  Yet to receive the fullness of our eternal reward, we must measure every experience in our lives by the standards of Jesus Christ and not by our own standards.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask Your forgiveness for our sins.  We rejoice in knowing that Your forgiveness is certain and complete through the redemptive work of Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You for allowing us to atone for the sin in our lives through Our Savior. We thank You for the Holy Spirit who stands by us as we continue to struggle with our sin natures.  We pray for the grace and the strength to repent and turn away from all the sin that the Holy Spirit reveals to us.  May our bodies be used to do only those things that are pleasing to You, bring glory to You and bear fruit for Your kingdom.

Accepting the Ultimate Invitation

Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

“Come to me,” is the ultimate invitation.  It is always valid.  It has no expiration date.  It allows access to the greatest person in the universe on a 24-7 basis.

There is no requirement to accept the invitation, but it is exclusive to those of us who will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Our Savior and acknowledge ourselves as sinners in need of His cleansing blood.  The requirement is necessary in order to make us worthy to be in His presence.

When we accept the invitation, we then have access to the unimaginable favor of the King of Kings for all eternity.  We have the privilege of laying all of our burdens on Him so that we may be refreshed when we are faint.  We have the satisfaction of having our thirst for knowing our Maker quenched forever.  We have the treasure of being able to learn from Our Master all that is good and pleasing to Almighty God.

Why should we go to any other quarter to have our needs met?  Let us go to Him for the mysteries and the grace of God that come through Him.  Let us go to Him for the peace, comfort, joy and salvation that He holds in His hands.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us Your Son to reveal to us Your will and Your love.  We bless the name of Jesus for providing the yoke that joins us to Him for the purpose of having all of our burdens lifted from us.  We rejoice in knowing that we live in Your constant shadow protected from evil and supplied with our needs.  We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us to release all of our cares into the arms of the One who invites us to come to Him.

Debt Cancelled

2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

When we hear the word sin, we usually think of a single transgression or specific transgressions which go against God’s law.  Sin defined in this manner only captures an aspect of sin.

In reality, sin is much more.  Sin is a complete, damning condition that separates us from God.  It is a chasm that we cannot cross on our own.  The chasm was created when Adam and Eve sinned.  At the moment of their sin, we inherited a condition that separated us from God for all eternity.

Thankfully, our merciful Father in heaven provided a way for us to bridge the chasm created by sin.  He provided His Son to take on the burden of all of our sin.  He allowed His Son’s blood to be shed so that we may be cleansed of all of the unrighteousness that separates us from the presence of Almighty God.  God made His own Son take on our sin so that we might become saints in heaven. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, our thanks are inadequate to cover the redemptive work that cleanses us of our unrighteousness and allows us to stand in Your Holy Presence.  There is no manner of word or worship that we could bring before You that would be sufficient to cover the debt that has been paid for us.  We bless the name of Jesus who left His throne in heaven to come to earth to redeem us from the debt we could not pay on our own.  We humble ourselves before You, Lord.  We kneel at the foot of Your Cross and submit ourselves to a life in Your service here on earth and in heaven.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You forever.  We pray that our lives in Christ here on earth will lead others to the foot of Your Cross to receive their salvation.