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.

In the Sovereign Will of The Father

Matthew 20:23
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

We have been taught that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and it will be granted to us.  This is true, but our solicitations can be granted only if what we ask is in the will of The Father.  This can cause spiritual confusion for us when our prayers are not answered or, more correctly, have not been answered according to the desires of our flesh.

God has been faithful in providing institutions on earth which can help us to understand how this precept works.  As parents, we can recall times that we withheld things from our children because we knew that is was not the right thing for them at the time.  What they were asking for did not fit in with the overall good that we were seeking for them.  As business leaders, we have denied the requests of good and faithful employees because it would not be beneficial to the company to grant their request.

Almighty God has prepared things for us that have been in place before the foundations of the earth were formed.  Everything that He grants us through His Son is in accordance with His good and perfect plan for our lives in His kingdom.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom.  We bless the name of Your Son, who You have given us to be our mediator as we seek Your grace in our lives.  Teach us, Lord, to seek those things that are according to Your sovereign will and pleasure.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will redirect us when our petitions are of our flesh and not of the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us.   

Drawing Near to the Lord

Revelation 1:17
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

As we draw in closer to the Lord, His light will reveal every iniquity in us and His fire will begin to burn away that which offends Him.  As we draw even closer, the purification process will become even more intense.

The Lord will test us to see how difficult a journey we are willing to take to be close to Him.  He will send people into our lives who will be challenges for us.  He will ask us to serve them through the most menial and commonplace order.  He will ask us to wash their feet.  

Through it all, His divine presence will be with us.  May we listen to His voice and receive His perfect love.  We will not be able to bear the nearness if we are not fully submitted to His rule and reign in our lives.  May we give up ourselves wholly to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of Your presence in our lives.  We praise the name of Jesus who has made it possible for us to stand before You.  We ask forgiveness for all the things in our lives that have offended you.  We pray that the Light of Your Son will reveal the darkness in our lives.  We ask for the grace to be able to surrender to the good work that You are doing in us to prepare us to stand in Your presence for all eternity.  

The Breath of Life

Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD!

Today’s world can literally take our breath away.  Our workplaces tend to be grueling places that are filled with stress.  Our families are ripe with ongoing calamity that can suck the life out of us.  The fear of evil in the world around us is now a constant burden.  At any moment, the world is ready to steal our peace.  

Fortunately, our peace is but a quiet prayer away.  A simple praise moment with the Lord and we are restored.  A few minutes in His Word and we are strengthened. 

Praise the Lord for He gave us the breath of life.  Praise the Lord for He sustains our every breath.  Praise the Lord for He takes away our breath when He is ready to receive us.  Praise the Lord for He provides the way that allows us to breath our last breath in the comfort, peace and confidence of our salvation.  May we use every breath we take to worship Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the breath of life that You have given us.  We thank You for sustaining our breath on earth.  We thank You for providing Your Son, Jesus, so that the breath of life will continue in us for all eternity.  We surrender our every breath to You, Father.  May each breath we take worship You.  May each breath we take praise You.  May each breath we take bring honor and glory to You, Your Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Craftiness of DIY

1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.  For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

Satan’s craftiness is witnessed in the way that he gets us to focus on good things that we are good at, knowing that we will find praise in our efforts.  In the process, we completely by-pass God’s inspiration in our work.

It is easy for us to take on projects that we are comfortable with and feel our probability of success is very high.  There is nothing wrong with this position as long as we go to God for confirmation that the project is one that He ordains.

God inspired projects, however, are more likely to have us question our abilities to successfully complete them.  God is not concerned about our capabilities.  If He ordains something, it will be done.  God is looking for the opportunity to have His power and His glory, not our capabilities, reflected in the things that we do. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Holy Word that teaches how Jesus was interested in doing only those things that You asked Him to do.  In Jesus’ life, every project was carried out in accordance with Your will.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to seek You first in all things.  We pray for the grace to be able to accept and act upon the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  May all that we do be for Your glory.

Claiming the Victory

2 Corinthians 10:3
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

To wage war against Satan relying on our on strength is pure folly.  To fight against the strongholds of our flesh without Jesus Christ is also pure folly.  Without Jesus Christ, we will lose each of these battles more times than not.  Without Jesus Christ, the small battles that we may win will only be pyrrhic victories.  The costly war will be lost.

Our only formula for victory over Satan and over the torments of our flesh is to cast all of our cares upon the Lord.  Through Him we have victory in everything.  The process of sanctification is giving up one’s own ability to compete and placing the battle entirely in the hands of Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, the battle is not against sin.  Jesus won the battle against sin on the Cross.  The battle is our struggle to let go of our natural lives, which have no power against the enemy, and take on the spirit filled life of Christ which allows us to apply the supernatural power of Almighty God against Satan and his minions.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the blood of Your Son that cleanses of our sins.  We bless the name of Jesus who indwells us so that we may have the grace to turn away from our natural lives and turn toward our life in Christ.  We pray that when the enemy comes prowling with the intent to destroy us that we look confidently to our Savior King.  May the victory that He won on the Cross be ours.  

The Breadth, Width and Depth of Our Father’s Love

Luke 15:20
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Him” is the opening verse in the passage about the prodigal son.  Jesus used this parable to define the breadth, width and depth of the love of Our Heavenly Father for each one of us – no matter how messed up our lives may be.  

When the prodigal son returned in shame, he was a filthy and stinky.  He was a broken mess of a man – completely defeated.  His father saw no filth.  His father smelled nothing but the fragrance of the son that he so longed to see return to him.  The father did not scorn the son.  He celebrated his return and placed him in good standing once again.     

Jesus went into great detail to establish that Our Father in heaven will allow us to go as far away from Him as we choose.  He will allow us to choose the entitlements of the world over the entitlements of His kingdom.  But no matter what choices we make, He will not stop loving us.  He will not stop longing for us to return to Him no matter where we have gone in our travels away.  And when we do return, all of the heavens will celebrate our return.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace.  We rejoice in knowing that Your love for us is so great that You see us only in the image of Your Son, Jesus, whose blood covers the stench of our sinful pasts.  Father, forgive us for the times that we have chosen the entitlements of the world over Your precious gifts.  We humble ourselves before You and ask that we may be Your servants for all eternity.  We pray our new lives in Christ will be an encouragement to others to join in Your heavenly celebration.

Changing Others Each Day

John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

The demeanor of spirit filled Christians is engaging to the observers.  Without the givers even knowing it, the smile or kind word that they deliver often becomes a day changing event for the receivers.  It is certainly within God’s provision that the simple event could even be life changers for the receivers.

Was this purposely done by the spirit filled givers?  Often times it was not.  More often than not, the gift of living water was delivered without the knowledge of the spirit filled givers.  The gift was simply a reflection of the indwelling of Jesus Christ.  

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to be vessels of Your blessings to others.  We praise You for shielding us from knowing about many of the blessings that we pass to others.  We thank You for keeping us from having our pride block the flow of the living water.  We pray that You will fill us with Your blessings for others and use us to change their lives forever.

Choosing to Live in the Favor of the Lord

Psalm 120:5
Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!

When we get to heaven, we will fully understand the perfect nature of Jesus Christ.  Until then, the depth and perfection of Jesus Christ is beyond our capability to comprehend.  That is why we are often inconsistent in relying on the Spirit of Jesus Christ within us when we are making decisions.  That is why we often make decisions in the dark instead of in the Light.

How many times have we said something like, “when I get a raise, I will be able to give more,” or “when my job eases up a little, I will spend more time in prayer,” or “when I feel better I will get more involved at church.”  We always seem to be searching for a more favorable lot in life before we give of ourselves.  We are not shortsighted, we are just wrong sighted.  We are dwelling in the world instead of under the favor of Our Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing us with escape from the darkness that this world offers us.  We rejoice in knowing that we have the favor of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We cry out to You, Our Lord, for Your peace and Your holiness.  We pray that You will strengthen us to overcome the evil that surrounds us.  May we become light to the world around us.

The Standards of the Disciples of Jesus Christ

Matthew 7:16
You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Any company that is successful will have salesmen that reflect the established standards for representing the company and presenting the company’s goods.  The standards will include dictates for personal appearance, behavior and their passion for presenting the product.  Of course, their knowledge of the product must be exemplary and their ability to close the sale must be top notch.  And finally, at no time are they to have collusion with the competition.

If these are the world’s standards for good salesmen, certainly the standards for being a good disciple of the Lord are at least the same.  It is especially true that our behavior must reflect our discipleship and not the choices of our flesh.

There are two big differences, however.  The first is that we, as disciples, always have a helper in the Holy Spirit.  The second is that it is not our job to close the sale.  That is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the fellowship that we have with You through Your Son.  We bless the name of the Holy Spirit for instructing and guiding us in being good disciples of Jesus.  We pray that the world will be drawn to Your Son through our living testimony.  We ask that those that You have placed in our lives will be convicted by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Vessels of Our Heavenly Portions

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are mere vessels on this earth.  Whatever we receive from the Lord needs to be released into the world.  Upon receiving His Light, we must let His Light flow through us to the darkness in the world around us.  Jesus taught that we are the light of the world and emphasized that no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but places it on a stand so that all can share the light.  It is our responsibility to allow others to be exposed to the Light that is within us. 

Upon receiving His Living Water, we must share what we have received with the thirsty amongst us.  To dam up the outpouring that we receive can actually damage us.  The vessel that receives and receives without pouring out will eventually burst or at the very least, fill to the point of being unable to receive any more.  Then upon being filled without flow, the vessel will become stagnant.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings that You pour into our lives.  We pray that You will protect us from clinging to our blessings to satisfy ourselves.  May we freely take our blessings, whether they be things of this world or portions from Your heavenly treasure, and pour them out before You.  May the Holy Spirit guide us so that our sacrifice and our works are suitable and pleasing to You.  May the world receive Your Light and Your Living Water through us.  May it be for Your glory.