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.

A Faith That Moves Others

Matthew 8:26
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
God expects us to be so confident in Him that in any crisis we are the reliable ones.  What a great statement we make to the world when we stand confidently and peacefully during our greatest times of trial.  When the worldly see us under stress with an utter lack of fear and uncertainty, how can they not be moved?

When God allows us to be tried, He promises He will provide us with the strength to endure.  As faithful Christians, when we respond with confidence in Our Lord’s promises to make us conquerors over all things, we turn our trials into wonderful testimonies to the world around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the faith to face all of our trials with confidence in the victory that You will provide.  We praise You for sending Your Son to die on the Cross for us so that we can be victorious over all the evil that comes against us.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us so that we may live our lives in the fullness of the faith that You have given us.  May those around us be moved by our faith. 

Seeking Our Portion

2 Kings 2:12
And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 

Elisha had been forewarned that his master, Elijah, was going to be taken from him.  Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him before he was taken away.  Elisha asked for a double portion of the anointing that the Lord had placed on Elijah.  Elijah said that this was a huge request, but if Elisha witnessed his master being taken away by the Lord then his request was granted.  

Having gone through his final lessons from Elijah, Elisha saw Elijah taken away.  Elisha now stood alone.  In a show of extreme grief of having lost his master, he tore his clothes in two pieces.  He knew that he would no longer have his guide and leader to rely on.  But because he had asked for it, he was granted a double portion of the anointing that was held by Elijah.  Elijah would now rely on God, not on his master.

As Almighty God prepares us to spend eternity with Him, He will sometimes take away people around us who we have relied on.  During these times, we learn to rely on the Lord and not on the world around us.  Until we come to the point that we are totally reliant on God, He will continue to remove people and things from our lives until we totally surrender to His reign in our lives.  Through it all we will learn the comfort, the power and the strength of resting in the hands of the One that created us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to rest in the comfort of Your hands as we go through our journey of surrendering completely to You.  We praise You for Your loving kindness and Your mercy as You never forsake us as we struggle to find our way.  We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may begin to see all that You have prepared for us.  We beseech Your, Father, to grant us the fullness of the power and strength that You have set aside for us.

No One Chooses Suffering

2 Timothy 2:3
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

No sane person chooses to suffer.  To choose God’s will for our lives, even if it means suffering is a very different thing.  If we choose God’s will as our suffering continues, we grow stronger in that which is good.  Our resolution becomes stronger.  Our love of God and Jesus Christ becomes stronger.

If we view our suffering in any other way than through the will of God, our lives are guaranteed to be roller coaster rides with many highs and many lows.  On the other hand, if we keep our focus on Jesus through our suffering, our lives will be on steadied paths toward completed sainthood in heaven for all eternity.  Our lives will be filled with joy even in unhappy circumstances.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to overcome the suffering that the world brings us.  We bless the name of Jesus for bringing us joy even when everything around us in the world brings some level of unhappiness.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to endure our trials so that our love for You and for Our Savior, Jesus, becomes greater with each moment that we endure our suffering.  As we find joy in Christ, we pray that our example will make others strong and mature in their relationship with You. 

That Comforting Light


Revelation 21:23
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

What if you woke up one morning and noticed a light filling your home that was more radiant and comforting than the most beautiful day that you had ever experienced?  What if when you got out of bed there were none of those usual aches and pains?  What if when you looked in the mirror you liked what you saw?  What if your unfriendly neighbor smiled and waved as you left for work?  What if your surly boss was kind and supportive?  What if your work for the day was perfectly satisfying, leaving you feeling wonderful?  What if throughout the day you felt an overwhelming since of being loved and a desire to share that love with others?  What if you could not resist delighting in the Lord non-stop all day long?  What if when the day ended there was no darkness, only that radiant and comforting light that you had first experienced in the morning?  What if this day never ended?  Welcome to heaven!!

Welcome to your new home for all eternity.  Rejoice in the presence of the author and essence of everything that is good.  Delight in the absence of anything evil.  Praise the Lord!!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us that is beyond our imagination.  We thank You for preparing us to fit perfectly in our new homes for all eternity.  We pray Father that You will draw us into intimate relationships with You here on earth, so that we can begin experiencing the fullness of who You are before we ever leave our earthly bodies.  May we become vessels of Your perfect love so that others can know You and be drawn to accept Your Son as their Savior.  May many experience the eternal home that You have prepared for Your children because they saw that radiant and comforting light coming from us.

The Magnificent Fount Within

Luke 1:35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary had the Son of God placed in her womb when the Holy Spirit came upon her, the Son of God is placed within each of us by the power of the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus as Our Savior.  Just as Mary carried Jesus Christ alive in her body, we carry Jesus as a living fount of holiness, righteousness, loving kindness, mercy and forgiveness.  All that He is and all the powers of the universe have been formed within us.

If we had any other fount of exceptional value within us, would we ever allow our attentions to be diverted from the most precious resource in existence?   Would we ever hesitate to share the fruits of our fount with the world around us?  Would we ever put aside for even a moment the thought of the magnificent fount?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to be the fruit of the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We bless the name of Jesus as we rejoice in His presence within us.  We pray, Father, that we will never set Jesus aside.  We ask that the Holy Spirit aid us in allowing Jesus to pour His life into ours every single moment of our lives.  May we clamor for His attention.  May our holy communion with Our Savior lead others to be drawn to Him.


The Fabric of Our Lives

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

For many of us, a day goes something like this:  Pray, do what the day calls for, pray, sleep.  Hopefully, doing what the day calls for includes time in the Word of God and serving Him in some way.  And surely, if something goes wrong, we are wise enough to add additional prayer to our schedule.  Why do we settle for so little when so much more is available to us?

 We have the opportunity and the privilege to communicate with the Creator, Our Creator, throughout the day.  We can have as many touch points with Almighty God as we would like.  Not only do we have the opportunity to call on Our Heavenly Father with our solicitations, we also have the opportunity to delight the Lord with our praise and worship.  After all, what father does not delight in the visitations of his children?  And what child does not delight in the comforts of a loving father?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we can come to You at any time.  We rejoice in having access to Your throne.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to come to You throughout the day to praise You and to worship You.  May we learn to make You an integral part of the fabric of our lives.

The Hope of Glory

Colossians 1:27
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God has chosen to reveal to us the riches that are available to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  The fullness of all of God’s riches are complete in Jesus.  This was a mystery to men for thousands of years.  The hope of glory for those living in earlier times was reliant on the offerings of their high priests.    

Yet we live in a time when the hope of our glory has been fully disclosed to us.  Our hope is in the form of Our Savior who comes in dwells within us.  He is our high priest.  We need no other.  

With His indwelling, we take on the role of priests ourselves.  It becomes our duty to share the hope that is within us.  The blessed hope and assurance that is Jesus Christ is too precious not to share.  We should joyously share that which naturally flows from us without end.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Blessed Hope and Assurance that is Your Son, Jesus.  We praise You for revealing to us the riches that are available through Your Son, our ever present high priest.  Help us Lord to faithfully share the hope of glory that is within us. 

Seeing the Triumph

Luke 18:34
But they understood none of these things.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read how the apostles were told in advance about all the suffering that their Master was about to endure.  They were told the details concerning His coming crucifixion and they were told about His glorious rising from the grave on the third day.  Yet they understood none of these things.

The apostles did not understand because they could only see failure in Jesus’ destiny.  They could only feel the heartbreak of losing their teacher.  They could only visualize their promised King.  They could not visualize their suffering Savior.  They could not see that God considered it all a tremendous triumph.  They could not see that they would soon show the world the way, the truth and the life that Jesus had come to show them.

The most difficult thing about understanding the purpose that God has for our lives is that we are quick to seek God’s blessings, but we are slow to realize that God is in sovereign control.   We are baffled by our trials.  We allow them to hold off our calling in Christ, because we only see ourselves in our trials and we do not see Almighty God who is working out all things for His purposes. 

We will move forward in our calling when we look forward to each day without fear or worry.  We will become who God calls us to be when we are in communion with Him and recognize the He is taking us into His purposes.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have a perfect plan for our lives.  We bless the name of Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to fulfill the plans that You have set aside for us.  We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may see past the sorrows in our lives.  We pray that You will open our hearts in communion with You so that we may see the triumph that You have planned for us.  May we live our lives without fear, knowing that we are in Your hands, living according to Your purposes.  May it all be for Your glory, the glory of Jesus and the glory of the Holy Spirit.

His Grace is Always Sufficient

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The apostle Paul was told by Jesus that Jesus’ strength was sufficient for all of Paul’s needs.  Jesus emphasized to Paul that His power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.  Paul recognized this truth and leaned upon it through all of his trials.  He became the most prolific writer in the bible and led the way of evangelizing the gentile world to Christianity.

When we come to recognize that there is nothing in us that is worthy without Jesus Christ, we open the way for His perfecting work in our lives.  We humble ourselves to build on our relationship with the One who seeks to perfect us.  Through it all, in spite of our weaknesses, the evidence of His presence in our lives becomes visible for all to see.  We must be ever mindful that it is not about the work that we do.  It is about the relationship we have with Jesus and the atmosphere produced by that relationship.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that You pour into our lives through Your Son, Jesus.  We seek the power of Your grace in our lives.  We ask forgiveness for the times that we by-pass Your grace in order to operate out of our own perceived strength.  We pray that Holy Spirit will aid us in leaning on You for all of our needs and guiding us in all that we do.  May Your strength be perfected in our weakness. 

Preparing for the Wedding Feast

Revelation 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

As we grew up in this world, most of us were taught to set goals and to develop step-by-step plans to reach our goals.  For most of us, attaining the goals that we set for ourselves has become what life is all about.

In God’s supernatural world, things are totally different.  Goals are not set for this world, because God did not create this world to be about our accomplishments.  God created this world to prepare us for the eternal life that we will spend in heaven for all eternity.  Everything we go through here on earth is part of the process that God puts us through or allows us to go through in order to prepare us for life in new Jerusalem.

We go up to new Jerusalem, not to fulfill our own purposes, but to fulfill the purposes that Almighty God has for us.  We are being prepared to go to a place where all things are new.  There will be no trouble or tumult.  The new Jerusalem is the church of God in its new and perfect state.  It is a holy church without blemish and we will be there fully prepared for our place at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  We praise You and worship You for providing a way for us to be made acceptable to take our place at this great banquet.  Father, open our eyes that we may see Your perspective of what our lives are meant to be.  We pray that you show us how to set aside all that this world offers in exchange for the eternal life that we will spend with You for all eternity.