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.

Serving All Men for His Sake

Matthew 20:28

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords came to earth as the Son of Man.  He gave up all of His royal rights to become a servant of every man.  His servanthood was so complete that He gave up His own life and He separated Himself from the Father in order to take on all of our sins so that we might have life with the Father.

Once we claim our eternal inheritance as children of God, we accept that which we do not deserve and could not possibly earn except through the grace and mercy of Our Savior.  When we recognize that Jesus Christ served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness and our sin, we should exhaust ourselves serving all men for His sake.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You to proclaim how unworthy we are of all that You have bestowed on us through Your Son, Jesus.  We do not deserve the inheritance that You have set aside.  We could never earn what You have provided.  Fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may pour ourselves to all men.  We rejoice in knowing that we will be in Your service for all eternity.

Releasing It All for Our Savior

Mark 14:6

But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

When Jesus was dining with a group at Simon’s home, a woman with an alabaster jar full of very expensive perfume came up to Jesus, broke the jar open and poured it’s costly contents on Him.  She was criticized by the group at the table for such an extravagant gesture.  Jesus quickly scolded the group for not seeing the value of what she was doing.  

When we become broken vessels and pour out everything we have to glorify Our Savior, we can be assured that the world will demean us for our efforts.  We can find comfort in knowing that Our Lord is greatly pleased and glorified by our expressions of love.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You to bring all of our love, our praises and our blessings to bestow them upon Your Son, Jesus.  Teach us how to release all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have in surrender to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  

Let’s Get Going

John 14:31
but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

We cannot possibly find a better model for life than the only man who lived without sin.  And what was it that this man without sin did?  He loved His Father and He did what His Father asked of Him.  Then He asked others to join Him in His work.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we love You.  We surrender to You.  Raise us as instruments of Your good work.   Use us as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  Teach us how to gather others to unite with us in Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our King and Our Savior. 

Overcoming Depression

1 Kings 19:5

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

Elijah was on the run from his troubles.  He was so depressed that he asked God to take his life.  Then he fell asleep.

It is very common for all of us to want to go into a shell when troubles seem overwhelming.  It is amazing how simple acts of love or service can lift us out of the darkness of depression or despair.  The angel instructed Elijah to get up and eat.  Through his simple act of obedience, Elijah was quickly on his road to recovery.  He was back to a place where he once again trusted in the care that God promises all of us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Spirit is always with us to lift us up in our times of struggle.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will urge us to inquire how we can serve You when we feel so needy.  Inspire us, Lord, to do the simple acts of obedience that You set before us.  May we learn to comfort the world around us with the comfort that You provide us in our times of trouble.

When Our Nets Are Empty

Luke 5:5
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
Peter exhibited faith in the spoken words of His Master, Jesus.  Even though his instincts told him that it was highly questionable to expect a worthwhile catch, he dropped his nets.  He had faith that Jesus’ words were more powerful than the forces of nature that he knew were unlikely to deliver a decent catch at this place and time of day.  His faith was rewarded.  His nets were filled beyond the point of bursting.

It is important to realize that there is power in the Word of God.  If there is a promise in the Holy Bible, it holds victory over all the forces of this earth and all the forces of evil that might try to come against it.  No matter what we think the limits of this world hold in store for us, the Word of God promises exceedingly more.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word to teach us the things that we are promised as inheritors of Your kingdom.  Show us how to live our lives in accordance with Your Word and in reliance upon Your promises.  Strengthen us to stand against everything that comes against us, knowing that through Our Savior we have victory over every circumstance.

The Light of the World in Us

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
When we receive Our Savior into our lives, the darkness of our sin is washed away.  But due to our sin nature, we are certain to make choices that are according the world’s standards and not Our Lord’s.  Thus we invite darkness to come back into our lives.  Fortunately, darkness cannot exist in the fullness of light.  With the Light of the World present in us, we are guaranteed a complete victory over darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that You bless us with the wisdom, understanding and counsel that we need to rely daily on Your Son, who came as the Light of the World.  May we be set free from the darkness of sin, whether it be by ignorance or error.  May Your grace allow us to live in the light rather than in the misery of the darkness.  May we become broken vessels that allow Your light to shine through to those around us who are still living in darkness.

No Man Should Live Alone

Romans 14:7

For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

The church is called the Body of Christ because we are all one in Christ.  Each one of us is inseparable from the other.  Each one of us is inseparable from Our Savior.

We are all different in our strengths, our capabilities and our practices.  Yet we all are the Lord’s.  We should all be looking to serve and prove ourselves as witnesses to Him.  The spiritual health of others should be as important to us as our own spiritual health.  The Body of Christ depends on our acceptance of our responsibility to be poured out for Christ. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, teach us how to be responsible members of the Body of Christ.  Help us to understand that our sufficiency is in You and not in ourselves.  Guide us to the strengths, the capacities and the processes that You have set aside for us to serve You.  Allow our lives as Your servants to be our “Thank You” for all that You have provided.

The Bread of Life

John 6:33
For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Give us this day our daily bread.  How many times have we prayed this and thought only of our fleshly provision?  Have we forgotten what Jesus Himself said?  The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 
Christ shows that He is the true Bread. He is to the soul what bread is to the body.  As our bodies are nourished by grain, Jesus nourishes and supports our spiritual life. He is the Bread of God.
Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will receive the nourishment of Jesus Christ for our souls.  May everything we do be in remembrance of Our Savior and what He did for us.  As You nourish us with Your True Bread, may we provide nourishment to those who are in need of the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus.

Freedom From the Bondage of This World

Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

How shortsighted we are when we accept Our Savior’s invitation for salvation, but do not believe in the fullness of our redemption.  Not only did Our Lord come to redeem us from our sins, but He also came in His power and grace to free us from all the bondages of this world.  Though we may currently suffer in the flesh, freedom and joy in the spirit is ours to take hold of now. The promise of a perfected body and spirit will be fulfilled according to His Word.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that you show us how to take claim of the fullness of our redemption.  Whatever our current situation may be, may we take on the joy and comfort of Your completed promises.  May we find peace knowing that Your power is working in us.  May the world see that we are at rest because Our Savior is with us.  

Finding Lasting Comfort

Exodus 20:19

Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”

We often delight in and rely on the spoken and written words of men rather than digging into God’s Holy Word ourselves.  We find that the words of men lean toward messages that are meant to comfort us and not to convict us.  They also tend to require less work to digest.

By shying away from God’s Holy Word, we seek to avoid the discomfort that comes with having our weaknesses brought to light by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.   In doing so, we miss or delay the sanctifying work that prepares us for a life of eternal comfort with Our Savior.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that You will show us how to seek the truth in Your Holy Word.  Strengthen us to close our ears to the messages of leniency that the world espouses.  Speak to us through Your Holy Word so that we may bring our lives into alignment with Your laws.  Teach us how to listen to You, Lord, so that we can come into the lasting comfort that only You can provide.