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.

Claiming Our Rightful Place in the Kingdom of God

Genesis 41:40
You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”

The Pharaoh gave Joseph great power and responsibility in his kingdom. He proclaimed Joseph to be his equal except in the final level of authority. In a sudden change of condition, Joseph went from imprisoned slave to a ruler of great standing.

So it will be for us one day as we take our places in the kingdom of God. We will escape our carnal lives where we are enslaved to sin. We will then stand before God in the image of His Son with the same glorified body. We will be given the power and responsibility to rule and reign under the authority of Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Joseph went through many trials and tribulations in his life that prepared him to rule over Egypt. None of it was easy, nor was it brief. Joseph went from the pit to the prison to the throne room all under the hand of Almighty God. All of it was necessary for Joseph to be able to handle all that he would be given by the Pharaoh.

So it is with us. We have a lifetime of trial and tribulation. God uses all of it to prepare us for our place in His kingdom. We will grow in wisdom and discernment just as Joseph did. All we have to do is submit to the will of God in our lives, just as Joseph did.

Let us follow in Joseph’s footsteps. Let us take hold of the vision that God has given us for our lives. Let us trust completely in Our Lord as we encounter challenges that would seem to deter us. Let us work our way obediently along the pathway of sanctification that the Holy Spirit has laid out for us. Let us rejoice in knowing that one day we will rule and reign with Jesus at the Throne of Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom. We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to be rescued from the prison that is this earth. We pray that the Holy Spirit will lead us into submission to Our Savior, Jesus Christ. May we learn to lean on Him in all things. May we learn to live under His absolute control. May we claim our rightful places in Your kingdom. We rejoice in knowing that one day we will escape our slavery in this world to become bond servants of the King of Kings for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of our mighty and holy King, Jesus Christ.

The Supernatural Power of the Word of God Delivered by His Servants

1 Corinthians 2:1
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.

Persuasion is man’s means of swaying the thoughts of other fellow men and women. By nature and certainly by cultural pressure, when most of us try to persuade anyone on any topic, we are usually careful not to offend anyone if we can avoid it. One of the biggest mistakes that we make as Christians is to carry over this mindset when we talk about the salvation message with non-believers. If we are not careful, we end up manipulating the salvation message to please the ears of the listener. All the while, we are actually withholding from them the truth and the power that is in the Word of God.

The apostle Paul in his teachings to the Corinthians emphasized the point that the power to convert was not in fanciful speech. He knew that the people would not be stable in their faith if they were resting on the words of men and not on the power of God’s words. He also knew and taught that His teaching had no power without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Be certain that Jesus did not come to earth worried about His message being politically correct. In fact, He stated clearly that His teachings would be sure to divide households. Know that politically correct messages will get no one into heaven, nor will they keep anyone out of hell. Only the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit and delivered by His servants produces the supernatural power that leads to real persuasion and conversion.

Let us be sure to boldly proclaim the powerful saving Words of the Bible and not our own words designed to tickle the ears of others. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those around us to receive and accept the Truth.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the power that Your Holy Word has in transforming our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we are serving You and pleasing You when we share Your inerrant Word with others. We pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to be bold in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and direct us in choosing the right message for each time we are in a position to share our testimony. We ask, Father, that You prepare the hearts of those around us to receive the truth and respond to Your message of salvation. We ask all these things in the name of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

The Breathtaking Beauty of the Body of Christ

Ephesians 5:27
so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

When we observe beauty in nature, we are usually not focused on a single object, but on the beauty of a single object or objects within the context of the total surroundings. If we separate out the single objects, we will find that none of them are perfect. But when we consider the single objects as integral parts of their settings, we are treated to sites that we deem to be perfectly beautiful.

In this same way, God creates beauty in our lives. Even though we are not perfect, God can use us perfectly within the environment that He places us. As individuals in the flesh, we have many imperfections, but as spirit-filled members of the Body of Christ we attain the perfect beauty that Jesus is looking for in His bride.

The Lord sees His Church as wonderful and beautiful. He does not see the Church as individuals struggling to be perfect as He is perfect. He does not see the affliction and filth of the individual members living in the flesh. He sees the breathtaking beauty of the Body of Christ clothed in His holiness, glory and perfection. He sees the work in us that was completed on the Cross.

Let us surrender to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts so that we may repent in preparation for the wedding feast.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that we are made perfect through the redemption that Your Son, Jesus, has procured for us. We bless the name of Jesus for allowing us to forget the things that are behind us, both our sins and our labors that are of no value to the kingdom. We pray that we be given the grace to press forward with all of our focus on the holy desires, hopes and endeavors that bring us into union with Our Savior who has made us His own. We rejoice in knowing that our day to be with Him has been set aside for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the One who prepares us to be His bride, Jesus Christ.

Heaven is the Essence of Everything Perfect

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

The garment is not acceptable if there is one snag in the fabric. The tune is no longer in harmony if there is one note out of key. The chain is broken if one link does not hold. The law is not kept if one point is not held.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 STOP!! There it is…the first and greatest commandment. We need not go any further to realize that we are incapable of meeting the requirements of getting into heaven. We simply cannot earn our way in. We cannot get past the first requirement. It is impossible for us to love the Lord in the manner that He requires.

Remember, God demands perfect, not partial obedience. A good effort is not good enough. Good enough is only found on the Cross. The only way that we can meet the requirements that God demands is to have the blood of His Son wash us clean of all of our sins so that we may stand before Him in the image of His Son.

Let us wake each day seeking the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and reveal to us the darkness that still resides there. Let us receive the counsel of the Holy Spirit with the thought of taking His insight to the Throne of God and asking Him to “wash me O Lord, purify me O Lord. Cleanse me with the precious blood of Your Son, Jesus”.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for demanding perfection concerning Your laws. We rejoice in knowing that Your kingdom, which we will inherit, will be void of anything that is less than perfect. We thank You for providing an eternal resting place for us that will be the essence of everything good. We bless the name of Jesus, whose shed blood allows us to stand spotless before You. Father, we claim Your promise to perfect Your strength in our weakness. We pray for the grace to live in the fullness of Jesus Christ as You prepare us to love You with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds and with all our strength for all eternity. We ask all these things in the name of the only One without fault, Jesus Christ.

Our Manifest Destiny in Christ

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Jesus taught His disciples that they would receive far greater powers after He left them. He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to remind them of His teachings and to release in them the power that He promised to them.

When we receive Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we are indwelled by His Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit fulfills His calling to glorify Jesus, He declares the things that are to come into our lives through our relationship with Jesus. Just like the apostles did, we enter into a new phase of our lives. We move from whatever natural level of piety, prayer and devotion that we might have had in the past into a new supernatural level of devotion in our daily lives. We are then directed by the Holy Spirit into a personal, passionate relationship with Jesus.

Simultaneously, the Holy Spirit begins to lead us through the sanctification process. From that first moment of accepting Jesus and until our death, the Holy Spirit is shaping us into the person that God created us to be. As we go through the sanctification process, we go through a supernatural transformation. As we respond to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, our spiritual faculty is quickened so that we may understand and respond to unfathomed treasures that are in Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, as the Holy Spirit reveals the fullness of Jesus Christ to us, our manifest destiny that Jesus has prepared for us is also revealed. As we mature in Christ, we start walking in the life that God had planned for us from the beginning.

Let us invite the Holy Spirit to reveal our callings to us. Let us solicit the Holy Spirit to release the supernatural power that Jesus promised to His disciples of all times and seasons. Let us begin to walk the pathways of our manifest destinies in Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the treasures that are ours through Your Son, Jesus. We rejoice as the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus to lean on Him for every good thing through time and for all eternity. We pray, Lord, that we may join the Holy Spirit as He glorifies the name of Our Savior. May our work be derived from our devotion to Your Son. May those around us know us by our calling and may they be called in the same manner. We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our Sanctifier, Jesus Christ.

His Grace Toward Us is Not in Vain

1 Cor 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Everything that we have and everything that we are comes from Almighty God. To speak of ourselves as unworthy or incapable to do the work that the Lord has called us to do is an insult to the Creator. As the apostle Paul states in this passage, “His grace toward me was not in vain”.

In the eyes of Our Heavenly Father, through the blood sacrifice of His Son, we are seen in the image of the Son. We should carry ourselves and conduct our work for the Lord with the confidence of the heirs to His kingdom. The children of God should differ from the sons of men. We should live our lives by the standards that we are capable of through His grace and the presence and support of the Holy Spirit.

Only through our personal relationship with Our Redeemer can we let go the things of the world that are holding us in bondage. Only through submission to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King can we overcome our natural weaknesses and operate in the divine power of Our Creator for His good pleasure. Only by His grace can we become what He created us to be.

Let us steadfastly pursue the grace of Almighty God through our relationship with His Son, Jesus. Let us confidently seek and carry out the work that Our Heavenly Father has created us to do. Let us live boldly as heirs to His kingdom.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating each of us with a sovereign, gracious purpose for our lives. We bless the name of Jesus for shedding His blood so that we may be worthy to do the things that bring pleasure to You. We exalt the Holy Spirit for standing by us so that we may overcome our weaknesses. We rejoice in knowing that Your grace is not bestowed on us in vain. We pray for the strength to persevere in pursuing Your will for our lives and not our own. May the fruit of our efforts be for Your honor, Your glory and Your good pleasure. We ask all these things in the name of Your dearly beloved Son in whom You are well pleased, Jesus Christ.

Making Good Spiritual Decisions

Psalm 119:125
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

Discernment is one of the greatest gifts that we receive from the Holy Spirit. It is surely discernment that allows us to function properly in this out-of-control world that we live in. Without discernment we cannot recognize what is true and what is false. With the enemy working overtime to make what is right appear wrong and what is wrong to appear right, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to provide the understanding that we need to make good spiritual decisions.

It is by the grace of God, and not by our experiences in life, nor in any human teaching that we are able to understand the Word of God. We have the necessary enlightenment of God’s Word through our prayers, our study of the Scriptures and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. It is in this manner that God allows us to discern the gradual shades of evil that are introduced into to our lives everyday by the media and the humanist agenda. We have been subjected to small doses of re-written history and contrived teaching via the media until we wake up one day and we find that we have accepted things to be true that simply are not in accordance with God’s Word.

Let us seek the Holy Spirit to provide us with the clarity of mind to know the truth in all things. Let us live by and proclaim the statutes that God’s Holy Word teaches. Let us use our Holy Spirit inspired discernment to reject the errant messages being espoused by the world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of discernment that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who has given us victory over the evil that tries to change our understanding of Your truth. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will fill us with the understanding and discernment that we need to walk according Your statutes. May we seek Your truth daily. As we serve You, may the world know us by our living testimony to Your ways. We ask all these things in the name of the Word and the Truth, Jesus Christ.

Empowered Beyond Our Natural Capabilities

Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we are immediately and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit works in and through us to accomplish the will of God. His power leads us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do the work that God has set aside for us.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive all of His gifts: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We are provided these gifts so that we may proclaim the Good News of the Gospel through our living testimony.

The Holy Spirit’s powerful indwelling is an amazing gift we should never take lightly. Because the Spirit of the Lord is within us, we also receive the powers that Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would receive by way of the Spirit of God resting upon Him. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that Jesus would be endowed by the Holy Spirit. “And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 11:2

Let us live in the confidence and the power that the Holy Spirit gives us. Let us use the wisdom and understanding we are given to perceive the truth that God reveals to us so that we are able to convey it to others. Let us use the counsel and might that we have been given to originate, plan and execute the work that God calls us to do. Let us take our new found knowledge and fear of the Lord so we are able to live our lives surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gifts and the power that we receive through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We praise the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to receive this supernatural blessing that empowers us far beyond our natural capabilities. We pray that the influence and power of the Holy Spirit will be manifest in all that we do. We ask that we may be made fruitful vessels of the fullness of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Our Keeper and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Giving Thanks for the Grace that We have been Provided

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

As part of our Thanksgiving meal, we all take time to pause and thank our Heavenly Father for all of the love, protection and provision that we have enjoyed in our lives. We may even be humble enough to give thanks for our salvation. But do we take time to consider and give thanks for the awesome gift of grace that we receive from Almighty God each day? With the Christmas season of gift giving rushing toward us, let us be sure to add the gift of grace to our Thanksgiving list.

The ever flowing grace of God is what makes all the other blessings in our lives relevant. Not one of us would even accept the gift of salvation if we had not first received the gift of grace. Our sinful, human nature without the grace of God is simply incapable of accepting the idea that a Savior is needed for entry into the eternal kingdom of God. The greatest blessing that we receive in life, for which we should give thanks every day, is the supernatural grace that we are provided which allows us to acknowledge that we are destitute without Our Savior and we are powerless without His presence in our lives.

With the cherished moments of our Thanksgiving holiday fading away, let us take the opportunity to give thanks for the supernatural gift of God’s grace. Let us always be mindful that only through the grace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that our eyes are opened and our hearts are prepared so that we can see and accept the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we give thanks today for Your ever flowing gift of grace. We pray, Lord, that we will be acutely aware of how far we fall short of Your glory without Your grace. May our hunger for Your grace release the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May the Holy Spirit lift us up into the fullness of our lives in Christ. May the world know us by the fruit that we bear because of our acceptance of Your grace. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is the ultimate evidence of Your grace, Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Recognizing the Source of Our Joy on Thanksgiving

Nehemiah 8:10
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”

Each year since the Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving celebration feast in the early 1600’s, a day has been set aside in this country to take the time to come together to give thanks for all that we have been blessed with as a nation and as individuals. For followers of Jesus, it has been easy to give thanks and sincerely praise the Lord. As His disciples, we truly have been blessed. But more importantly, we have recognized/learned where our real blessings come from. We have continued to recognize our blessings and the source of our blessings as we went through pain, trouble, conflict and trials during different junctures in our lives. We may not have always been particularly happy about our circumstances, but we learned along the way that we could always find our joy and our strength in Jesus Christ.

On a national basis, the story is much different. As our nation has become more and more secular, a large portion of the population has spent their lives seeking happiness without any understanding of the true joy of living for Christ. Non-believers have bought into the idea that they can control their own happiness. It can be devastating to them when they realize that happiness is not something that they can create. It can be crushing to them when they realize that their circumstances are not something that they have control over. They have no place to turn when they hit their inevitable periods of pain, trouble, conflict and trials.

Let us take our thanks beyond the Thanksgiving table. Let us take time each day to give thanks for the source of our joy, Jesus Christ. Let us delight in Him. Let us praise Him for what He has done for us, how He is still working in us and what He promises us for all eternity. Let us show the world the powerful joy that is the source of our strength. Let us show the world how His joy transforms us and motivates us to serve Him. Let our joyful lives become a most appealing witness for a lost and hurting world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many blessings that You have poured onto our lives through Your grace, Your mercy and Your lovingkindness. We thank You for the trials that You have allowed in our lives which have deepened our trust in You. We bless the name of Jesus who provided the way for our eternal blessings. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will inspire us to take the joy that we have in Christ to share with those around us so that Your joy and gladness can be theirs for today and forever. We ask all these things in the name of the Joy of the World, Jesus Christ.