Thoughts on Healing … remembering to say, “Thank you”.

“As they went, they were healed.” - Luke 17:14b

 

Perhaps you may be familiar with the story of the 10 lepers. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem along the Samarian / Galilean border. The Jews had a serious hate for Samaritans ⁽¹⁾, whom they considered half-breeds and very unspiritual. 

It just so happened that on his way he came across 10 lepers on the side of the road. They were each crying out for Jesus to have mercy on them.  “Leprosy is a horrendous illness that affects the skin, eyes, nose, and peripheral nerves. Highly contagious, those who were diagnosed with leprosy were quarantined and isolated from the rest of society. Jewish law required that those with leprosy shout, “Unclean, unclean” when people approached, to avoid contaminating others. At the time of Jesus, there was no known cure which left those with leprosy without hope.” ⁽²⁾

Even though Jesus was moved with compassion for the plight of these men, instead of healing them right away he simply responded by telling them to go show themselves to the priests. As the men went the were healed. Whether it was gradual or instantaneous is not known, for scripture does not say, but regardless, they were healed on the way to follow Jesus’ instructions. Once they had completed that which they had been told to do only one man came back to Jesus, “praising God in a loud voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus to thank him” ^{(Luke 17:15-16)} The kicker is that this lone man was none other than a Samaritan. How about that. A foreigner was the only one to take the time to come back an undeclared distance by foot to praise God and thank Jesus.

We pray so often for healings, yet how many of us actually take the time to lift up the name of God in praise and thank him for his answer to our fervent prayers. Many of us do just that, but this post today is to remind us not to be like the 9 men who got healed from a very contagious, horrible disease, only to go on about their lives as if nothing significant had just taken place in their lives. It’s part of the healing process … being humble enough to thank God for all he has done for you.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

⁽¹⁾ “The Samaritans were half-Jew, half-Gentile. The race came about after the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C. Certain people from the nation of Israel stayed behind. These people intermarried with the Assyrians producing the Samaritans. They Had No Dealings with The Jews.” - taken from the Blue Letter Bible; contributor - Don Stewart

⁽²⁾  Taken from article titled 5 Lessons on Gratitude from Jesus Healing the 10 Lepers, authored by Becky Harling, who has published 11 books and is a popular Christian speaker. 

 

Resource: www.crosswalk.com

Word for the Day

 

Thoughts on Healing ... Persistent Prayer

 

            Yesterday I mentioned that prayer is the lifeblood of Christianity. It can also be one of the most difficult parts of being a believer. It’s easy to give up after you pray once or twice about something. The difficult part is continuously praying for something until you see the answer manifest itself. 

            When we pray for healing for ourselves or someone else, we must remain steadfast with our prayers until the mission is complete. I had been of the mind that praying once or twice about something on behalf of yourself or another was sufficient because God already knows our wants and needs, therefore, I was praying to bring the topic up to our all-knowing God … period. I was aware of the parable (story) of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Luke 18:1-8 tells the story. A widow sought justice against an adversary of hers from a judge who “neither feared God, not cared what people thought”. The widow came to him repeatedly until the unjust judge meted out justice on her behalf due to her persistence which had become an annoyance to the judge. Now the judge doesn’t represent God, for God is never annoyed with his children. The story is nothing more than an illustration of how we are to “always pray and not give up”. 

The lesson to be learned here is that “God may be pleased to answer a prayer very soon after the believer sends his request heavenward. But God may be just as pleased to withhold an answer for an extended time and require that the believer continue praying.” ⁽¹⁾ God already knows the outcome because he is the one who will bring it about. The prayers aren’t for him. The prayers are for us, to encourage us and give us something to trust God for and when the answer comes our faith shall be bolstered and our persistence shall be rewarded. 

 

“Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.”- Psalm 55:17

Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

⁽¹⁾  www.freesundayschoollessons.org

Thoughts on Healing ... when it doesn't come.

                  How do you explain the death of a woman’s husband to her when he was her whole life? If they’re not a Christian, how to you tell them about God when God heals yet didn’t choose to heal him? That same question applies to those who know Christ. What do you say? What can you say? Let’s face it, there is nothing that you say that will be a salve on the wound. At least not at first. Prayerfully approaching them is a must. Sometimes just sitting with them, holding their hand can be a comfort. Being Jesus to them in their hour of incredible need. 

                  The loss of a loved one can be devastating depending on how close you were to that individual. A sense of deep loss, combined with the fact that you will never see them again on this earth has the potential to drive you into a very deep depression if you let it. Those in that position often don’t have what it takes to mentally, emotionally or spiritually combat depression. A sense of despondency arrives on the heels of the depression. The closer the person was to you the worst it can be. I know some folks who have lost a spouse and simply put never get over the loss. The memory of them lingers, which can be a good thing to a point, but some folks allow that loss to stunt their life to the point where they never feel ready to move on. How do you minister to these folks? Praying for them without them being present can be helpful because prayer is a life blood for the Christian. I say without them being present because depending how fresh the wound is, it only reopens the wound and causes renewed pain when reminded of the loss even through prayer. In person prayer can come at a later date. Be led by the Holy Spirit in that regard.

                  I remember clearly when my mom passed away way too early in her life. She died of pancreatic cancer at 53 years old. I wasn’t a believer at the time and wasn’t at all prepared for it. Quite frankly, you never know when a life will end so we should always try to make the most of our time with loved ones. I take comfort in the fact that I believe she received Christ before she died. But she died before I received Christ for myself and so when my sister told me I would see her in heaven I flew into a bit of a rage saying I wanted to be with her now. At 24 years of age, I was disillusioned and mad at a God who would take my mother away from me. I had been away at college and not spent all that much time with her. I still miss her but being saved 2 years after her death has helped bring me comfort. 

                  So even when we have no words to say to those who have suffered loss, our presence shows that we care and that can be more than enough. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts on Healing ...

                  Scripture clearly tells us thru Paul’s own words that he had been afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”. ^{(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)} What this was is not stated, however, it was something that bothered him enough to plead for God to remove it 3x ^{(2 Cor. 12:8)}. “Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job ^{(Job 1:1-12)}, God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.” ⁽¹⁾ Was it an illness, a literal thorn, a serious injury that hampered his physical abilities, some sort of spiritual problem or a temptation? Speculation abounds, but the reality is we shall never know for sure. Suffice it to say it was a bother to the great Apostle, something he had to learn to live with.

                  When we pray for healing and don’t receive it isn’t it possible that we may be expected to live with it until our healing comes, understanding that death may be that which brings us relief. I hate to put it that way, for it even sounds to me like a defeatist attitude, but that may just be the reality of it. There is no doubt we will be completely well in glory land for the Bible tells us we shall suffer no pain or sorrow in heaven. ^{(Revelation 21:4)} You see, God sees what we are unable to see. He sees how our attitude toward an unanswered prayer can speak volumes to someone outside God’s family. Are we to carry with us a case of the mulligrubs, complaining about our affliction until even WE grow tired of hearing us complain? Or knowing God is merciful and compassionate, are we to seek the lesson to be learned and pray for patience and fortitude to carry on in spite of the issue at hand. 

                  Paul stated his problem, yet I don’t see anywhere in scripture where he constantly complained about his “thorn”. Now don’t get me wrong, complaining is a natural human response for mortals who do not like the situation they are in, and I believe it is only our Lord who can lift us out of the mulligrubs. There are times when we are in considerable and constant pain, and we wonder where on earth the answer to our request for healing is. It is on the way yet may not be for some time. It’s a matter of trust. We know God heals and we know He does not show favorites. What He has done in the past He still does today, yet our impatience can be our undoing. 

                  Physically healing can be a frustrating deal. We may know someone who has been healed. My ex-mother-in-law received a brand-new heart, as evidenced but those exact words coming from the surgeon who was planning to perform triple by-pass surgery on her that very morning. Even he stated it was a miracle. So where is my miracle … where is yours?  I’m afraid I do not have the answer to that question. But I go with what I know. That God is good, and God is fair, and God is just and God does heal in His time, in His way, for reasons known to Him alone. We can rest in that knowledge or not, it’s our choice. But God DOES still heal today. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: www.gotquestions.org, www.crossway.org

Thoughts on Healing ...

                     We’ve been talking about when our prayers for healing don’t get answered, but perhaps we should have started with the most basic question that needs to be answered first … how do we know God hears our prayers? On the heels of the question “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” needs to be “Does God care for me?” or “Does God see my needs?”. Scripture is very clear regarding that topic: “… your (Heavenly) Father knows what you need before you ask him.” ^{(Matthew 6:8)} Therefore God knows your needs without question. But does He care for you? "Cast your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you." ^{(1 Peter 5:7)} “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”^{(Nahum 1:7)} “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” ^{(Psalm 55:22)} So if you ever think to yourself that God must not care about you or your needs, whether they be physical, financial, or material, know that is an attack from the enemy for the scriptures above tell you something very different. 

                  If the answer to your prayers happens to be “No”, you must understand that God sees the big picture, something we are incapable of doing. God can see the negative things that will come with that which you are asking for. If could also mean He has something better in store. God looks at everything from an eternal perspective. We look at the here and now. God has no time or space restraints. He is ubiquitous, in that He is all places at the same time by His Spirit. This what being Omnipresent means and it is one of His key attributes, along with Omnipotence (all-powerful) and Omniscience (knowing all that can be known).

                  God is never late or early, but always on time. We are easily bored, discouraged, frustrated and impatient, which makes the wait all that more painful. At times such as those our faith is being stretched. There are many things we don’t know and yet God knows it all. We need to trust that His way is the right way, and we must stop thinking and fretting about the answer that has the potential of never coming. There could be a variety of reasons known only to God as to why you aren’t receiving an answer to your prayer(s).  You must remember, without a definitive date to hang your hat on, we can never know when or even if we will receive an answer to our prayers. To know is to not exercise our faith, for faith is believing what you cannot see as if you can. And if your answer doesn’t come this side of heaven, it will come on the other side. You only think you need your answer instantly, but in reality, God knows exactly when it is needed and as said earlier, is ALWAYS on time. So chase from your mind His lack of love or understanding regarding any part of your life and / or immediate situation. He knows us far better than we will ever know ourselves. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.hopeforthebrokenhearted.com/when-your-prayers-arent-answered/

Thoughts on Healing ...

In my 2^nd installment on Healing, I am pulling info from Paul Balius’ site, ‘He Has You’. I encourage you to visit Paul’s blog (link at the bottom) when you get the chance.

There is no doubt that we can grow tired of praying for the same thing over and over, but as I pointed out in the 1^stwriting, scripture says He WILL heal you, but He never says WHEN. We pray for healing, not in the form of a command, but a request, expecting He will do it, but knowing without a shadow of a doubt that He is able to. We have the easy part in that we simply must ask for that which we wish to manifest before us or within us. We pray and leave the rest to God. One of two outcomes will take place; 1) our faith will be lifted or 2) our faith will be tested. Make no mistake about it, God never fails even when He doesn’t happen to answer with an instantaneous healing. Now instantaneous means “without any perceptible delay”. So it should be pretty obvious if it is or isn’t going to happen right away.

                  Now there are a few things we know about God. He’s not deaf, He never makes a mistake, and He will never fail to do for us that which will be for our greatest benefit and His greatest glory. God wishes to see in us a faith that believes in Him to do whatever we need done and trusts Him with His decisions, whenever they happen to materialize. “We can either worry about it or trust God with it”. ⁽¹⁾

 

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}

 

Pray in faith for the best possible outcome and go about your business believing that the wheels in heaven have begun to turn on your behalf. And don’t ever become tired of laying the same request before God each time you pray. “Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers and remember to be thankful when they come.” ^{(Colossians 4:2 TLB)}

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}.  

I will write about persistence in prayer next time. Until then, walk with the King today and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.hehasyou.org

(1) Paul Balius.

Thoughts on Healing ...

     I’ve been curious about the whole healing question, regarding why some are healed by God, and some are not. I’ve decided to take a deep dive into the subject and today is my first installment.

                  For starters I looked at two different websites to see what they had to say. There are several things that I found NOT to be true about healing or the fact that one isn’t healed. It doesn’t have anything to do with God’s lack of love for you or that He arbitrarily heals whom He wills, leaving others on the outside of His healing touch. It has nothing to do with your not having enough faith. The frank and honest answer to why some are healed and some are not is that we really have no idea why. That may sound like a cop out but think about it. God heals. Scripture is flooded with verses on the subject. Faith as small as a seed no bigger than a pin head is all that is required to do great things in God’s name, so believing He will heal us is not typically the problem. Some are healed instantly, some progressively and some not at all and we have no real idea why. God says He will heal us but He never says when. We know without a shadow of a doubt that we will be healed when we arrive in heaven. It seems arbitrary to us I’m sure, but God does indeed have His reasons. 

                  We may not have a clue why someone isn’t healed, but God does. God gets blamed for far too much of the sickness and disease that we experience. We accept the fact that we do not have all the answers, but there ARE answers. Even if they are answers that we never know this side of Heaven, there are answers and they would no doubt make sense to us if we knew them. 

                  Waiting for anything nowadays is difficult for much of society. We want instantaneous gratification. We want to be healed and we want to be healed NOW. Not in a year, not in a month, not tomorrow, not in an hour, but NOW. God doesn’t work that way most of the time and He certainly doesn’t take orders from us. Inquiring minds want to know the seemingly unknowable, but answers are not forthcoming. Some are healed and some aren’t until they pass over the river Jordan, so to speak and that appears to be the reality of it.

                  I hope this sheds a tiny beam of light on the subject of healing. I’ll keep digging to see what else I can find out on the subject. Until next time, walk with the king and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: www.christianhealingmin.org, www.gospelcoalition.org

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            Anger & frustration are two very real emotions that effect everyone at one time or another. For the Christian, it’s just a matter of showing our humanness to the world. The world expects us to be perfect and judges us harshly if we’re not. But we are not perfect … far from it. At times like that I think we forget for the moment just who God is and who we are IN Him. While there is nothing wrong with being angry or frustrated in and of itself, if it festers, we start to have a problem. Our focus has shifted due to our circumstances. We have become Peter in the Sea of Galilee and we have begun to sink. Our problem is that we forget to reach out for Jesus. 

                  It’s pretty incredible that with all the reading and listening to the word we do we still end up mired in the mess at times. But we ARE very much human. We are not all we can be. We are frail and broken. We allow ourselves to be unduly influenced by this corrupt, evil, sin-sick world. We allow ourselves to be fooled by the evil forces that have lined up against us. We too easily forget why God saved us … to positively influence this world for Him and in His name; to plant and water the seeds of salvation.

                  There are many verses in scripture that speak to the issue of personal anger. Having said that we have no doubt had a personal experience or two revealing that frustration can lead to anger and not having an outlet to vent your anger can lead to frustration. Paul tells the church brethren in Ephesus to “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.” ^{(Ephesians 4:26-27)} If Satan can trip you up in a weak area of your walk with Christ, he will take full advantage of it. A couple verses down from the above verses lie this: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” ^{(Ephesians 4:31-32)} Ah, that is the kill shot right there; “as God in Christ forgave you”. We have no rebuttal to that, no reply whatsoever. God forgave us at our worst, so who  are we to judge ANYONE else?  We mustn’t compare ourselves to others, but rather to God. This will reveal to us how desperate our situation truly is. 

                  Paul’s letter to the Apostle James says the following: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, (and) slow to anger.”^{(James 1:19)} So you see that scripture references anger quite a bit. There are many more, this was just a few. You’re certainly allowed to get angry, but you aren’t supposed to allow it to elevate to the point where you step over the line and become completely un-Christ-like. Vent your anger and/or frustration with a family member, a trusted friend or your Pastor to deflate the situation. I use the term “deflate” because it can be exactly like letting the air out of a balloon.  Venting can be healthy … it can keep your blood pressure from rising to an unsafe level.  Asking God to calm you down is a very appropriate prayer at a decisive moment. Allow the love Christ has for you to spill over and put out the fiery embers of anger and frustration, thus remaining a positive, Christ-like example to those you deal with each day. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

                  

Was Jesus denying His divinity?

"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:17-18).

                  In the gospel of Mark a rich, young ruler kneels before Jesus and starts off his conversation by addressing the Lord as “good teacher”.  It’s interesting that while the ruler had a question for Jesus, the Lord’s response was focused on the fact that the ruler called Him ‘good’. Did Jesus in effect deny His being God? Why would He say what he said if He were God?

                  The rest of Jesus’ conversation with this young man was designed to reveal the man’s true heart condition and motivation. Jesus asking why the man called him ‘good’ was possibly referencing the statement in Psalm 14:3, where it says, “there is no one who does good, not even one.” Therefore, He was not denying His own deity, but rather pointing out to the rich, young ruler that he, in fact, wasn’t quite as good as he seemed to think he was.

                  The Lord continued, now about eternal life. A man had to obey the commandments to achieve eternal life with the Father. The ruler assured Jesus he had kept all the commandments since he was a child. This provided proof, as far as the man was concerned, that he was righteous, but what Jesus said next would test the heart of this man. In verse 21 it says, “You lack one thing: go, sell all you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.” Jesus was asking him to relinquish everything he owned and follow Him.

                  The ruler’s response came without him saying a word, you see, he was very wealthy and wasn’t willing to give everything up to follow Christ. With this conversation Jesus revealed the fact that the young ruler wasn’t good, but selfish, choosing to retain his material wealth over obedience to the Lord. The reality is that he can’t take his wealth and belongings with him when he dies, and those resources could one day potentially dry up. 

                  After Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles would shine a spotlight on the contrast between the law and salvation by faith. Following the law was rigid living, following Christ was filled with grace and truth. The young ruler walked away dejected, between he thought living out the law each day was the right thing to do. It was normal for Jews of that day to assume allegiance to the law was necessary to get to heaven, Jesus’ existence and ministry blew a major hole is that premise. He was the very essence of grace and truth. John  1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.compellingtruth.org

http://www.minidevos.blogspot.com

Cell: (848) 240-1293

Why Did Jesus Have to Die for Our Sins?

                 To say, “Jesus died for our sins,” is really to say, “Jesus died because of our sins.”.  Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” According to scripture we were all sinners committed to a sentence of death with no way to stop sinning and no way to remove the sin. By His immeasurable grace (undeserved favor) Jesus willingly and willfully chose to die in our place. Jesus took the full punishment that was due us on Himself. His was a substitutionary death, in that He substituted Himself for us. As if all that wasn’t enough, He prayed that we would be forgiven. Since Jesus paid the debt we owed, God forgave all who have placed complete and unwavering trust in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 2:1-10)

                  Christ’s death and resurrection means that whoever places their faith in Him will have total access to the Father. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is “… the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except thru me.” Sin created a chasm between man and God … Christ bridged that chasm.  Upon Christ’s death all the OT sacrifices were made null and void. Those sacrifices were temporary anyway, having to be repeated annually for the forgiveness of sin. Hebrews 10:10 makes it clear: “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” Christ was the remedy for annual atonement.

               Christ’s death and resurrection means we’re guaranteed forgiveness when we accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Galatians 3:22 says, “the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” 1 Peter 3:18 proclaims: “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.” May God’s grace and mercy be yours this day and may your faith in Him never falter. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries                 

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            This is the 2nd time in the last few weeks that I felt the Lord telling me about 'inconsequential conversations'. This means being involved in trivial chatter. Perhaps this is just for me or perhaps it is for the church at large. At this time I don't know. I was very quiet today and a few folks at church noticed. I was being introspective ... trying to monitor my speech, to see where I go verbally when I talk to someone. This is not an effort to restrict what I or anyone else says privately or publicly. Not at all. I feel the Holy Spirit may be leading me to another spiritual place in my walk. I suppose I'm mentioning it in this public setting to my readers because being no respecter of persons as God is, what applies to me could potentially apply to any one or all of you. 

            I have felt warned by the Lord to be very careful who I listen to and/or speak with and even more importantly be careful what I say.  False biblical info is being presented, false prophesies abound, false declarations regarding God Himself are being made ... what the future holds for believers and nonbelievers I cannot say for I do not know at this time.

            Now, more than ever before we, as believers in and followers of Christ must seek wisdom and divine discernment. God will reveal to us what is from Him and what is from the enemy if we truly seek to know. It should go without saying that we are not only God's ambassadors to a sin sick and dying world, but also the army of God armed with His word and the Spirit. Always remember, we learn nothing new when we are speaking. It is only when we not just listen but truly HEAR that we gain Godly knowledge.

            We just celebrated Christ's resurrection Sunday. Jesus didn't go thru all He did for us to sit by the roadside as a spectator. If nothing else we can pray. Lift up the Lord and worship Him. Enter into the fray with your spiritual armor on (Ephesians 6:10-18). Be mindful of your surroundings and speak truth to those around you. We are currently at war with the enemy of our souls. We have been for a long time, but he has stepped up his game because the time is rapidly coming when he will no longer be able to avoid his judgment, which is most assuredly coming. Stay true to your faith. Do not buckle under the pressure for the Lord Himself resides in you in the person of the Holy Spirit. We have nothing to fear. Rest in the Lord and trust Him, for it is only thru Almighty God that any resolution can come.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

http://www.minidevos.blogspot.com

Cell: (848) 240-1293

Thoughts from a Random Mind

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’.” — Luke 23:34 KJV 

Good Friday is past. The day of infamy. The day when pain was inflicted on Jesus. Let’s look at two of the important elements that were part of the day. The crown of thorns and the spikes themselves.

The crown of thorns was made from a bush that was prevalent in that region. The branches were soft and pliable, thus making them easy to weave into a circular crown-like item. The thorns on this bush were numerous, roughly 1.2 inches long and very, very sharp. When the Roman soldiers placed it on the head of Jesus it was not intended to be an instrument of pain, even though it says in scripture that He was hit on the head with a reed stick multitude times (Mark 15:19). The crown was meant to mock Jesus as the King of the Jews, for Pilate had asked Him if He were in fact their King (Matthew 27:11). Jesus’ reply (“You have said it.”) apparently led Pilate to accept that as an affirmation.  The sharp thorns were bound to draw a certain amount of blood upon Jesus’ forehead, whether intended or not. 

               Once at the place where the crucifixion would actually take place, they laid Jesus’ shoulders down on the crossbeam and stretched out both His arms. The spikes they used to attach His body to the crossbeam were roughly 9 inches long and square, coming to a point on one end.  A wooden disc was placed over the body part to be spiked in insure it didn’t come off the spike due to the person’s bod weight. The spikes were driven through the flesh where the Ulna and Radius bones meet. This would make sure the spike didn’t rip thru the flesh on the hand which would have happened if the spike was nailed thru the palm of the hand as is shown in cinematic versions of the crucifixion. 

The act of crucifixion was a horrible way to die. In Jesus’ case, in His weakened state, it would have been nearly impossible for Him to push Himself up with His spiked feet to catch His breath. Normally, the soldiers would hasten a victim’s death by asphyxiation breaking their legs so they would die quicker. In Jesus case, when they came to Him, He had already passed away so there was no need to break his legs.

It is said that crucifixion was the most ghastly, horrific form of torture used to kill someone. Jesus volunteered to endure this most egregious form of death so we wouldn’t have to suffer the tortures of hell for all eternity. Never forget what was done for you to free you from your sin. If you haven’t yet sought forgiveness from your sinful life, now is the best time to pray to God for the gift of forgiveness. Let God change your life forever so you can live with Him for all eternity. 

Always remember the truth of the Gospel. "The amazing news of the Gospel is not that we can receive Jesus into our lives but that He's already received us into His." *

 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Taken from song THE GOSPEL by Ryan Stevenson.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                   It’s been beautiful weather in Jersey these last couple days. The kind of days you want to take a walk. Jesus took a walk on a day that was probably hot and dusty, since His walk was in Israel where the climate is different than here, as well as the terrain. His walk was life altering. His walk was historic. His walk would save all of mankind.

                  Scholars and theologians speculate that the cross Jesus was made to carry more than likely weighed around 300 lbs. The crossbar was estimated to weight somewhere between 70-110 lbs., depending on the length, width, and thickness of the piece. It has also been surmised that Jesus probably carried just the crossbeam, which would have been torture enough given His physical state at that time. Having lost a large amount of blood, He would have been significantly weakened, which is why a man named Simon from Cyrene was pulled from the crowd that had gathered to carry the crossbar the remaining way to the crest of Golgotha’s hill. The road Jesus travelled was later referred to as the “Via de la Rosa”, “the way of suffering”. 

                  Just how far did Jesus carry the crossbar before He collapsed under the weight of it? There is really no way of knowing for sure, but some took an educated guess and said He carried it 650 yards. If that’s true that would be the equivalent of walking the length of 6.5 football fields. That’s a pretty long distance, especially since Jesus had been beaten bloody and was barely able to stand let alone carry anything roughly 90 lbs. across His shoulders. I would like you to take a moment, close your eyes and try to get a mental image of that scene as a bloodied, physically exhausted Jesus struggled to make His way to the place where He would die. 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

       My definition of joy does not include being beaten to within an inch of my life, yet scripture tells us that “for the joy set before Him (willingly) endured the cross” ^{(Hebrews 12:2)}. I cannot even imagine what was going thru Jesus’ mind at that time. Seems to me that would have been an optimum time to have an out of body experience. 

                  My personal threshold of pain is very low, so the thought of enduring the pain Christ had to go thru boggles my mind and makes me cringe all at the same time. The thought of the scourge tearing chunks of flesh from His body, allowing blood to pour forth is painful in and of itself.  He went thru all that for you and me and while I am grateful, I am also sad that my sin, in part, caused that to be necessary. 

                  This week, Holy Week, is a somber reminder of what came before Christ’s glorious resurrection and while I know some believers recoil at the gory details I share, I feel it is very necessary to know in detail all that was required to expunge not just my sin, but the sins of all peoples for all time. The weight of that sin must have been incredible, yet “for the joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross”. May we never, ever forget the horrific price that was paid so that we could be set free from the sin that had entangled us. May the name of Jesus Christ be glorified forevermore, for He alone is our Lord and the Savior of the world. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing. 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  It's curious to me that while so many people ask how you are, most aren't interested in the receiving your answer. If we truly told people how we are they'd be looking for any reason to detach themselves from that particular situation very quickly.

                  As for me, I find myself saying HI to just about everyone at work.  I’m just a friendly guy. When I ask how someone is I really want to know. There have been countless times just asking how someone is can lead to a brief conversation that reveals the need for prayer. Sometimes I pray right then and there with the person, sometimes I send the request to my Prayer Posse so we can all pray or at times I do both. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way bragging or looking for the accolades of men. It’s just that God presents me with opportunities, and I try to represent Him as best I can with the Spirit’s help.

                  Because of my physical stature (6’5”, 320 lbs) and the fact that the Holy Spirit is within me, people seem to be drawn to me. From time to time I try a certain sociological experiment. I go thru the day NOT saying HI to people to see how many say HI to me without me saying anything. I find the results quite interesting. Many of the people pass by without saying a word. If I initiate the greeting they respond. If I don’t, they are silent. Curious, isn’t it. You can also tell a lot about a person when you begin to tell them how you really are … watch for their reaction. If it appears canned or mechanical, then perhaps they really don’t care all that much. I think most people don’t expect you to tell them how you’re really doing.  The people I like are the ones who, without you saying a thing, recognize that you might be in pain or some sort of mild distress and ask if you’re alright. Those folks show themselves to be legitimately caring for their fellow man/woman.

                  All this begs the question: Have we become too impersonal as a society? Maybe so. Only we can change that. We all (myself included) need to become more selfless and less selfish. Only God can bring about that change. Ask for it and you will receive it. It requires cultivation over time. We can do it. That will be one way the masses will see Jesus in us. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  Forgiveness is the key to the Christian faith. Without forgiveness there is no difference between Christianity and the other religions. Being the best version of yourself is meaningless without forgiveness, for we are still steeped in sin and sin cannot abide in God’s presence. Being the best version of yourself without a conversion event that takes you to a different path is without merit. Being forgiven must lead us to become more like our creator. The culmination of our walk down an appointed path is to become like Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions. 

                  But what if the forgiveness must come from another of God’s creations, namely a friend, family member or even your Pastor? How are they wired? Are they of a mind to readily forgive or do they want their pound of flesh, so to speak? Needing to be forgiven by someone other than God can be a shame filled endeavor. I’d like to think that there would exist some Holy Spirit conviction in the mix of emotions when seeking forgiveness as well.

                  God is ready to forgive at all times, man on the other hand, isn’t always so amenable. Especially if they are unsaved. However, some unsaved folks can be far more gracious regarding doling out forgiveness than those who are part of the family of God. They may judge you, which is totally inappropriate for a believer to do, but sadly it happens. He who has no skeletons in their closet may throw the first stone. 

                  Live in the light of forgiveness from a loving Savior who wishes all of us peace and prosperity even as our soul prospers. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  The group Alabama had a song back in 1992 off their American Pride album called “I’m in a Hurry (to get things done)”. It talks about being in hurry every day and not knowing why. The chorus goes “I’m in a hurry to get things done. Rush and rush until life’s no fun. All I gotta do is live and die. I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.” 

                  You take you life in your hands driving anywhere these days. The parkway in the morning seems more like the Daytona Motor Speedway than a commuter roadway. People speed thru neighborhoods and parking lots. What is up with that?  Is it a ‘need for speed’, is everyone late to be somewhere? What is it? Why do people rush so much? Peace seems like such an elusive place for a lot of people, in that they are simply unable to find it. Perhaps it’s because they don’t slow down enough to consider their options. 

The enemy has created so many seemingly important, yet actually meaningless ‘things’ to do that we drive ourselves crazy trying to keep up with it all. If the devil can keep you busy, really busy rushing around then theoretically you will end up exhausted at the end of the day and have no time to devote to God. Therein lies our problem. We must break the cycle of rushing around by reprioritizing our time. That won’t happen overnight due to current obligations, but it is something we must look at doing sooner rather than later. 

                  This world will run you into the ground if you let it. That is NOT from God. We must not seek to make the time, but rather TAKE the time to be with God … reading His Word, praying and communing with Him for THAT is how we find peace. Real peace is to be a state of tranquility. Having a sense of serenity … peace of mind. If you truly want peace in your life, ask for it & seize it … it’s there for the taking. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                You know, I don’t think anyone could ever call me a racist. Why do I say that? Because even before I was a Christian, I simply never thought of one race any differently than another. Black, Oriental, Hispanic, Latino, etc. they are all pretty much the same to me. I mean the fact of the matter is that we truly are all the same under the skin.

                  When God created us, He made us all unique. Like snowflakes, no two people are alike. Our looks & personalities are unique to each individual. Even identical twins are different. We never know everyone’s heart motivation, but God does. That’s one of the things that makes Him far superior to His creation.

                  Hate is an ugly emotion. The reason one person or a group of people hate another person or entity can seem pretty ridiculous on the surface, but not to those who hate. We need to spread love and not hate for there is no overall lasting benefit to hate. It only breeds animosity and violence. Love promotes forgiveness, which is a noble cause any day of the week. Unconditional forgiveness mends fences, as in relationships. So ask God to help you see others the way He sees them and the world will be a better place. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  It’s funny how the Lord works thru us. Not funny HAHA, but funny interesting. There are many times that the Lord uses you and you don’t even realize it till later or sometimes you don’t realize it at all. I pray that God will bless me, not so that I am blessed, but so that I can take that blessing and bless someone else. We never know in what form that blessing will come. I’m told I am a blessing just for praying for someone. Funny, but I pray for people all the time and I suppose I never really thought of it as blessing someone. Therefore we need to be in tune with the Spirit of God that resides within us. 

                  Not everyone has the Holy Spirit within them. People who surrender their life and their will over to God receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide them. Being attentive to the Spirit within can lead you into some incredible situations. Don’t allow this world and all its inherent distractions crowd out the Spirit’s voice within. Stay focused on the Lord as much as is humanly possible. Ask Him for discernment, seek His wisdom. God wants you to not just have it but to utilize it in your daily life. Don’t allow the enemy to shift your focus off where you know it belongs, because he’s always trying. When that happens calmly refocus on Christ and allow His peace to slice thru the chaos the devil wishes to besiege you with. The devil is a defeated foe and knowing that he is ruthlessly desperate to drag you off course. Run your race on your terms, not his. Pace yourself, it’s not a sprint. Allow yourself to remain at peace. Draw on the peace of Christ. Drink it in like a cool, clear, fresh drink of living water.

                   It’s not that I’m such a blessing, rather that I try to be obedient to what I feel in my heart and spirit God would have me say and do each day. Seek the face of God daily and ask Him how He would like to use you today. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory.

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

              When I reflect on my life from time to time, I realize the times I took a misstep that ended up having negative consequences. Being a guy who apparently doesn’t learn my lessons the first time I stumbled thru several different versions of the same event. Fortunately for me I eventually “get it” and move forward. 

                  At times I can be a little slow on the uptake, if you know what I mean. Doesn’t mean I’m stupid, just a little ignorant regarding certain things. Now take the Lord, for instance. There’s a lot I know, but there’s a lot more I don’t know. Yet God wants to use me despite my flaws, faults and failures. You see He doesn’t see any of us the way we see ourselves. He sees us thru the eyes of love. He sees the potential that exists within us. He knows we aren’t perfect, and neither shall we ever be. But He loves us anyway. 

                  There’s an old chorus we used to sing many years ago in the first church I attended after I gave my life over to the Lord. It was in the early 80s when I first heard it. It’s called ‘Such Love’ and the chorus goes like this: “Such love, such wondrous love. Such love, such wondrous love. That God could love a sinner such as I, how wonderful is love like this.” We are loved just the way we are, no conditions, no subtractions, no hesitation, no regret … God loves us eternally and nothing can ever change that. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

“Our daily prayer should be ‘Lord, let me see what you see and let me love what you love, in Jesus' name, Amen’". - RL Keller

 

            As we struggle thru this life, we too easily forget that it doesn’t have to be a struggle at all. The Lord desires to make our burdens light, but we insist on carrying it all by ourselves. It is only when we stumble and fall on our face that we cry out to God for help. 

We readily judge people based on externals instead of accepting the fact that God created them too and loves them just as much as He loves us, no more and no less. God looks at the motivation of a person’s heart, something we are incapable of doing. That’s why He’s God and we’re not. 

            His love for us is so outrageously immense that nothing can cause it to dissipate. The key to loving one another, I think, is to pray that simple prayer shown at the top of this post. God revealed that to me thru a song I heard a while back. We can get spiritually fed by any number of various means; sermons, Bible teachings, reading scripture, listening to the lyrics of songs, and so on. We should be focused into the source of that food. We should listen for God’s voice in all we read, listen to, or watch.  We should ask for the discernment and wisdom of Solomon, the wisest man to ever live.  If God granted it to him, He would grant it to any one of us. The Lord is no respecter of persons. What He does for one, He can and will do for another.

            So make it a pledge to God that you will earnestly seek that which He sees and loves each day. You see, once you became a Christian, the path you were on shifted. You are now on the upward path that leads straight to heaven. Don’t you wish to be all you can be in Christ? Don’t you want God to use you to further His kingdom? Our desires must line up with God’s if we’re ever going to be at all like Him. We can’t do it alone.  That’s exactly why the Holy Spirit came to dwell within us, because we can’t do it alone. God knew that, so that is precisely why we received the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you follow this advice, you will not regret it. Your life will never be the same again. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Word for the Day

“BECAUSE OF THE JOY AWAITING HIM…”

HEBREWS 12:2 “…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” 

                  I ran Cross Country in high school and though I wasn’t any good, I certainly knew what it took to BE a good runner. You had to build up your endurance by running and you didn’t run on smooth surfaces all the time. Many times we’d hit the road and run 5-8 miles up and down big hills and thru the country roads miles behind the school. At that time the races were on a predetermined course either on the school grounds or neighboring roads around the school. The races were 2.5 miles back in the early 70’s. You had to work very hard to achieve the stamina and endurance needed to win or for that matter, just finish the race. So when the writer of Hebrews talks about running the race God sets before us with endurance, I know exactly what he’s talking about.

                  And what about the ‘joy awaiting Jesus’ … what’s that all about. He knew He was going to be beaten to within an inch of his life and had just asked His Father if there was any way to take ‘this cup’ away from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let us remember that He left that Garden having be resolute regarding His fate. He wished to perform the Father’s will and not His own. Also remember, He was 100% human & 100% divine. Naturally the divine side won out, but not before the human side had its’ say.

                  Hanging on a criminal’s cross garnered a certain amount of shame, but Jesus totally disregarded the shame scripture says. Once He galvanized His own will to line up with the Fathers, He set Himself as a flint to go about the Father’s business. Without Christ’s blood there is no salvation … no forgiveness for sin. It had to be done this way, so Jesus acquiesced to the Father’s will and willingly endured that which no innocent man should have had to endure. And it says He did it joyfully, even resolutely, to save the souls of all mankind. What a mighty God we serve! Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Bible used: Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishing, latest copyright is 2005.