Just A Frame Of Life

You ever have one of those moments where someone is real honest with you in a good way and it’s like God puts a big flashy sign over their head that says:

!INSERT MY TRUTH HERE!

Well I had one of those moments the other day! I was at the store buying some soda and such and I came across this picture frame that had one of my favorite bible verses on it.

“⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails...”

So I thought I wanna get that and hang it up. I love it when God takes something little and does something huge with it! I got to the register and realized I didn’t really need everything and so I put the frame off to the side. The cashier told me my total, and then looked over and thought she missed the frame as part of my order. Before I could tell her it wasn’t, she took the frame, and read the verse.  Her facial expression shifted and then she looked at me and said something I’ll never forget:

“I have to admit, that is one of the most beautiful verses I’ve ever heard…” Then her face went from a big smile, to a very troubled looked and she finished her thought with, “But it’s not true.”

My heart broke for her… A few moments later I found that her view of love was much different than the one that is described in the verse. Her view of love is the love that is generated from person to person. You know, how you love your friends. The Greek term for that is Philo. This is not the Greek term that is used here in this verse though. The Greek term used in this verse is Agape. This is an all consuming, unconditional love. The love that is there and never ends. The love I described in my previous blog “Neither Height Nor Depth.” 

I looked at this cashier and explained to her that her statement is half true. The puzzled look on her face allowed me to continue letting her know that when we rely on only the love of people, of course love will eventually fail. However, the AGAPE love of Jesus Christ does not and won’t ever fail!  I told her that when you love someone and your love is generated by Christ himself, that is a love that never fails!

The problem with most people is that we are too afraid to love others like Christ loves us! Let us remember:

^"18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 JOHN 4:18

It’s love that is generated by full surrender that Never fails.

NEWS FLASH: If you are not FULLY SURRENDERED to Christ, you have no ability to AGAPE another human being!

It’s the sacrificial love of the cross that changes the hearts of men and women. It’s that love that rose him from the dead. It’s that love that we as believer are called to show #1 to God, #2 to Our Brother and Sisters in the Lord, and #3 to the Deceived and the LOST.

Beloved, I pray that we can take the way we love one another and other a step deeper today! Secondly, to all the readers today that have been hurt by someone who is an acclaimed Christian, I want to apologize on behalf of the Living Body of Christ himself and ask for forgiveness!

I love you all and remember:

AGAPE Never Fails

Simply Amazing!

I know this is a long quote from scripture, but i read this and feel like there are people who need to read this. So amazing! Just a reminder, this was all done before the death and resurrection of Jesus. Please read, the Bible says that the word of God is Living and Active!

Matthew 10

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

 ¹He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil^[a] spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.  ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
 ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[b]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; ¹⁰take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
 ¹¹"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. ¹²As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. ¹⁵I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. ¹⁶I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
 ¹⁷"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
 ²¹"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²²All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
 ²⁴"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,^[c] how much more the members of his household!
 ²⁶"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny^[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
 ³²"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
 ³⁴"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn
   " 'a man against his father,
      a daughter against her mother,
   a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
    ³⁶a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'^[e]
 37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
 ⁴⁰"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. ⁴²And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Jesus I pray that you guide the hearts of you people. I pray that you draw the Lost and Deceived to the Truth! I love you, and in Jesus name I pray. Amen

What Will He Find?

I had an interesting experience at my job the other week. It was one of those times where your boss’, boss’, boss’ boss came in to take a look at the store. I started to notice something that was interesting. My manager and her boss were very attentive to the detail of the store. All our managers were focused on making sure the store looked spotless. Furthermore, when The Big Man (This is what I’ll call him in this example) came in, they crosseed every "t" and dotted every "i" of what our job calls them too. Now I’m not here to say that this stuff wasn’t happening before, but I am here to say that when we know that our job, or our effort in where we are placed is about to be inspected; we do everything to make it look just as the plan calls it!

I am a firm believer that we are in the last days, the days right before the Coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. With this in mind, it is easy why these actions stand out to me. Paul in quotes from Isaiah 45:23 in Romans 14:11-12 when he says:

” 11It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' "12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

It doesn’t matter if you believe in God or not, you WILL bow before him and you WILL give account of your life. What does the earlier example have to do with this? Well most time that this verse is read, we will answer in a few ways. First we will say, “I believe that Jesus is real and that he died and rose. Also, I go to church when it’s important. So I’m all good!” The other answer is that we will start paying attention to every detail of our live, making sure that everything is perfect looking. Everything will go according to plan and will look like we are doing just as The Big Man asks of us! When I stand before The Big Man he will be the first to shake my hand and tell me I’m doing a good job!

In response to the first question, it takes more than believing Jesus did those things and that there are important days to go to church. Church doesn’t save you! It is Very beneficial and the most effective way to work for God’s kingdom, but it is not what brings to God. Christ is! On top of that, there is a difference between knowing of Jesus and knowing Jesus.

“21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

You will need to KNOW Christ! If you don’t know what that looks like, read the word! Christ was called the Word of God for a reason!

In response to the second path, you will never be perfect. You can try all you want to make you life look perfect, but God sees the heart! He doesn’t see the outside.

“23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” ROMANS 3:23

“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 SAMUEL 16:7

God sees your HEART, your INTENT, and your DESIRES!

Whether you like it or not,

 HE SEES IT!

Romans 3:24 reads:

“24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

It’s only through Christ that we are able to stand before God righteously! It’s only in KNOWING fully that Christ had us in mind on the cross. KNOWING full that Christ had us in mind in his rising! We must KNOW the full weight of the Gospel. We don’t have the strength, patience, grace, love, com passion, righteousness, joy, authority, knowledge, or power that Christ did on the cross and still has today!

I just ask that when you realize that when you stand before The Big Man, that it’s nothing about us, but about what The Big Man did for us, and is doing in us.

PS I know this was a long one, but I hope it moved you like it did me!

1+2+3=Christian

Remember that time in your life where you decided to finally walk out what you’re preaching? That time where you decided to set the hypocrisy aside and walk in what the Lord had for you. Today when I was praying I felt God lead me back to that time in my life. In doing so, he placed this burden on my heart. Before I go into this burden into detail, let me take you to the passage that God brought me to today.

“31"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.” LUKE 14:31-32

Jesus asked the crowds there that day if they were really ready to walk the walk. He first gives them two very hard truths about being his disciples, and then right before he gives the last requirement, he asks them to count the cost of calling themselves his disciples. Why, you ask? He does this because he knows there are people out there that call themselves by his name, and never really counted the cost. They never really sat down and thought about how hard it was going to be. I think he also places it here for people who have counted the cost. He says it to remind you of the decision you made, and how you understand the weight of that calling!

One more time look at the order of his presentation. He said you must hate this life, carry your cross, count the cost of these decisions and lastly renounce all things to him. We count the cost to know what you renouncing to him… There’s a thought! “Bryan, you mean to tell me I don’t know what I’m renouncing?” certainly not, but let me remind you what is included! That means that we are called to renounce JUDGEMENT, GOSSIP, JEALOUSY, FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY, AND FEARS to him! I fall into a category of people that are reading this that will say one of these five things listed is hard for me to renounce to him at all times.

How many times do we find ourselves gossiping about someone? Maybe it’s about how they worship. Maybe it’s about how you find it best to give full hugs, and they find it best to give side hugs. Maybe it’s even about how you eat meat and somebody else doesn’t. Whatever the situation is, we need to STOP IT RIGHT NOW. Romans 2:1-2 says,

“ 1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.”

Paul shows how only God’s judgment is true, not ours. He says further in the chapter,

“7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” ROMANS 2:7-8

Remember, if you counted the cost and call yourself by his name, those verses apply to you. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments were #1 “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” and #2 “Love your neighbor as yourself.” You see I come as humbly as I can and say that I’ve chosen to do things that are against these too. This road is hard, but we need to understand that unless we renounce it to Jesus we can’t be called by his name. Unless we carry that cross we can’t be called his disciple. “Okay Bryan, I’ll admit that I need to work in this area, but what can I do?”

Well Paul said in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Paul kicks it into high gear! He says, “Honor one another ABOVE yourselves.” That’s a tough road to walk! He continues in Ephesians 4:1-3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Do you see what Paul is getting at? There is a cost in order to be called a Christian. That cost is your life! Not your physical life, but your spiritual life.

“But Bryan, it’s hard for me to love someone who prays different. It’s hard for me to love someone who worships God different!” Paul would be furious with these comments! 1 Cor. 12:4-6 states, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Wow, that was a revelation to me!

Lastly, we need to understand that we are preaching a sermon every moment of the day! Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Jesus is saying that we are already shining when we call ourselves Christians! Do I want to give off the sermon of Bryan Allard’s flesh?

Or do I want to give off Jesus’ sermon?

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) That’s the sermon I want to preach!

I guess the thing I ask is that you realize the cost! We are the Body of Christ here on earth. It’s time the hands of Christ stop covering the mouth of Christ! It’s time the feet start standing firm and support and balance the rest of the body, instead of thinking they are the neck of God! I love every one of you soo much! We need to be humble and transparent before God and let His story be told!

For those of you reading this that has never counted the cost, here is your chance!

What Not To Wear!

This blog is about to be a real interesting one. I’m taking a moment to address an issue that I feel will help both men and women seek the Lord in a more pure way. I came across a verse about half of a year ago and it never left me. In this verse it addresses an issue that I know that all of us men can attest that we stumble when this issue isn’t addressed properly. Before I go any further I want to just ask the Lord to come into the heart of each reader and allow them to feel the love that is coming through this blog and that there are no bitter feelings, no feelings of disgust. I ask lord that they understand that this is just one man’s, one brother’s perspective on a topic that has caused me a lot of separation from God in my life. Ladies, this blog is directed toward you.

“3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.”

Now I know that in the context of this passage Peter is addressing how wives should act in accordance to their submission in their marriage relationship. However, I feel that God uses this passage to speak to a much wider audience, not just to married women of the church. Verse 3 is talking about what clothes Peter thinks women shouldn’t wear. Reading these descriptions, a reader could easily think that a woman not braiding her hair, not wearing jewelry, and not wearing fine clothes in a little rash of a claim to make when it comes to following Christ. It’s important to remember that this is the Living Word of God. The attire Peter is describing is that of what prostitutes wore back in his time. Prostitutes were easy to pick out! Know why? They wore “ braided hair”, “gold jewelry”, and “fine clothes”.

These women were obsessed with looking amazing on the outside! Sisters, hear me out on this one. There are some of you that look just like the girls of this world. It truly breaks my heart. There are so many times that I hear stories of sisters in Christ that talk about how they meet a guy and he is a really nice guy and in the end he turns out to be like every other guy they have encountered. I have a theory on why that is. Sometime this can be easily averted.

DON'T DRESS LIKE THE WORLD!

Just because America’s Next Top Model says that something is cute, sexy, gorgeous, or amazing looking; doesn’t always mean it’s the Godly thing to wear.

“…²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…”PHILIPPIANS 3:20

Sisters, if you were sent to a foreign country and were told to be an ambassador for the USA, would you wear things that were like everyone else in the area? Or would you where things that showed you were a highly respected American woman?  Of course you would dress the way in a highly respected way because you love being an American woman! Christian women of the first century didn’t wear or dress like this because they were too busy selling their “gold jewelry”, and “fine clothes” so that other brother and sisters in Christ could be blessed!

You see as Godly men, we need you to care! We need you to drench yourself with verses 4 and 5! I love all of you sisters reading this blog, but I know that the men in this body of Christ need your help. I’m tired of hearing stories of how my brothers are stumbling because of what our sister arrive at places in. Sisters, I want you to understand that there are just as many times that we as men need to mature about our clothing too! This blog is focused on the women because Satan wants to Prostitute you to the world rather than you becoming the pure righteous bride of Christ. So women, take pride in the blessing we share, our salvation. Take pride in the beauty of knowing Christ and His love. Take pride in knowing that you are of a greater kingdom! And be encouraged, that as men of Jesus himself, we are here to walk a long side of you and spur you on to an all consuming relationship with our Lord!

I love you all very much! God bless you and let us walk humbly with Christ today!

Evangelism 101

Today I want to talk about a fun word that everybody loves: Evangelism. I just sent chills down your spine right. Some people hear the sound of nails on a chalk board when this word is spoken of! I want you to know that it doesn’t mean you have to get a milk crate and stand on the street corner and shout at people telling them, “Turn to Jesus, or burn in Hell.” In some situations this is needed—if God were to lead me to do that, I would—but I want to talk about what evangelism looks like and maybe give you some hope on its fruit.  

I have been interacting with someone that some Christians would see as an outsider. This sister is super nice, but full of the world. I mean, I’ve been there before. So it’s no wonder to me why God is using me. I just decided that one day I’d slowly tell her my testimony as opportunities open up. Sure enough when you ask the Lord you receive. She started to ask questions that left the door open to sharing the Truth of the Words of Jesus, and how they woke me from my lifelong sleep. The beauty of it all is that she made a comment to me the other day about God. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I need God these days.” You see that?!    

Yes, I asked her to church, and yes she hasn’t come yet.  Yes, she hasn’t surrendered to Christ yet. I want to notice what God is showing me.

Sometimes evangelism  

TAKES TIME! 

We have to remember that Evangelism and Discipleship cannot become two different things. If it does, they only become converts, and we are called to make disciples. Look, I know I normally throwing scriptures at you, and I will again in a second, but we got to remember that God working through us will change lives! Christ moving in us WILL flush out the darkness in lives of people around us! 

“⁹But 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 about MY WEAKNESSES, so that CHRIST'S POWER MAY REST ON ME. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10

“¹⁵He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to ALL CREATION.” MARK 16:15

“¹¹They overcame him (Satan) by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB and by THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” REVELATION 12:11

Remember, God knows that Evangelism may seem tough, but it’s not about what we can do. It’s about what he’ll do through us! We will destroy strongholds by the words of our testimony! Furthermore, Jesus did not just say to his Apostles to go to the entire world, that’s a command to us, His Church, His Bride. So boast in our weakness and let Christ’s light shine! I love you brothers and sisters!

Neither Height Nor Depth

So as I thought about some things this week, I started to see a trend. This trend was happening with my friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, and even me at times. It’s because of this trend I write tonight. The trend I’m talking about is some common emotions that we share when it comes to our walk with Jesus. I noticed there are times where we feel:

LOST,

DISTANT,

UNWANTED,

USELESS,

TAINTED,

TOO FAR GONE

I want us to remember that that is a lie! Romans 8 paints a very different picture. It reads:

“35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ROMANS 8:35-39

Did you catch that? Nothing can separate us for the love of God! Song of Solomon is a book that many biblical scholars believe is a book written about the love Christ has for us, His Church. Song of Solomon 8 reads:

“6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy demanding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.” SONG OF SOLOMON 8:6

His love for us is immense. It’s deep. I want to challenge you today that if you are reading this and you feel any of the above emotions or feelings, to reread these verses! We have all sinned. We all deserve Hell. But God is so gracious! So Loving! I’ll leave you with one last verse.

“19 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. 20 I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD….. 23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. 'I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.' "” HOSEA 2:19-20, 23

Hosea is talking about how Israel left him and followed after other desire and gods. But the passage above is what God said he will do when His people return to him! I challenge you to return to the father today. If you already have, I challenge you to seek him even harder than you did before. His love is a Blazing fire, sometimes known as All Consuming. Nothing can separate us from his Love!

Check This Out!

Have you ever felt as though the people you’re trying to serve, or the people you’ve been trying to minister to don’t understand you? Maybe they even tell you that you can’t relate with where they are. Lately I’ve been blown away by something God has shown me.

As we know Jesus worked in many ways that are hard for us to sometimes follow. He managed to work in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self Control. (Fruit of the Holy Spirit) Today I want to focus on something that can help us to work in these things. I feel we as Christians need to be marked by more in our week. I’m talking about

COMPASSION

Four times in the Gospel of Matthew alone it says Jesus was driven by compassion. My favorite one is Matthew 9:35-36

“³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

His travels, his teaching, preaching, and his healings were all feed by his Compassion for the crowd. Let me pose some questions to you! When you feel someone is interacting with you and they have compassion for where you are, do you feel more love? Do you feel they have a better understanding of you? Do you feel you would love to talk to them more? I do… To all the above!

See when we work out of compassion, our walk becomes more effective. What we say becomes more meaningful. Our love for that individual becomes deeper. It’s when we decide that they don’t deserve compassion or mercy that we become ineffective. God read the word for yourself, Jesus was always effective and he changed lives when he worked out of COMPASSION!