Don't say that 'I can't'

"But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord".     Jeremiah 1:7-8   NKJV

God had called Jeremiah to go and speak to all the nations (v5) and tell of the glory of God. Jeremiah, on the other hand felt he couldn't do this, 'I cannot speak for I am a youth'. God told him firmly, "do not say, 'I am a youth'. Some folks think that God cannot  use a youth to carry the Word of the Lord to the nations, they need experience - 'leave it to the oldies, who have gained a mine of information over the years' they say. To a degree, this may be true. However, if God chooses to use a young person, that is His prerogative, He can use who He chooses. Let us not forget that God used a young, skinny chap called David, to slay the giant, Goliath, and Jesus's parents found their 12 year old son, Jesus, speaking to experienced men in the temple. If God wants to use a young person that is fine.

What angered God in our text was what He had stated: 'I am too young.' We should always believe that God knows best. Instead of jumping in and saying things without giving much thought to our words, is not what He wants to hear. What we confess with our mouths has a habit of coming back to us. We need to be careful with the words of our mouth.

This brings me to the main point of this message. We tend to use the statement, 'I can't do that or I can't go' or 'I can't stop doing this' etc. Let's look at an example below:

'I can't do that'  'I could never preach, I'm not intelligent enough' 'I can't go to that party, such and such will be there and we don't like each other' 'I can't go to college, Uni or for this important job; I'm not clever enough'.

'I can't stop doing this'  'I can't stop looking at porn' 'I can't stop taking drugs' 'I know I shouldn't but, it gives me a thrill to commit adultery' 'I can't stop spending money we don't have.'

In each of these examples, God doesn't want you saying this negative phrase, 'I can't' because He knows that you can. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Philippians 4:13. But be careful with this verse. you need to work things through with Christ, as it states, you're not a Lone Ranger.

The positive side of this phrase is, 'I can do this'. Stay away from negativity, because 'we walk by faith' 2 Corinthians 5:7. 

Learn to change your thinking so that it matches up with scripture. Some may say right now, 'I can't do that' Can you see what I'm suggesting? You can do it, the thing is your flesh doesn't want you to, so you need to exercise discipline. God will help you but, remember Phil 4:13 starts with, 'I can do all things.' So there you have it; stop getting hoodwinked by negativity. Look to Jesus and you CAN DO THIS.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Are you a follower of Jesus?

For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you". 

                                                                      John 13:15   NKJV

Here, Jesus is speaking of servanthood. He implies that: 'if I do - you should do the same', the reason being is simple, a follower does what the leader does, otherwise they are not a follower. So if Jesus wants us to do the most menial of tasks, we should do it, because this is what Jesus does.

This reminds me of The Parable of the Good Samaritan  Luke 10:30-37:

"Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  31Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.  34So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  35On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’  36So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”37And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Just look and see what happened here. A priest came along - a person who represents God to the people. But instead of practicing what he preached, he walked by on the other side of the track. It was the same with a Levite, a man who assists priests rather ike deacons do today in most churches. Is this happening today? What do you think? 

If we say that we are followers of Christ, we must do what He does. Followers of Jesus don't " live lives by their own standards. They live life according to Jesus. Look at the actions of the Good Samaritan. In his compassion towards this unfortunate man, he was a type of Jesus - we can see Jesus doing exactly the same. Now Samaritans, were a hated  race of the Jews. Racial prejudice was a part of these times as well and yet, look at what he did. His actions put the other two characters to shame. 

Let us remember, that Jesus would expect us to do what He would have done. Why? Because we are one of His followers too.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Look up!

"Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again my Saviour and 6my God!"           Psalm 42:5   NLT

Max Lucardo says: 'Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations, and it is cured by revamped expectations'.  Just ponder on that statement for a moment. We all encounter disappointments in our lives, it's difficult to avoid them but, we don't have to let them take a grip of us, because if we do, we are in danger of losing our hope. What we need to do at those moments, is to look at a wider perspective of what has happened and this is called revamping our expectations.

Now this is not easy to do but, is essential if you want to stay afloat. Therefore we need to look inside of ourselves and be like David. He asked himself, 'Why am I discouraged? 'Why am I so sad?' 'He refused to panic or throw a wobbly. He knew God was in charge. So he looked inside of himself to see if there was anything that was causing him to lose his confidence in God. 'Has God ever let me down?' Is He teaching me a lesson about something?' he asked.The answer to the first one is, 'No, He'll never let you down'. The second one can be answered as 'Possibly'. God will hold us back from things if we are carrying unforgiveness within our heart or, holding bad thoughts about someone or a similar kind of thing. So ask Him to show you.

Psalm 11 tells us: 'If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?' v3, In other words, we need to 'Look up' to Jesus, not grovel on the floor in our own self-pity. We're not called to despair but to praise - not to panic but, to keep our hope in God. David said 'I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again my Saviour and 6my God!"  This is how we overcome disappointment. This is how we handle situations when someone has let us down, we LOOK UP. God is in heaven watching us waiting for us to call on Him so that He can release our angels who will come and fight on our behalf. We are protected. We are God's children and He is our Lord.

Are you discouraged about something? Are you disappointed because something or someone has let you down? Then begin praising God, put your hope back on God and move forward in victory

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Pressing on

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

                                                                             Philippians 3:13-14   NKJV

Wow, what a testing few days I have lived through trying to tweak things to get this blog to comply with my wishes. I must admit, I did consider going away and giving up all together. But the people who know me, know that I would never do that. With God on my side, I stand in victory.

As these verses above direct, we never give up, we press on to collect the prize which Jesus has sent us to do. Just imagine if Jesus had sat in Gethsemane that night and prayed. 'Father, I can't do this, please take it away from Me and choose someone else.' It would have been disastrous, we would never have survived. But, He didn't, even though His humanity shone through and tried to fill Him with fear and doubt, He said to His Father: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  Luke 22:42. There was no way that He was going to quit on God and leave us alone. 

Things are tough at times and it makes us wonder why we bother, let's be honest. God knows our hearts and so, knows how we feel. But, it is at the point of these crossroads that as we say, 'Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.' As we make this statement, Jesus meets us in the middle and helps us complete what we are struggling with.

What are you struggling with at this time? It is probably getting you down and you are weary just thinking about it. However, don't be afraid to tell Jesus how you feel. He's your Friend. I told Jesus that I couldn't fix the problem on the blog and how He had chosen me to write it, so He needed to fix it for me, so I could do what He had asked me to do. And He did.

As long as you are respectful at all times to Jesus, we can approach Him in this manner. So, what are you waiting for, speak to Him.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

In a little While

A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.”                   John 16:16   NKJV

Jesus quite often spoke some of the strangest things possible. This was one of the occasion where He spoke to His disciples about His impending death at Calvary. His crucifixion was drawing near. In a little while the disciples would no longer see Him because He would be dead and buried. But in another little while they would see Him again, when He rose from the grave (16:16). 

However, the disciples weren't getting it (16:17). They said quietly to one another, 'we don't know what He's talking about' (16:18). Jesus knew that were confused. One can never hide anything from Jesus, He knows your thoughts and your private conversations too. Don't be upset when you don't understand what Jesus is doing in your life. The disciples were there facing Him and were so confused. You are no different to them. 

The first 'little while' referred to the hours before Jesus' crucifixion time, whereas, the second one referred to the coming of the Holy Spirit. So if Jesus were to tell you that in a little while He will be coming to take us to heaven, He may mean something else. There is a need to be switched on here. Don't forget that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8.

When someone first comes to know Jesus, getting thier heads around the bible can be a daunting thing for them. This is why there are Foundation Courses, Alpha Courses and people acting as mentors to guide them along the way. But even when we have been a Christian for many years, we are still learning - we are still works in progress, and because the bible is alive, it is like it is forever changing because, one day we can look at a verse and take note of it. But then, the next time, it may give us another meaning. This is how we know that the Holy Spirit is at work.

One of the things I find fascinating about the bible is, God can give us a verse and as we study it, we can go even deeper and get lots just out of the verse. Try it some time. You'll be surprised at what you find; and don't forget your note book.

God bless, see you tomorrow

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

A Quick Update

I am still trying to work through the problems I am having with my daily blog. Please be patient; I really don't want to lose you, After I've written the blog, I go through all of the pathways required and then I press the publish tag. At that time, the blog vanishes and can't be found anywhere. It's not in Cloud or in Archive or Delete. It is a mystery.

I will keep on trying, so I ask you to be patient while I am working on it. As soon as I am successful, we will be back, up and running.

Bless you

Grahame

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Don't ever give up±

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."                                       Galatians  6:9   NKJV

I am so sorry that you have not received my blog for the last couple of days. Whether it is a fault on Blogger or, problems with the algorithms, I don't know, but, I will get there. So please be patient.

There are lessons to be learned here though:

(1) Don't ever give up. The devil is trying very hard to block this blog that goes out daily across the world. However, I serve Jesus, the King of kings and He is far more powerful than Satan could ever be.

(2) The great man, Winston Churchill, once went to his old school to give a lecture. Hundreds were there to hear this imminent and quite comical man at times. Mr Churchill approached the lecturn and eyed the crowd. He then said six words 'NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GIVE UP'. He then sat down. Apparently, people were stunned until they got the message spoken. They were never to give up - ever. This brought thunderous applause and many have never forgotten that wonderful speech.

So, the devil is out to stop you being effective, don't let him. Keep pressing on, keep pressing forward and fulfil your duty. I intend to.

Grahame

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Lord Jesus, I have sinned. I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard.