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"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."
Proverbs 4:23. NKJV
What state is your heart in - spiritually? There is so much temptation around; so much that can distract us and lead us to make bad choices. The heart is a good monitor of good and bad and we should be guided by it more and more.
Some things are just not right; they hit us between the eyes. Therefore, this is when we need to stop and check things out. We need to place a guard around our heart because, if we are not careful, we can become drawn away - led astray, by certain things or people. We need to choose our friendships very carefully.
If we spend time looking at something when we know it is wrong, pretty soon we'll be hooked. This can include pornography on the internet or in magazines. If we continue to feast our eyes on such things, it will begin to affect our desires which can then develop into lust and before we know it, we can't stop looking (James 1:14-15). Check out Eve in Genesis 3. She had been tempted by the serpent to fasten her eyes on the forbidden fruit. Very soon after, she partook of this and disaster struck.
Take a look at the word, 'Forbidden.' Among other things, it means 'Not allowed, Prohibited, Not permitted by order or law, Forbidden fruit.' Forbidden means we are not allowed to do certain things. When we are in a marriage, we have taken certain vows so we should not be having extra marital affairs with someone. We have a covenant with each other and we should be keeping those promises.
When it is a Christian marriage, God is right in the middle of our relationship, or should be. He holds marriage very sacredly and requires each partner to abide by the vows they made. Adultery is a forbidden fruit and it should not even be considered by either partner. sadly, many people fall into the trap and lives, family and marriages suffer.
Adultery is only one forbidden fruit. There are many and when our heart sounds the alarm, we should be on alert. It can be anything that is unwholesome for us, such as:
stealing, excessive drinking, drug taking, breaking the law, gossip, lying and involvement with the wrong type of people.
There are many and if we train and nurture our heart, it will guide us in the way we should go.
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'VE DONE WRONG!
COPYRIGHT 2019 Grahame Howard
dailyifewithjesus@protonmail.com
This is a blog that centres on Jesus Christ - my Lord and Saviour. My aim is to describe how He has helped over the years, together with offering daily teaching and encouragement
Sunday 30 June 2019
Saturday 29 June 2019
Listen properly to God's Word
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"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:20-22. NKJV
How much do we listen to people, I mean properly with both ears? It is so easy to listen with one ear and be listening to something else with the other. It's great to listen to music on your iPhone as you walk along the road. But if you meet someone, do you really listen to what they say, or is a song of praise buzzing through your head at the same time?
Here Solomon tells his son, to give attention to his words. We should also be giving attention to what God is saying to us. Remember Eve? God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tricked Eve saying that it would be ok to eat from it, she replied that they were not even allowed to touch the tree, which was not true. They had not listened properly and disaster followed.
It is incredibly important to listen properly to what God is telling us. It is also very important to listen properly when someone is speaking to you. You need to cultivate good attending skills. This means to not only listen properly but feed back a little of the conversation to let the other person know that you're hooked up to what they're saying. Counsellors, call this the Internal Frame of Reference. This means sitting in the shoes of the person who is speaking with you, giving them total eye contact and your attention. This way, dignity is given. This is especially important when God is speaking to you. What He has to say is of the utmost priority and we need to concentrate so that we don't get things wrong and go off at a tangent, doing the wrong thing.
God has so much to offer us. He has so much He wants to tell us but we need to spend sufficient time with Him in order to hear what He is saying. How much time do you spend each day reading your bible? Be honest with yourself. Is it enough time? Are other things distracting you from doing this? If you don't read His Word, how will you know the way forward.
How much time do you spend in prayer each day? Is it enough time, if not, ask yourself, why? If you don't speak to Him, how will He know what's on your heart. He probably knows already, yes. But He wants you to tell Him.
How much time do you listen to God each day? Again, be honest with yourself. Is it enough time? If you don't listen, you won't know what He wants of you.
Therefore to recap, are you spending time in God's Word? Are you praying and are you listening to Him? Are there changes you need to make?
Only you know the answer to these questions.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:20-22. NKJV
How much do we listen to people, I mean properly with both ears? It is so easy to listen with one ear and be listening to something else with the other. It's great to listen to music on your iPhone as you walk along the road. But if you meet someone, do you really listen to what they say, or is a song of praise buzzing through your head at the same time?
Here Solomon tells his son, to give attention to his words. We should also be giving attention to what God is saying to us. Remember Eve? God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tricked Eve saying that it would be ok to eat from it, she replied that they were not even allowed to touch the tree, which was not true. They had not listened properly and disaster followed.
It is incredibly important to listen properly to what God is telling us. It is also very important to listen properly when someone is speaking to you. You need to cultivate good attending skills. This means to not only listen properly but feed back a little of the conversation to let the other person know that you're hooked up to what they're saying. Counsellors, call this the Internal Frame of Reference. This means sitting in the shoes of the person who is speaking with you, giving them total eye contact and your attention. This way, dignity is given. This is especially important when God is speaking to you. What He has to say is of the utmost priority and we need to concentrate so that we don't get things wrong and go off at a tangent, doing the wrong thing.
God has so much to offer us. He has so much He wants to tell us but we need to spend sufficient time with Him in order to hear what He is saying. How much time do you spend each day reading your bible? Be honest with yourself. Is it enough time? Are other things distracting you from doing this? If you don't read His Word, how will you know the way forward.
How much time do you spend in prayer each day? Is it enough time, if not, ask yourself, why? If you don't speak to Him, how will He know what's on your heart. He probably knows already, yes. But He wants you to tell Him.
How much time do you listen to God each day? Again, be honest with yourself. Is it enough time? If you don't listen, you won't know what He wants of you.
Therefore to recap, are you spending time in God's Word? Are you praying and are you listening to Him? Are there changes you need to make?
Only you know the answer to these questions.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Friday 28 June 2019
Knock Backs
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"8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:7-10. NKJV
Life is good and you are sailing along as happy as one could be. God has blessed you and you feel on top of the world. All of a sudden, WHAM! You go to pieces because something has happened that you were not prepared for, an attack from the evil one, and life appears to be out of control. Notice that I say 'appears to be out of control.' It is only out of control if you continue to let it be.
There is nothing unique about this. It happens to us all, at times. The difference may be how we handle a calamity. The source is nearly always the devil. He doesn't like you, not at all and he'll do all he can to prove that. We can't though, blame him for everything. Some calamities are of a natural happening, but usually the devil is behind most things bad, that happen to us.
You see he's the master of surprise. Take a look at how a snake acts when it is ready to attack. It has four characteristics.
1 It has a deadly tongue and can use all types of gossip and lies to cause us painful strife.
2 It crawls into situations. It's prey usually has no idea that it is near and ready to attack.
3 It lies in wait. It will wait a long time to get what it wants. Its success is in the waiting.
4. It strikes and bites. When its prey is in position, it will strike and kill or injure.
There are similarities to how the devil operates in our lives. He will get people to lie and gossip about us. Gossip after a while can be seen as the truth in some quarters. He will crawl into a situation, wait for an opportune moment and then fire an arrow at us. This is why we need to be kitted out on a daily basis with the armour of God. (Ephesians 6:14-18)
We need to be ready and prepared. If an attack comes and we get knocked back, don't just lie down feeling sorry for yourself, get back up again. Can you remember those blow up toys that children used to thump and kick over? No matter how much they were knocked down, they shot back up again. Do you get the idea?
Attacks will come our way. We belong to Jesus and are a threat to satan. Why? Because we can tell people about Jesus and bring them to salvation and eternal life. The devil does not want that at all. He wants everyone to go to his place - hell. This is why, Christian people are a threat to him. This is why he will slap you around whenever he can. He knows that if you stay down, you have no power over him. Stand up, submit to God and slap him out of the way, in Jesus' Name.
He's defeated already and he wants you to be defeated too. When things go wrong and you take a kicking, get back up and keep on, keeping on with God's work. The devil will really worry about you then.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:7-10. NKJV
Life is good and you are sailing along as happy as one could be. God has blessed you and you feel on top of the world. All of a sudden, WHAM! You go to pieces because something has happened that you were not prepared for, an attack from the evil one, and life appears to be out of control. Notice that I say 'appears to be out of control.' It is only out of control if you continue to let it be.
There is nothing unique about this. It happens to us all, at times. The difference may be how we handle a calamity. The source is nearly always the devil. He doesn't like you, not at all and he'll do all he can to prove that. We can't though, blame him for everything. Some calamities are of a natural happening, but usually the devil is behind most things bad, that happen to us.
You see he's the master of surprise. Take a look at how a snake acts when it is ready to attack. It has four characteristics.
1 It has a deadly tongue and can use all types of gossip and lies to cause us painful strife.
2 It crawls into situations. It's prey usually has no idea that it is near and ready to attack.
3 It lies in wait. It will wait a long time to get what it wants. Its success is in the waiting.
4. It strikes and bites. When its prey is in position, it will strike and kill or injure.
There are similarities to how the devil operates in our lives. He will get people to lie and gossip about us. Gossip after a while can be seen as the truth in some quarters. He will crawl into a situation, wait for an opportune moment and then fire an arrow at us. This is why we need to be kitted out on a daily basis with the armour of God. (Ephesians 6:14-18)
We need to be ready and prepared. If an attack comes and we get knocked back, don't just lie down feeling sorry for yourself, get back up again. Can you remember those blow up toys that children used to thump and kick over? No matter how much they were knocked down, they shot back up again. Do you get the idea?
Attacks will come our way. We belong to Jesus and are a threat to satan. Why? Because we can tell people about Jesus and bring them to salvation and eternal life. The devil does not want that at all. He wants everyone to go to his place - hell. This is why, Christian people are a threat to him. This is why he will slap you around whenever he can. He knows that if you stay down, you have no power over him. Stand up, submit to God and slap him out of the way, in Jesus' Name.
He's defeated already and he wants you to be defeated too. When things go wrong and you take a kicking, get back up and keep on, keeping on with God's work. The devil will really worry about you then.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Thursday 27 June 2019
Good Health and Prosperity
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"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 2. NKJV
The verse above is not be be taken as a blueprint and prayer so that we can all prosper and be in good health. David Guzik tells us:
'Some have wrongly taken this as a guarantee of perpetual wealth and perfect health for the Christian. Of course, we should always remember that God wants our best and plans only good for us. Often present material prosperity and physical health are part of that good He has for us – and this prosperity and health are absolutely promised as the ultimate destiny of all believers. Yet, for the present time, God may – according to His all-wise plan – use a lack of material prosperity and physical health to promote greater prosperity and health in the scale of eternity.
Nevertheless, some live in poverty and disease simply because they do not seek God’s best, follow God’s principles, and walk in faith. As well, there are some others who say we should use God’s general promises of blessing as a way to indulge a carnal desire for ease, comfort, and luxury.' Copyright David Guzik
The actual meaning of, 'Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things,' metaphorically means, 'I hope you have a good journey, and I hope that you succeed and prosper.' In literal terms, it is saying, 'I hope things go well for you.' However, we can still pray and stand on this verse and should do really. However, knowing the exact meaning for this phrase in its original form can be helpful. It helps avoid just plucking verses out of the bible at will and naming and claiming them. This absolutely is not recommended. Let The Holy Spirit lead you instead of just opening the bible and selecting a verse at random. I'm not saying this is wrong, but that, we need to ask God to lead us in His Word for the situation.
John made an analogy between the condition of our health and the condition of our soul. Many Christians would be desperately ill if their physical health was instantly in the same state as their spiritual health. God wants us to prosper in both our physical health and our soul. At times, God appears to allow us to go through testing times. This may be to teach us something or perhaps to strengthen us. When we have learnt this, He may, but not always, restore us to more prosperity in our health and soul. Basically, if we learn to place God in the driving seat of our lives, then all will go well for us. If we deviate from this path, we are taking over the driving of our lives, on our own. We need God in control. (Read Proverbs 4:20-27 for more clarity on this.)
You may be going through a real testing time at the moment. It happens to us all and many times, it is not nice to go through. However, as children of God, we need to learn and sometimes we can be stubborn in learning or slow to pick up on what He is teaching us. He may stretch our faith, to see just how much we really trust Him. He loves us and wants the best for us but we must do things His way. That can be the hard bit but far more rewarding in the long run.
Let Him prosper you in all things and allow you to be in health.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." 3 John 2. NKJV
The verse above is not be be taken as a blueprint and prayer so that we can all prosper and be in good health. David Guzik tells us:
'Some have wrongly taken this as a guarantee of perpetual wealth and perfect health for the Christian. Of course, we should always remember that God wants our best and plans only good for us. Often present material prosperity and physical health are part of that good He has for us – and this prosperity and health are absolutely promised as the ultimate destiny of all believers. Yet, for the present time, God may – according to His all-wise plan – use a lack of material prosperity and physical health to promote greater prosperity and health in the scale of eternity.
Nevertheless, some live in poverty and disease simply because they do not seek God’s best, follow God’s principles, and walk in faith. As well, there are some others who say we should use God’s general promises of blessing as a way to indulge a carnal desire for ease, comfort, and luxury.' Copyright David Guzik
The actual meaning of, 'Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things,' metaphorically means, 'I hope you have a good journey, and I hope that you succeed and prosper.' In literal terms, it is saying, 'I hope things go well for you.' However, we can still pray and stand on this verse and should do really. However, knowing the exact meaning for this phrase in its original form can be helpful. It helps avoid just plucking verses out of the bible at will and naming and claiming them. This absolutely is not recommended. Let The Holy Spirit lead you instead of just opening the bible and selecting a verse at random. I'm not saying this is wrong, but that, we need to ask God to lead us in His Word for the situation.
John made an analogy between the condition of our health and the condition of our soul. Many Christians would be desperately ill if their physical health was instantly in the same state as their spiritual health. God wants us to prosper in both our physical health and our soul. At times, God appears to allow us to go through testing times. This may be to teach us something or perhaps to strengthen us. When we have learnt this, He may, but not always, restore us to more prosperity in our health and soul. Basically, if we learn to place God in the driving seat of our lives, then all will go well for us. If we deviate from this path, we are taking over the driving of our lives, on our own. We need God in control. (Read Proverbs 4:20-27 for more clarity on this.)
You may be going through a real testing time at the moment. It happens to us all and many times, it is not nice to go through. However, as children of God, we need to learn and sometimes we can be stubborn in learning or slow to pick up on what He is teaching us. He may stretch our faith, to see just how much we really trust Him. He loves us and wants the best for us but we must do things His way. That can be the hard bit but far more rewarding in the long run.
Let Him prosper you in all things and allow you to be in health.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Wednesday 26 June 2019
The Word Stands
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"Now the Word of the LORD endures forever." 1 Peter 1:25. NKJV
Peter was quoting Isaiah 40:8 here and letting us know that we need to abide by its teaching. We can never water it down. It stands forever. What God has said, He means and He isn't about to change His mind. It is time to live holy lives; to live up to our calling. We need to love people the way Jesus commanded us to. Not in a half-hearted fashion but with a genuine, caring love - the kind that Jesus has for us.
Hypocrisy has to go, as well as envy, deceit and evil speaking. As babes in Jesus, we started on the milk - the milk of His Word. We now need to get into and abide by, the meat - the full Word of God which is our spiritual food.
People over the past centuries have tried to stop Christianity. They've burned bibles and had men and women of God burnt at the stake or murdered in some other evil manner. Today, throughout various parts of the world, men and women are in prison for their Christian faith. They suffer terribly and some are killed and a lot of families are forbidden to read the bible, go to a church or even hold prayer meetings in their homes. Even in our own country, people are facing dismissal from their job because of their faith. I read today of a Christian GP who may be struck off because He spoke to patients about Jesus.
It's beyond belief in our day and age, but it is true.
The thing this, these people who are out to purge Christianity from our world can try, but they won't succeed because Jesus Christ is bigger and more powerful than they ever could be. His Word will endure forever.
Maybe God has told you something special. It may be a promise about your future or perhaps your family. If it hasn't happened yet, don't give up. It will happen. If God has said it, it will happen. Read and stand on the following two verses in Habakkuk 2:
'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.' (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
If God has told you something that is going to happen with you, believe Him and wait. It's going to come. I don't know when but I do know that it will happen. Stand on this Word from God and pray the promise. The Word of the LORD endures forever!
People may let you down; the world may let you down, sadly, even family may let you down but God is faithful. He will never let you down. He is faithful and can be relied on. Nothing can stop Jesus from fulfilling His Word. Nothing can stop Him from taking you out of where you are and into something or somewhere else if He chooses to. He has a key and when He opens the door, no one, not even yourself, can close it. (Revelation 3:7-8.)
Stand on His Word, the Word that endures forever!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"Now the Word of the LORD endures forever." 1 Peter 1:25. NKJV
Peter was quoting Isaiah 40:8 here and letting us know that we need to abide by its teaching. We can never water it down. It stands forever. What God has said, He means and He isn't about to change His mind. It is time to live holy lives; to live up to our calling. We need to love people the way Jesus commanded us to. Not in a half-hearted fashion but with a genuine, caring love - the kind that Jesus has for us.
Hypocrisy has to go, as well as envy, deceit and evil speaking. As babes in Jesus, we started on the milk - the milk of His Word. We now need to get into and abide by, the meat - the full Word of God which is our spiritual food.
People over the past centuries have tried to stop Christianity. They've burned bibles and had men and women of God burnt at the stake or murdered in some other evil manner. Today, throughout various parts of the world, men and women are in prison for their Christian faith. They suffer terribly and some are killed and a lot of families are forbidden to read the bible, go to a church or even hold prayer meetings in their homes. Even in our own country, people are facing dismissal from their job because of their faith. I read today of a Christian GP who may be struck off because He spoke to patients about Jesus.
It's beyond belief in our day and age, but it is true.
The thing this, these people who are out to purge Christianity from our world can try, but they won't succeed because Jesus Christ is bigger and more powerful than they ever could be. His Word will endure forever.
Maybe God has told you something special. It may be a promise about your future or perhaps your family. If it hasn't happened yet, don't give up. It will happen. If God has said it, it will happen. Read and stand on the following two verses in Habakkuk 2:
'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.' (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
If God has told you something that is going to happen with you, believe Him and wait. It's going to come. I don't know when but I do know that it will happen. Stand on this Word from God and pray the promise. The Word of the LORD endures forever!
People may let you down; the world may let you down, sadly, even family may let you down but God is faithful. He will never let you down. He is faithful and can be relied on. Nothing can stop Jesus from fulfilling His Word. Nothing can stop Him from taking you out of where you are and into something or somewhere else if He chooses to. He has a key and when He opens the door, no one, not even yourself, can close it. (Revelation 3:7-8.)
Stand on His Word, the Word that endures forever!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Tuesday 25 June 2019
It's your fault, not mine
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"9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?' 10 So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.' 11 And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?' 12 Then the man said, 'The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.' 13 And the LORD said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me and I ate.'
Genesis 3:9-13. NKJV
What a catalogue of blame. Adam blaming God and then the woman and the woman blaming the serpent. No one willing to take the responsibility and own up to their failings.
Blame really is the ability to put the responsibility of something onto another person instead of owning up to the problem and putting it right.
Here we clearly see that that the serpent tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. But let's not forget, Adam was standing right there with her. He should have stopped her right there and then. But he allowed her to do what God had said not to do, and he as well, ate the fruit.
When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree, he didn't even admit that he had done this. He blamed firstly Eve, but then he quickly went on to tell God that He had given him the woman in the first place. 'You gave her to me, God, really it was your fault'. How impertinent was that?
This reminds me of a man who would not accept an invitation to go to church, no matter how hard anyone tried. When finally asked why not, he replied, 'Because my mum forced me to get up early on a Sunday morning, have a bath, put on my best clothes and then go to Sunday school. When I became older, I said that no-one, including my mum, would ever force me to go to church ever again. Really, it's understandable when we first hear this story, but the sad thing is, he is blaming his mum for this. This blame stops him from taking the responsibly for himself and deciding whether to go or not.
We could all come up with similar things that have happened to us- things where we blame someone else for what happened, and this prevents us from moving forward. Young people may have been taught to steal at a younger age by some other child. This may have developed into adulthood and the person may be saying, 'It wasn't my fault. It was so and so who taught me and made me do it.' But, he could have changed this if he had taken the responsibility.
We need to wise up and stop passing the buck. We need to take responsibly for our actions and determine that whatever has happened to us in life, it doesn't have to be a part of us any longer. You can say, 'I pass this over to God. He is great at taking my cares.'
Have you been blaming someone for something that has happened to you? Isn't it time to let it go; to take the responsibility that, whatever has happened, it will not stop me from moving forward with God.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?' 10 So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.' 11 And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?' 12 Then the man said, 'The woman who You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.' 13 And the LORD said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me and I ate.'
Genesis 3:9-13. NKJV
What a catalogue of blame. Adam blaming God and then the woman and the woman blaming the serpent. No one willing to take the responsibility and own up to their failings.
Blame really is the ability to put the responsibility of something onto another person instead of owning up to the problem and putting it right.
Here we clearly see that that the serpent tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. But let's not forget, Adam was standing right there with her. He should have stopped her right there and then. But he allowed her to do what God had said not to do, and he as well, ate the fruit.
When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree, he didn't even admit that he had done this. He blamed firstly Eve, but then he quickly went on to tell God that He had given him the woman in the first place. 'You gave her to me, God, really it was your fault'. How impertinent was that?
This reminds me of a man who would not accept an invitation to go to church, no matter how hard anyone tried. When finally asked why not, he replied, 'Because my mum forced me to get up early on a Sunday morning, have a bath, put on my best clothes and then go to Sunday school. When I became older, I said that no-one, including my mum, would ever force me to go to church ever again. Really, it's understandable when we first hear this story, but the sad thing is, he is blaming his mum for this. This blame stops him from taking the responsibly for himself and deciding whether to go or not.
We could all come up with similar things that have happened to us- things where we blame someone else for what happened, and this prevents us from moving forward. Young people may have been taught to steal at a younger age by some other child. This may have developed into adulthood and the person may be saying, 'It wasn't my fault. It was so and so who taught me and made me do it.' But, he could have changed this if he had taken the responsibility.
We need to wise up and stop passing the buck. We need to take responsibly for our actions and determine that whatever has happened to us in life, it doesn't have to be a part of us any longer. You can say, 'I pass this over to God. He is great at taking my cares.'
Have you been blaming someone for something that has happened to you? Isn't it time to let it go; to take the responsibility that, whatever has happened, it will not stop me from moving forward with God.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Monday 24 June 2019
Know who you are
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"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 NKJV
Basically, we are saying here, 'I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross. He died in my place on the cross, so it is like it was me up on the cross. He died, and I died to the law when He died.' This comes from the fact that when we are baptised - submerged in the baptismal waters, we symbolically die with Christ, are buried with Him and then risen to a new life in Him. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives within us. This is why when someone knocked on Martin Luther's door and asked to speak with Martin Luther, Mr Luther told him, 'Martin Luther no longer lives here, only Jesus Christ.'
We die to self and that is the best thing to do. Really, our old life has gone, we have been made new and raised to a new life. This is what Jesus wanted; to die in our place so that we could be free to live a new life, in Him.
For some it is difficult to get their head around this but really, Jesus, chose to take the sin of the world on His shoulders and die in our place, so that we could be free. Pretty good really.
This is the way that we should live from this day forward. We are no longer who we originally were, we have died to that and been raised to a new life in Jesus. Yes, we are still the same person, with the same name but, in spiritual terms, we belong to Jesus, we have taken His Name upon ourselves. We are in Him and He in us.
This is why we should not let trifling things bothers us. We have far better things to do. In Jesus, we have the power to bring people to a knowledge of Jesus too- just like we were once introduced.
When I was doing my ministerial training many years ago, we used a course that was called Evangelism Explosion. This course was designed for people to knock on people's doors or speak to them in the street, asking them questions about God and Heaven. One very important one was, 'If you were to die today and go up to Heaven and be asked by the person on the gate,"Why should I let you into Heaven, What would you say?' It would be no good to answer, 'Well I've always been good and led a quiet life.' It would also be no use in answering, 'I've read my bible through twice and been to church all my life.' That also would be no good. The only answer that would be acceptable to God, would be, 'Because Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. He has forgiven my sins.' That would open the doors into Heaven.
We need Jesus. We need to say, 'I have been crucified with Christ.' We need to wise up because, one day, we are going to be asked some question such as this when we die. Can you honestly answer, 'I have been crucified with Christ. He is my Saviour and He has forgiven my sin.' Honestly, can you answer this? Are you certain that you will go to Heaven? You can be, but only if you know Jesus.
If not, use this prayer:
'Lord Jesus, pease forgive me my sins. I ask You to be my Lord and Saviour; to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and be my friend. Amen.
If you have said this. You are born again. Please let me know.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 NKJV
Basically, we are saying here, 'I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross. He died in my place on the cross, so it is like it was me up on the cross. He died, and I died to the law when He died.' This comes from the fact that when we are baptised - submerged in the baptismal waters, we symbolically die with Christ, are buried with Him and then risen to a new life in Him. It is no longer we who live, but Christ lives within us. This is why when someone knocked on Martin Luther's door and asked to speak with Martin Luther, Mr Luther told him, 'Martin Luther no longer lives here, only Jesus Christ.'
We die to self and that is the best thing to do. Really, our old life has gone, we have been made new and raised to a new life. This is what Jesus wanted; to die in our place so that we could be free to live a new life, in Him.
For some it is difficult to get their head around this but really, Jesus, chose to take the sin of the world on His shoulders and die in our place, so that we could be free. Pretty good really.
This is the way that we should live from this day forward. We are no longer who we originally were, we have died to that and been raised to a new life in Jesus. Yes, we are still the same person, with the same name but, in spiritual terms, we belong to Jesus, we have taken His Name upon ourselves. We are in Him and He in us.
This is why we should not let trifling things bothers us. We have far better things to do. In Jesus, we have the power to bring people to a knowledge of Jesus too- just like we were once introduced.
When I was doing my ministerial training many years ago, we used a course that was called Evangelism Explosion. This course was designed for people to knock on people's doors or speak to them in the street, asking them questions about God and Heaven. One very important one was, 'If you were to die today and go up to Heaven and be asked by the person on the gate,"Why should I let you into Heaven, What would you say?' It would be no good to answer, 'Well I've always been good and led a quiet life.' It would also be no use in answering, 'I've read my bible through twice and been to church all my life.' That also would be no good. The only answer that would be acceptable to God, would be, 'Because Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. He has forgiven my sins.' That would open the doors into Heaven.
We need Jesus. We need to say, 'I have been crucified with Christ.' We need to wise up because, one day, we are going to be asked some question such as this when we die. Can you honestly answer, 'I have been crucified with Christ. He is my Saviour and He has forgiven my sin.' Honestly, can you answer this? Are you certain that you will go to Heaven? You can be, but only if you know Jesus.
If not, use this prayer:
'Lord Jesus, pease forgive me my sins. I ask You to be my Lord and Saviour; to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and be my friend. Amen.
If you have said this. You are born again. Please let me know.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Sunday 23 June 2019
Will I ever get it right ?
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"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6. NKJV
When God starts something, He finishes it too! If there is a beginning, there will be an end. Look at this verse again. He has begun a good work in you and He will complete it.
Spurgeon says:
'Where is there an instance of God beginning any work and leaving it incomplete? Show me for once a world abandoned and thrown aside, half-formed. Show me a universe cast off from the Great Potter's wheel, with the design in outline, the clay half-hardened, and the form unshapely from incompleteness.'
This work in us will not be finally complete until the day of Jesus Christ, or in other words, when we go to be with Him. Until then, we're a work in progress. No matter how hard we try to perfect our failings, we will always be unsuccessful. We should though keep trying and never give up.
We'll still mess things up now and again. For some of us, that may be every day. But some works in progress are harder than others. Think of jobs we do. Sometimes it all fits in place, yet at other times, it can be very difficult indeed. But we don't give up. We continue until the job is complete and that is what God does with us.
This very morning, we may have blown it big time. We may have lost our temper and said some unsavoury words. We may have had an argument with a neighbour or spouse, or perhaps, a fellow motorist complete with those strange hand gestures that we can do at such times. But whatever we may have done, we're still a work in progress and God gives us His Grace to try again, forgiving all we do.
Don't think that you're the only one who can't get it right. We're all the same at times. Don't forget there's the 'Behind Closed Doors Syndrome.' I call it that because we often seem fine and upstanding Christian people in church or the community. But when we're home, behind those closed doors, we can become more relaxed and unguarded. This may be when the real 'us' seen. Gents, ask your wife about that. I'm sure she'll have something to say about it.
Joking aside, we're all like this at times and we're all works in progress. We'll get there though and when we do, we'll be perfect. But there's not a chance we'll be like that until then.
So accept yourself for what you are; try to make some changes, yes, but don't beat yourself up in the process.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6. NKJV
When God starts something, He finishes it too! If there is a beginning, there will be an end. Look at this verse again. He has begun a good work in you and He will complete it.
Spurgeon says:
'Where is there an instance of God beginning any work and leaving it incomplete? Show me for once a world abandoned and thrown aside, half-formed. Show me a universe cast off from the Great Potter's wheel, with the design in outline, the clay half-hardened, and the form unshapely from incompleteness.'
This work in us will not be finally complete until the day of Jesus Christ, or in other words, when we go to be with Him. Until then, we're a work in progress. No matter how hard we try to perfect our failings, we will always be unsuccessful. We should though keep trying and never give up.
We'll still mess things up now and again. For some of us, that may be every day. But some works in progress are harder than others. Think of jobs we do. Sometimes it all fits in place, yet at other times, it can be very difficult indeed. But we don't give up. We continue until the job is complete and that is what God does with us.
This very morning, we may have blown it big time. We may have lost our temper and said some unsavoury words. We may have had an argument with a neighbour or spouse, or perhaps, a fellow motorist complete with those strange hand gestures that we can do at such times. But whatever we may have done, we're still a work in progress and God gives us His Grace to try again, forgiving all we do.
Don't think that you're the only one who can't get it right. We're all the same at times. Don't forget there's the 'Behind Closed Doors Syndrome.' I call it that because we often seem fine and upstanding Christian people in church or the community. But when we're home, behind those closed doors, we can become more relaxed and unguarded. This may be when the real 'us' seen. Gents, ask your wife about that. I'm sure she'll have something to say about it.
Joking aside, we're all like this at times and we're all works in progress. We'll get there though and when we do, we'll be perfect. But there's not a chance we'll be like that until then.
So accept yourself for what you are; try to make some changes, yes, but don't beat yourself up in the process.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Saturday 22 June 2019
Are you burying your talent?
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"And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one, went and dug in the ground and hid his lord's money." Matthew 25:15-18. NKJV
A talent was not an ability (though this parable has application to our abilities), but a unit of money worth at least $1,200 in modern terms, and likely much more. “The talent was not a coin, it was a weight; and therefore its value obviously depended on whether the coinage involved was copper, gold, or silver.” (Barclay)
Although this parable refers to money and the looking after and investing of it, I would like us to look at the talent that we are more familiar with - our gifting and talents. The two have quite close similarities.
God gives each one of us talents to use. Now for some, these may be the gift of making money or becoming and accomplished artist, photographer, singer, musician or actor. Just to name a few. Many people flourish in this gifting and become very popular and even wealthy. They discover that they have a particular talent and go to full lengths to make this happen. Universities, colleges and other training complexes are full of these type of people. The ones who recognise their talents and are determined to bring it about.
I was listening to an album the other day and the singer and composer of the song - Randy Edelmann, sang: 'While the other boys were out playing with their footballs, I was home banging on the keys; but it took me right where I am, this is me, playing the piano.' (Copyright Randy Edlemann.) Basically, what he was saying was that he knew he would be a popular singer, writer and musician and therefore, instead of going out all the time with his friends, he practised until he was good enough to be a star. That is using the talent that we are given.
Others may be like the person in our text, who was very cautious with what he had been given and instead of biting the bullet like the others, and investing it, buried it in the ground and just left it there. What are your talents? We have a natural flair for something but do we use it. Many people sing on Karaoke nights and are very good, but that's as far as it goes. they do no more. Many people have been given breaks in life but have decided against going ahead with the chance that has been offered. Others know what they want and are the ones that we see in the media or in the local news, prospering in some business or other. Many others talk about using their talent, but that is all they do, talk about it.
Again I ask, what are your talents? Are you using them or have you buried them for some reason or another? God gave you this talent and will open the door for you to be successful with it, whatever the talent may be. Don't look back on your life when you're elderly and be sorry, wishing you had done what you know you should have. It'll be too late then. Many elderly people look back on their lives with regret, thinking, 'If only I'd have done that.' We all have talents and probably we all tend to bury them at times. But you, know that there is this burning passion within you to do something. You know what this is, but how? Give it to God, He is great at opening doors.
Don't join the many people who look back with regret. Do it now!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one, went and dug in the ground and hid his lord's money." Matthew 25:15-18. NKJV
A talent was not an ability (though this parable has application to our abilities), but a unit of money worth at least $1,200 in modern terms, and likely much more. “The talent was not a coin, it was a weight; and therefore its value obviously depended on whether the coinage involved was copper, gold, or silver.” (Barclay)
Although this parable refers to money and the looking after and investing of it, I would like us to look at the talent that we are more familiar with - our gifting and talents. The two have quite close similarities.
God gives each one of us talents to use. Now for some, these may be the gift of making money or becoming and accomplished artist, photographer, singer, musician or actor. Just to name a few. Many people flourish in this gifting and become very popular and even wealthy. They discover that they have a particular talent and go to full lengths to make this happen. Universities, colleges and other training complexes are full of these type of people. The ones who recognise their talents and are determined to bring it about.
I was listening to an album the other day and the singer and composer of the song - Randy Edelmann, sang: 'While the other boys were out playing with their footballs, I was home banging on the keys; but it took me right where I am, this is me, playing the piano.' (Copyright Randy Edlemann.) Basically, what he was saying was that he knew he would be a popular singer, writer and musician and therefore, instead of going out all the time with his friends, he practised until he was good enough to be a star. That is using the talent that we are given.
Others may be like the person in our text, who was very cautious with what he had been given and instead of biting the bullet like the others, and investing it, buried it in the ground and just left it there. What are your talents? We have a natural flair for something but do we use it. Many people sing on Karaoke nights and are very good, but that's as far as it goes. they do no more. Many people have been given breaks in life but have decided against going ahead with the chance that has been offered. Others know what they want and are the ones that we see in the media or in the local news, prospering in some business or other. Many others talk about using their talent, but that is all they do, talk about it.
Again I ask, what are your talents? Are you using them or have you buried them for some reason or another? God gave you this talent and will open the door for you to be successful with it, whatever the talent may be. Don't look back on your life when you're elderly and be sorry, wishing you had done what you know you should have. It'll be too late then. Many elderly people look back on their lives with regret, thinking, 'If only I'd have done that.' We all have talents and probably we all tend to bury them at times. But you, know that there is this burning passion within you to do something. You know what this is, but how? Give it to God, He is great at opening doors.
Don't join the many people who look back with regret. Do it now!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Friday 21 June 2019
Seeking approval
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"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ". Galatians 1:10. NKJV
Some people are born with super-thick skin and have the innate ability to resist seeking the approval of others. Yet there are those of us who’ve struggled with people-pleasing most of our lives. We sometimes forget the most important stamp of approval comes from God.
Seeking people's approval about what we do can be a form of insecurity. We need to be wanted; to be recognised and be accepted. Therefore, many of us do things just for this sake. If we preach a sermon, the temptation can be to await appreciation from people afterwards. If we don't get it, it can hurt our pride. We may even be tempted to tone the sermon down so that it doesn't offend anyone.
In certain circles, we may hide the fact that we are a Christian so that the people we meet don't think that we're weird. This can happen very much in families where the rest of household are unbelievers. We can therefore be tempted to not speak about our faith. This can also follow us to school or our place of work. People may find out that we're a believer and ridicule us for it. That can be unpleasant so we avoid letting them find out.
Some of us may spend our life trying to please a supervisor at work. We may go in earlier than we should and stay way behind time after work. To a degree doing things over our work schedule is very commendable but not, if we're trying to be a people-pleaser instead of a God-pleaser. We have it back to front. God wants the first place in our lives not people.
Many people are shy and don't put themselves forward for things. They hide behind others and stand in the corner on their own while others are in conversation. Does that sound familiar? I can be a little like that. Some of us need to be the centre of attention and will make sure that we're heard above anyone else. We need the attention.
God understands all of this and wants to work with us to help us be more secure in all we do. He doesn't want us striving to get noticed; doing things that will make us look good to other people. He wants our attention and He wants us to be honest with Him; to be honest with ourselves. I believe that if God were to write you and I a song, the chorus would go something like this:
'You're accepted, yes you're accepted, you're accepted by the one that matters most.'
Just say these simple words for a moment. Let them settle all over you and into your heart and mind; in fact, your very soul. You are accepted by the one that matters most. Say it out loud to yourself. Write it down somewhere that you'll see it everyday. Stick it up in the kitchen. You don't need anyone else's approval, you have His. You don't need to be insecure any longer, He will build you up as you spend more time with Him. And you don't need to hide your faith away, embarrassed about what others will think about you. Who cares what they think, anyway? It's what God thinks and says about you that matters.
And He says, you're accepted by the one that matters most.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ". Galatians 1:10. NKJV
Some people are born with super-thick skin and have the innate ability to resist seeking the approval of others. Yet there are those of us who’ve struggled with people-pleasing most of our lives. We sometimes forget the most important stamp of approval comes from God.
Seeking people's approval about what we do can be a form of insecurity. We need to be wanted; to be recognised and be accepted. Therefore, many of us do things just for this sake. If we preach a sermon, the temptation can be to await appreciation from people afterwards. If we don't get it, it can hurt our pride. We may even be tempted to tone the sermon down so that it doesn't offend anyone.
In certain circles, we may hide the fact that we are a Christian so that the people we meet don't think that we're weird. This can happen very much in families where the rest of household are unbelievers. We can therefore be tempted to not speak about our faith. This can also follow us to school or our place of work. People may find out that we're a believer and ridicule us for it. That can be unpleasant so we avoid letting them find out.
Some of us may spend our life trying to please a supervisor at work. We may go in earlier than we should and stay way behind time after work. To a degree doing things over our work schedule is very commendable but not, if we're trying to be a people-pleaser instead of a God-pleaser. We have it back to front. God wants the first place in our lives not people.
Many people are shy and don't put themselves forward for things. They hide behind others and stand in the corner on their own while others are in conversation. Does that sound familiar? I can be a little like that. Some of us need to be the centre of attention and will make sure that we're heard above anyone else. We need the attention.
God understands all of this and wants to work with us to help us be more secure in all we do. He doesn't want us striving to get noticed; doing things that will make us look good to other people. He wants our attention and He wants us to be honest with Him; to be honest with ourselves. I believe that if God were to write you and I a song, the chorus would go something like this:
'You're accepted, yes you're accepted, you're accepted by the one that matters most.'
Just say these simple words for a moment. Let them settle all over you and into your heart and mind; in fact, your very soul. You are accepted by the one that matters most. Say it out loud to yourself. Write it down somewhere that you'll see it everyday. Stick it up in the kitchen. You don't need anyone else's approval, you have His. You don't need to be insecure any longer, He will build you up as you spend more time with Him. And you don't need to hide your faith away, embarrassed about what others will think about you. Who cares what they think, anyway? It's what God thinks and says about you that matters.
And He says, you're accepted by the one that matters most.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Thursday 20 June 2019
God is so good
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"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him."
Psalm 34:8. NKJV
He truly is so good to all who trust in Him. Have you tasted how good He really is yet? You see it is so easy to feel that God is some great figure in the sky, who is unapproachable. But that is the wrong view of Him completely. He is interested in all that we do.
Rather like parents love to hear what their child has been doing at school and see the pictures they have drawn, likewise, so is God interested in our day and what we have been doing during it. He's our Father which in Aramaic is pronounced Abba Father which literally means Daddy. (Romans 8:15). He is our Daddy and He wants to be recognised as such. In fact, he loves us more than our own parents could ever love us, even though that may be difficult to imagine. Yet it is true.
He's interested in the large and important things in our lives; but He's also interested in the smaller things too. I have been searching for a particular vinyl album for some years now but it had always evaded me. The other day, I saw it in a store but sadly, when I went to purchase it, it had gone. I couldn't believe it. It was understandably, quite disappointing. However, the very next day, my wife mentioned a record store that I had never noticed before, so we visited there. Guess what, I found it. It was the only one in the store and was a limited edition with a picture disc. How great is that? God knew that I wanted this album but He wanted me to have the best and waited until it was available. When it was, He led me to it. This is how good God is and how much He is interested in the less important things, to others, but important to us.
We need to see Him as our Daddy, more and more but not at the risk of forgetting that He is God and should be treated as such. He is not Santa Clause, but He is our friend. It is so heart-warming to realise that the God of the Universe, the God who created us and the world we live in, wants to spend personal time with each of us.
Have you tasted and seen that the LORD is good? He wants that personal relationship with you, right now. Why not spend some quality time with Abba Father - Your Daddy.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him."
Psalm 34:8. NKJV
He truly is so good to all who trust in Him. Have you tasted how good He really is yet? You see it is so easy to feel that God is some great figure in the sky, who is unapproachable. But that is the wrong view of Him completely. He is interested in all that we do.
Rather like parents love to hear what their child has been doing at school and see the pictures they have drawn, likewise, so is God interested in our day and what we have been doing during it. He's our Father which in Aramaic is pronounced Abba Father which literally means Daddy. (Romans 8:15). He is our Daddy and He wants to be recognised as such. In fact, he loves us more than our own parents could ever love us, even though that may be difficult to imagine. Yet it is true.
He's interested in the large and important things in our lives; but He's also interested in the smaller things too. I have been searching for a particular vinyl album for some years now but it had always evaded me. The other day, I saw it in a store but sadly, when I went to purchase it, it had gone. I couldn't believe it. It was understandably, quite disappointing. However, the very next day, my wife mentioned a record store that I had never noticed before, so we visited there. Guess what, I found it. It was the only one in the store and was a limited edition with a picture disc. How great is that? God knew that I wanted this album but He wanted me to have the best and waited until it was available. When it was, He led me to it. This is how good God is and how much He is interested in the less important things, to others, but important to us.
We need to see Him as our Daddy, more and more but not at the risk of forgetting that He is God and should be treated as such. He is not Santa Clause, but He is our friend. It is so heart-warming to realise that the God of the Universe, the God who created us and the world we live in, wants to spend personal time with each of us.
Have you tasted and seen that the LORD is good? He wants that personal relationship with you, right now. Why not spend some quality time with Abba Father - Your Daddy.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Wednesday 19 June 2019
"I can smell Fire"
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"When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven , as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Acts 2:1-4. NKJV
Let's check out the phrase, 'With one accord.' It basically means 'together', or in fellowship. The Greek is a word called Koinonia, Which means being so together in fellowship, that the believers are cemented to each other and to the Lord Jesus. That is true fellowship at its best.
They were enveloped with the Holy Spirit - a rushing mighty wind that completely swept over them with such a great power that they had never known before. Also tongues of fire fell on to each one of the them - the fire of the Holy Spirit, again so powerful that they began to speak in tongues - strange languages to what they were used to. Roger Vines, author of The Vines Expository Bible, writes: 'Where the wind of God blows on a church, the walls of resistance topple, and that church is well on its way to becoming great.'
The fire of the Holy Spirit, cleanses and purifies the church. It burns up the dross and the pride. We've heard of the fire of God, as seen here, falling on many places and God is getting ready to send an even greater fire on His people and He wants us all to be ready for this. Look at the phrase again in verse one, 'they were all of one accord in one place.' They were joined together, supporting each other in true unity. Things happen in our lives when people get their lives together in such a way. When people are in harmony with each other, and with God, the Holy Spirit can work wonders and church meeting places flourish.
David Guzik says:
'They were gathered together sharing the same heart, the same love for God, the same trust in His promise, and the same geography. Before we can be filled, we must recognise our emptiness; by gathering together for prayer, in obedience, these disciples did just that. They recognised they did not have the resources in themselves to do what they could do or should do; they had to instead rely on the work of God.'
The people were there, ready and waiting and were devoted to each other. They had experienced the Holy Spirit, but what was about to happen to them would be a life-changing experience, a purification with power that would lead them for the rest of their lives serving Jesus - the Baptism of The Holy Spirit. This is what God wants for us all. He promised to send it to us. However, to be filled in such a way as these early Christians were - with fire, we have to be in a similar place - of one accord. God cannot fill an unclean vessel. It's time for us all to get our lives right with Him. Because the Fire of God is coming, that life-changing, rushing wind of the Holy Spirit is about to fall. May it fall on us.
Get ready, it is coming!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven , as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Acts 2:1-4. NKJV
Let's check out the phrase, 'With one accord.' It basically means 'together', or in fellowship. The Greek is a word called Koinonia, Which means being so together in fellowship, that the believers are cemented to each other and to the Lord Jesus. That is true fellowship at its best.
They were enveloped with the Holy Spirit - a rushing mighty wind that completely swept over them with such a great power that they had never known before. Also tongues of fire fell on to each one of the them - the fire of the Holy Spirit, again so powerful that they began to speak in tongues - strange languages to what they were used to. Roger Vines, author of The Vines Expository Bible, writes: 'Where the wind of God blows on a church, the walls of resistance topple, and that church is well on its way to becoming great.'
The fire of the Holy Spirit, cleanses and purifies the church. It burns up the dross and the pride. We've heard of the fire of God, as seen here, falling on many places and God is getting ready to send an even greater fire on His people and He wants us all to be ready for this. Look at the phrase again in verse one, 'they were all of one accord in one place.' They were joined together, supporting each other in true unity. Things happen in our lives when people get their lives together in such a way. When people are in harmony with each other, and with God, the Holy Spirit can work wonders and church meeting places flourish.
David Guzik says:
'They were gathered together sharing the same heart, the same love for God, the same trust in His promise, and the same geography. Before we can be filled, we must recognise our emptiness; by gathering together for prayer, in obedience, these disciples did just that. They recognised they did not have the resources in themselves to do what they could do or should do; they had to instead rely on the work of God.'
The people were there, ready and waiting and were devoted to each other. They had experienced the Holy Spirit, but what was about to happen to them would be a life-changing experience, a purification with power that would lead them for the rest of their lives serving Jesus - the Baptism of The Holy Spirit. This is what God wants for us all. He promised to send it to us. However, to be filled in such a way as these early Christians were - with fire, we have to be in a similar place - of one accord. God cannot fill an unclean vessel. It's time for us all to get our lives right with Him. Because the Fire of God is coming, that life-changing, rushing wind of the Holy Spirit is about to fall. May it fall on us.
Get ready, it is coming!
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Tuesday 18 June 2019
Pray
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"Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Luke 6:12. NKJV
Prayer is so important and necessary to every Christian. If Jesus needed to pray, then I assure you, we do, much more. He even climbed a mountain to do this. Now that is determination. It was also very early and sometimes, He would pray all night too. That is total commitment. Now He's not asking you to climb a mountain, or possibly at this time, pray all night; He is asking you to get out of bed a little earlier, because He has something for you.
A quiet time with God is so needed in order to give us direction for the day and the necessary equipping so that we can meet each and every problem head on. Reading the bible helps us to make deposits into our minds so that we can make withdrawals throughout the day. If we don't put anything in, we'll not be able to take anything out when we need it most. We need also to have this quiet time, each and every day, preferably at the same time so that we get used to this. If we go without prayer it can be a major mistake. Remember, seven prayerless days make one weak!
We're told that breakfast is the most important meal because it sets us up for the day. Likewise, a quiet time with God, which includes prayer, study and reading God's Word, is just as important to the Christian. Don't leave home without it. Make it a most important part of each and every day.
I prefer the mornings for this, but a quiet time can really be anytime, as long as it is not haphazard - one day it's early the next day later. There's a time for everything we learned last week, so try and pick the best time that suits you and be diligent about it.
The devil is not our friend. Therefore, we need to be equipped with whatever God has for us each day. Many people read their horoscopes, rigidly. Instead of that, but in the same manner, read God's Word and pray, it will be far better for you that way.
If you haven't already, get yourself a good daily commentary to help you see what God has for you. Get close to Him, listen to Him, speak to Him, enjoys Him and let Him be the most important part of your life. Believe me, He has so much to tell us and show us. However, not spending the time with Him, hinders this.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Luke 6:12. NKJV
Prayer is so important and necessary to every Christian. If Jesus needed to pray, then I assure you, we do, much more. He even climbed a mountain to do this. Now that is determination. It was also very early and sometimes, He would pray all night too. That is total commitment. Now He's not asking you to climb a mountain, or possibly at this time, pray all night; He is asking you to get out of bed a little earlier, because He has something for you.
A quiet time with God is so needed in order to give us direction for the day and the necessary equipping so that we can meet each and every problem head on. Reading the bible helps us to make deposits into our minds so that we can make withdrawals throughout the day. If we don't put anything in, we'll not be able to take anything out when we need it most. We need also to have this quiet time, each and every day, preferably at the same time so that we get used to this. If we go without prayer it can be a major mistake. Remember, seven prayerless days make one weak!
We're told that breakfast is the most important meal because it sets us up for the day. Likewise, a quiet time with God, which includes prayer, study and reading God's Word, is just as important to the Christian. Don't leave home without it. Make it a most important part of each and every day.
I prefer the mornings for this, but a quiet time can really be anytime, as long as it is not haphazard - one day it's early the next day later. There's a time for everything we learned last week, so try and pick the best time that suits you and be diligent about it.
The devil is not our friend. Therefore, we need to be equipped with whatever God has for us each day. Many people read their horoscopes, rigidly. Instead of that, but in the same manner, read God's Word and pray, it will be far better for you that way.
If you haven't already, get yourself a good daily commentary to help you see what God has for you. Get close to Him, listen to Him, speak to Him, enjoys Him and let Him be the most important part of your life. Believe me, He has so much to tell us and show us. However, not spending the time with Him, hinders this.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Monday 17 June 2019
He's always there for us!
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"If it had not been for the LORD who was on our side." let Israel say, "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us , then they would have swallowed us alive.: Psalm 124:1-3. NKJV
Think back over your life. Think of the obvious times God has rescued you, protected you and lifted you up from despair. I remember a few years ago when I was walking along the beach during a storm. Suddenly, I was washed out to sea. High crashing waves winded me and I was sucked way out of my depth in no time at all. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get close enough to the beach in order to drag myself out. Crashing waves kept dragging me out again. Suddenly out of nowhere, a lady turned up and gave me her hand, pulling me to safety. An angel, who knows? I've never seen her since and I go there on a regular basis. God used this lady to save me from drowning.
What about you? Think back to that time when God rescued or helped you. If it hadn't been for Him, things would have been very different. Psalm 124:8 says, 'Our help is in the Name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.' He also created you and I and is very committed to watching over us. Stop for a moment and thank Him for all He has done. Let your thanks turn to praise and gratitude to the one who loves us more than words could ever say. He's on our side.
If it hadn't have been for Him, we would never have made it! Give Him a shout of praise.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"If it had not been for the LORD who was on our side." let Israel say, "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us , then they would have swallowed us alive.: Psalm 124:1-3. NKJV
Think back over your life. Think of the obvious times God has rescued you, protected you and lifted you up from despair. I remember a few years ago when I was walking along the beach during a storm. Suddenly, I was washed out to sea. High crashing waves winded me and I was sucked way out of my depth in no time at all. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get close enough to the beach in order to drag myself out. Crashing waves kept dragging me out again. Suddenly out of nowhere, a lady turned up and gave me her hand, pulling me to safety. An angel, who knows? I've never seen her since and I go there on a regular basis. God used this lady to save me from drowning.
What about you? Think back to that time when God rescued or helped you. If it hadn't been for Him, things would have been very different. Psalm 124:8 says, 'Our help is in the Name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.' He also created you and I and is very committed to watching over us. Stop for a moment and thank Him for all He has done. Let your thanks turn to praise and gratitude to the one who loves us more than words could ever say. He's on our side.
If it hadn't have been for Him, we would never have made it! Give Him a shout of praise.
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
Sunday 16 June 2019
Don't let their words bother you
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"Do not fret because of evildoers." Psalm 37:1. NKJV
People talk; judge; accuse and gossip. It's hurtful but what can we do about it? It's a difficult area. We need to ensure the facts are right in the first place. Dashing in without this is not recommended. We then need to decide the way forward.
A lot of people do not mean any malice towards us; they just like to talk and get carried away by the gossip. We may get to hear about this from a friend and then have to decide what course of action - if any, to take. To tell the truth, it is far better to ignore the comments. People will always talk and challenging them can be counterproductive - a recipe for a lot of problems.
The problem is how we react. We may decide to ignore what is said but then be driven wild by our thoughts. The devil loves this kind of thing and if we take this road, pretty soon we'll be having mental conversations with ourselves about it all.
'How dare they! I'll go and give them a piece of my mind.'
We can begin to think really bad things about the people who have caused this, and before long, a bitterness begins to grow towards them. If we're not careful it can be seen in our body language when we next meet them.
Todays scripture can be interpreted, 'don't let their words bother you.' Now this takes a bit of practice and also humility. It also means we need to give the situation to God, who is wonderful at sorting out these things. God wants us to love people - even the ones who cause these problems for us. We may feel like 'taking them out and getting a contract out on them.' However, this is by far the wrong action and attitude. We have to be like the scripture says: 'Do not fret because of evildoers - aka don't let their words bother you.'
Now you know this makes sense, as difficult as it may seem. God will have us love that person, no matter what. He will also wants us to forgive them. 'Oh my goodness, no' 'Oh yes, that's the way to go.'
Really, it's the way Jesus would handle it and you know that it's the right way. How will they see Jesus if you act the same as they do?
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
"Do not fret because of evildoers." Psalm 37:1. NKJV
People talk; judge; accuse and gossip. It's hurtful but what can we do about it? It's a difficult area. We need to ensure the facts are right in the first place. Dashing in without this is not recommended. We then need to decide the way forward.
A lot of people do not mean any malice towards us; they just like to talk and get carried away by the gossip. We may get to hear about this from a friend and then have to decide what course of action - if any, to take. To tell the truth, it is far better to ignore the comments. People will always talk and challenging them can be counterproductive - a recipe for a lot of problems.
The problem is how we react. We may decide to ignore what is said but then be driven wild by our thoughts. The devil loves this kind of thing and if we take this road, pretty soon we'll be having mental conversations with ourselves about it all.
'How dare they! I'll go and give them a piece of my mind.'
We can begin to think really bad things about the people who have caused this, and before long, a bitterness begins to grow towards them. If we're not careful it can be seen in our body language when we next meet them.
Todays scripture can be interpreted, 'don't let their words bother you.' Now this takes a bit of practice and also humility. It also means we need to give the situation to God, who is wonderful at sorting out these things. God wants us to love people - even the ones who cause these problems for us. We may feel like 'taking them out and getting a contract out on them.' However, this is by far the wrong action and attitude. We have to be like the scripture says: 'Do not fret because of evildoers - aka don't let their words bother you.'
Now you know this makes sense, as difficult as it may seem. God will have us love that person, no matter what. He will also wants us to forgive them. 'Oh my goodness, no' 'Oh yes, that's the way to go.'
Really, it's the way Jesus would handle it and you know that it's the right way. How will they see Jesus if you act the same as they do?
Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard
dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com
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