Values No 4 - Respect

"Love your neighbour as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these."
                                                                        Mark 12:31.  New Living Translation

The Greek word agape is commonly known as Christian love. It means, respect, affection, benevolence, good will and concern for the welfare of the one loved.

Respect means, showing appreciation for what people have done for you or others. It means treating people with honour and being considerate. It also means, being polite, showing proper attention to someone. One can't have a proper conversation with someone while they speak to another on the telephone.

Respect includes extending Christian love to all people, and that means to those that we don't particularly like. For some reason, you may not like a person but you can still show them the respect that they deserve. Let us not forget The Golden Rule:

'Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.'

                                                 Matthew 7:12

How would you feel if someone totally ignored you and didn't show you any respect at all. I know what you're thinking, This has happened to you a lot, hasn't it? Jesus would tell you to rise above it; to not act as they do. Whatever, show them love and respect. You may not want to do this; you may have a better idea, which would show everyone the wrong way. No, be the better person and love them.

Ask yourself:
'Do I want people to show me love and respect?' Then show the same to them!
'Do I want to be respected?' Then show respect to all you meet. 
If your partner does something for you, are you grateful or do you take it for granted? This could be doing the weekly shopping' cleaning the house while you're at work or cooking you a meal. 

As I have said before, many times, we give off signals by our body language. If we see someone we don't like or don't wish to speak to them, we might quickly walk the other way or even blank them totally. It would be awful if Jesus did this to us, wouldn't it? At times, we can have the glare that conveys the message, 'Whatever happens, don't talk to me.' Have you this glare? I must be honest, I've had this a few times and I'm not proud of it. At the end of the day, as Christians, we'll all be together. Yes, we may be different then, but it would be nice if we begun showing love and respect now, before we go to Heaven. 

Why not make an effort to show your appreciation and gratitude to someone you see today. They may be feeling as if they're being taken for granted by someone and you just blessing them, may make them feel so good about themselves.

Go on, go and do it

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Values No 3 - Be honest

"Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbours. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honourable behaviour, and they will give honour to God when He judges the world."   1 Peter 2:12.  New Living translation

It is so easy to not fully tell the truth when we are speaking to someone. Some people want to be the one with the best story and can be known to stretch the truth somewhat. What we are talking about is exaggeration. Which one of us has not exaggerated at some time in their lives? I think that it's fair to say, that we have all done that from time to time. Some people, do it all the time and for them, it can be difficult to stop.

We've all heard of Chinese whispers, where one whispers something to someone and then say this to the next in line. Usually, by the time that it gets to the very last person; it is totally different to how it started out. This is what exaggeration can do.

Honesty and integrity are important values in the Word of God. Dishonesty leads a person away from the truth. It can be a false statement and can also be innuendos that can deliberately paint a bad picture of someone. It is used almost daily within businesses, where targets have to be met whatever the cost. Cutting corners can take place and bodge jobs done to save costs and reach the deadline. Many sales people, are gifted in the art of making the deal and can be known to colour the whole deal, making it seem like it is not.

As Christians, God would have us live our lives in such a way that no one can make a false accusation against us and make it stick. But, if they are successful, God can be relied on to rescue us out of the situation, if we allow Him to, without trying to sort it out ourselves.

Dishonesty, can also be committing adultery, where someone risks their whole life, marriage and family, on a fling that may lead to a very costly results. Dishonesty can also be having a secret addiction that is ruining not only our health but our bank balance too. Dishonesty can ruin any integrity that a person may have had. To split hairs, even taking a company pencil home, is stealing; yet we've all done it.

Just look at the world today. It is in total chaos. Why? Because God is not central in decision making and man wants dominion above anything and will stop at nothing to grab what they can. The world is dishonest; but we, as Christians, are called to live honest lives. Lives that will make a difference wherever we are.

Do you make a difference wherever you go? Do people know you are honest?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

daiylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Values No 2: Don't hold a grudge - forgive

"You shall not take vengeance, not bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD".  Leviticus 19:18.  NKJV

'I'll never forgive that person; you just don't know what they've done to me." Does this sound familiar? You know, Jesus wants there to be, no place for hatred, holding a grudge, revenge, retaliation or getting even in our lives. He set us free from all of that when He died on the cross. If you think differently, sorry, but you've got it wrong.

A grudge can fester away within a person like a cancer. It can spread until it causes total devastation. It destroys the grudge-holder and quite often the person who is the reason for the grudge, knows nothing about this. 

Forgiveness is probably the most important of Christian Values. Without it, we're lost and destined to a very dark and terrible place, when we die - hell. If we hold a grudge and refuse to forgive that person who you believe is responsible for you feeling this way, then you will not be forgiven yourself:

'But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses.'
                                                                                         Mark 11:26   NKJV

'Yes, but you don't know what she did to me.' No, I don't, but Jesus does; leave it with Him and let Him deal with it for you. When we say that, 'I'll never forgive,' we are actually making an inner vow, and a vow is very hard to break. A vow is a solemn promise or declaration - a pledge. When we make an inner vow such as, 'I'll never forgive that person,' that vow is a promise that we have made but it is breakable. However, you may need prayer for this purpose if you can't manage it yourself. Usually, it requires a change of thought and you making the decision that the vow will never rule in your heart again. It other words, you're breaking the stronghold:

'For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds; casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.'
                                                                           2 Corinthians 10:4-5.  NKJV

If you're holding a grudge, it is ruining your Christian walk. Make a firm decision - today, that from this moment you will release the grudge; forgive the person and get on with your life.
It may mean that you have to make a telephone call to someone to confess, forgive them and allow them to forgive you. That will be difficult but God will be delighted.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Values No 1 : Practice what you preach. Don't be a hypocrite

"(27) What sorrows await you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs - beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. (28) Outwardly you look like righteous people; but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."
                                                             Matthew 23:27-28.  New Living Translation

For the next few days or so, let us look at Christian values and how they affect the way we present ourselves to the world. Jesus, in Matthew 7:12, quoted what is known as The Golden Rule, 'Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you' (NLT). This verse says it all. If you're wanting to be liked, loved, respected and whatever else, you must give it out firstly. In other words, you reap what you sow. If you give out bad things, then you will receive the same in return. If you speak harshly to someone, chances are they will speak harshly to you as well.

One of the dangers in our Christian walk, is what I call, The Behind Closed Doors Syndrome. You can preach, teach, pray for people and show them Christian love and compassion. You can then return home and throw a wobbly over something that either happened at church, on the journey home or within your home. 

For some people, it's like they're two people - the fine upstanding Christian man or woman at church, but at home, the moaning, grumbling, argumentative person that your family see, and your neighbours hear  In the car, someone may cut you up or be driving too slow, and because you own the road, you decide to throw a wobbly and use a few unsavoury words to reinforce this situation. On arrival at church, all of this can change and you turn into the delightful person, you want people to see. Then at home, because you are relaxed and don't have to put on an act, you can turn into the green monster.

This needs to stop and right now! Why? Because it is hypocrisy. It is what Jesus is talking about in our scripture. It is not only the things that we say that are most important but the things that we do. If we claim to be a Christian but Jesus' teaching is not evident in every area of our lives, then we are nothing but hypocrites. Jesus' words, not mine.

We all have problems such as this, so you are not unique. We all have the ability to be hypocritical at times. However, this does not make it okay. We must be committed to changing our behaviour and living for Jesus, each minute of each day.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Eagle’s wings

"But those who wait on the LORD, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles."                                                                  Isaiah 40:31.  NKJV

Reuben Morgan's song reads:

EAGLE'S WINGS

Here I am waiting, abide in me I pray.

Here I am longing, for You. 

Hide me in Your love, bring me to my knees;

May I know Jesus more and more.

Come live in me, all my life, take over.

Come breathe in me, and I will rise on eagle's wings

                                                                                      Copyright 1998 Reuben Morgan

Eagles do not flap, even when other birds try to mob them because they're entering their territory and near their young. When threatened, an eagle just rises up high on 7 foot wide wings, going much higher than the other birds are prepared to go. They don't flap, they soar.

The eagle often sits on very high rocks testing the wind. They are so huge and heavy they need the right breeze to set off. When the right one comes along, it expands its wings and gets carried on the breeze. In other words, it mounts up on eagle's wings. So therefore, it waits and this renews its strength.

To mount is too ascend. The eagle mounts up and rises above the problems coming against it. Do you get the picture? We need to rise above the worry and the anxiety that is around every corner, trying to envelope us. When trials come, God provides a breeze for us and His intention is for us to soar in it.

As we allow God to breathe in us, we will be able to rise up on eagle's wings. We will also renew our strength and as we do this, God will take us to new heights.

So, get close to Jesus and let Him hold you, love you and refresh you and then wait for Him to send that wonderful breeze of the Holy Spirit. Then without flapping, soar at a new height, higher than you have ever been before. If troubles come, rise above them. Refuse to lose this strength and peace that God has given you.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Do you believe in healing?

"(22) Have faith in God. (23) For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (24) Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them."                                                                      Mark 11:22-24.  NKJV

I am a great believer in healing. This is how I came to know Jesus back in 1980. I had been ill with a severe bout of Bell's Palsy, and despite three months of daily electrolysis to my face, steroids and physio, it was getting no better. But I heard a voice in my head telling me to, 'Say a prayer and I'll heal you.' I ignored this voice, thinking I was mad but it wouldn't go away, so as I went to bed, I asked whoever it was, to heal me. The next morning, I woke up and my face had begun to go back into shape and by the end of the day, I was back to normal.
My wife was healed of throat cancer back in 1994 and there have been many times over the years when we have seen healing through our prayers and intervention with people.

Yet, I cannot explain why it appears, that some people are healed and others are not. I can't explain that and will not even try to. However, it will never stop me from believing in divine healing either.

I interpret this scripture as, (a) Make up your mind. (b) Visualise your victory and, (c) Speak to the situation. Oral Roberts, used to say, 'Capture this truth: Doubt and do without, with faith believe and receive. Expect a miracle.' Keith Moore says, 'Doubt asks questions, faith makes declarations.'

God doesn't respond to your needs, He responds to your faith. A look at the healing of the lame man in Acts 3:1-10 shows Peter and John's faith in action. The lame man was begging. Peter replied, 'Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.' And he did. If there had been an inkling of doubt when they took this action, the man would have remained lame. Notice too, they didn't pray for him, they declared healing over him. Perhaps, that is why there are so many people who are not healed. From a distance, yes, prayer is needed. But face to face, like Peter and John and the many times we read of Jesus healing people, then perhaps faith declarations are the way forward.  

When someone asks us to pray for their healing, should we gather round that person and go through lengthy prayers or would it be better to take authority, speak to the situation and declare healing on that person? This is what Peter and John did. I think at times, people tend to be fearful of this type of action, just in case it doesn't work and they're left with egg on their face. For some, it is much safer to lay hands on a person, say a prayer and then leave it with God. This is what I saw an evangelist do back in 1982. He was visiting a particular church and after his lengthy sermon, he said he would pray for people but he wanted people to know, that, 'No one has ever been healed under my ministry and they may not be tonight, but I'm willing to pray for you.' Guess what? You're right; no one was healed that night.

God told me to ask for healing. I did and I was healed. My wife asked a pastor to pray for her and he spoke to the spirit of cancer and it came out - she was healed.

We should always pray for people's needs, and that's what prayer groups and prayer chains are for. But when we have a sick person right in front of us, doesn't it make sense to follow Jesus' example, together with Peter and John's, and speak to the situation?

Now that's food for thought.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

God will never let you down

"(17) Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labour of one olive fail. and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on high hills."   Habakkuk 3:17-18.  NKJV

We go through very bad times at different periods of our lives and it can be difficult to find the reason why. It can feel like no one cares or is there for us. We can feel all alone. We probably are not, but that can be the way it feels to us. We then have the habit of isolating ourselves and this may be because we feel sorry for ourselves because no one seems to care or it can feel like, all of our supposed enemies are having a hey-day because we have hit rock bottom.

Our minds can play tricks with us when things have gone a little pear-shaped. We can begin to look at other people, feeling jealous about them because they're not going through a bad time like we are. Our minds can make us feel like life is so unfair that this has happened to us, but other people are being blessed and are having a great time with lots of money, holidays, nice house and the fact that nothing ever seems to go wrong for them.

The thing is, we don't know what other people are going through. Perhaps they hide it well, or perhaps they have learnt to live with their difficulties better than we are at this present time. Some of these people, may have hidden illnesses or disabilities that they have to cope with on a daily basis. There may be problems in their marriages, lives or general family that we could never know about unless they told us. However, it doesn't prevent them praising God.

The fact is, when we go through these bad times, it is no use looking at what other people have or what their lives are like. We need to focus on us and find a way through the problem. The more we look at others, we will not be able to deal with what is happening in our own lives.

You my be feeling like life has given you a bad deal just lately. Have you considered that God may be teaching you something? Could He be taking you to another level in your Christian walk and all you're doing is moaning about it, instead of praising Him and allowing God to work with you? This may sound harsh, but perhaps God is speaking to you at this moment. He may be wanting you to get on your knees and LISTEN, instead of doing all of the talking. 
I have a word that I would like you to dwell on. It is from the book of Zephaniah:

'The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing'

                                            Zephaniah 3:17   NKJV

God at this time, is rejoicing over you, not because you're having a bad time - He'd never do that. No, he's rejoicing and dancing, because he is so joyful at what He wants to do in your life. He cannot contain Himself; He is so excited about YOU!

But you need to praise Him and get close to Him and listen. Sometimes, we tend to do all the talking. If that is you, then stop that and listen to what your Father has to say to you. Change is on the horizon for many of us and this may include you. I know that not many people like change. But if, you trust God, it will be ok. Things may seem glum this morning, but by tea time, things may be much better. Don't forget He can change a situation - SUDDENLY.

So, get alone with God and just sit, walk or whatever, and listen to His leading. I know that He has something for you,

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Marriage and divorce

"(31) Furthermore, it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. (32) But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who is divorced, commits adultery."                     Matthew 5:31-32.  NKJV 

In Jesus’ day, many people interpreted the Mosaic permission for divorce as granting virtually any reason as grounds for divorce. (Deuteronomy 24:1) Some rabbis who taught this even extended to allowing a man to divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast. All they needed to do, according to the Mosaic Law was to give the wife a certificate of divorce and they had to leave the home.
It must be said that back in the times of Jesus, it was really a man's world. A woman had little security and could be divorced for the most bizarre of reasons. There were two schools of thought to this matter:

The School of Shammai, which was a very strict and severe school. No divorce was allowed except for adultery.
Then there was the School of Hillel. This was a liberal and broadminded school, where a man could divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast or put too much salt in his meal. Furthermore, if she went into public without a head covering, spoke to a man in the street or if her husband found a much more attractive woman, she could also be divorced. It became so bad that many young women were refusing to get married because of this insecurity and the way they were being treated.


In verse 32, the text mentions 'Causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who is divorced, commits adultery.' An illegitimate divorce, such as mentioned in the School of Hillel, gave place to adultery because God didn't recognise divorce, and saw a new relationship as bigamous. Even though He was against divorce, God recognised that adultery would damage the union totally.

God still holds marriage very dearly today and totally frowns on adultery. A man and woman are joined together in the sight of God and His word in Ephesians has much to say about this matter. (Please read Ephesians 5:22 - 33)

In 1 Peter 3:1 - 2 and verse 7 we read:

'Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (2) when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 
(7) Husbands likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.'

The words here, 'the weaker vessel,' have no derogatory meaning.  or are in any way politically incorrect. They just mean that God would want a husband to love and take care of his wife as a precious, breakable vessel. If we are at loggerheads, our prayers are just going nowhere. So we need to beware of this point.

Marriage is a wonderful institution, given to man and woman by God, where families are created and love shared by all members. Both man and woman need to honour each other because by doing so, they are honouring God; and then, God can bring blessing. 

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Stumbling blocks

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. (30) And if your right hand cause you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell."                                               Matthew 5:29-30.  NKJV

Jesus was not suggesting self-mutilation here. If He was, then there would be a lot of people walking around with one eye and one hand. None of us are free from this type of thing. No, rather than self-mutilation, he was prescribing a rigid, moral, self-denial over our thoughts, desires and actions. In other words, complete self-control.

There are many stumbling blocks in life, that try to trip us up and we need to be more aware of what we're doing and where we are going. The Greek word for a stumbling block, is an interesting one. It is a word called Skandalon which means the bait stick in a trap. It is the stick or arm on which bait was placed and which operated the trap to catch the lured animal to its own destruction. Therefore, the word came to mean anything which causes a person to fall to destruction.

Just think for a moment about this. We have habits that we wish we didn't have. They have the power to seduce us into evil. This may be evil thoughts or even actions. This type of pleasure, is the pleasure that Jesus was talking about and the pleasure that we need to get rid of. But how?

To say we don't suffer this way, would be a lie. We all have the times when we do, say or think things that we know is wrong. None of us are free from this and never will be until we are safe in our Heavenly home, free from the temptations of this world.
We could go to some distant planet where we would be on our own, but these thoughts and temptations would follow us there. We could go out into the deepest part of a desert where we could live alone for evermore, but the thoughts and temptations would also, follow us there. It is useless to say that we'll never think these things again because as soon as we confess this, the temptations become greater.

Possibly, the only way to beat thoughts and temptations is to fill our thoughts with good things - to think wholesome thought and fill our lives with Christian action - being busy helping people, spending time doing bits and pieces for God, whatever that may entail. As I've mentioned many times, praying, reading God's Word, listening to teaching CD's and worship. Paul has the right attitude in Philippians 4:8:

'Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.'

Alter your thinking and your habits. If you're more likely to suffer temptation when you're on your own, then go out somewhere, or ring someone for a chat, busy yourself. Really, it's training yourself to think and act differently (Romans 12:1-2).

Don't beat yourself up about this. Try new things that will help you to be an overcomer, which, actually, Jesus thinks you are!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Holiness

"But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy for I am holy.'"                   1 Peter 1:15-16   Leviticus 11:44-45.  NKJV

In other words, set your life apart, fully to God and be holy as God has commanded. Set apart means what it says, we belong to God, not ourselves. Holiness says we say, 'No, to the demands of our flesh and live totally for God. 

Note the words, 'all your conduct.' This means in everything we do, and that means 'everything.' We cannot compromise on this. We can't have things our flesh wants and be holy too. One has to go. Make sure it's compromise.

We should always remain alert, with a clear mind focused on God, as we walk each day with Him. 'It's impossible to live that way. How can I live and be holy?' You can and it's not impossible or God would have told us so. Instead, He told us to be holy just like He is.

We need to be set apart. This means to be separated to God so that as we live for Him, we become more like Him and we learn to take on His nature. We're not made holy by giving all of our money to worthy causes anymore than we're not holy because we have read the bible through, many times. This is commendable but in so doing, you might end up skint and very knowledgeable to the theory of things but not from the heart, so that you know God the way He wants you to.

Holiness comes little by little by spending time with Jesus; being led by Him in all that we do and being, 'sold out,' for Him. As we do this, we become more like Him. When we're really walking with Jesus, we have the attitude of, 'What would Jesus do about this?' and 'What would Jesus say?' And this turns into true holiness.

Perfection is not what we're seeking here. In fact, someone once told me, and I don't really doubt him, that the root of perfection is fear. He had a point because, to strive for perfection means we can become fearful when we realise that we can't do this and this can cause us to fear that someone else can.

All in all, I feel we should concentrate on what God tells us to do - 'Be holy, as I am holy.' It may take a while but it's well with the effort.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Abortion

"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb; (14) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."                                           Psalm 139:13-14.  NKJV

Is abortion wrong? Of course it is, because it is the act of taking a life. Many people will disagree with this but it is murder. Abortionists would argue with this statement. There are many Pros and Cons to this debate. One such American debate, reads as follows:
Pros 

'Personhood begins after a foetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. Embryos and foetuses are not independent, self-determining beings, and abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby. A person's age is calculated from birth date, not conception, and foetuses are not counted in the US Census. The majority opinion in Roe v. Wade states that "the word 'person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment [of the US Constitution], does not include the unborn."

Cons

Abortion is the killing of a human being, which defies the word of God.The Bible does not draw a distinction between foetuses and babies: the Greek word brephos is used in the Bible to refer to both an unborn child and an infant. By the time a baby is conceived, he or she is recognised by God, as demonstrated in Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee." The Sixth Commandment of the Bible's Old Testament, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13), applies to all human beings, including unborn babies. In the Hindu religion, the holy text Kaushitaki Upanishad states that abortion is an equivalent misdeed to killing one's own parents. The BBC states that "Traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it involves the deliberate destroying of a life.                   https://abortion.procon.org

The bible points to the fact that children in the womb have Spiritual Identity. Pat Robertson says:

'From the moment of conception, there is a progression of development that continues through adulthood. God condemned the Israelites who were offering their children as sacrifices to the heathen god Molech. Such children, were burned up in fires of sacrifice (Leviticus 20:2) and offered to a god of sensuality and convenience. The same is occurring today and by acting in this way, we are saying that human beings are not worth anything.'
                                                       Spiritual Answers to Hard Questions Pat Robertson

The prophet Jeremiah was called  by God even before he was born: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.' (Jeremiah 1:5)

John the Baptist, leaped in his mother's womb when the voice of Mary - Jesus' mother, was heard. (Luke 1:44) Therefore, obviously, children in the womb have Spiritual Awareness. They sense and probably hear things.

There may be the odd occasion, probably caused by an accident or severe illness, where a termination is the only way forward. However, this must be an exception. Many women long for a baby but for many reasons, their wishes and hopes are not granted. How do they feel when someone who becomes pregnant, decides to have an abortion because it will not fit their lifestyle. You may be one of the many barren women that know how this feels.

Life is life. We only get one crack at it and as Christians, we must take a stand against this practise. There is little difference in what the early Israelites did to their children and what is happening today. It is barbaric and needs to be made illegal.

We need to pray for what is happening in our world today. There are signs of decay all around. While politicians play games with people's lives, we should not sit back without taking action. Otherwise our whole credibility goes out of the window. If we don't shout, we'll go without.

We can't just sit around, going through the actions of Christianity. We can't turn a blind to what is going on. We need to pray and then pray some more because, Jesus wants this changing!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

An Open Door

"I know you're works. See, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name,"
                                                                                     Revelation 3:8.  NKJV

Jesus knows our works; He sees all that we do. We don't need a pat on the back from anyone and we do not need to seek a persons approval for what we have done. Jesus sees and knows all that we do, even when no one is around.

He has set before each one of us, an open door. He opens the door or He closes it. We do not have the capability to do either and if we try to manipulate this, it is a recipe for disaster. The open door may be opportunities for work careers, schooling and other educational options, life experiences and a host of other good things. But, uppermost, the open door for a Christian will always have the evangelistic opportunity; those opportunities to speak with people about our faith and help them see the way more clearly. It's a faith thing and can take real courage to share our faith with someone, especially if we know them well and they us. Sometimes, we ignore the opportunity or just don't see it. A man once asked Spurgeon how he could win people for Jesus. Spurgeon asked him:

Spurgeon.   'What do you do; what is your job?'
Man.           'I'm an engine driver on a train.'
Spurgeon   'Is the man who shovels coal on your train, a Christian?
Man.          'I don't know'
Spurgeon.  'Go back and find out. Start with him.'

There are people very close to us who are not Christians and we fail to take the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. we fail to walk through that open door, the door that no one can close, not even you. God wants us to take every evangelistic opportunity we meet. He wants us to go through that door, the one that some of us, through fear and embarrassment, try to pretend is not open to us. 'I'm not called to do that type of thing. I'm a cleaner, not an evangelist.' Even cleaners are important in the Kingdom of God. For one thing, they clear and clean the way for a person who is covered in sin. 
'Yes, but I'm not capable of doing that. I'd get tongue-tied. I'm not strong enough.'
Yes you are. Take a closer look at verse 8. Part of it reads,'for you have a little strength.' Look at it closely, it doesn't say you have little faith, but 'a little faith.' To some, that may read weakness, but I believe it means, you're weak enough to be strong in the Lord. And that is a big difference. (2 Corinthian 12:9)

God knows your faithfulness and realises that you have kept His word and have never denied His name. So, the next time you see your next door neighbour, move through that open door and speak with them.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't curse yourself

"For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I dreaded has happened to me."                                                                                       Job 3:25.  NKJV

Basically, you're saying, 'What I dreaded has come true." (NLT) Really, we are putting curse on ourselves when we say such things. It is self-fulfilled prophecy. As I've mentioned recently. you'll get what you confess. But we all do it. We say things about ourselves and others such as:

'I knew this would happen.' Everything I buy goes wrong.' 'I knew he'd turn out to be a bad one.' It's no good setting the alarm because I'll never hear it.' 'I nearly died when he said this.' He hasn't got any idea, he really hasn't.' And so on and so on.

The devil is not your friend and if you keep saying such negative stuff as this, he'll be only too pleased to help you make it happen. Stop it, right now.

We really need to think before we open our mouths. James tells us, 'Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.' James 1:19. Negative words can pierce our armour that we should be wearing all the time. We profess to be people of God and then make confessions such as, 'He'll never come to anything, he's just not worth it.' Yes he or she is. They are worth it to God. If you've had these things spoken over you by someone or even yourself; revoke them right now and start confessing that you are a man or woman of God, saved by the precious blood of Jesus and destined to a place in Heaven when your time comes. Until then, you are forgiven, healed, righteous, loved, healthy, happy, blessed and anointed. Does that sound like you? Yes it does, because Jesus says so. 'Yes, but I've let Him down so much recently.' So what, so has every other Christian. No one is perfect. 'Yes, but my thought life is not wholesome and I swear sometimes, therefore I'm not worthy of Heaven.' Yes you are because the main man - Jesus, said so. Confess these things to Him, ask for His help. He's only too pleased to assist.

Let me remind you of what Peter did before Jesus turned him into a mighty man of God. Read Mark 14:66-72 and you will see Peter saving his own skin by denying that he had anything to do with Jesus and even cursing and swearing when he was pressed on the subject. And yet, Jesus - your Jesus, forgave him and built him back up and on the day of Pentecost, used him to bring over 3000 souls to know Jesus.

Come on, stop listening to the enemy and realise just how much you are loved and favoured by your friend, Jesus.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Walking through a maze

"My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 

                                                                                      2 Corinthians 12:9.  NKJV

Have you ever had one of those times when it feels like you're walking through a maze; wherever you go, the way forward is so difficult and confusing? Well, you're not the only one. It happens, and it happens to many people on a regular basis. Everything seems to look the same and you can have the feeling that you're going round in circles.

A dictionary describes a maze as an:

 intricate, usually confusing network of interconnecting pathways, as in a garden; a labyrinth.b. A physical situation in which it is easy to get lost
                                                                                                         The Free Dictionary

If you've ever walked through a very deep maze, you will know the meaning of these words. It  can seem fun at first as we explore our new surroundings, but after a while of being trapped in a place of endless tracks that lead to nowhere, frustration can kick in and for some, this can lead to fear.  A maze can bewilder and astonish us. We can feel like we're in a daze as we plod along these paths to nowhere. I remember walking through one a long time ago. The hedges were so thick and high that I just couldn't get my bearings. I wasn't scared but I did wonder if I would ever get out of this situation.

Our Christian life can seem like this at times. If we're not careful, we can become stale and lose that wonderful bubbly feeling of the Holy Spirit. He's still with us, but we fail to recognise this because lethargy can set in and once this happens it can feel like we're chained to an iron fence. We're going nowhere, and what's more, if we allow this to go on, we don't care either.

At times such as this, we need to remember that we can never be lost, Because Jesus knows where we are. He comes looking for us but will never force our hand. He waits for us to make a move. We are weak, but He is strong and very able to rescue us from the depths of despair. 

Charles Wesley wrote in his wonderful hymn:

'Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth and followed thee.

And can it be Copyright Charles Wesley

Jesus is close by, watching and as we call to Him, He is there in a flash to break the chains of sin and despair. He repairs us, mends our hearts and puts us back together again. His grace is all we need because we have a strong God who is right beside us, wherever we may find we are.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You'll get what you confess

"(20) Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction. (21) The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."
                                                                    Proverbs 18:20-21   New Living Translation

The wise speak thoughtfully because they know that what they say will have consequences. We need to choose our words wisely by speaking positively instead of negatively. In other words, what we confess, we will get. Negative words are spoken wherever we go. We often hear people saying, 'I feel awful,' or 'I think I'm coming down with the flu.' If we speak in such a way, chances are we will suffer such things. It is like self-fulfilled prophecy. 'I'm not going to try to go to university, I won't be accepted and if I am, I'll never cope with the work anyway.' Again, chances are they won't. 'I'm useless at doing this,' is another phrase we use; or, 'If I apply for that job, I won't get it, so why should I bother. My face doesn't fit at all. I'm not going to make a fool of myself.'

Negative words. We need to take control of what comes out of our mouth. If, we allow it, our tongue can be our worst enemy. we need to practise taming the tongue and it can start by thinking through what we're going to say.

Ephesians 4:29 says: 'Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.' And that means us too. We hear what we say and if we're confessing that we feel awful or that we're coming down with some illness, or in fact, we can't do this or that, then the chances are, we'll be right. We'll get what we confess. Wise up.
We need to treat what we say as an investment not a destructive weapon. Our words carry faith or fear; blessing or cursing and life or death. 

Things may be going wrong for you at this time, or you may not feel that you are blessed. Check what is coming out of your mouth. Check what you are confessing. remember, 'Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.' But, 'The tongue can bring death or or life, those who love to talk will reap the consequences.' 

You'll get what you confess. So change your thinking and your words, and start being positive about your life.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Giving yourself some escape

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
                                                                                         Matthew 11:28.  NKJV

When did you last go off on your own and just kick up some leaves? What I mean is, when was the last time that you gave yourself permission to have some quality time doing what you want to do instead of what others expect of you?

Psalm 23:3 says, 'He restores my soul.' He wants to restore your thoughts and those emotions that can appear so raw at times that you don't know if you're coming or going. Our world is a busy place and at times it can appear overwhelming. Time seems to be swallowed up by work and doing chores such as shopping, cleaning, gardening or mending the car. Most of us have hobbies but spend little time enjoying them because of such things. Therefore, you need to find the time before time runs out.

I used to work in a hospice and it could be heartbreaking listening to people, with very short time left to live, reminiscing of their earlier life. Many would say they wished they had done things differently. They would have spent more time with their family, instead of work and they would have given more time to their hobbies too. Now it was too late.

Make sure that you do all you can to spend quality time with people and your hobbies. Don't be that person who says, 'Yes, I'll do that tomorrow.' Today is the only day that you can be sure of; you may not have tomorrow. Make the most of it now!

We need rest. We need time to restore our energy level and to re-focus and build ourselves up. And Jesus advises us to do just that. The rest that He will give us, will restore our thought life. Let's face it, we all have thoughts that can burden us and drag us down. Our emotions can be stretched to breaking point so that we can find it difficult to make a move because we're frightened it will be the wrong decision. 

Take some time out and let Jesus build you back up. Have you ever walked the fields with Him? He knows every bird, insect and wildflower. He's great to have as company. 
What about that holiday; that weekend away that you've been talking about but haven't done anything about yet? What about that meal out in the restaurant? Don't keep putting it off. 

Have you a hobby that you can escape too? Everyone needs this. Some read; others go walking, birdwatching or sketching. You may think, 'I can't do any of them.' Of course you can! No ones going to be marking you out of ten for your efforts. It's just doing something out of the ordinary that you can disappear into.
Why not try it? You may find it's the best investment that you've made in a long time.

We all need rest and I'm not talking of going to sleep on the sofa. I'm talking of doing something that will give you great enjoyment, relaxation and more than anything, time with the one who matters most - Jesus!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't let idle words stop you

"(36) But I say to you, that for every idle word man may speak, they will give an account of it, in the day of judgement. (37) For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned."   Matthew 12:36-37.  NKJV

God is very protective of us. Have you ever considered that? If anyone hurts you, they'd better watch out, because He won't stand for such behaviour against His elect. 
'Am I part of the elect?' you may ask. Yes you are! Elect means, 'Chosen ones,' and God chose each one of us. And what's more, He will take us to Himself one day:

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the other.' Matthew 24:31   NKJV

The New Living Translation puts it this way:

'they will gather His chosen ones from all over the earth.'

So, you are His elect and He is crazy about you.

Max Lucardo writes:

'God would give up His only Son, before He'd give up on you.'   (Six Hours on Friday)

Anyone who has spoken out against us in criticism or in judgement, need to repent. We need to forgive them and they need to ask God to forgive them. This is very serious business. God is not only protective towards us, but to others also. We need to search within ourselves and repent of any criticism or judgement that we have made against another. We also need to lift off  ourselves, any idle word that we know has been spoken against us. Remember, not everyone agrees with what we do or say. Not everyone will tell us that we have done well - that we are in God's will, not that we're seeking their approval anyway. However, we do need to watch the words that are released against us.

At times, people may be jealous or even envious about what we say or do. The words they speak to us, have the power to disarm us and totally take away our confidence - if we allow them too. Therefore, if you believe that God has spoken to you and you feel He wants you to do a certain thing, then do it. Some people will never agree with what you do, but if you feel deep down in your heart that it's right, then it's probably right. 

Don't let the words that have been spoken to you and caused you damage, rule over you any longer. Pray and ask Jesus to lift them off you and get on with your God-given task!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Growing seed

"(3) Behold a sower went out to sow. (4) And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured them. (18) When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom and does not understand, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside."
                                                                                Matthew 13:3-4 & 18-19.  NKJV

Satan will try to harm us because we are seeds capable of producing a harvest. The only way God's Kingdom can come and His will be done on earth, is through us. This is why we're a target!

Note the word, 'Snatches,' in V19. This is characteristic of the devil. We firstly see him as a serpent in Genesis 3, where he tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. A serpent lies in wait for its prey and then strikes. In other words, he snatches away what God is giving us, because otherwise, we'll be a threat. He steals, he grabs, he seizes hastily and grasps. It's the only way he can work. He lies in wait until we're distracted and then snatches away what God wants us to have. He has to snatch it because he knows that if he doesn't, and we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, we'll snatch it back and straightaway send him away, very quickly.

V21 has some very important words to give us. 'Yet, he has no root in himself.' This means that our faith has no particular depth to it. There is little understanding and a lack of teaching. This doesn't mean we don't read and study our bibles; we may do this everyday. But do we contain it? Does it register within us? Or are we easily distracted; multi-tasking at times, reading the word but answering the telephone too or any other such thing. We need determination and dedication to get close to God and understand what He wants of us. Hence, we need to check our rooting. A good tree is soundly rooted and grounded like a building on a sold foundation. It will withstand most things. We need to be the same, so that we can avoid the enemy snatching everything from us - our joy, our strength and health and everything else that is precious to us.

Before we close today, I want to show you something else, very important in V4. 'And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside.' Many people have done this. One minute they're going through their day, happy and joyful with no particular worries, and then, WHAM! They fall by the wayside.
There can be many reasons for this. Life can be hurtful and very difficult at times and words that are spoken behind our back, can come to our attention. This hurts, makes us angry and can devastate us. There can be many other reasons why we fall by the wayside, but the solution is the same, GET BACK UP! Soldiers of the King of kings don't lie down unless it is permanent. Whatever it is, remember, we're working for God. we have a job to do. There's a harvest to bring in. This may mean you'll be shot at. You're a target and soldiers do get shot at. However, in the words of Sir Winston Churchill:

'Never, never, never, never, give up'

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

The Inner Battle

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."   Romans 8:14. 

There is a battle within us and it's a never-ending one. Daily, we have to be on guard and checkout our behaviour, our reactions and our thoughts. Our aim is to be Spirit led but at times, that is easier said than done.

Let's look at a couple of examples. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus says:-

"(21) You have heard that was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder and whoever murders, will be in danger of the judgement. (22) But, I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgement."

Let me ask you, have you ever struck anyone? Possibly you may have or possibly not. Yet you may well have felt so angry towards someone that you've wanted to. Basically, Jesus is saying that is the same thing. The same judgement may be handed out to you.

Matthew 5:27-28 says:-

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Now, you may never have committed adultery but, ask yourself, 'have I ever looked at someone other than my partner with lust in my heart?' Whether it's murder or adultery, you may never have committed those in the flesh, but you may well have done in your thoughts. And, this is serious stuff! Thoughts can be dangerous when they lead to desires. The inner battle within us, shows us that we can be attracted to good and evil. Temptations come and if we are not careful, we can fall for them in our thought life.

It's easy to say, 'Yes, but I didn't actually do this. I was just tempted to.' That may be true, but if we allow the temptation to lead us to desire and then action, then we have stepped over the line. We need to nip it in the bud before it gets that far. This is why the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5:-

"(4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Strong stuff isn't it? But to be led by the Spirit means to capture these thoughts before they develop into something we may regret. We'll always have this inner battle until we go home to Glory, so now is the time to wise up and take control. If you have been tempted to have such thoughts, come to God right now and confess this.

Father
I confess that I have had thoughts of deep anger towards another person and I've wanted to strike them, (or have done). Forgive me please in Jesus' name.
I have had thoughts of inappropriate lust towards another person, thus committing adultery in my mind or in my body. Please Lord, forgive me for this. In Jesus' name. Amen

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You are chosen

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you."                       John 15:16.  NKJV

How are you feeling today? You may have woken up still tired and filled with the knowledge that you have so much to do today, it's unbelievable. (a) You may have to go to work (b) get the kids ready for school and then go to work (c) Clean the house and then do the gardening (d) Take the dog for a walk. The list of chores can be never ending and many times you may  struggle to do them because of the way you feel.

The mainstay of your problem, can be your thoughts. You can wake up with an agenda that seems impossible to meet and your thoughts can feed you with exaggerated lies and negativity. You need to take hold of your thought life and make them submissive (Read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5) because they lead you to worry and depression. You can become overwhelmed by your thoughts and this can ruin your day.

One thing I do know, is that we have a friend who wants to be involved in our lives every moment of every day. Just think, the nights when you just can't sleep - Jesus is there, right there with you. Those mornings when you wake up burdened by what your day includes - Jesus is there, saying, 'We'll do it together, there's not much to do anyway.' Those places that you have to go but you're dreading the thought of it - Jesus is there, saying, 'Don't fret, we'll have a good time together, no matter what.'

Our friend Jesus, is right beside us in every situation but we have to seek Him. What I mean is, if we don't recognise that he's with us; if we don't talk to Him and leave Him out of everything, He can't really be involved. We have to make a choice to involve Him in everything or leave Him out.

Don't forget that He made a choice about you. 'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.' (John 15:16). What an amazing verse! The King of kings, Jesus Christ, who was there at the beginning of time, chose you. You didn't choose Him. he considered you worthy to die for and be His friend. therefore He chose you.
It doesn't really matter what type of day you have before you. If you allow Him, He'll accompany you and help you through each and every step. 

What is bothering you at this time? What is robbing you of your peace and making you feel miserable or stressed out? Jesus knows, you don't really need to tell Him, He knows already and all you need to do is say, 'Lord, help me please.'

Now that's not too difficult is it? He's 100% interested. You're selected by God; hand-picked and part of His elect. I have no proof of this, but God probably talks about you all day. He loves you so much. You like to talk to others about your kids and family, don't you? So does God, He just can't help it.

Right now, give your day, filled with busy-ness or boredom and ask Him to share this day with you. He wants you to have a good day, whatever has happened. You are very special to Him, and He wants to build you back up again; take the pain and loneliness away and give you life in abundance. (John 10:10)

Feel good about yourself; you're one of the chosen one's.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Shalom Shalom

"(3) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Because he trusts in You. (4) Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength."
                                                                                            Isaiah 26:3-4.  NKJV

In the Hebrew, repetition communicates intensity, therefore the term isn't just Shalom, but Shalom Shalom, which means perfect peace.

There is an important clause here in verse 3. It says, that the Lord shall keeps us in perfect peace - WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU! In the New Living Translation, it reads, 'whose thoughts are fixed on You.' It is God's intention that we remain not only in peace, but in perfect peace - nothing missing, nothing broken. He wants us to live and try to make our world a better place to live in. How? By blessing people, not by cursing them with criticisms and judging all that people do.

However, for us to live in perfect peace, we must keep our focus by keeping our minds stayed upon God. We must have our thoughts fixed on Him. If we say that we do this, or intend to do in the future and then begin to worry when something goes wrong, or when a large bill drops on the mat, then we are not keeping our thoughts fixed on Him; we're not living in perfect peace. In fact, we're fooling ourselves.

Jesus told us not to worry (Matthew 6:31) but to trust in God, who will supply our needs and take care of us. If we believe this and live this way, we're living in perfect peace. If not, then really we are disobeying Jesus because He told us not to worry.

Are you the type of person who tries to help God? You know, you pray to Him about something and instead of leaving it with Him, you try to manufacture things, to make it happen. God doesn't need your help. He's pretty good at sorting things out; far better than we could ever be.

All He wants you to do, is live in perfect peace - shalom shalom. Many Jewish people greet each other with this phrase. They bless who they greet by giving them health, happiness, well-being and peace. Why not try it yourself, the next time you have contact with a Christian brother or sister. Say to them shalom shalom and bless them with:

The Lord bless you and keep you,

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you,

The Lord lift up His countenance

upon you, and give you peace. shalom shalom

                     Number 7:24-26

So keep your thoughts fixed on Him - all of them. Cast any problems or burden upon Him and trust Him. Then be filled with shalom shalom - perfect peace.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Re-focus before you're consumed

"(1) If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Set you mind on things above, not on things on the earth."                                                Colossians 3:1-2. NKJV  

'If you don't redirect your focus, the problem will consume your life. '  Kenneth Copeland 2005

This means either focus on the problem or be grateful that other things are going well in your life, for instance, having gratitude. Sometimes though, it is so easy to focus on the wrong things. It may be something like a disability and this may lead to a 'Woe is me,' type attitude. You can begin feeling sorry for yourself by allowing thoughts such as, 'It's just not fair'. As long as we focus on this, it will consume us and our faith will begin to dwindle. 

Think what is going well for you. "Not a lot,' you may say. Well you're alive for one thing. Many who have died would give anything to be in the place that you are at this time. You have life, they don't. 

We can remain where we are or re-focus - on Jesus and what He has done for us. The old chorus goes:

Happy day, happy day,

When Jesus washed my sins away,

He taught me how to watch and pray,

And live rejoicing every day,

Happy day, happy day,

When Jesus washed my sins away.                

                                                                                 
           P Doddridge

We also sing, 'Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all.' You know something, soldiers get shot at and blown up and many have horrific injuries and disabilities. Yes, they may have bad feelings about it all at first, but then, they fight back and get on with their life, no matter what their disability is, they fight on.

Do you know something? You're a soldier as well. Your Commanding Officer is Jesus Christ, you know, the one who died on the cross just for you. The one who had nails pierced into His hands and feet, was laughed at; spat on and whipped so badly that His back was ripped open. Did He moan about it. NO. He was heard to say, 'Father, forgive them because they do not know what they do.' Luke 23:34. ‘Yes, but He was the Son of God.’ True, but He was also human at that time. He hurt, He bled, He had feelings. Don’t let us forget that.

Millions of people have disabilities and it can be difficult to live with at times, believe me, I know. The thing is, if you keep focusing on this, you will miss out on the many blessings that God has in store for you. 

As the old chorus above says, you need to live your life in such a way that you live, 'rejoicing every day.' Hard to do? You bet it is. Beneficial, you bet it is. 

Start living your life with with these words on your breathe, 

'Happy day, happy day

When Jesus washed my sins away.'

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't lose your persistence

"(41) Then Elijah said to Ahab, 'go up, eat and drink for there is the sound of abundance of rain.' (42) So Ahab went to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees, (43) and said to his servant, 'Go up now, look towards the sea,' So he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.' And seven times he said, 'Go again.' (44) Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said, 'There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising out of the sea.' So he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you."                                                      1 Kings 18:41-44   NKJV

Before this time, Elijah had prayed that there would be no rain and therefore there had been none for 3 Years and 6 months, causing a drought on the land. This was because the pagan god, Baal, professed to be the Sky god or weather god, creating a large following of the people.

As time went on, God called Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that rain would come once again on the land. There was a humiliating contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal where Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal to see who could call down fire on a bull that had been prepared for sacrifice. No matter how much they tried, the prophets of Baal failed to call down the fire. Eventually, Elijah, on God's direction, prepared an altar and fire came down and consumed the burnt sacrifice. The people believed and the prophets of Baal were gathered together and executed.

Therefore, Elijah knew that it was time to pray for rain. He went up Carmel to pray, bowing down before God. Seven times he asked his servant to go and look out to sea and for six times the servant gave the answer, 'There is nothing.' Many people at this stage, would have given up believing that they had not heard God properly. Not Elijah, he had told Ahab that he had heard the sound of abundant rain - the sound of a large thunder storm. He was not going to give up at all. On the seventh time, the servant reported that he could see a cloud, the size of a man's hand. Elijah knew this was it and sent the servant to warn Ahab to get in his chariot and head off before the rain fell.

 If you don't have persistence, then not very much is going to happen, in fact, you may miss out on all that God has for you. We need to accept the small blessings to make way for the bigger ones. Don't forget, massive oak trees grow from small acorns. Some times, what we receive from God we may feel insignificant. Don't ever be tempted to feel this way. As Bob Gass used to say, 'Walt Disney began with a mouse.'

Following our prayers, we may have a promise from God to provide for us in some way. This doesn't mean that we stop praying for this. We should carry on until we see fulfilment of that promise. Even though his servant said those faithless words, 'There is nothing,' he still carried on. People who know that you're waiting for God on something, may come and say that perhaps you haven't heard God properly. If you believe God, don't give up. Hang on to your prayer - your dream and look for that small cloud.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Receive things differently

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
                                                                                Romans 12:2.  NKJV

When things are coming at us right, left and centre; instead of giving into the injustice of it all, it's far better to turn the situation around. Instead of seeing them as negative, try to see them as positive. Instead of seeing chores and bad feelings, try to see them as blessings. In fact, be blessed instead of being robbed. Now this obviously is not easy to do. It takes practice, patience and perseverance.

It may help to look at a very basic form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Using this, one is helped to take control of their thoughts and look at the emotions it causes. They can then look for a better outcome to the situation.

In basic CBT, we have, a Situation, an Emotion, an Automatic thought, a Rational response and an Outcome.  Let us look at an example very briefly:

SITUATION
This may be the pain of seeing someone promoted into a job that you thought was yours.
EMOTION
You may be hurt, jealous and very angry because of this.
AUTOMATIC THOUGHT
'I hate that person, they always do better than me. I'm always left on the sidelines.'

From here, a person can throw a wobbly and cause a major scene, even putting their own job at risk. They may even walk out, telling everyone what they think of them
Therefore, we need to adjust our thinking somewhat:

RATIONAL RESPONSE
*  'I have a choice here. I can leave and find a better job.'
*  'Does the person realise the amount of responsibility that they're taking on? They won't cope'
*   Congratulate the person (I know it sucks) but do it anyway - genuinely, and offer to help 
     them in anyway you can.

OUTCOME
Relative peace and the knowledge you've done it God's way

We need to train ourselves to think differently. Doing things the way Jesus would do them, is not always easy. We want to rant and rave and moan and groan at some people - Jesus blesses them.
Hating a person because they have done better than us, is not the way forward and it shows the state of the heart. We need to rectify this - immediately!

What issues or problems are you facing at this time? Together with prayer, Romans 12:2 and this basic form of CBT, which is basically in tune with this scripture, try to forge a better way forward. The way Jesus would go. This CBT formula can be adapted to whatever you may be facing.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com