'I've got no time'

"There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under Heaven."                           Ecclesiastes 3:1   Amplified Study Bible

This means God is in control of everything and if we walk with Him, and allow Him, He will help us to perform all that we need to do. Did you get that?

Often, we hear, 'I've got no time to do this, sorry, I'm rushed off my feet,' or 'There's not enough hours in the day, why didn't God create eight days?' The answer to this is, if you had eight days, you would want nine. There is enough time for everything that you have to do. If you disagree, then you need to check out the scriptures. 

Life is very busy indeed and some days we are in a turmoil as we try and see how we are going to get through the day. I used to feel this way working in a busy social work office. My work tray would be spilling over with paperwork and orders, the telephone never stopped ringing and I would be due in court on a case I was involved in. But when we hand things over to God, He has a way of freeing us up. Appointments get cancelled, somehow we do the job quicker that we thought was possible. It is amazing how He can take over, if we allow Him; and that is the bottom line.

We have to learn to manage our time better. Not everything is essential that it has to be done today. We have to learn to prioritise. This is not letting anyone down; not at all. It is ensuring that we are free enough to spend time on what we have allocated for the day so that we can do the job well. However, we need to be flexible. Sometimes emergencies or something very important crops up and we have to leave what we are doing and attend to this. If we're too rigid with what we have planned, we'll struggle big time, with having to change the agenda. It's all a case of priority and listening for God's direction.

He is a great planner but we must keep up with Him, he knows best, not us. He is the way, the truth and the life, not us (John 14:6). When we place Him in the driving seat, He will drive very expertly; but when He shows us what to do, we must obey, even though we may not agree and feel we know a better way. Believe me, you don't and you'll mess it up as you try.

Trying to do everything on your own is a recipe for disaster. Stress city comes to mind and when you become stressed, you do things wrong and become irritable with people.

Learn from God's Word, there is a time for everything. You'll find this as you seek God.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

NOW is the time, not yesterday or tomorrow

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 

                                                                                                          2 Corinthians 6:2   NKJV

Today is the day; it is the time. We don't live in the past but now - today. Yesterday is in the past, today is now. Tomorrow is not here yet, not that it is wrong to plan. When we pray for something we don't say things like, 'Please Lord, heal me  next week.' No, we ask healing for now. We need to live for today. The Greek word for time is Kairos, and this means an appointed time or season, rather than a certain length of time. Therefore, the right time to receive God's grace is now. 

We tend to live in a era where time is a loose term. Often we hear, 'Yes, I'll do that in a minute', or 'I'll do that tomorrow.' Often tomorrow never comes because the person has forgotten about it, they have classed it as unimportant, which can demonstrate a lack of care to the person who asked. It wouldn't be nice if God treated us this way. If we prayed to ask Him into our lives and He replied, 'Yes ok, but I'm rather busy at the moment so I'll put you in the diary and we'll look at it next week.' Thankfully, God is not like that and really, we shouldn't be either.

Time is very important. People find that out when they are lying in a hospital bed with only hours left to live. Then there are the people who rush out for work promising that they will do a certain thing when they return from work. Sadly for some, they never make that, as they have a fatal accident on their way to the workplace. Awful to think about, but true just the same.

Now is the day of salvation. Live for today. Some people can take this too far and never plan to go on holiday or do a certain thing within the family. We shouldn't do this. We have to plan certain things, it is necessary to do so. However, it is wrong to do nothing and have the attitude that if it's the Lord's will, it will happen. This borders on the side of being irresponsible. There is a balance to get right.

I've known some people put off their chance of salvation because they have a lot of wild living to do first. This may be so. But it may also be a bad choice if their life is about to end. Without Jesus, we are lost. We need Him to gain forgiveness and our place in Heaven. Without that assurance, we are taking a mighty gamble.

Do you put things off? Is there room in your busy schedule to improve your time-keeping. If you have an appointment-based job, one where you book to see clients, it is unprofessional to have no care of time and keep someone waiting. Sometimes, it is unavoidable but not on a regular basis. Surely, there is room for improvement? What do you think?

Seek God and ask Him to help you improve your use of time. Time really is all we have. Without it, we're not here. So make use of every opportunity. (Ephesians 5:16).

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Faith - the substance and evidence?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

                                                                                                       Hebrews 11:1   NKJV

What does all of this mean? Well, take for instance buying a house. The substance is the title deed and the confirmation of the deal. However, unless you buy the house outright, a trustee will hold the title deed until the loan is repaid. This will be the evidence of something hoped for but not fully seen yet. So the substance is the realisation and the evidence the confidence. 

In the same manner, when we pray for something in faith, we don't see it at first but we feed our hope for it on God's Word. This is faith. When we stand in prayer for something, we pray and then believe and receive it although we don't yet actually have it. This is the substance hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.

Scripture tells us that, 'We walk by faith not by sight.' (2 Corinthians 5:7), and 'we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.' (2 Corinthians 4:18). Look at it this way, faith is the building material and hope is the blue print. We need hope before faith can begin building anything. As we feed our hope on God's Word, it can paint a picture within us like we're seeing the finished product. This is a power picture and it helps us to remain in faith until the promise is fulfilled.

Faith is not an easy thing to hang onto. People can defuse our faith by their words. Also, we can be our own worse enemy by being impatient and giving up. When we do this, we usually start saying things such as, 'This is never going to work - it's a waste of time.' When we start going down this road, it never will work because by our own words we have cancelled it out. Therefore, when you're in a faith situation, watch what you say and think and try and bypass people who laugh or scoff. This is why Jesus wouldn't allow anyone with Him when he was ministering to the young girl in Mark 5:39-41. (39) 'The child is not dead, but sleeping.' (40) And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child and those who were with Him and entered where the child was lying. (41) Then He took the child by her hand and said to her, 'Talitha, cumi', which is translated, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise'. And this is what happened. A miraculous act of faith and healing.

Learn to live and walk by faith. This is God's desire for each one of us. 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Under threat?

"And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." V3                                                            2 Chronicles 20:1-37  NKJV

There was a mighty threat coming against Judah. The Moabites, Ammonites and others were coming against Jehoshaphat and this brought him fear. It was a major crisis and understandable that he felt this way. However, notice how Jehoshaphat handled it. He didn't flap, run away or crumble. No, he looked to God, declared a fast and waited on deliverance and guidance. In other words, he took action and that is the secret. Often we can become panicked and get ourselves into all sorts of problems. We need to determine to seek God when we have a vital need.

Be reassured, no-one, absolutely no-one can take God on and win. It's foolishness to try. Therefore, we need to stand firm, praise Him, pray and if you decide it's required, fast. He'll save you from this situation if you put Him in His rightful place.

Jehoshaphat told God that he was powerless with the situation and he didn't know what to do. But then he said one important thing - 'our eyes are upon You'. In other words he was saying to God, 'Lord, I don't know what to do here, but You do and I'm counting on You.'  He was trusting God for direction and help (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God spoke to one of the prophets declaring that it was not Jehoshaphat's problem but the Lord's. All he had to do was to get into position and await further instructions. And this is what we need to do. When we're under attack, we need to remember that it is not our problem if we put it into God's hands. If we try to sort it ourselves, it will go wrong. Is this where you are at this time? Have you come against a mighty problem that is threatening your whole livelihood? It is so worrying that it is making you ill fretting about it all. Do yourself a favour, give it to God - NOW! Then praise Him, yes that's right, praise Him. This is what Jehoshaphat sent his men on to the front line to do - sing and praise Him. 'Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever' (v21). God then caused so much confusion that the enemy began attacking themselves until all were defeated.

Are you getting this? This is how God wants each one of us to live - total dependance on Him and submitted and set apart. When we're like this, He will take care of the rest. You may have the most awful of problems and worries at this time. You may be having sleepless nights trying to figure it all out. Is it working? No. Your friend Jesus is telling you to cast all your cares upon Him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

What are you waiting for? Give it to Him and then thank Him and praise Him like never before; and watch your problems disappear.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Have you Humpty Dumpty Syndrome? Part 2

"The LORD is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).                          Psalm 34:18.  The Amplified Study Bible

When sadness and depression settles into one’s mind, heart, and soul, it is not easy to shake the feelings off, break out of the rut, and move on as some may suggest or think. At times, inner despair remains regardless of the goodwill offered from those that care. If this sounds like you, realise you are not alone. Many others have or are currently battling with valleys of darkness too.

God is near to the crushed and broken-hearted. It can seem that you are beyond repair because you have lost so much. However, if you can hang on to your hope, you will make it. You may have lost something or someone most dear; it may be everything that you have worked for and this, can drive you into despair - the feeling that you want to withdraw from the world and hide away. Don't do that. Don't go within yourself. If there is nothing inside of you that can help, you don't want to go there, it has nothing to offer except more despair. 

People may be talking about you. They may feel that you have been unwise - even foolish. They may listen and say they're sorry but, they will then get on with their own busy-ness. That's life really. You may feel so alone but let me encourage you to take another look at our text. 'God is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' It can't be any plainer that that. He cares, so do many others but the difference is, they have their own problems. God doesn't.

CBN says:

"Are you aware that numerous men and women of the Bible struggled with sadness? Yes, God-believing people experienced depressed feelings, emotional grief, and times of despair.

Set aside time for vigorous physical exercise. Walk three miles each day – it will help wash away anger and stimulate positive creativity. Smile while you walk – and notice all birds, trees, and children.

Seek out a godly mentor. Don’t isolate yourself. Maintain strong family and friend relationships.

Reduce TV watching and instead read or listen to inspirational material at least two hours daily.

Volunteer for a worthy cause. Helping someone else in need is a great way to ease the inward pain.

Forgive everyone in your life. Make peace with your past. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Get a job – even if it’s not your dream job or a great career move. Deliver pizzas or work in a garden department to get moving in a positive direction while you continue to build for long-term success. 

At the end of each day, complete these two sentences:

"Today I am thankful for......"

"Today my most significant accomplishment was......."

https://www1.cbn.com/finance/overcoming-a-crushed-spirit

Things will get better for you. The king's horses and the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again, but I know a man who can and His name is Jesus.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Have you Humpty Dumpty Syndrome? Part 1

"The LORD is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).                          Psalm 34:18.  The Amplified Study Bible

People all over the world are broken and others find it difficult in putting them back together again. Life can be cruel at times through one thing and another - broken marriages, being ripped off in a business deal, breakdown in families and even death. A person who has been broken in such a way, can easily internalise all of the pain and then become embittered. There is then a battle going on inside of them. Just take a can of coke, shake it up and down but don't take the top off. Inside it is chaos as the liquid and gases mix and get ready to erupt. When the top is finally taken off, the result is displayed all over the place. This is what can happen to the person who has internalised pain. When it is finally released, there can be much damage done as the pent-up feelings explode in anger.

When we were children, we used to hear about Humpty Dumpty:

'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horse and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.'

There's a degree of truth in these words. When a person has been broken, many people may try and counsel them, offering words of comfort and wisdom. Yet, oftentimes, the person is so hurt and shattered that whatever is said, goes over their head and is no help at all. Counsellors deal in this type of thing all of the time and their job is to pinpoint what actually brought the crisis on. Many things may have happened in the person's life and they may have coped with it all. Then, one separate problem comes along and they snap and all of the past events are thrown into the situation too. It can be a minefield of deep-rooted pain.

You may be feeling this way at this moment. Painful life events, rob us of our peace and we find it difficult to be able to cope with it all. Whatever your pain is; whatever has brought you to the place of feeling rejected or broken, it can be fixed. Humpty Dumpty was beyond repair but you aren't. But it may take some time and pain to allow things to change. Jesus is the best counsellor I have found. I have told Him lots of things about myself and over a period, He has helped me to see clearly.

Perhaps the first place to start is with forgiveness. This is a powerful thing. If we don't forgive the people involved in our situation, it will continue. You may feel they don't deserve forgiveness and this may be true. However, none of us deserve this, but through God's grace, we receive it anyway.

So today, why not decide in your heart to name these people and just tell God that you forgive them. This way, you will owe them nothing and God will help you to be honourable wih this. Once, you have forgiven them, leave the matter with Him and He will deal with it.

Try this for today, and tomorrow we will look further into brokenness.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Things will get better!

"These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the festive throng."

                                                                                                                         Psalm 42:4.  NIV 

This Psalm was written in exile and the Psalmist is remembering, with longing and tears, the times when he was able to worship God in Jerusalem. Remembering how things were and now are, can be difficult to cope with. Even though, this Psalm was written a long time ago, for some people it can be relevant today when they remember how they used to do a particular thing, maybe in the church or somewhere else, and this has now ceased to be. It can be hard to cope with.

This may have happened to you. Perhaps you were a 'somebody' and now you feel that you are a 'nobody'. Perhaps Adam could relate to this. He was a 'somebody' in the garden and because of his lack of wisdom and sin, he was cast out of the garden and had to learn to be a 'nobody' - in his own eyes. Let me just say, everybody is a somebody in God's eyes! Did you get that - you are a somebody. When we long for the earlier days, we can become hurt and bitter, washed out and on the scrapheap. Don't feel this way. You are special. Things will get better.

Loss is a difficult area to handle. Loss brings many changes, changes that we don't want and never thought would come. Loss happens to other people, not us. However, when it does, it can be so difficult to work through. It forces upon us, things that we would rather not have. It's not always a death that brings loss and change. It may be a marital breakdown, losing a job, an operation that has brought changes to your life or perhaps, moving to a strange area where you miss your family and friends. It all takes time to make sense of it all.

Let's look at verse 5 of Psalm 42:

'Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,

My Saviour and my God'

There is always hope where God is concerned. As we place our hope in Him and praise Him, He reaches out to us and helps us through the path that we're walking. 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.'  Psalm 23:4 NIV.

Have you considered that this may be a new chapter in your life? Perhaps like a book, one chapter has come to an end and you need to open a new chapter to find what is going to happen. Perhaps this is where you are at. 

One thing is for sure, you are not on the scrapheap; you have not been discarded and forgotten; you are a somebody with a bright future and pretty soon, things are going to get better. Now that is someting to consider and praise God for.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Keys to your healing

"My son, give attention to my words, incline your ears to my sayings, (21) do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; (22) for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh."                           Proverbs 4:20-22    NKJV

What we say counts. What comes out of our mouths is powerful stuff. Proverbs 18:21 says, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.' Therefore, we need to speak positively not negatively; what you confess - you get! So therefore be willing to learn to use your words wisely; this is what giving attention to your words means. We can either speak words that bring death to a situation, where there is no faith, or life and if we need healing, this is what we need to focus on. Otherwise we can cancel it out.

So let's examine this. We should listen properly by having good attending skills, not looking out of the window or practicing multi-tasking skills. To incline the ear, means to sit slightly forward letting the person who is speaking to us, know that we are listening to them. Doing this, helps to blank out other things around us and helps us to focus and concentrate much better. We need to do this when we are listening to a speaker or reading our bibles. There are distractions at every corner and we can easily be drawn away, especially when we are praying and the telephone rings.

When we read or hear scripture, we need to mull it over properly. In other words we should ponder the words and meditate on it until we get the bigger picture. There is life in God's Word and He wants us to receive it. If we are wanting to be healed of some sickness, we need to receive it and confess we are healed, despite our body telling us differently. When we receive and confess healing, we internalise this fact and live 'healed'. Proverbs 12:18 tells us, 'The tongue of the wise brings healing.' 

This is God's prescription, as Derek Prince was always teaching us. However, to quote a study note from the Amplified Study Bible, 'This demands constancy of heart and purpose, honesty in speech, steadiness of gaze and a right goal in walk and life.' Now to do this is not easy. Things will trip us up every step of the way. It is no casual thing. We need to live it if we want to see it. If you tell people that you are healed when they believe that you are not,they may ridicule you and this can bring much discouragement. The moment you begin to doubt, you will go without. Stand on your healing no matter what!

Practice joy, which is a strength and remember scriptures such as, 'A merry heart does good like medicine.' and 'This is the day the LORD has made, we will (let us) rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalm 118:24. Jesus wants the best for us; check the scriptures out where He told people that their faith had made them well. These were not 'bible times', they happen today and God wants you to live well - good health. So believe and receive. 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Did you think you wouldn't get shot at?

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."   v16                                             Ephesians 6:10-18.  NIV

No matter who you are or where you come from, if you belong to Jesus - a Christian, you will be attacked by the devil in some way. He will use whoever is available to give you a bad time. This is his style; you see, he's not like God who can be everywhere at one time and do everything at once. No, he is limited so he has to recruit others.

Now these people may not even know they are being used, some will but not many. Usually the devil will use family, friends, neighbours or whoever he can, to have a go at us. You are usually in for an attack when you have done something significant for God, or you are planning to. If he can prevent you doing this, he is pleased, so don't allow him this pleasure. You must realise that there is a war going on - a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). You enlisted on active service the day you asked Jesus into your life, so you are in the middle of it.

Life can be ticking over very nicely and then, WHAM, a flaming arrow is fired at you and it may bring heartache, panic and pain. This is why we need to put on the armour of God each day and hold up the shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows that come our way. The shield is based on the Roman shield that was covered with leather, which was then soaked in water. The reason being, the flame-tipped arrows would be put out as they hit the shield.

Don't think you can get away from these attacks. No, we have to learn to stand up to them and refuse to allow them to deter us from going forward and having a good day. Unfortunately, after certain attacks - the ones that really hurt our hearts and disarm us, we can feel like folding up and running away. Don't allow this to happen. Stand up and pray; take control of the situation in Jesus' name and gain the victory. Don't settle for defeat.

Have you ever felt that you are at the bottom of a deep mine shaft and you've managed to climb up to the top. Just as you are going to climb out, something happens and you fall back to the bottom again. That's how certain attacks can make us feel. It's rather like making a promise that you'll never do a certain thing again and when you do, you feel that you will have to start all over again.

Just think for a moment, if you were at the bottom of a mine shaft, you would not have to climb up to the top to be able to get out. No, Jesus would be right there with you and, what's more, He would take us through a door and show us a new way out. There is no need for us to flap or become upset, He knows the way and and will help us as we call on Him.

How are you coping today? Remember our text last week? 'Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 NIV. That is the answer. We are in battle and trying to sort it out ourselves may just make it worse. Give it to Jesus. He knows what He is doing! 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Make the most of every moment

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, (16) redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17) Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."                                                                            Ephesians 5:15-17.  NKJV

We are called to walk circumspectly, which means carefully, wisely and cautiously as a person would walk through thorny ground, not as fools, dashing in and ripping our skin on the deadly plants. God wants us to seize the opportunity for the glory of Jesus. It isn't so much as making the most of our time but making the time we have with Jesus, here on earth, count.

David Guzik comments: "This is another reason why it is important to walk wisely. Jesus spoke of a time when;  'Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. (12) And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.'  (Matthew 24:11-12). Surely we are in those times, because the days are evil."

We only have to look around our world today, terrorism is rife with terrilble beheading and people being blown up, all in the name of religion. Murders and rapes are on the increase as is the many stabbings in many parts of the country. People are beaten up and robbed in broad daylight and very little is done about it. People are frightened to go out on the streets in some parts of our country. And it is not only in the UK, it is worldwide. Just check out what is happening in the news Surely we are entering into end times!

The Apostle Paul says, 'For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, (4) and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.' 2 Timothy 4:3-4. In other words, they will believe the lie that God does not exist and put it into practice.

The Bible speaks the truth, it is the Word of God and it was predicted many years ago that we would be going through such times, and even worse as the days go on. We need to take notice of the times. We need to be alert to what is happening all around us, and we really do need to make the most of our days. Time is gradually running out, the hour glass has the sand running through it, and eventually it will run out. Therefore, we as Christians are called to walk circumspectly, not as fools taking no notice of what is going on all around.

The Apostle Paul adds to this passage: 'But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfilled your ministry.'   2 Timothy 4:5.

Do I have to say anymore?

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Watch the Pharisees of today

"As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me'. So he followed Him. "   V9                                            Matthew 9:9-13.  NKJV

 Matthew, the tax collector was just sitting in his office carrying out his work, when Jesus turned up and told him to follow Him. It may have seemed a strange thing to do but, Matthew received what Jesus said and followed Him. We have already seen this in John 1, where Jesus called other men to follow Him. However, this one was a little different. Matthew was a tax collector - quite a hated person then and not so different today. I dread my tax return each year.

Now Jesus had already upset the Pharisees earlier when He had healed a paralytic on his bed. They had accused Him of blasphemy saying that no one can forgive sin except God. Therefore, Jesus had demonstrated that He had the authority to forgive sins and heal a person too. In other words, He was letting them know who He was and where He had come from. However, they wouldn't accept this truth, very much like people who knock Christians today. Now here was Jesus sitting and speaking with the tax collectors and sinners (V10). 

In Jesus's reply to the Pharisees, of why He was doing this, (V12-13) Jesus told them firmly that He had come to call the sinners to repentance, not the righteous. The righteous can take care of themselves but sinners are lost without Him. Jesus didn't mince His words; He said it as it is. He had a mission and He would fulfil it no matter what. 

It can be very much the same today in certain circles. I created a place in our church basement for the homeless and broken to come. They were fed, loved and accepted and they had a place to rest for the day and where possible, we gave them new clothes. We never had any trouble from them, in fact, they were better behaved than some of the church members. However, rather like Jesus was knocked by the Pharisees, we were also knocked by the Pharisees of the day. 'We don't want that type of person here,' was one of the statements. When the homeless guys started coming to the Sunday services, I was asked by my superiors, if I would be willing to hold different services - one for the church members and one for the 'Down and Outs'. My reply was, if they could should me in scripture where Jesus did this, yes I would comply. This closed the conversation.

People do not like their comfort zones stirred up. Anything out of the norm is a 'No, No', and if you step out of their circle, you will find that you will quickly become unpopular. The way I see it is, if Jesus was unpopular, then I am proud to become unpopular with Him. It is not a time for pussy-footing around with rules and relegulations made by man; it is a time to stand up for Jesus, to preach His Word and live it for as long as we can. Certain people even want parts of the bible re-written so that it fits in with new trends and life styles for today. We should never allow this. It is time for Christians to stand up and keep standing. We either follow Jesus or we don't. There's no place for watering things down to fit life today. The Word of God is still The Word of God. This is the bottom line.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Are you tired and and worn out?

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 

For all of us, the road becomes weary and we can end up stressed out tired of endless chores, work and life in general. Jesus here, is saying that He has the answer, 'Come to Me - I will give you rest." He mentions taking His yoke upon ourselves. What actually does that mean? Well firstly, the yoke He mentions is submision to Himself. We can't keep, keeping on or something will break within us. We are only weak; Jesus is strong. Therefore, He tells us to come to Him and lay our burdens at His feet and He will help us to achieve them and also give us rest. 

Secondly, Jesus was a carpenter in Nazareth before His ministry began. Legend has it that He made the best ox-yokes around. These were wooden frames that were made so skilfully that they fitted around the neck of the ox so that it could be controlled. This could also be done in pairs. It is said of Jesus that His yokes, 'fitted well'. Whether this is fact or myth we don't really know. However, it is quite possible that it was true because He had His workshop in Nazareth and was well known for His work. This actually is a great analogy for the yoke that Jesus wants to give us. He takes great care to supply us with the best and He would only want us to be fitted with the finest. 

Jesus watches us on a daily basis and He sees the pressures that come our way. Really, this is the time when we need to take Him at His Word and say to Jesus, 'Lord, please help me with this.' There may be an unexpected bill, a demand or another issue that is causing us pain. In a way, Jesus would like us to say to Him, 'Lord, I have this bill. I haven't got an idea how I can pay it, but You do, so I'm leaving it to You to sort out for me. I'm not going to worry about it'. Now this may sound quite rude to speak with the King of kings in such a way. But check the scriptures out; He tells us not to worry about such things, but to seek Him and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to us. (Matthew 6:33). It's a burden and He asks us to take the burden to Him. He wants us to act in such a way and He wants us to be free of the pressures that life puts on us.

Life can bring us torment and anxiety at times and we need to adopt a way to avoid this stress. Jesus has the answer here. 'Come to Me'. Some of us may be wrestling with disappointment today but, Jesus will crush every disappointment and break every chain that the devil places on us - if we allow Him to. He is our burden-bearer, our fresh hope and He offers us a refreshing that no one else can. Just take a look in Psalm 23:2-3 and see how He helps us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters. Picture a beautiful, warm sunny day doing this - relaxing. He wants to restore our soul - our mind, will and emotions, all of this stuff that crushes our brain and cause distress. 

All of this is available to us as we obey Jesus' words, 'Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.'

Now I don't know about you but, that seems to be a great idea!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Don't be stubborn like the mule - listen!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye. (9) Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you."       Psalm 32:8-9.  NKJV

This Psalm considers how we need to allow God to direct our day and walk with Him. He offers to instruct us about the way forward; to teach us His principles; to direct our course in all things and guide us into healthy and prosperous living. However, if we are not tuned into God we will miss what He has for us. How can we hear properly if we are not listening? We can't. We need to be open on a regular, daily basis to what God has for us.

God quite clearly tells us in this Psalm of David, that He wants to be part of our lives. He wants us to get things right in all we do. Therefore, He is willing to show us the way ahead, but, are we willing for Him to do so. Let's be honest, often we consider that we don't need any help, we can do this on our own. One example is when we purchase a new implement for the home.  Very often the instructions are neglected and we press on putting it together only to find, it doesn't quite work properly. It seems to be a common practice, especially with men, that we don't really need to view the rules, we know how it is supposed to work. We can do this.

This all falls in with having a stubborn streak. We can be unteachable. As verse 9 says, 'Do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding'. Isn't this what we are being when we tend to think that we know it all and don't need to be taught or shown the way forward? When we act in this way, we demonstrate that we have no understanding. Things may be okay for a time but pretty soon, they will start crumbling because we have no understanding - no root - no direction.

Many times, people are 'saved' and almost immediately, believe that they are called to be preachers or evangelists. They don't need any training or discipline. They believe God has called them and this all that they need. That may be so for the odd individual, but usually God expects us to have a time of training to gain the wisdom and knowledge that is required for this type of work. See how the disciples were taught by Jesus. He didn't send them out straightaway. There was a time where they had to sit at His feet and gain understanding.

We live in a very busy and unsettled time. Our lives can be stressful and the demands placed upon us totally over the top. Put this against living in a time of 'Lockdown', where there is uncertainty about where it is all going to end up and the worry of how we will manage if we lose our jobs or money. We need guidance. We need instruction and direction. In fact, we need Jesus! He is the only one that is certain in this whole world. He will never leave us or let us down; and what's more, He knows the way ahead.

This is why He offers to instruct us and teach us in the way we should go; but if we don't allow Him to do this, we are being like the horses and the mules - stubborn and on a crash course to possible ruin. 

Spend time with Him; allow Him to show you the way through the situation that you are in right now. Submit to Him and ask Him for guidance. Pray and read your bible and listen to what He says to you. It really does make sense.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Living by Faith

"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."                                                                                Matthew 6:33.  NKJV

This is one of the most quoted verses in the bible. We heard it at Sunday school and church and preachers are still quoting this in their sermons in church and on God channels on the TV. Why? Because it is true. When we place God in the driving seat of our lives and trust Him to provide whatever we need, He blesses us.

Back in 1982, I successfully interviewed with the Elim Pentecostal Organisation and began my training with in-depth bible correspondance courses. At that time this was permissible and an alternative to full time bible college. God led me to a local Elim church, where I began serving, full time, in an assistant's role to the pastor. The only problem was, there was no financial remuneration, I had to trust God for our needs. I had a wife and two children still at home. My wife had a job but this only met the cost of the bills and basic shopping. 

We had learned the basics of faith but now it was time to put it into action; and we did. We never went short of anything. We came home one evening wondering what we were going to have for dinner and greeting us on the doorstep, was a piping hot crockpot of the best casserole I have ever tasted. We had money put through our letter box. We needed a car but couldn't afford to even run one, let alone buy one. My wife came home from work one night in a company car with all expences paid including petrol. Someone had lost their licence through drink-driving and God used their lack of wisdom to bless us. We prayed for clothes and found the most incredible bargains. At one time, I needed shoes, so I asked God. I looked in a shoe-shop window and there was a brand new pair of leather shoes, my size for only £1. You know something, those shoes never wore out. I ended up giving them away to a homeless chap who was equally blessed.

Yes, we cut our teeth on faith. God has shown us that as we trust Him, tithing what we owe to God, He will take care of the rest. It's not always plain sailing though. Sometimes, God will have you wait until the very last moment before what you need, arrives. James Hudson-Taylor once said, 'If we can only wait right up to the time, God cannot lie, God cannot forget. He is pledged to supply all our need.' And this is so true. God is faithful but you have to take Him at His Word to find this out. One thing He asks is that we honour Him with a tithe from what we receive. It may seem impossible to do this, but as you obey - putting Him first, miraculously you will find that He will bless you in return. You cannot outgive God, give to Him and He gives back, usully much more than you have given as well.

You may be struggling at this time. Let me encourage you; place God first in your life; decide to honour Him with your tithe and then trust Him. Read your bible, claim promiises such as the above text and watch how He looks after you. Sometimes, I see the birds eating some amazing stuff that they haven't paid for, yet God has supplied. If He will feed the birds, He will not neglect you. Read Matthew 6:25-34 in an attitude of praise.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

He's your A to Z of your Life

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."          Proverbs 3:5-6.  NKJV

The above scripture was our baptismal text back in 1980 when my wife and I went through the waters of baptism, following our conversation. Forty years later, we are still trying to live this way but like us all, need a constant reminder of the way ahead. 

In days of pressure and torment, it is easy to forget that we have a God who is 100% for us, wanting to show the way through difficult and life-troubling events. Charles F Stanley writes: 'Any time we spend wondering about how to get out of a touchy situation is time wasted. God's guidance is more than sufficient for all the tests or trials we might have to face - but in order to benefit from it, we have to seek it out.'

When we don't know what to do about a given situation, the first thing we should do is submit it to God and then slow down and wait. Then, when we feel He has answered us, before we do anything, we need to ensure that we have a sense of peace to go along with the plans and ideas we have submitted to God.

If we just make up our own minds about a situation, it can be a recipe for disaster. Many people have made big mistakes - me included - by dashing in without praying first. God should be our first port of call. We need His guidance and His direction. However, to be able to do this, we need to trust Him with all of our heart. This is the bottom line; it underpins everything we belive in. If we can't trust God we are in big trouble. He's the only one we can fully trust. 

Look at it like this. When we go on a trip, we usually check the route out on a map or to be more up to date, a Sat Nav. This usually ensures an accurate plan of the route that we need to take. Without these things, it can be a little daunting to be lost in the middle of nowhere. In a similar way, we need Jesus as our Sat Nav. He knows the way 100% and will sweep the road of all obstacles that may be in your way. 

Learning to trust God is imperative, it is essential to a happy life. He's committed to us and wants us to be committed to Him. He wants us to rely on Him, asking Him the way ahead and what to do about a particular thing. He is our Father and wants to act as such to us - His children. 

Whatever you are deliberating about at this time; whatever is worrying you or whatever you have to do, put God first. Trust Him, Lean on Him, Acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. He knows the way; He sweeps the obstacles off the path in front of you; He's your Road Atlas, your Sat Nav, He's your compass; in fact, He is your A to Z of your life.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

No discrimination

"Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, 'How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?' For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." v9

                                                                                                        John 4:1-26.  NKJV

Jews and Samaritans, were two groups who didn't have anything to do with each other. Jews believed the Samaritans had been tainted by the pagan nations among them (Deuteronomy 7:1).  Furthermore, a Jew would become ceremonially unclean if he used a drinking vessel handled by a Samaritan. In a Jew's eyes, all Samaritans were unclean. In addition to this, men in biblical times did not generally speak to women in public. 

And yet, here was Jesus going through Samaria, meeting the woman at the well and asking her for a drink. He was breaking everything that Jews believed. Even His disciples, on their return from buying food (v27), marvelled at Jesus sitting and talking with her.

You see, with God there is no difference in our race; the colour of our skin or where we originate from. With God there is no partiality (Romans 2:11). He loves everyone and by this acount here, shows that He is against racial discrimination.

Jesus, having walked  a long way in the midday sun, sat at Jacob's Well in Sychar. It was hot; He was weary and He also had a thirst. All of this demonstrates His humanity. He was God and yet He was a man and He underwent all the things that a human being goes through each day. He noticed the woman drawing from the well and asked her for a drink. 

What followed was an amazing account of Jesus telling her all about herself, Himself and His coming Kingdom and the peace and love that she could have. It affected her so much, that she left her water carrier and ran into the city telling them all about the event. She said, 'Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' (v29). Samaritans expected a Messiah, but their rejection of all the inspired writings after the Pentateuch, meant that they knew little about Christ. They thought of Him mainly as a teacher. However, this woman was so affected by Jesus that her excitement was infectious, and she brought the whole city to Jesus. Quite an evangelistic feat.

Jesus' heart breaks over the whole of racial discrimination. In Jesus's opinion, we are all equal and he treats us as such. He has no favourites, we all have a ministry to run. In Jesus' eyes, whatever we do for Him, is equally important.

Sadly, politics can enter into our Christian faith so much, that we can end up making the politician more important than Jesus Himself. Yes, God is interested in how the nations will be run and if the politicians place Jesus in the rightful place of their work, it will be.

One day, God will totally rule in Heaven and on the earth. He will demonstrate how kingdoms should be managed - with Jesus on the Throne. Until then, let us avoid all form of discrimination and keep Jesus firmly in our sights on a daily basis.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Don't let anger get the better of you

"'Be angry, and do not sin,' do not let the sun go down on your wrath. (27) nor give place to the devil."                                                                                  Ephesians 4:26-27  NKJV

The Greek word here for 'place', is topos which emphasises that believers can actually give ground in their lives to satanic control. But this doesn't mean that we can just become angry and let rip at someone and then the blame the devil for it all. If that was the case, all of us could go out and have affairs, be the meanest person around and rob people and say, it was not my fault, the devil was in control. No, it means that you gave him the control. What we have to be careful of, is our anger. If we don't control it, the devil can get in and use us to bring about mayhem and division in our lives and the life of the church.

Most people, at sometime in their lives, fall to anger, some more regularly than others. To be angry is not always sinful. People have righteous anger, rather like Jesus when He cleared the temple from people who were using it as a marketplace. However anger that burns within us is dangerous. It can bubble away within until, POW, it erupts and that can cause devastation, whether it be in a relationship, a workplace or in the community. The moment we give in to anger, we have lost control. Don't give the devil an opportunity, rise above it. Kenneth Copeland often says, 'If you let the devil into the back seat of the car, pretty soon he's gonna want to drive.' Do you get the idea? Take control of it it before it takes root and ruins things.

A lot of married couples fall out this way. One of them offends the other and instead of putting it right straightaway, they carry it on and an atmosphere is caused where neither one of them will speak or say they are sorry. This is where the devil can get in. It only takes one little spark to cause a forest fire. (James 3:5). Our text today highlights this fact: 'do not let the sun go down on your wrath'. All it does is give the devil a foothold. That's all he needs to come into a person's life and causes devastation. Don't allow this.

The more we focus on being wronged, the more it affects us. We allow the offence to go round and round in our heads and then, we can begin having conversations with ourselves, plotting what we'll say back to the person or how we will take revenge. We can become so wound up about it, that we may begin to make inner vows such as, 'I'll never allow anyone ever to do that again' etc. etc. When we have been wronged, we can allow it to damage our whole feelings about the person and it can soon turn into hate. Don't allow this. Nip it in the bud, quickly.

"It's ok for you to say that, but you don't know the hurt it caused me.' You're right, I don't know the hurt it has caused you. but I can see the hurt that it is doing to you now because you're not letting it go. Let it go!

You may well be in a position such as this. Someone has offended you and it hurts. If that person is living within your home, then action needs to be taken straightaway. Life's too short for this type of thing. Can you forgive and forget the situation? Or can you talk the matter through with the person or with a trusted friend. That may help. 

On the other hand, do you need to go to someone and tell them that you are sorry? It is very important to do this. God expects us to put things right, not hold grudges or refuse to forgive others (Matthew 7:1-2 & Mark 11:25-26).

Jesus left us with peace (John 14:27). Why not flow in that peace right now!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com