What have you learnt this year?

"Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead." 

                                                                               Philippians 3:13   CSB 

We're told in various places in the bible, not to look back. Here Paul is forgetting what is behind and reaching to what is ahead. The thing is, occasionally we need to look back so that we can assess how far we have come. However, we are not to look back by living in the past. The past is over, it's a new day and there is a new way forward. Look at Lot's wife (Genesis 19:17- 26). They had been told to get out of Sodom as it was going to be destroyed. Clearly they were told not to look back. However, Lot's wife did, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Not nice. 

We also need to remember things that God has done for us. This is also looking back. As we do this, we are strengthened when we realise that He turned up at just the right time for us. So, the title of this study today is, 'What have you learned this year?' To do this, you need to look back to assess how things have gone. Therefore, this past year:

WHAT HAVE YOU ACHIEVED AND WHY?

How has your life been this past year? Think back and make a list of the things that you have achieved or even failed at. If you have failed at something, what made this happen? Did you do something wrong or did life prevent you from achieving what you had set out to do? There is nothing wrong in failing. Ask Thomas Edison, he failed many times as he was inventing things. One of them was the Electric Light Bulb. I read it took him 1001 times to achieve this before it worked properly. If he had given up in frustration we would have still been using candles until someone else had succeeded.

Write two lists: your SUCCESS list and your UNSUCCESSFUL list. As you list these down, leave a space to answer why you were successful, what did you do to achieve this. On the other list write why you were unsuccessful, what happened to prevent success. Then when you have finished your two lists read them prayerfully and allow God to show you where you could have been even more successful or what you could do to improve the unsuccessful ones. 

These lists can help you determine what progress you have made, what you could do to improve. This could mean spending more time in prayer and reading God's word. If you find you have not made much progress at all, ask God why this is; what are you missing. He will answer this very quickly. 

Now write a list about:

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR

Then use your list to assess how you are doing. You'll be surprised how God can help you in this area.If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

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

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Be in charge of your anger

"You must all be, slow to anger"         James 1:19   CSB

It is possible to not like what God has spoken to you or, if He hasn't answered your prayer the way you wanted Him to. It is recommended that we refrain from doing this; God knows best and we need to remember this. You may also become angry because someone in your church, at home or even at work, has wronged you. Again, this is not recommended as we find ourselves walking in disharmony. If we are right about something, it's possible to approach the person and gently address this. However, be careful because they may not receive it the way you had hoped. Jesus demonstrated anger when He found the temple being used as a trading place (Mark 11:15-17). But notice, in His anger He didn't sin. And this is the difference.

Our egos can be bruised when someone hurts us and this can cause us to become angry.  But when injustice and sin occurs, with people suffering, then that is the time when righteous anger can take place. It is never right for people to be treated in a bad way. But selfish anger is never the answer. To become angry to win an argument or settle a dispute, should never take place by the Christian.

As we've mentioned over the past few days, you need to be in charge of how you listen to people, how you respond to any given incident and take control of anger that is bubbling away. Whenever you have lost your temper with someone, it is most likely that words have been spoken which are like arrows to the heart. You can never take back such words. For many, they are tattooed on the soul, causing severe pain whenever they are thought about. Some of you reading this, may be victims of harsh, arrow-shaped words. All you can do is, forgive the person, as hard as it may be; and then give these painful words to Jesus. He had many hurtful comments made against Him. Don't forget, He was in His humanity so, He would have felt the pain as you do. However, He decided that the work He had to do, was more important than the pain He was suffering. Why not take His example and set yourself free. It will be worth it.

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

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

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Be in charge of your mouth

 "You must all be slow to speak"   James 1:19   NLT

Having covered the area of listening, or in some people's case, not listening, we now come to the area of speech. Some people have very little to say. It's not that they are being rude, they are just built this way. They are quiet by nature and, they can make better listeners than the ones who talk a lot.

We need to speak, it is the number one way in which we communicate with other people and, with God. However, there are limits because some people can talk for a very long time. The one who limits their speech tend to be the ones that get things done. Those that speak a lot can lose the point of what they are trying to say and have to be reminded. Some people talk a lot because they're lonely and welcome the flow of a conversation, while others, are people who get straight to the point and nothing more. Perhaps the ideal is to find somewhere in the middle of this, if that's possible.

There is a danger in speaking too soon. It's possible that the conversation can be misheard, where the speaker may then jump in, challenging something that they thought had been said. It is imperative that we be slow to speak as James advises us. We tend to feel there won't be enough time to get our point over so we, try to jump in when there is a gap in the conversation. Having an itinerary of what you need to speak about is a good idea. However, it must be flexible with thought given beforehand of what people may say about your comments. Obviously, this is only a guide because, the conversation may go another way.

Of course when we speak, we should have a good idea of what is being said. In a  meeting, it can be so easy to drift off and lose your concentration. This leads to  confusion and a vote of no confidence from others. Of course, not all of our conversation is concerned with meetings. There are the every day ones too. But, we still need to be slow to react to another person's comments because, it's still so easy to blurt out a load of gobbledegook. So be careful. 

A big mistake we can fall for by rushing to speak is, making promises that you know you can't keep or, will cause you extra work later. We've all done this. This is the peril of speaking too soon. 

Well, tomorrow, we'll look at the final topic James speaks about - Anger. 

Have a great day!

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

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

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Be in charge of your ears

"You must all be: quick to listen."    James 1:19   NLT 

I can make no apology for addressing this subject again. I must do what the Holy Spirit tells me, and this is it. So for the next three days, we will look at the areas:

QUICK TO LISTEN - SLOW TO SPEAK - SLOW TO GET ANGRY

QUICK TO LISTEN

Many is the time that we just go about our business and don't really listen to what we are being told. We do it with the people around us, people at work and people in our families. We are even doing it with God and, that is serious. Now whether we do it on purpose, are too busy to stop and consider what is being said or, believe that we know it all, we are showing people no dignity. 

These three examples above, display what could be considered, as a rude attitude. We may come up against people who are always critical about what we do, so we can tend to cut them out of our hearing, after all, what do they know about it all. We can be so busy that we say, 'Sorry, I just can't stop and speak right now. I'm up to my eyeballs with this job.' This leads to us thinking: These people know nothing about my business. I know what I am doing.' Do you recognise any of these? These all lead to a demonstration of being rude and wind people up so much that, they may feel, 'Well get on with it then. You know where I am when it goes wrong.' 

You may not even recognise that you're doing this and that in itself, shows you that you may need some fine tuning. People around you want to help but, you can drive them away.

There is nothing more annoying than speaking with someone who is not really listening. You can see it; they look at their watch, look out of the window at something, answer their mobile when they're supposed to be listening to you. Are you like this? You're not giving anyone dignity if you are. If you do it with people, then you'll do it with God. 'No I won't.' No? What about those times when you're praying or reading your bible when suddenly, a thought comes into your mind and you start focusing on that instead of God? He is talking to you, it may be important but, you're not listening. It is rude.

There are a lot of hurting and confused people around you right now. Have you noticed them? God may be telling you to speak with them, help them or whatever. However, if you don't listen, you'll miss it altogether.

If this applies to you, then stop being self-centered. You may need someone to listen to you, one day and it may be sooner than you think. How will you feel if the person who can help is too busy to see you, or if you manage to see them, is writing something, answering a mobile, looking at their watch and showing you all the signs that they're too busy to listen to what you have to say? If you want to receive dignity, you must offer it as well, and one way is to listen to people and to God. Sorry, I'm only the messenger 😐

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

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

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle  

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2