Stop, pray and wait for the direction

 "There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death"    

                                 Proverbs 14:12  CSB

There is a need to be careful in our everyday walk with Jesus. As we know, the devil is not our friend and, he will do all he can to get us to walk along the wrong path. This is why we need to have our wits about us. As much as we think that we know best, quite simply, we don't. As the scripture tells us, things can seem to be the right way to go but we can end up getting our fingers burnt. This is why we need to be aware of the scripture: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways, know Him and He will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6. Our mind will try to overrule us if we are not switched on to Jesus and the devil will agree and make it seem such a great idea. So, when we need to make a big decision, stop, pray and wait for the direction.

Our mind is powerful and together with our will and emotions, it becomes our soul. The Universal dictionary puts it like this, 'The animating and vital principal in humankind credited with the faculties of thought, action and emotion.' Therefore, the mind controls our thoughts, the will our decision making and our emotions, how we deal with things that come against us. So, according to our text above, a thought or an idea is given us which seems to be a tempting offer, our action can be to act before we have thought the matter through and this can then lead us how to we feel afterwards.

So it is imperative that we seek God about what to do, where to go and such. This gives us the peace that we are doing things right. Mind you, we can't expect to have peace around us if, we do not have peace within. There may have been many times when you know that there has been very little peace about a decision that you have made and, the result has been quite costly. So wise up.

You may feel that there is very little time to 'stop, pray and wait for the answer.' But don't let this urge you to make a wrong move. If it means running in before you have had time to think, ask God and wait for His decision, then it more than likely is not for you. No matter how hard it may be, walk on by. Don't rush and make a mess of things. Be wise and seek God. That's the way to go!

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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Nothing left to give

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."   Psalm 147:3  NKJV

Today, you may be battle-scarred, wounded, beaten up, slapped down and hurting. Looking around, there doesn't seem to be anyone who are aware of this either. You are carrying it alone. This is one characteristic of depression; you feel alone and want to be alone but, deep-down, you don't want to be alone. You are so confused that you don'r know what you want. One moment you can't stop crying, the tears just flow and you can't seem to stop them. Just one expression of love towards you and you can easily start crying again. Nothing seems to matter but then again, it does but you just don't have the mental energy to address this. If someone asks you what upset you, you can't answer this because there appears to be many, many things that could be the cause.

When a person is having a breakdown, these are some of the symptoms. The person may have managed to handle all of the mighty bullets that were shot at them without it having a nervous reaction. Then came along one more thing that tipped them over the edge. It may only have been such a small, insignificant thing but when it hit, it awakened all of those buried hurts that they thought they had overcome.

The human being seems very good in hiding hurts from others and they carry them around on their own without venting their feelings about such a thing. The result being, a person can only take so much before something has to snap. And it can snap hard.

Are you one of these wounded people? Have you been hiding hurts from the people who matter in your life? If it hasn't already, one of these days, and it may be soon, your world is going to crumble if you don't do something about it and quickly. Take a look at what God's word has to say about such times:"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Straightaway, we have someone who is willing to comfort us in our misery - Jesus. He knows what pain is and has seen many dreadful things happening to His people. He doesn't question what has happened, even if it were our own fault. He has too much invested in us. Therefore, go to Him now, 'casting all your cares on Him for cares for you' 1 Peter 5:7. 

You can only take so much before you begin to crack. Jesus knows this. You are not weak, you've just been in battle for a while and you need a top up. Remember, Jesus was far from weak but He had to go through all that He He did for our sake. He knows how you feel. Just relax and let Him build you back up.

 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 2024 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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You'll get what you confess

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

If we're not careful, we can speak or think ourselves into something that we don't wish to happen. Job had become like this. This is why he said this in the verse above. One can actually get what they confess. To give an example, how many times do we hear someone say, 'I feel awful, I think I'm coming down with the flu.' And then, not long after this, they have the flu. We need to be careful when we say things like, 'My back's killing me'. We may have a bad back but to confess it, is not faith, and it's definitely not the right thing to confess that it is killing you. Some people may say that this is splitting hairs. To them, it may be, but Job soon saw the horror of what he had been saying and thinking.

When we speak and think in such a way we are going down the road of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy as described below: 

'A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's or group of persons' belief or expectation that said prediction would come true.^[1] This suggests that people's beliefs influence their actions. The principle behind this phenomenon is that people create consequences regarding people or events, based on previous knowledge of the subject.'     (Wikipedia) 

We need to be so careful about what we think and say.

Self-Fulled Prophecy can happen in your mind or in reality. Let me explain - to believe something is happening when we have no evidence about it, is suspicion. However, it can become worse when it is all we think of and get ourselves into such a state of worry, where it is no longer suspicion, but fact. We believe it is true, and as time goes by it may well be, because we go looking for it and refuse any other explanation.

People can say, 'I can't go to Uni, I'd never make the grades and I would only make a fool of myself." If you believe that way, you probably would. It's natural to believe that we are not sure if we can do something but, that doesn't mean we should give up on the idea. When David faced Goliath, if he had started to believe that he couldn't slay him and would probably die, then he would not have had the victory. As soon as Goliath's taunts came to his ears, if he had believed them, he would have either ran away like the other Israelites, or he would have been killed. But he believed in God and confessed this: 'I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you.'  1 Samuel 17:45-46.

If David had confessed fear and doubt, he would have been killed. But he didn't, he confessed victory. He refused to confess fear or doubt. And so should you.

You are a member of God's Army. Stand tall in this fact and never again confess doubt. You need to confess victory in all you do. This leads to faith.

 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 2024 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 

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The days are getting more evil

"Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion."  Psalm 2:6   NKJV

Have you noticed how each day, the world is flowing in more evil? People murdered daily, terrible abuse cases, sex trafficking, wars, threats of war and whatever else. It certainly is a time when some people are losing their security and living in total fear. King David here, writing this Psalm, points out that in his day, nations were raging against each other; plotting and scheming. They acted disrespectfully towards God and the promise of His Anointed's arrival. But God just laughed at them from His seat in heaven. Whatever they thought, the Anointed One - Jesus Christ, would come. God confidently declared that 'Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.' Whatever they did, they could not prevent this from happening.

It's the same today. People treat the name of Jesus as a swear word, they openly curse Him and have very little love towards their neighbour. But one day this will all change and Jesus will reign on the earth for 1000 years, together with creating a new heaven and earth. We just can't take it all in, but it is true. But until then, we have to contend with what is happening in our world. But the message today is two-fold. Firstly, God the Father set Jesus on His holy hill of Zion. We must do the same. We can place Jesus on our holy hill - our life as our Lord and Saviour. Once we recognise this, we can face anything that may happen around us. Until Jesus comes for us, things are only going to get worse. We don't know what will happen from one day until the next. With trigger-happy dictators in the world, there could well be a war. We just don't know. But what we do know is this, We have Jesus Christ in our lives, He has been placed on the hill of our life. And knowing this, even though things may get scary in the future, the Anointed One is by our side.

It is time to look around us instead of staying in a holy bubble. We need to pray for the nations. We need to pray for it's leaders and, we need to pray for world peace. It's no good having an attitude of, 'Well, whatever is going to happen, will happen anyway.' As praying people, we can change things, if we have the opinion that we can't change things, then don't pray and just sit and wait. One thing is for sure, Jesus is encouraging His church to pray then, pray more: 'If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land' 2 Chron 7:14.

This place is getting more evil, people are hurting, dying and calling out for help, so Church, it's time to bend the knee and pray. Forget the cuddly coffee mornings and  having Christian chit-chat for a while, and get down to what God is calling us all to do. Prayer can change things and things really do need to change!

 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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Warnings and advice

"Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing, nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net."     Luke 5:5   NKJV 

After teaching the people by the lakeside, Jesus told Peter to: 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch' v4. Now there were a number of things quite questionable with this direction. (1) Jesus was a carpenter not a fisherman; what did He know about fishing? (2) The fishermen had been out all night and caught nothing. (3) It is a well known fact that on the Sea of Galilee, fishing was done at night and in shallow water, not during the day in deep water. (4) What Jesus was asking them all to do was, contrary to their training and experience. Peter however, ignored the argument of logic here and with faith, obeyed Jesus, the result being they had a great catch of fish, so much in fact that the net began to break with the weight.

There is a lesson to learn here. Jesus knows best. To the world, He may have been a carpenter, a baby in a manger or some wonderful Christmas story. But, we are dealing here with the King of kings and the Lord of lords and He knows everything. When Jesus guides, ignore all of your logic, your instincts and your experience and, DO IT!

When I was a young boy, I was often getting into scrapes, climbing up trees and scaling walls. Quite often my mum would shout out, 'If you fall out of that tree and break your leg, don't come running to me.' You've probably heard that phrase from comedians but it is true. I often wondered how I could go running to her if I had broken my leg but, I wasn't brave enough to ask. Even though it was a very strange thing to say to a young boy, she meant well. It was her way of warning me of the perils and advising me to think before I act. This teaching has remained with me all my life.

We need to think through things before we act, especially on big tasks. It is so easy to make some major mistake and regret it for a very long time. This is where Jesus comes in. He tells us to: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"  Matthew 6:33. He doesn't want us worrying at all and, He equally doesn't want us to fall out of a tree and break our legs. He offers us warnings and advice so that we may avoid making wrong choices and getting ourselves into problems. He is with us 24/7 so really, we have no excuse if we rush off without first seeking His advice. 

If you have a big choice to make at this moment, don't rush into it. Seek a trusted friend's opinion but make sure that you get the final answer from Jesus. If you ask Him, He will tell you. If we seek Him, He will show us the way. This is a promise, so ask Him what to do. You'll be glad that you did, that is for sure.

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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

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 Contact me grahamehoward@hotmail.com

God's Grace

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."               Ephesians 2:8   NKJV

There is nothing that you could have done to have your name written down in heaven. It was done by Jesus. You did not earn it, Jesus earned it for you by His death on the cross and your acceptance of Him into your heart. Grace is God's gift to you, not just at the beginning of your walk with Him, but ongoing. 2 Cor 12:9 tells us: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, Paul says, 'I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong'  2 Cor 12:10.

Some time ago, I wrote in my bible three things about grace. I'll share them with you:

(1)  It cannot be earned, so stop trying

(2)  It is God doing for you what you cannot do for yourself

(3)  It doesn't kick in until you stop struggling and trying to do it in your own strength

As I mentioned earlier, grace wasn't a one time gift from God; we receive it everyday. Think about the things you do that you know you shouldn't but, you do them anyway. At that time, God would have the right to take you home if you persistently continued to sin in this way. However, He doesn't, why is that? Well firstly, it is because He loves you and is so committed to you that He recognises your weaknesses and, as you ask forgiveness, by His grace, you receive it. Secondly, you are a work in progress and God is shaping you into the type of person He wants you to be. It may take a life time but, He is not going to cast away the special work He has done in you up to now. He is committed to completing it (Phil 1:6 - a work of grace implied).

Take note though, we can't just go out and deliberately sin because we know we will receive God's grace. Not at all. We're looking here at the many times, through our weakness, we let God down, feel bad about it and repent. It's God's intention that this will stop as you become more deeply involved with Him. But until then, we receive His grace. Don't ever think that you can deliberately commit sin whenever you want to because God will forgive you anyway. It doesn't work like that.

Just be grateful that Jesus, our Lord and Saviour is full of love and grace -as Godfrey Birtle put it in his song - it's Outrageous Grace. He is so loving, so gracious and is 100% in love with you. Think about that in your Daily Life with Jesus.

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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

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 Contact me grahamehoward@hotmail.com

What happened?

"You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?"  Galatians 5:7   NKJV 

There are times when we have been doing so well in our walk with Jesus and then, BAM! something happens to stop us or throw us off track. In the days of Paul, runners in a competition had to remain in their own particular track. However, some runners would cut in to prevent the other runner from succeeding. This is what the Judaisers had done to the Galatian believers. They had cut in on them  and distracted them so much, that they changed direction. They went on a 'spiritual detour.' 

This can happen to us today if we're not careful. If we listen to the wrong source, watch the wrong 'religious' program or read the wrong type of bible, we can become side-tracked. Not everyone who writes a book about their faith are genuine. Some preachers come from a different point of view about what God says or doesn't say. Therefore, do a little bit of checking before you become involved. Some faiths don't honour Jesus' deity so, that is one thing to check for. What about sin, eternal life, the Holy Spirit and Christmas festivals, blood transfusions and heaven or hell? These are all important issues that can derail us. If anyone knocks on your door and starts talking about their faith, politely ask them where they are from and what they believe. Don't become involved in a lengthy conversation with them unless, you know what you are saying. Many can confuse us with their presentations.

We can at times run ahead of ourselves. We can go to this meeting then another, read a certain book and then another one, that says the opposite. Be selective in where you go and what you read. As long as the place preaches Jesus, that's ok. Christian books can be a little confusing because some authors interpret things differently. It isn't that they are wrong, it's just that they may be a little cautious about a subject, watering it down or skim over it. The only really true book is the bible. If what you read is not backed up in the Word of God, forget it. God's Word is the blue print to life.

There are many times when I have disagreed with what an author or preacher has said. I've weighed it up and often have decided that it was not important enough to make a fuss about it. The most important part of your Christian life is ensuring that Jesus Christ is in charge of it. You live, eat and breathe Him and His word is the final authority. We all interpret things differently but as we share our thoughts with someone, they can help us see a little more clearly about something.

The most important thing is that, whatever happens we will never let anyone or anything prevent us from moving forward in our Daily Life with Jesus.

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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

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 Contact me grahamehoward@hotmail.com

You have a hope within

"Christ in you, the hope of glory."   Colossians 1:27  NKJV

Even though the Old Testament pointed to Jesus right from before creation, there was still a certain mystery about it all. The Jews were God's favoured people but, the Gentiles - which includes ourselves, appeared to be left out of this blessing. David Guzik gives a good explanation of this in his commentary:

 Hidden from ages and generations: This reminds us that there are aspects to God’s plan that were not clearly revealed in the Old Testament. The specific mystery Paul refers to in v26, deals with many aspects of the work of Jesus in His people, but especially the plan of the church, to make one body out of Jew and Gentile, taken from the “trunk” of Israel, yet not Israel.

ii. “The mystery is this: that God had designed to grant the Gentiles the same privileges with the Jews, and make them his people who were not his people. That this is what Paul means by the mystery, see Ephesians 3:3, etc.” (Clarke)

a. This mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you: The wonder and glory of the abiding, indwelling Jesus was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament, especially that He would abide in the Gentiles. Therefore, this aspect of the work of Jesus in His people was a mystery that wasn’t revealed until the time of Jesus and the apostles.

b. Christ in you, the hope of glory: This is the Christian’s hope of glory. It isn’t our own hard work or devotion to God, or the power of our own spirituality. Instead, it is the abiding presence of Jesus: Christ in you.   David Guzik, Enduring Word.

A relationship with God, was hidden from the Gentiles by the early church leaders. But God changed all that when He came to us as Jesus Christ. And all who accept Him are in-dwelt with His love and power and given the hope of glory. And this is you and I. But we are still a work in progress but Jesus is teaching us every day. This is why it is so important to have this relationship with Him. In the spring and summer months, beautiful dragon flies can be seen flying like little helicopters over our land. If you're a lover of nature, it is amazing to capture these with your camera. They are wonderful. But, they didn't start life like this. They began life in water as bugs, not so nice to view. Yet over time, they crept up the stems of the greenery and evolved into the beauty we see. This is a lovely picture of you and I. We come to Jesus not knowing much of Him at all; and as we attend church, bible studies and read our bibles, we slowly gain maturity and it is God's intention that we then shine as Ambassadors of Christ. It's not easy but, with Jesus in our hearts, we are new people. We have a hope where there wasn't one before.

You may not think much of yourself at this time in your life but listen, you're not like that wrinkly old water bug, you are who Jesus intended you to be. You are beautifully created and you have a hope - a Godly hope, not as the world hopes - you have this hope that one day you will be with Jesus. But until then, God wants you to take your beauty throughout this land and display this wherever you may be. Shine for Jesus. You are a special person!

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 2024 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

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