Don't kick and struggle

"I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel. 9Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding, that must be controlled with bit and bridle or else it will not come near you."   Psalm 32:8-9.  CSB

A young horse or donkey, requires a lot of work by its trainer before it can be ridden in safety. It  requires instruction, patience and discipline before it can reach anywhere near this standard. Initially, it will kick and struggle and show lots of stubborn-ness because it resents someone teaching it. Because of its reluctance to obey and be pointed in the right direction, it may have to wear a bit and bridle so that it can be shown the right way to go. Even then, the struggle is on for this to happen, especially with the stubborn donkey. It may be a long time before the horse is ready to be ridden, however, with the donkey, it may take a lifetime.

Just think for a moment, aren't we like this when someone tries to show us what to do - to change the way, we know is the right way? Don't we kick and struggle because we resent being told what to do or that we are wrong in our thinking? Okay, we don't require the use of a bit and bridle to teach us the way, but, some of us come close to it.

It starts in our youth, possibly following school, college or university. A lot of us, have this feeling of superiority, that we know it all and don't wish to be shown any other way. We soon learn that life is not like this, especially when we start in a job. Let me say this, you may have all the degrees possible and be more qualified than the boss that stands before you telling to what you need to do. However, he is still the boss and he may not be able to match your certificates, diplomas and degree papers, but he probably has more experience than you have at this time and he definitely knows the way the job goes. So discipline and obedience is the name of the game if you want to remain there.

It's the same in our walk with Jesus. He knows the way we have to go and, from time to time He will place people with us who we need to listen to and obey. Just because you have read the bible through four times, does not make you a Bishop. You are still inexperienced in your faith and God wants to direct you and instruct you through, using these people. Being harsh and argumentative with them will get you nowhere and will also give you a bad reputation. Stop kicking and struggling and let the person mentor you until you are ready to 'fly the nest'.

Remember, God has placed you where you are at this time. He is watching over your progress and will not take you to the next stage until, you are ready to go. His word to you is, stop struggling and kicking out and receive the instruction and teaching that He wants to give you. 

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Put your trust in Jesus - Final part - You have a future

"Watch the blameless and observe the upright,  for the person of peace will have a future."                            Psalm 37:37  CSB

The word 'peace' in this context means, 'everything as it ought to be.' You are a person of peace because the Prince of Peace dwells within you:

"For a child will be born for us, a Son will be given to us,  and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselour,  Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace".   Isaiah 9:6  CSB

We probably only hear this verse quoted around the Christmas period and that is sad because Jesus is all these things to us each and everyday. Here we read the Prince of Peace, the Prince of everything as it ought to be. You and I belong to Him and therefore, we have a future - He is our future. Without Him we have nothing (John 15:5). We have a future as long as we remain within the Prince of Peace and allow Him to remain in us. When we do, we have everything as it ought to be.

Take note of the first words of this verse: 'Watch the blameless and observe the upright.' This is proof that people observe us. As I say many times, we are the bible to them. They take note of our conduct. Occasionally, someone may say they wish they could handle things as we do. What they notice is not us, in fact, but the Prince of Peace within us - Jesus Himself. They are also quick to mention things when our behaviour doesn't live up to what we profess. We are the bible to them and whether they honour God themselves or not, what they see in us, should always point to Jesus.

So, for a time, we have come to an end of our study on Psalm 37. I hope that you have picked up on a few things that you can incorporate in your walk with Him. Remember, you can trust Him to take care of all your needs. You have a future with Him beside you and one day, that future will take on its full meaning when you are with Him in heaven. Until then, keep Him close to you

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Put your trust in Jesus 3 - He'll take care of it all

“The little that the righteous person has is better than the abundance of many wicked people. 17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports the righteous.18The Lord watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever. 19They will 

not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger.    Psalm 37:16-19.  CSB

No matter how much the wicked will acquire, it will eventually lead them to being broken and destroyed. But no matter how little the righteous have, the Lord will support them and watch over their lives; and this will be forever. They will receive blessing from Him, this may be while they are here on earth but, much more when they enter heaven. He will lift us if we 

fall and hold us up and, He will be a blessing to us, so in turn, we may be a blessing to others.

So as David says in verse 16, it is far better to be in want than to have everything, and miss out on eternal life. There are many rich people in this world today but, not one of them can hold on to their 

riches when they die; it will go to others. If that person knows Jesus as their Lord and has been a blessing in their earthly life, to others, he will receive blessings in heaven. If not, they will stand before Jesus on Judgement day and receive what is owing to them.

Do you know, nothing is certain in this life. Most of the USA  this past week, thought that Kamala Harris would become their leader; However, she was trumped that day. Nothing in this life is certain, except Jesus and eternity. He is our hope in times 

of trouble; ~ He is our escape when we feel trapped and He is our comforter when we have become hurt. In fact, He is everything that is good, to us. He also watches over us wherever we are.

We have an inheritance. Our insurance premiums are fully paid up and eternity is guaranteed for us because, our deposit has been paid. Jesus did this on the cross that day. All the more why we should live the way He wants us to. One day we will see Him face to face; that is a wowser to start with. We will also see the men and women of God that we have read about, Moses, David. Peter, Mary and a host of others. Imagine if you are musical, you will be able to jam with David and his band - another wowser.

But until then, He will satisfy us and help us to hold our heads up high. That's the best wowser of all.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Put your trust in Jesus 2 - Submission to Him

 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, 6making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.7Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. 8Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated — it can only bring harm. 9For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.  Psalm 37:5-9. CSB

Let's continue with our study of Psalm 37. Today it covers verses 5 - 9

'You can expect God's movement in your life when your thinking and desires match His. He desires to bless you more than you want to be blessed'. Tony Evans

Many times throughout your life, it may feel that everyone else is succeeding and you're not. Others receive blessing after blessing and you are left out. When it's like this, you can be tempted to complain within yourself and get into a mood because, what you feel you deserve, you don't get, yet others, who you believe don't deserve it are being blessed daily. You need to be careful here because, you are not to judge and moaning and groaning about someone's fortune and success is judging. 

Verse 7 tells us to be silent and not become agitated by it all. Someone may be prospering when you aren't but, what is that to do with you? It's almost like God says, 'Mind your own business.'

Verse 8 continues with refrain from anger and even rage. If you have been like this over something, you need to repent and put it right with God and allow God to work on your behalf.

When you do things God's way, He has a habit of changing things for the better. First of all, God tells you to commit it all to Him - to roll it over into His corner and, this includes trusting Him with all you have. When you do this, He will act, not until. He will bring justice out of what seems unfair. All you need to do is be silent. You may find that difficult; especially if you're fiery by nature. But, it is essential. The next thing is to wait expectantly and again, this can be difficult if you are not a patient person. But it must be done.

Don't allow these things to wind you up; don't respond badly to things that you can't change. It only makes a person more agitated. Wait  expectantly. Remember, those who put their hope in the Lord,

 will inherit the land v9, and this includes you, because you're a winner!

More tomorrow

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Put your trust in Jesus

"Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. 4Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires".   Psalm 37:3-4  CSB

Over the next few days, let us look at Psalm 37. Today we will start at v3-4.

Don't ever doubt the Lord

In this day of fast living - fast foods, fast cars and fast decisions, it is so easy to doubt God; that He has not come up with the promises He made to you. Don't ever go down that track, it breaks God's heart that you may feel that. There is no need to ever doubt Him. What He tells you is true and will happen. The thing is He doesn't really tell us when. This is because, God is careful; He wants everything prepared for you, so that there are no mistakes. 

Don't ever feel that He has favourites

This can never happen with God. He has no favourites. Check out what Romans 2:11 CSB says 

'For there is no favouritism with God.' He treats us all the same, He has no special people. Jacob did, he caused jealousy within his family for treating Joseph better than his brothers. He even gave him a special coat. This caused bad feeling and his brothers thought of killing him, but later changed their minds and sold him into slavery in Egypt. God is not like that. You may see people far wealthier that you may be; but they may have had better chances in life or made better decisions. God though, has no favourites.

Don't ever think He has forgotten you

This would be impossible for God. He thinks about you every day that He creates and is totally committed to you.

He just wants you to continue to serve Him by, allowing people to see the difference in you - your witness and testimony. Remember that, you are the bible to them. You notice this when there is some terrible disaster somewhere and straightaway, they question you about why does God allow such things. Keep showing them the love of God, there is no need to dream up answers that will defend God. He doesn't need defending.

Just be secure in Him because, He will never let you down. He's right there beside you. So delight in Him and as you do, He will give you your heart's desire; not a Lottery win though, but what He knows you would really like; something that would change your life for the better. Therefore, trust Him and delight in Him and feel honoured that you are His son or daughter. 

More on Psalm 37 tomorrow.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

It's time to forgive yourself

“For if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15But 

if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offences.

                                                                         Matthew 6:14-15.  CSB

These are strong words that Jesus was teaching; 

we need to ask and accept God's forgiveness, but, obviously we need to forgive other people theirs, if we hope to be forgiven. This includes ourselves as well. We need to forgive ourselves otherwise, those nagging, guilty feelings will plague us until we do. Jesus also said in Luke 6:37: 

'Do not judge and you will not be judged. 

Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.' 

RT Kendall puts it this way: 'If I condemn myself for my past and refuse to forgive myself, I 

forfeit the wonderful benefit that is promised those who enjoy God's forgiveness.'  

                              Totally Forgiving ourselves. RT Kendall

We have all had those horrible, guilty feelings when we have upset someone or committed 

some kind of sin. The guilt can be like a heavy weight on our shoulders and the regret we feel 

never seems to end. At times like this, we want to stop the world and get off, because, there is nothing we can do to change the situation. We can't go back in time like you can on a movie. It is there before us and we feel that all we can do is accept it and move on. There is something we can do though - forgive yourself.

When we are in a situation such as this, the pressure on our mind can be never-ending. We may have asked Jesus to forgive us and, at that time, we should have accepted His forgiveness. However,

 the devil knows all about what we have said or 

done and, he won't let us forget it. He will make our life a misery, reminding us of our behaviour and whispering feelings of condemnation in our ear. He loves to do this. But that is the moment when we need to make a stand. Romans 8:1-2 tell us: 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 2because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.' Did you hear that? You are not under condemnation, so don't let satan ruin your day. Tell him to leave in the name of Jesus.

And the way to free yourself from these guilty feelings is to forgive yourself and accept this. Don't accept any 'Yes but.’ There are no 'yes but's' you 

are forgiven and are free from condemnation. God's word does not lie; it is the truth so, forgive yourself and accept it and move on. Have a blessed day!

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Spiritually dry

 4Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit,  because you can do nothing without Me.    John 15:4-5   CSB

From time to time, we can begin to feel spiritually dry and miles away from God. God hasn't moved and, despite what others may say, you may not have moved either. It is just possible that you have been so busy that you have only given Jesus 50% of your time. 

Jesus - the vinedresser here, wants us to be more like Him - to be Christlike in all we do. When a gardener goes looking around his plot, he will remove branches that have withered and decayed because, they may hinder the growth of the rest of the plant. He does this and discards them, casting them into his fire. The rest of the plant, he prunes so that next season it will have a healthy growth. Now, Jesus being the vinedresser does the same. He wants us to have a binding union with Himself and the Father so, He encourages growth by helping us to be rid of the things that hinder our walk with Him and then prunes the rest, in order to have a deeper and abiding union with Him.

He wants each one of us to, abide in Him; to remain continually in step with Him. This is classed as Christlikeness. Now this needs to be done on a daily basis, maintaining a 'live connection' with the Holy Spirit; and we do this by being obedient to His word. Otherwise, we will find the going gets tough and we end up achieving very little, if at all v5.

You may be feeling spiritually dry at this time. It may be because you have a hit and miss blip in your walk with Jesus, failing to read His word or praying. It may also be that Jesus has pinpointed something in your life that needs to be cut out and discarded. Do you know what this may be? If so, then surrender it to God and let Him perform His work on you. If not, why not say this prayer with me:

'Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.' 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.'  Psalm 139:23-24. CSB

Use these two verse by David, as a prayer to show God your willingness to make some changes in your life; and then, watch Him move.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Are you a 'Know all?'

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.'  1 John 2:20 NKJV

Well, are you a 'Know all?' Joking aside, if you are, this is great because it means that you are familiar and experienced in the scriptures. In fact, you are anointed. The Greek term Chrisma, 

is related to the title Christ, which means Anointed One.

Here, the Apostle John, is speaking about the impartation of the Holy Spirit to a person. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and you are joined to the Anointed One, sharing in His anointing. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 puts it this way:

"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God,  22who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.' 

The NKJV Study Bible footnote on 1 John 2;20 states:

'So we can know all things about truth and falsehood. We know all that we need to know in order to resist the temptations of false teachers and to live, Godly lives in this world.'

Therefore, I don't mind one bit being classed as a 'Know all.' What about you? When we have acquired this accolade, we are more able to  interpret scripture more easily and, we have the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is totally revealing this to us and guiding us accordingly.

This was how Jesus was able to deal with Satan in the wilderness that day (Matthew 4:1-11). Three times Jesus said 'It is written.' Jesus showed the devil that He was a 'Know all' too and was able to send him on his way. Please don't receive my saying Jesus was a 'know al'l, as an insult towards Him. It very much isn't. Jesus was demonstrating how important it is to study the word of God and to 'know all' there is to know so that, we too, can deal with each situation as they crop up. Be blessed.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Conviction

"When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment"

                                                              John 16:8   CSB 

The Holy Spirit is the No 1 evangelist in the kingdom of God. He is also the Agent of Conviction. He convicts unbelievers of their sin and, if believers are also in error, He convicts them too. 

William Barclay wrote: 'It was Alcibiades, the brilliant but, spoiled darling of Athens, who used to say to Socrates, "Socrates, I hate you, because every time I meet you, you make me see what I am" 

The first essential is to compel a man to see himself as he is.' Conviction means to convince or reprove; 

it gives an awareness of one's sin and guilt (John 8:9) which leads to confession and repentance.

Each believer knows when they have sinned; it's impossible to pretend that nothing has happened. The Holy Spirit knows. But thanks to Jesus, when we confess our sin, we are forgiven. Thank goodness for that. An example of conviction in play, can be seen in John 8 where Jesus meets with a woman caught in the act of adultery. The Scribes and the Pharisees had brought a woman to Jesus. They kept pressing Jesus to decide what punishment she should receive because, they wanted to test Him. All Jesus said was 'The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her. Jesus would have made an excellent chess player because He missed nothing and could always see a way through any problem. Here, He noticed that the so called leaders of the day, left one by one. They were under conviction by their conscience.

No one can hoodwink Jesus, He will always speak the truth in all situations. This is why, whenever we have sinned (which we will do), the first port of call should be to present ourself to Jesus and confess this sin and receive His forgiveness. It doesn't 

matter if we go to Him dozens of time per day, He will always forgive us, because of His blood that was shed on the cross for us at Calvary.

It's also essential that we walk in the Holy Spirit because, He will always leads us in the way of truth. And be open to the fact, that the Holy Spirit may convict you of any wrong doing and, He may also, use someone else to do this job. So live the life for Jesus.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out

Are you a sinner?

"I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."                                         Galatians 2:20  CSB

Jesus gave us the answer to the way we easily fall into sin, each and everyday. We are sinners, saved by grace. The Apostle John, wrote the Gospel of John and Revelation, but, it is argued that he may not have written 1,2,3 John, and in most bibles, the introduction may state that the author is anonymous. This has been the thought of many apologists over the years. However, many other theologians find that there are many characteristics within these epistles that point to John being the author. So, I'm with John.

John writes in 1 John 1:8-10: 'If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgivea us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.'  In 1 John, he is speaking to fellow Christians and this letter was passed around the local churches in the area. 

These verses are encouraging because, no matter how hard we may try not to, we sin each day. Without God's grace, we would never make it. This is why the Apostle Paul makes the confession of faith that 'I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Paul is stating that he belongs to Jesus Christ, he no longer lives but Christ lives in Him. 

It drives home the fact to us when we confess this statement, possibly on a daily basis. No 1 we are confessing Jesus as our Saviour, No 2 We are letting the world around us, know that we are different and so could they be as well. And No 3, the devil does not like this confession at all.

So why not make it your aim to spread this word around wherever you are, on a daily basis. You will certainly receive a few whispers from people behind your back, but, you will also receive a blessing from Jesus. And that is worth everything.

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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

Check it out