I'm Accepted by the One who matters most

"I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. 46I will speak to kings about your laws, and I will not be ashamed. 47How I delight in your commands!
How I love them! 48I honour and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees".

                                                                              Psalm 119:45-48   NLT

Because we belong to Jesus, we live a life of freedom. The chains fell off each of us, as we confessed our sin to Him and, we are accepted by the One who matters most - Jesus Christ. Romans 8:1-2 echos this fact to us: 'So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death'. Our chains fell off the day we met with Jesus.

He chose us to delight in His ways. No matter what we were involved in before we found Jesus, He took us and nailed our sin to the cross and we are now, fully paid up followers of Jesus. Some of us, still remember the sin we were involved in and, if we let him, the devil will have a hey day reminding us of all this and trying to put us back on the road to shame. But, we have no shame, Jesus took it all and, we have no need to even listen to   the accuser, there are far better things in life than that.

Romans 1:16 says: 16'For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.' This is a declaration, anchoring faith in the transformative, active power of God for salvation, not merely intellectual belief. It is dynamite power - a divine active force.

Many times we hear that, we are just sinners saved by grace. Think about that statement. We were sinners but not now, Jesus took that sin away. Yes, we do sin, every day, but as we ask for forgiveness, we receive it. By calling ourselves sinners, we are placing a label on ourselves that is contrary to what the Word of God says. We are new creations:

'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new'  2 Corinthians 5:17. We have been made new by the blood of Jesus. We have a new life. We are new creations. We have freedom and what is important is, we are accepted by the One who matters most

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

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME

grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

                                                                 

Teach me to understand, Lord. Part 2

"Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You".  

                                                                                       Psalm 119:38. NKJV

The Psalmist tells us to be careful what we look at. Now, this could cover a multitude of things, but I feel, we can safely say that this describes anything that will cause us to sin. Remember, King David fell to sin when he first saw Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). When he should have been at war, he was on his roof top and, began lusting after her when he viewed her bathing. That moment led to him having her brought to his quarters where he indulged himself with her. The result, she became pregnant, her husband was murdered and sin followed sin.

What are you likely to look at that you know you shouldn't? It could be TV, films, videos or someone's spouse, which may lead to adultery. It could also be gazing at something you can't afford and stealing the item. Whatever it may be, the Psalmist calls them 'Worthless things', and it is true. If anything is going to draw you away to commit sin, you are going to pay the price at some stage. If you get away with it while you are alive, if you don't ask God to forgive you, you will pay the price for it in heaven, when you meet Jesus. Is it worth it?

It takes discipline to be a follower of Jesus Christ, in fact, it takes all you have to walk that thin road to heaven. But it is worth it. The joy and blessings that you will have in heaven, have no words to describe them but, in the here and now, God wants you to walk in blessing and He's willing to help you every step of the way. He is calling you to ask Him to: "Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You". If necessary, God is willing to re-build your walk with Him. He is wanting the old man to disappear and the new man to be birthed. If you're willing, this is what He will do.

The Psalmist asks that he may be revived in the things of God. When we feel this way, God is willing to do this. He is willing to re-ignite your relationship with Him, to fill you to overflowing with His Spirit. Your part is to be willing to be purged of all the things that are holding you back - those lustful thoughts, those envious feelings towards someone, the jealousy you hold over someone and the grudges and bad feelings. They are the things that need a clear out. God is willing to help but you must be willing to do your bit. It will take discipline, hard work and pain to get yourself in shape. But it will be worth it.

Why not begin right now? There's never been a better time.

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

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME

grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Teach me to understand, Lord. Part 1

"Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. 34Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. 36Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness".    Psalm 119:33-36   NKJV

There are so many different things happening in our world today, it's hard to understand it all. Technology and computer algorithms to name two of many changes. Let's face it, it is difficult to grasp hold of some of the things and we have many older people, scratching their heads as they wrestle with car park meters and scanning tickets to drive out of the car park. It can be a nightmare because, we lack the understanding. 

Throughout time, there have always been things that call for our constant understanding. Check out the disciples when Jesus was speaking to them in parables. They hadn't a clue what He was saying initially; He had to persevere with them and they had to listen with the third ear to gain the understanding.

Here the Psalmist is saying something similar, he needs understanding and asks God to help him - to teach him the things that he desperately wants to know, so that he will keep them in his head always. He wants to understand God's Law but, he needs to observe it with all he has so that he can grasp it all. In some versions of the bible, he is so longing to understand that he asks God to 'Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it' v35. In other versions it says 'Teach me', 'Direct me' which is more plainer. We need God to help us to be obedient to walk in His path before we can really delight in it.

One of the biggest problems we have when we are listening to God and trying to understand some particular scripture -  is distraction. If we're not careful, it will always steer us away from what we are doing. For instance, the telephone will ring. Some people say, 'leave it, whoever it is will leave a message'. The thing is, our mind goes into fast overdrive and we begin thinking, 'Yea, that's ok but what if it is urgent or an emergency. 

We have to use discipline to find the answer to this one. Many people can hear the message on the speaker and can decide what to do from that. Others have their mobiles next to them and can see who it is ringing them and make the decision from there.

We have to learn to lean into Jesus - get soaked in His love and avoid any other thing that is attempting to call you away from His love and direction. Covetousness, is characterised by a strong immoderate desire for the possessions or attention of another.

The only strong  desire that is ok for us, is Jesus, as we display this to others, they too will follow suit.

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

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle Check it out. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME

grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

You need to spend time with Jesus

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing".            John 15:5    NJKV

Habakkuk was a Godly man but one in which He felt He knew better than God. God had told him that He was going to use the Babylonians  to destroy Judah and then take all of the people -  men, women and children into exile. Habakkuk was beside himself with worry and the feeling of injustice towards God. Therefore He told God  this and then waited for an answer.  When the answer came, Habakkuk was not pleased again with the answer. God told him to write it all down (Habakkuk 2:2-3) so that the Jews may see this, but there was no negotiation with this, 'It will surely come' v3. 

Habakkuk wanted everything now and felt God was wrong in making him wait. But, no matter what, without God on His side, he could do nothing. This is something that we need to take on board. We don't always like God's answer, we feel that it should be a better answer. But no amount of whinging is going to change His mind. What we've got, is what we've got, period. 

One vital principle that God said was very important, especially to the Christian today. We need to write things down. Whether this is in our 'Quiet time' or 'Devotians' whatever you may call it. This is crucial for our survival because, when we don't spend quality time with Jesus, His words come to life 'for without Me you can do nothing'. I've rushed to drive to work without breakfast because my day is so busy. But, this was all to no avail, I've ended up not having the success that I had expected. Nowadays, I don't do anything without spending time with Jesus.

Why do we need to do this? Because there are things that Jesus can see that we can't. He knows the pitfalls and the things to watch out for. In my days as a social worker, I was often in court with one of my cases. This can be a tricky thing to do. especially when you have one of the top barristers opposing you. Rather like Habakkuk, I realised, that I could not do this successfully on my own. I needed Jesus.

What about you, do you spend time with Jesus at the beginning of your day? If you don't, work towards doing this - daily. There is always enough time, even if we have to rearrange our day. You may have appointments to keep, if they are important and can't be changed, then they must be fulfilled. But can't you make time for Jesus prior to these meetings. I really cannot emphasise this any more, you need to set aside a time to be with Jesus. 

You really cannot do anything without Him.

f 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

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. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

We are representatives for Jesus

"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.  9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,  10and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him",       Colossians 3:8-10   NKJV 

Christ is the image of God. He was with God in the first place, all things that were created were created through Him and for Him (Col 1:16). He was there at creation and, He will be there when He creates a new world and, because we belong to Him, we will be there also.

A representative of a company is an important person. He or she represent this company and by their presence show the prospective buyer the companies image. If a bad image is presented, then there will be no sale because the buyer has little faith in what the company are selling. Likewise, as Christians, we are conformed to the image of Christ and when people see us, they should see Jesus. If they don't, then there is something wrong with what we are presenting, not what we are representing. Therefore, we need to get our lives right.

We carry Jesus with us everywhere we go but this doesn't mean that people can see Him, or feel His presence. It is what we present to them that they witness and that can be good or not so good. The New Living Translation puts it this way:

'But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?'    2 Corinthians 2:14-16

As I said earlier, we carry the fragrance of God to whoever we meet. Now what they see, determines how they will react. Many people totally refuse to talk or accept Jesus. This is their choice. These fall under the category of receiving the smell of death and doom. Others feel this fragrance and are attracted to it and the results may be that they are saved. It's interesting to see the people  who are pershing. Satan has blinded their eyes so much that they are almost scared to even talk about salvation. Others, are open to the gospel and receive our presence well but, they may not be ready yet. However, once they have had the Word implanted into their hearts, the seed that has been sown will begin to grow and then, they may come to know Him.

It all comes down to how we are living; are we living for Jesus or ourselves. We can't have both, we have to make a choice. If you want people to see Jesus in you, start getting your life in obedience to what Jesus wants. People will notice, that's for sure.

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

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. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

The God-Screening Service

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".         Jeremiah 29:11   NIV

Things may not have been going too well just lately. Perhaps, some of our plans have failed and we've been left disappointed. Let's just stop there and reflect. Are the plans that we have been making our own or, are they of God? There's a big difference here. Many plans fail because we leave God out of the process, and we need to change this.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths'. Now, we either believe that or we don't. Some people like to make their own plans for the smaller, not so important parts of their lives. But, everything in our lives is important to God, we should always have that in mind when we make our plans because, He may have something better. He may also want to protect us from something that would cause us harm if we went ahead on our own plan. The emphasis in the Proverbs 3 statement is the word 'All'. Everything needs to go through the God-Screening Service.

God wants to prosper us and give us hope and a future. He is ordaining the best for our future, so let Him. As we saw yesterday, the world doesn't like us and may try to harm us if necessary. In their eyes, we may be an after-thought and second best. Our family may even do the same. But in God's eyes, we are not an after-thought, we are constantly on His mind and He'll never consider us second best. We are the elite. So stand tall in this knowledge.

We may be falsely accused of something, wrongly imprisoned and/or be utterly abandoned by the world. We may stumble at times but, let us keep our eyes on Jesus and He'll prevent us from falling. Check out Jeremiah 29:12-14 and let it soak in:

'Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  14I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive'.

This is so encouraging, we should always read around well known scriptures so that we don't miss important bits. As we call on God, He will listen and as we seek Him with all of our heart and this means the difficult times when we don't really feel like praying. However, as we breakthrough that barrier, we will find Him and He will take action. He's always listening but, He wants to know that we trust him and love him more than anything else in the world. He must be No1, when He is, He will come through for us.

Let us ensure that we run everything through The God-Screening Service so that our plans mirror His. That makes sense!

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

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. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard. 

You're not popular in most places

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you".  John 15:18.  CSB

No one likes to be disliked but, when we learn that we are hated, that really goes deep.

The world hates us because we belong to Jesus, they hated Him first. Jesus chose us to come out of this world and serve Him, if He hadn't have done, or if, we had refused, they would have loved us too. We are so fortunate because, with Jesus we have a bright future; it is bright because, Jesus is the Light. Because of this, whenever we are in the presence of the people who hate us, the Light that we carry challenges the darkness within them and they don't like it at all.

I'm not saying that everyone who doesn't belong to Jesus, hates us. Many people love us, especially our families, but, they just don't, or won't understand the life we now live, and this can be a challenge to contend with. There are many lovely people out in the world that are nice to be around; most accept us for what we believe without persecution. This gives us the opportunity to speak about Jesus, hoping that they will feel the love of Jesus through us, and want the same. 

However, there are many people who are hand-picked by Satan who will go flat out to try and make our lives a misery. Many take up residence in a church and complain about the pastor, the sermon and everything else. There mission in life is to split the church, get the pastor out of office because he says things they don't like and keep a great record of wrongs. They will spread rumours in the congregation and try to get people to agree with them. They do this because, they hate Jesus and, if you get in the way, they will hate you too. It's a lonely life being a pastor at times, especially if these type of people have stirred up so much dissension that they have believed what is said and, the unfortunate pastor has little support. If this is you, stand your ground. Let the people continue to see Jesus in your day to day communication with them. Don't give up, Jesus knows all about it and, He's the only support you'll ever need.

You may meet this type of persecution in your work or perhaps your neighbourhood. Don't shy away from it and don't ever be rude to someone who says something nasty to you. Rise above it; think how Jesus would handle this type of thing and do the same. The fact of the matter is, people will hate you because of your association with Jesus. Just the mention of His name winds people up. Why is that, because it's the name above all names and it has the power to make every knee bow and confess Him as Lord and the  power to raise the dead to life. 

Be grateful that you are hated so much, like Jesus was. It proves you really know Him.

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

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. Just tap on Grahame Howard books.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2026 Grahame Howard.