Unity - Joined together

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"Now I plead with you brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement."  1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV

Unity. The old saying, 'United we stand, divided we fall.' There's a lot of truth in these words. The church at Corinth was in threat of division because there were contentions between the church members. Not a lot has changed. All over the world, church members allow contentions to split churches and bring about disunity.. This should not be. The Apostle Paul, was urging the people of Corinth, to get it together and stop arguing and bickering with each other over who was in charge of the church.

One thing the devil cannot stand is unity. He will do all he can to bring about division by using people to spread lies and gossip throughout the church. If he can cause people to be jealous over someones ministry within the church, he will. He leads people to be jealous and envious of what people do and how they are favoured above them. The 'it's not fair,' attitude.

Unity is brought about by The Holy Spirit. The early church at Jerusalem demonstrated this by sharing together and living with each other in harmony. In other words, in 'Fellowship,' (Acts 2:40-42) The Greek word for Fellowship is KOINONIA, which means, Sharing, unity, close association, partnership and communion. This is brought about by the Holy Spirit as people respond and join together in unity. This type of fellowship, cements the believers to the Lord and to each other. A church that is practicing this type of fellowship, is a church that is going somewhere. It is a church that was very much like the early church, the church where thousands of people were saved and couldn't wait to worship God and be together.

There is no perfect church. You'll never find one, for the simple reason that none of us are perfect. We all have moods and things that irritate others. We all have problems and think we're the only one who is going through such stuff as this. We all are tempted to sin. However, when we are joined to each other with Jesus as the head, we're less likely to act in this way because we have people beside us who know what we're going through and support and love us.

Fantasy? Not at all. It's the way Jesus wants us to be. He wants us to put up with people's oddities. If they don't measure up to our expectations and standards, they more than likely measure up to Jesus' expectations. 

So, let us all pray and move towards unity. Let's face it, when we get to Heaven (if we make it) we will have to live with each other together, forever. If you don't like a particular person in your church at this moment, pray for them, ask God to help you see something nice about them and let Him love them through you. After all, we'll be together a long time.

I'd love to hear from you. Email me at  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Marital Teamwork

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"Wives be submissive to your husbands - Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife as to the weaker vessel ..." 1 Peter 3:1 - 7 NKJV

God's idea of marriage is teamwork. One member of the marriage is not greater than the other. Verse 1says that the wife should be submissive to her husband. However, this doesn't mean that she should be a doormat, doing everything within the household. The husband is not the boss. He may, in God's eyes be the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23), but that doesn't mean he should rule the home with an iron rod. Respect, honour and gentleness should be the way the husband treats his wife. He is responsible for her spiritual care and the provider to the home. Although in this modern age, both partners work, God still places the husband in the role of provision, so wherever possible, he is expected to work to provide for his family.

Verse 7 mentions the wife being the weaker vessel. This is not a derogatory term. God does not view the wife as weak in spirit or soul. Far from it. What it does mean is that the husband should treat the wife as a precious jewel that could so easily break if not treated properly. The wife should receive, kindness, courtesy and gentleness from her husband. She should never be degraded in the marriage, or treated as a plaything or a drudge or even an after-thought. On the other side of the coin, the wife should show love and honour to her husband. We are in a team here. It should never one-sided.

The husband should be consistent in his spirituality within the home; outside the home and towards his wife and family. Husbands and wives cannot be right with God if they're at loggerheads with each other. Other people may not pick up on this but God sees all. The husband and wife team are both heirs together. If their relationship is not exalting Christ or building each other up, their prayers will be hindered and this is where problems can really begin. The devil loves to get in and drive a wedge between marital partners. Don't let Him. Do things God's way. Your future happiness, life and walk with God depend on this.

If you would like confidential prayer, contact.  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

He'll never let you down

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"For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say, 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?' " Hebrews 13:5-6 NKJV

Has there ever been a time when God has let you down? If you feel He has, are you sure that it was Him that let you down? God gets the blame for a lot of things, when generally, it's just life events that happen. They hurt; we feel alone and let down, angry and forgotten. However, God has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' No matter where you go or what you do, He'll never desert you. He's always there, longing to help.

You may be going through a really bad time at this present moment. One in which you can't even feel God at all. But, He is there. Think back to a time when you were in a situation that you felt you could never get out of; an impossible event. But you made it. Are you sure that wasn't God helping you; rescuing you. He has done that so much in my life, I can assure you.
Some days, life seems virtually impossible to work through. You may be going through one of these times right now. Look at this scripture. Along with saying that He will never leave or forsake us, He lets us know that:

* HE IS OUR HELPER. He will provide a way through this present situation for you. There may not seem a way through it, but be reassured, God will find a way.
* THERE'S NO NEED TO FEAR. God understands what is happening in your life and is interested enough to say, 'Do not fear.' He is in control, if you put Him there. If you don't, you'll have to sort a way through alone; but why do that when the Master Resolver is waiting for you to invite him to help.

The message for you today is, Do Not Fear. God will sort it out for you if you give it to Him. It'll be ok. Everything will be alright. If the worst comes to the worst, God will still be beside you. Some things are inevitable, but He'll help you through it all. You're not alone.

Don't carry this alone. God cares and wants to help. Give it to Him, pray, listen and try not to worry.

If you would like prayer, contact in confidence dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Thankfulness

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"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms."
                                                                                                       Psalm 95:2 NKJV

Think about this scripture and meditate on it. There is always something to be thankful for, even when things are not as they should be. You may be going through a difficult time right now; but stop for a moment, through this time there is a space for you to say, 'I'm grateful and thankful for this.' This was why the Psalmist wrote Psalm 95. 'He said, 'Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms.' Let's take a closer look at what he says:
He said to:

COME If you don't go to where you're asked to go to, you'll remain where you are. Does that make sense. You're really going nowhere. However, he said to 'Come'. We have to come before God and into His presence. If we make no effort, very little will happen. God won't force this matter. We're told to come and as we do, we enter His wonderful presence, where we can lay all of our worries and thoughts down and just worship the one who matters most.
THANKSGIVING. As we enter into God's presence it's almost like He wraps His arms around us and bathes the wounds of life, those hurtful issues, those dreadful worries the things that give us sleepless nights and are at the back of our minds, constantly. God is also thankful to us as we do so. It's not a one-way thing, God loves our presence and is grateful when we seek Him out and spend precious time with Him. 
Just stop and think for a moment and think of all the things that you are grateful for and thank Him. For one thing, our lives. Without that, we would not exist. Our partners. If we still have them with us, that is a reason to be thankful. If they've departed to be with the Lord, perhaps, what lovely memories can be present in our minds. As I mentioned before, there is always something to be thankful for, even through the darkest of times.
What about our children? There may be hard times but they're a constant point of joy to us. Then there's our health, our finances, our homes, clothing, endless nice things that we have acquired. There's many other things too. Probably for some, there may be the loss of someone; the worry of a sickness that is terminal, a broken relationship. It's very hurtful, but probably there is something in this hurt that you can find just to be thankful.
SHOUTING JOYFULLY. Joy is a strength (Nehemiah 8:10.) There is something about singing and shouting loudly as you do it, that is liberating. Go to a concert of your favourite band and as you sing with them, you'll get the idea of what I mean. It is exhilarating. Within us, there can be so much pent up pressure that a release is needed. Rather like a fizzy drink. If you keep the top on and shake it, fizz and bubbles jiggle around. However, when you take the lid off, the drink spurts out like a spray from a cannon. That is what happens with us as we shout and praise and thank God.

He has done so much for us and is not about to stop. Get on your knees and say thank you for ...................................... Thank you Lord. I'm so grateful.

I would love to hear from you. dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You've enough on your plate

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow ,for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"  Matthew 6:34 NKJV

Worry and fear are killers. They kill faith for one thing. Fear is the exact opposite to faith. If fear is hanging around in your life, it gives way to worry and faith goes out the window. Worry and fear also injure our health and bring on all sorts of medical issues.

At times, our load for today is so large that we physically don't know how we're going to get through it all. Do you feel like that? It may be your job or it may be the busy work load at home. It can be stressful unless we take control of it.
I remember one time when I was a social worker in a very busy city office. I had been on leave for just over two weeks and the night before returning to work, I was fretting about all the work that would be in my tray at work. The life of a social worker is busy and, unless there's an emergency in your case load, the work stays in your tray until your return. That can be a nightmare.
So I lay in bed worrying about all I had to do and God took me into  dream, I was awake but only aware of Him leading me into my office and picking up my work tray. 'My what a lot of work we have,' He said. He then led me to my desk and He helped me get through it all. When I did go to work the following morning, the tray was full, as expected, but there was nothing really pressing and I cleared it all up within an hour. Amazing, but I'd fretted for nothing and I learned that God is in control, if we let Him be.

In Proverbs 16:3, it says, 'Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.' The word 'Commit', gives the picture of a camel, with a heavy load on its back.When it comes to remove this load, it kneels down and rolls over onto its side, depositing the load on the ground. What a lovely picture of rolling our many worries and cares over to God.

We need to learn from this picture. God does not want any of us stricken with worry and care; loaded down with problems that are causing us all kind of upset. Instead, He wants us to roll them over to Him. He is capable and He is interested and He is willing to help. However, He's a gentleman and waits for us to allow Him into the situation. He doesn't usually burst in of His own accord. He can do, but usually He wants us to call to Him.

Why don't you try this today? You cannot take on worries from tomorrow. You can only Cope with what you have today. Give it to God, NOW!

I would love to hear from you. dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Rejection

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"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  John 1:46 NKJV. (read John 1:19 - 51

Jesus had been walking around Bethabara, (Bethany) which was beyond the Jordan, when John the Baptist pointed out to them that Jesus was the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' John 1:29. The next day, Andrew and probably, John, followed Jesus, who turned around and asked them who they were seeking. They asked Him where He was staying and He replied, 'Come and see.' Andrew later went to tell his Brother - Simon Peter who went to meet Jesus. They were His first disciples.
The next day, Jesus wanting to go to Galilee, met Philip and asked him to follow Him too. Philip found Nathanael and excitedly told him that they had found, who the prophet's had spoken about, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael's reply sounds rather rude, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' However, it wasn't derogatory. He knew the birthplace of the Messiah was not Nazareth but Bethlehem and he also knew the history of the place.

Nazareth had only been a village at the time with only a small population of a few hundred. Following the death of Herod the Great in 4BC, the Roman armoury had been robbed and the Roman's had retaliated by crucifying 2000 Jews to pay the price of such a revolt. Less than a decade later, when Jesus was only a boy, another Galilean instituted a tax revolt, resulting in further crucifixions. Therefore, it is not too difficult to understand Nathanael's words.

The main thing is, Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, as the prophesied Messiah but with His parents, moved to Nazareth where he trained to be a carpenter, and He continued doing this until He was ready to fulfil God's Word when He was around 30. Therefore, it was quite difficult for people who knew Him. In fact, when He visited His home town with the disciples, He was rejected by the people, who believed Him to be just the carpenter, Joseph's son. He said to His disciples, 'A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.' Mark 6:4.

If Jesus was rejected, so will you be, especially by those who knew you before you became, 'religious'. Many fail to see that religion covers a multitude of faiths and myths, some of which are questionable. To follow Jesus, we are Christians.
However, for some, there is a price to pay. Some people may turn against you and that includes family and friends. When I became a Christian and was training with a bible college to be a minister, close family members were heard saying, 'We don't want a vicar in the family,' which was quite funny really because I didn't wish for this either. I was more led to evangelism. However, God has a way of changing things around.

It can be quite difficult at first, when people know you're a Christian. Some can make you feel like an alien from another planet. Some can be very hurtful and if you were to take a look at what is happening in Third World countries, many Christians are suffering terrible ordeals because of their faith. Some are imprisoned until they denounce the Name of Jesus. Some suffer death.

You may be suffering rejection in many ways. 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Yes, His Name is Jesus and He is worth the rejection. He is worth the suffering. He is worth what you may be going through at this time. If you're a Christian, He rescued you from Death - from your sins, by dying on the cross in your place. He paid the price. And that is worth every bit of suffering.

He knows what you are going through. You may be the only Christian in your family, in your street or in your job. However, you're not alone. He is right there beside you - always.

I'd love to hear from you. Contact me at dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Pay attention part two

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"And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us.' So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them."  Acts 3:4 - 5 NKJV (Read the whole chapter)

Peter and John helped the disabled man to be pro-active. They determined that they had his attention and that he was expectant, and then they lifted him onto his feet. This act brought life to the man's legs and he went leaping and praising God. Wouldn't you, after a life time of not being able to walk?
This pro-activeness helped the man to receive and also realise that, giving God his attention and being expectant had brought him healing. Do you want healing? Or is there someone close to you who does? Are you willing to pay attention; be expectant, be pro-active and receive the healing you so want? Then 'In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk - or be healed.' In other words 'Get up!'

I once met a lady at a healing crusade who was lying on a mattress. I spoke with her as she laid there and she told me that she had come because her family wanted her to get well. However, she didn't want healing as she would lose all of her DSS benefits. I couldn't believe what I was hearing but she was serious. Was she healed? No she wasn't, because she didn't want it. She wouldn't get up.

Some times, we can get so used to being ill and dependent on others that we can't envisage a life of good health. People may have been looking after us for so long that we've got used to it. ENOUGH! GET UP IN JESUS" NAME and receive the healing that Jesus wants to give you. "Yes, but not everyone is healed are they,' you may be saying. 'Jesus doesn't heal everyone, does He.'
Well my answer to that is two-fold, I can't understand when healing doesn't come to a person and I've seen that many times. However, I believe that when a person is prayed for - for healing - that something happens deep inside of them. I will never doubt Jesus. Is there something in your life preventing the healing power of Jesus. I say this, not to lay a trip on anyone, but just out of genuine concern, because the Word of God says we are healed by the stripes of Jesus 1 Peter 2:24. So is something blocking this? It may be in your interest to investigate this. 
Some people drink far too much drink, get splattered on drugs, commit adultery, watch pornography and then go to church on a Sunday and expect God to meet with them This cannot be. Sin is blocking the way. Firstly get rid of the sin and try again.

Finally, be willing for God to make some changes in your life. Nobody likes change, it takes us out of our comfort zone; but then, maybe that is needed. Also, get to know what God wants you to change, and then go ahead and do it. I promise you, make this sacrifice and you'll never look back.

Let me lead you in prayer:

'Lord Jesus, I've lived my life for myself- too long. It's time to make some changes. Firstly, I ask You to be my Lord and Saviour; forgive my sins and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give my life to You, today. Amen.'

Alternatively, 'Lord, I've been a Christian for sometime now but I've only learned the basics. I mean business with You now Lord and ask You to help me forge forward in Your Holy Spirit. Amen'

If you would like to contact me dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com