P.P.P.

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"It is better for me to die than to live". Jonah 4:8. NKJV

Jonah has been called the pouting prophet and just by reading the four chapters about him, it's not hard to see why. After Jonah had finally obeyed God and gone to Nineveh to declare God's Word to them, he went outside of the great city and sulked and threw a major pity party because he felt God should have wiped them all out. When he didn't, Jonah wished death upon himself.

I've named today's reading, 'P.P.P. - Pity Party People.' We can be so like this at times; especially when somebody does us wrong and hurts us. We want God to sort them out. In fact, at times, we want to sort them out, forget we're a Christian for a day and give the person a jolly good sorting. We hold imaginary conversations with them and really believe that we are doing this. We see them in the street and try to avoid them. In church when they come to hug us, we pray that we'll be raptured before they even touch us.

We focus on something that hasn't even happened and hold an inquest at home, with our partner, trying to drag them into the equation and gain their support. When this fails, we feel sorry for ourselves, pout, slam doors and then hold the pity party with only ourselves invited.

We've all done it. At times, I've felt that could write a book about some people I've met and many of them Christians. I have dreamt about all I could put into this book, judging, blaming, exposing and calling them all of the names that I can think of. Yes, I could have written a best seller about them. That is, until I realised that God has considered writing one about me, which would be much fatter, full of everything that I have ever done and very costly to my walk with Him. I quickly repented.

God knows what we're like. He knows that it can be difficult at times. Let's face it, we're in a family - the family of God; and at times families can be very dysfunctional and troublesome. We have to give and take. Look how God is with us. How many times have we disappointed Him and angered Him but, because of Jesus, when we have repented, we have received a clean bill. 

Is there someone at this moment who you're finding difficult to handle? Ask God to show you something nice about them. Ask God to show them something nice about you. It is a two-way thing you know. You may get on their nerves as much as they get on yours. Bend a little. Reach out to them. Give them a call and invite them out for coffee - if that's possible. Pray for them; try and show them the respect and love that Jesus shows you. That's what God expects. Don't be a P.P.P. any longer. 

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

God knows your gifting

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"A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men."    Proverbs 18:16 

Do you know the gift that is within you? Do you think God knows of it? Of course he does, because He put it there. 'Then why don't God use it? I never get chosen to do anything.'

We all have certain gifts and talents that God placed within us and will use when we are ready - when we are in position to be used. At times, everyone wants to be the preacher or the pastor or the worship leader. Now that may be for you. However, perhaps the time is not right yet. God uses our gifts in the secular world too, you know. There are Christian doctors, social workers, office workers, politicians and even road sweepers who have gifting and are using this gifts for God. 

The thing is, if God said He wanted to use you today; would you do it? Some would and many would go into a decline and hide away. I know, I've been there. Not everyone are called to be a preacher. Ushers are so important, as are the church car park attendant. Each have a role to play. Sometimes we have to humble ourselves and do the things we feel are below us before God will use us in the higher positions.

The thing is, if God has placed a certain gift within you, He will use it despite what anyone else says. Look at young David. He saw Goliath and looked around at Saul and his army and knew they were not going to retaliate. Therefore, he felt God showing him that it was what he should do. Saul tried to stop him and no doubt there were sniggers from family and the crowd when they saw this skinny little chap taking on this nine foot giant. It didn't stop him though. Why? Because he knew the time was right. He knew God had put him in this place to do this act and he went for it and claimed victory.

Now, God is not calling you to attack this kind of giant. However, what you will have to do, will appear so if you don't get in position - praying and listening to God. being humble and usable. Being ready as today may be the the day.

Your gift will become apparent to the right person at the right time. Stay cool until then. Keep praying God; refuse to get disgruntled and get ready. It may come sooner than you thought.


I'd love to hear from you:    daily life with jesus@protonmail.com

Insiders and Outsiders Part two

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"The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards Him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 NKJV

Yesterday we looked at the role of Outsiders.- - the Etic perspective. Today let's look at Insiders, who look at the outsiders. This is called the Emic perspective.

John the Baptist was an Insider. He knew Jesus, he was a practitioner and had the spiritual knowledge of who he was and what He was here for. Initially, he was talking to outsiders when he told John and Andrew about Him 'Behold. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' (John 1:29). They very quickly became insiders as they pursued Jesus and became His followers. 

Basically, an insider is one who 'knows Jesus' The insider has gone into the Internal Frame of of Reference. They know who the  person is. They may not be able to explain it fully yet but they have inward knowledge. That is what it is like when you come to know Jesus as Your Lord and Saviour.

Outsiders cannot understand where an insider is coming from. They do not have that inner feeling - the Holy Spirit. Insiders know that when they come face to face with an outsider, it can be difficult to explain why they read the bible; go to church or speak freaky language about Jesus. Now the outsider may be searching for something that the insider has - Jesus. Alternatively, they may be curious about how a Christian reacts to things differently than the norm. I remember a mental health social worker who visited a Christian patient at home. When he returned to the office, he told me that she was very strange and he was quite concerned as she talked about her faith endlessly and had various bibles around the place. He felt that this was over the top. He may have been right. However, I happened to know this patient and knew that she was a Christian through and through but had hit a bad time and was depressed. The problem was, the other social worker, found it very difficult to accept what I told him and I got the feeling that he was concerned about my mental health too.

This can be a problem. When an outsider, especially a professional in a particular field, meets up with an insider - one who is living for Jesus; speaks in tongues; reads the bible and prays. Labels can be attached. Outsiders need to assess things more clearly when they are advised that a particular insider has a belief system that is different from theirs. The purpose of studying religion is to make the strange familiar, and the familiar strange. The truth is, that which is strange to the unbeliever, is familiar to the believer and vice versa. This is where misunderstandings happen.

Again it is down to the Christian individual (the insider) to get their faith over to the outsider, if it is necessary. The outsider cannot understand what is happening, especially if they go to a Charismatic church where people are laying all over the floor shouting out to Jesus. However, with patience and empathy, an insider can help the outsider to know what they're witnessing. Let's face it, you were once an outsider looking in. That is until the day Jesus invited you to 'Come and see.' Then you knew. 

Before I became a Christian, I thought most Christian people were crazy people. Now I've joined them and I'm glad.The persecution, violence and insults that Christians suffer throughout the world are done by outsiders - people who do not understand our viewpoint. 

I think God wants us to put them right, don't you?

Why not drop me an email. dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com 

Insiders and Outsiders

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"The next day, John saw Jesus coming towards Him and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 NKJV

In our study over the next two days, I would like to look at Christianity firstly in the eyes of the onlooker (the outsider) and then tomorrow, look at Christianity from the yourself (the insider). It sounds complicated but it isn't. What we will actually be doing is sitting on the streets as Jesus walks by and forming an outside opinion. Tomorrow it will be your opinion. This is a form of Anthropology and this data is from The Open University:

Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present. 
The outsider view is the view from the outside: the perspective of the (theoretically) dispassionate observer whose observation does not influence the observed. This can be called the academic view. In the academic discipline of Religious Studies, it is sometimes called the etic perspective. The insider view is that of the practitioners, the people who are engaged in and more or less committed to the group or society in which they move. In Religious Studies, the view from the inside, the perspective of the practitioners, is called the emic perspective. This is a central distinction in the study of religion.

From an Etic perspective, we see here Jesus walking through Bethany and John the Baptist making a prophetic statement about Him to his own disciples. Think about the situation. Jesus was at the start of His ministry and already, He was beginning to stir up attention to Himself. In fact, so much so that John and Andrew later follow Him and along with Peter, Phillip and Nathanial, become His disciples. They are so attracted to Him that they just can't resist Him. We as Christians know that this is the wonderful drawing power of the Holy Spirit. They are the first of Jesus' disciples and will follow Him and be involved in all He does.

From a Etic perspective (outsiders) they are drawn to following Him. There is something that they see in Him that they have never seen or felt before. It is something they can't resist and they want it for themselves. They want to spend time with Him.

From this Etic perspective, what do people see in you. As non- Christians are observing your behaviour (and they do), what do they see. Are they drawn to you like these first disciples? Do they want what you have, even though they don't know what it is? As Christians, we have the calling by Jesus Himself to make disciples. (Matthew 28:16-20). He has commissioned us to do this. People will not know about Him if they're not told. Now we can preach to our friends, family, neighbours and workmates but we can do far better by initially letting them see Jesus through our actions. All Jesus had said to the two inquiring disciples who had asked Him where He was staying, was 'Come and see.' That is all. He had done no teaching, preaching or healing. Just answered their question and they were hooked.
The is the way God wants us to be with all we meet. People are fed up with being used, abused and totally ripped off by this world. They need people they can trust. People who will be there for them. Think for a moment. Is that you? Jesus thinks so.

Why not drop me an email.     dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

It's a done deal

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"Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament. Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp; Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes; Praise him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with crashing cymbals; Let everything that has breath, Praise the Lord."  Psalm 150 NKJV

Anyone in a church setting, would now be shouting, 'Amen' which means 'Let it be,' alternatively, they may be shouting, 'Hallelujah' which means 'Praise the Lord.' Whatever they would say, they would be thanking and praising God.

However, we don't have to be in a church setting to do this. Praise can, and should, be in our lives 24/7 - anywhere we are and in anything that we're doing. Angels in Heaven may be praising God at this time, however, they cannot praise and thank God for what we can, and that is salvation. For all of us who are 'saved' - that means, we've asked Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour, it's a 'done deal'. Jesus died for us, in our place. He took our sins upon Himself as if He had committed them Himself and gave us freedom, a new life. That is salvation and the angels cannot have this because they're already there with Jesus. For us who have Jesus in our hearts, we have that to look forward to. We have salvation now but the full reality of it will not happen until we see Jesus face to face in Heaven.

Until that day, we have everything to live for and in everything, we need to praise and thank God. Look at the end of this Psalm, 'Let everything that has breath, Praise the Lord.' Have you got breath? Of course you have. Then Praise the Lord with it. We may have problems but Praise him. Not for the problems because He didn't give them to you. No, Praise Him as you move through the problems. We may be sick. Then Praise Him through the sickness. We may be unhappy; then Praise Him through this unhappiness. There may be a host of different things that hurt, hinder and take your joy away. However, stand and Praise Him.

As we do this, something wonderful happens. God meets us and fills us with he joy and strength to take on whatever we have to face throughout the day. Praise lifts our sorrows. The devil cannot stand the sound of Praise. He'll do everything he can to prevent you doing this. Why? Because you are in direct contact with God and the devil knows that you're a threat to him when you're this way. So he'll try and stop you. Don't let Him. Stand tall and sing and Praise God. Turn up the Praise music; start to laugh, dance, sing and clap your way though the heartaches and problems you may be going through. God loves you. Do you hear me? GOD LOVES YOU! You have breath, then use it to praise your friend, Jesus. He loves to receive this type of thing from you. He really can't get enough of you. It's done deal.

Why not drop me an email.    dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

In the wrong place

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"It happened in the spring of the year; at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman."  
                                                                                                            2 Samuel 11:1 - 3 NKJV

Being in the wrong place, at the wrong time can cause all sorts of problems for us. David here, should have been out with his men. However, for some reason he had decided to stay at home. When we are not in the right place - the place we should be - things can happen that lead us astray. Here, David was probably bored, not knowing what to do with himself, therefore strolled about the property just glancing around. His eyes caught this beautiful woman and as he continued to look at her, it was rather like when Eve gazed at the fruit on the tree. It beckoned her, it created a temptation, which in turn created a desire to have it. This is what happened to King David. As he looked at this woman, temptation and then desire caught hold of him, and he sent for her. Adultery was formed. 

This is what James was warning about in James 1: 14-15, 'But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death.'

We must realise that temptation is around every corner and we have to be on guard 24/7. Idleness and carelessness, lack of wisdom and feeding our minds with the wrong things, can cause us to stumble. Put on the armour of God and don't take it off (Ephesians 6:14-18)
Be warned that a lustful gaze will often lead to lustful thoughts and can result in immoral actions. The internet can be a temptation for some when we have open access to all types of pornography - heterosexual and homosexual. The internet caters for all tastes and many fall for its temptations. Be careful how you use it. Your mind can be in the wrong place and that temptation can create desires that lead us away to immoral gratification.

Do Christian men and women involve themselves this way? You bet they do. Some are so hooked with this behaviour that they cannot stop themselves. And let's face it, it is not an issue that can be brought up at a prayer meeting. 
The thing is, left un-challenged, this type of behaviour can ruin a person's life, marriage and ministry. If this is you, don't you think it's time you dealt with it? Who is the person that you could share this with; someone who would listen, pray for you and be totally confidential. There must be someone. Ask God to show you. Don't continue to be in the wrong place. Take a turn for the better and seek help. It will change your life.

Why not drop me an email.       dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Forgiveness

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"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that Your Father in Heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will Your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses."     Mark 11:25 - 26 NKJV

These are very strong and powerful words. God says that as we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us, but only if we forgive other people that have sinned against us. If we don't, we will not be forgiven either. God also says in Jeremiah 31:34, 'For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more.' Now that is amazing but makes it doubly difficult for us to carry out. Let me explain:

Some person comes along and for one reason or another, wounds us deeply. This may be over a period of time, a situation where they betray us all of a sudden. We are expected to forgive them - not harbour a grudge. It's our choice but from the scripture above, we know we really have no choice at all.We're either a Christian who believes and lives the Word, or not. However, we agree to forgive them, whether they've asked for this or not. But if we don't deal with this internally, it can begin to fester whenever we see them or think about them. It can get so bad that we can hope that they pay for what they've done to us. It becomes on a par with hatred.

When we're living in such a way, the hurt of what someone has done to us can completely take over our lives and it begins to affect our health and our attitudes towards people who still talk and like the person who has offended us deeply. We may even begin to gossip about them, telling whoever will listen, how hurt you have been by this person; what they have done and how they appear to have gotten away with their 'crime' against us.

As it gets this far, we really need to stop and look at ourselves. How can the Holy Spirit dwell within us - a vessel that is acting in such a way towards a brother or sister in the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never leaves us, but as we offend and hurt Him, it's almost like the anointing lifts off us and we start floundering around, moaning, groaning and feeling so sorry for ourselves. 'Well you don't know what he or she did to me?' That's very true, but I do know what God's Word says, and He tells us to forgive. He also tells us, 'Vengeance is mine. I will repay.' (Roman 12:19). When someone has done wrong to us, we forgive them, hand it over to Jesus and it becomes His problem. He will handle it in His way and in His time. Forget about it.

I know it's easer said than done to 'forgive and forget.' However, it really is the only way to go if we want to walk with Jesus. The people did so many bad things to Him, but He handled it all. "Yes, but He was God." Yes, that is true, but He was also a human being, that bled the way we do, at the time. He knows how hurtful things can be and He knows how much you have been hurt too. Why not spend a little time with Him today and let Him wipe your tears, smooth out the wrinkles of your heart and build you up again. It'll be like a spa day as He refreshes every part of your body and mind and makes you feel brand new again.

Why not drop me an email.     dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com