Has you get up and go, gone?

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"This is the day the LORD has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it". Psalm 118:24  NKJV

Let's be honest, some days, we just don't feel much like praying or worshipping God. We feel drained, let down, washed out and irritable. And that's just for starters. We feel the world owes us something but the fact is, the world owes us nothing. People nearby are getting on with their everyday lives. We live busy lives and sometimes people don't have the time to ask us how we are; give us a ring or just spend time with us. It isn't as if they don't care, they're just busy and focused on their day.

To survive in this world, we have to be proactive. It's ok to sit around feeling left out of things, for a time. However, the longer we do, the less likely to be good company when we do actually spend time with someone. I once heard a story of a very depressed man standing on the edge of a cliff intending to throw himself off. A passerby saw this chap and went over to talk with him, with the intention of talking him out of this impending doom. Not long afterwards, they both threw themselves off the cliff. You see when we are down, depressed and full of woe, it is so easy to spread this to other people. All they hear is gloom and doom and if the person trying to help, isn't careful, they can end up feeling the same. This apparently, is what happened here.

Mostly, we are in charge of ourselves. We have choices and sometimes the choices we make determine the way we will go. Here, in our text, the Psalmist makes a proactive statement -'This is the day the LORD has made, WE WILL BE REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.' Do you get it? He was making a statement. He was making his choice to rejoice and be glad in the day God had given him.

All around us there are hurts and anger; pain and sorrow. And the longer we look at it, the more likely it can rub off on us. That doesn't mean that we ignore things. No, if we can help or pray over such things that is fine. But what about us? What about the things that are going off in our lives. Do we just sit and feel sorry for ourselves, or do we do something about it? 'What can we do?' you may ask. Well, firstly, we need to make a conscious decision that we will stand up and go forward. There's life out there and while there is, there are things we need to do. One of these, and perhaps the most important, is to rejoice in the God who gave us life. Now, that's a great place to start.

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You're never alone

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"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD, in the land of the living."   Psalm 27:13  NKJV

Oftentimes, it is so difficult to go to strange places without someone else beside us. Sometimes the places we have to go are places we don't really want to go, but must. At times like this, it is so comforting to be accompanied. When someone is beside us, it makes the whole thing more accomplishable. At times we may have no one to go with us, but stop and think; God says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' (Hebrews 13:5.)
His goodness pours out towards us and gives us the strength to do whatever we have to.

King David was in a difficult position. Wickedness coming against him and an army encamping around him. But he wasn't afraid. He knew that the same God who had helped and rescued him in the past, would be there for him in the future. The troubles of today would strengthen him for the troubles of tomorrow. And it's the same for each one of us.

Things may be piling up around us trying to drag us down to a place where we feel like giving up. Look at what David said, 'I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.' David wasn't talking about when he got to Heaven, but now! God is with us, everywhere we look. He'll never leave us. There's no need to 'Lose heart' (give up or faint). No, it's time to look up, get up and allow the King of kings to help you through whatever you are facing - in the land of the living.

Today, is all we have. Tomorrow may not come for some people. So we need to grab hold of what we have - today, and move forward. Do what we need to do, knowing that whatever that is, God is right beside us, helping us, encouraging us and loving us through it all.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

exaggeration

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"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14.  RSV

When you tell other people about things, are you tempted to flower things up a little by exaggeration? I think we're all prone to doing this at times, especially in the pulpit. A preacher, when he or she is relating an appropriate story to the scripture that is being read,  can overstate things in order to make a point in their sermon. Evangelists are renowned for doing this. I've done it myself on occasions. We speak the truth but can overstretch it at times to make the story more listenable too.

But is it lying?  To overstate a subject means to:

'to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth; "tended to romanticize and exaggeratethis'  The Open Dictionary

In light of today's reading, how does God feel about this. Is exaggeration acceptable to Him? When we share things with people, is there a 'Chinese Whisper effect,' about what is said? By the time it gets told to the fourth person, has the whole thing been told as accurately as it initially was? Imagine if people were waiting to pray for things, would they be praying for the right thing? 

At times, There is a thin dividing line between the truth and gossip. This can happen in prayer groups where one person, very possibly not intentionally, prays for someone but speaks out things that do no need to be said, more like prayerful gossip. There needs to be a great caution on this.

In ordinary, everyday conversation, at times we may be tempted to stretch the truth a little in order to compete with the other person. One person may be telling how much God has done for them lately. In order to challenge this, we may be tempted to tell of something that happened to us recently, but stretch the truth a little. Sounds innocent, but is it?

God  wants us to be honourable ambassadors of His Word. To do that, to live up to the calling He has given us, we need to keep a tight rein on what we say and be an honourable servant.

Perhaps we need to avoid overstating things!

Please email your feedback.  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Why Lord, Why?

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"Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Things can be so difficult at times. So very difficult in fact, that words fail to make any sense. One can be riding high one moment and then sink into a sea of darkness, in which it seems impossible to be able to stay afloat. Life is so short; it is so unpredictable. One doesn't know what is going to happen from one hour to the next.

One thing is certain though; the love and faithfulness of our friend, Jesus Christ is rock solid. He is always there, ready to pick up the pieces; ready to hold our hands and hug us; always ready to say, 'I am here, right beside you.'

Weeping and crying out is good. It helps to de-energise the hurt and stress that is burning within us. It is a safety valve that brings release just when we need it. It is ok to cry; ok to shed those tears. Weeping brings a freedom that leads to another emotion - joy. Joy is where our strength lies. It gives us the ability to laugh in the face of hurt, numbness and depression. It lifts our soul.

Hurts come, but life goes on and somehow, we go on with it. Joy eventually returns. This is the way we're made. The numb feeling, where we can't make any sense of what has happened begins to disappear. As born again believers of Jesus, we're survivors. We've read the book and we know the ending, we win; we have eternal life and that is where the joy springs from.

Bereavement can rob us of that very special person that brought us more happiness and joy than we had ever known. However, loss brings with it change and even though change can be so hard to negotiate, with time and healing, it is manageable. There are no answers to the many questions that buzz around at times such as this; it would be foolish to even try. However, one person knows the hurts that we are going through, better than anyone else. At times such as these, it can be so beneficial to just sit in His presence and in ordinary language (it doesn't have to be long drawn out prayers) tell Him how you're feeling and allow Him to take care of you. Give it a try.

'Lord Jesus, I am hurting and I feel so confused and totally numb. Please help me in this hour of sheer sadness. I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen

If this has affected you, why not contact me
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Our God will deliver us; in whatever way He chooses

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"If that is the case, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."   Daniel 3:17-18 NKJV

King Nebuchadnezzar, had set up a gold statue and he ordered that every one should bow and worship this at certain times (Read Daniel 3). Certain Jews informed the king that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were refusing to do this and the king was enraged. The penalty for this was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. The king interviewed them and threatened this certain death upon them unless they complied. He was so arrogant that he said to them, 'But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands.' Dan 3:15.

This did not deter the young men and they replied,"If that is the case, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."   Daniel 3:17-18 NKJV.
 And as you read the account in chapter 3, you will see that, even though they were thrown into the furnace, they survived without a burnt hair and the Angel of the Lord accompanied them too.

What a wonderful demonstration of men of God making a stand against evil. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego trusted the Lord. They knew He wouldn't let them down but even if He didn't deliver them, they would not bow down to evil.

Sometimes we face the most difficult of circumstances and it is so easy to literally beg Jesus to help us. Sometimes, He doesn't answer our prayers the way we would want Him to. However, He is still God and deserves our love and worship. 

Perhaps, you may be in a situation that is desperate at this time, and you are calling out for God's help. You may be tempted to think that God will not help on this occasion and feel that you should give up on your prayers because they will not work. That is the devil talking. Ignore this and stand firm in the knowledge that God loves you and whatever happens; whatever the outcome; He is still God. It's not over until it's over.

There comes a time when we have done all that we can - given it to God, prayed and appealed to God for His help. However, the situation hasn't changed. There's many questions that go unanswered at times like this; and much emotion rules. Sometimes we just have to accept that God has answered our prayer and this is the answer that needs to be accepted. 
However, don't give up yet, there's still time for God to deliver. He's still on the throne. He still loves you. Just let Him hug you at this moment.

     Why not drop me an email                                                Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard                                                                dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

From hopelessness to hope

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"This I recall to my mind, therefore, I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness."   Lamentations 3:21 - 23. NKJV

Jeremiah, who probably wrote this book, was depressed. He had done all he could to turn the hearts of the people, but all to no avail. Therefore, he, himself, was feeling God's wrath on the people. It was a hopeless situation and Jeremiah felt for the people. He had compassion. However, he had done all he could. But he then focused on something from his memory and this lifted him; his hope returned and the shackles of depression began to leave him. He had done all he could; and he had made no mistakes at all. He grabbed hold of the hope with all he had. He knew that there was still hope in God so he changed his focus by remembering times of restoration and victory. (Verse 21).

Quite often we need to change how we think (Romans 12:2). And we need to change our self talk - how we speak to ourselves when the chips are down. We can even build ourselves up or turn ourselves down. Jeremiah went from negative to positive thought and this led him from depression to hope. When things are not good, try and think back to more victorious occasions and let God meet you in these memories.

God's mercy is abounding. Each day He gives us a brand new start. He is so faithful. We are only human and we blow it quite often, every day sometimes if you're like me. We make mistakes; but as Jeremy Pearsons says, 'My mistakes may be great but His faithfulness is greater.' (KCM.org). Think about that for a moment. When did you last let God down? His compassion grasped hold of those mistakes and you are forgiven. You may not feel forgiven, that's where faith comes in. We make mistakes and mess up really badly. We may ask God to forgive us but many, many times we carry on as if we are still guilty. Jesus' death on the cross declared us not guilty. As soon as we say that we're sorry, He forgives us.

Now that's something to shout about. I make more mistakes than the average human being ( I consider ), but God's daily faithfulness and compassion gives me a brand new start. Wouldn't you like to start again? Try Jesus, He's great at giving new starts.

Even if you're going through the darkest of times, try an grab some hope, NOW!

Please send me some feedback on this email. dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Wounded and battle-scarred but still moving on

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"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts  of the wicked one . And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit , which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." 
                                                                                                           Ephesians 6:14-18

We used to sing a chorus back in the 80's and the words that I remember go like this:

'I am a wounded soldier, 
But I will not leave the fight, 
Because the great physician is healing me! 

So I'm standin' in the battle, 
In the armor of His light, 
Because His mighty power is real in me!'            Copyright Danny Daniels

It was a battle song, one that was built around the Armour of God and as we sang it, we were making a declaration that, we will continue to stand, no matter what we may face. We will not surrender, we will not leave the fight even though we are battle-scarred. The Lord God is our great physician and He is healing us; He is providing a way to get through what we are facing at this time.

You may be wounded at this time. You may be thinking, 'Why has this happened?' There's probably no answer to that, especially at this time. However, should we throw the towel in and quit? NO! A loved one may be sick at this time and you may not see a way through at this time. You're wounded but you can still stand, so stand. Don't give in, the devil would love this. Stand up and fight; establish your ground. You're in a battle, that's true. But Jesus is right beside you, fighting for you. 

Wounded soldier, God is talking to you at this moment. There may be no explanation for what has happened or what you are facing right now. You're hurting, but you're not finished yet. Wounded yes, but you've still got some fight left in you, and what you don't have, Jesus will give you. Stand up, pray, pray and then pray some more. Do some Spiritual warfare. Fight, fight and fight some more. You're not defeated, even though you're wounded. Get up!

I am a wounded soldier, 
But I will not leave the fight, 
Because the great physician is healing me! 

So I'm standin' in the battle, 
In the armor of His light, 
Because His mighty power is real in me! 

Please send me some feedback.   dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com