Risen to Life

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"Then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.' "  Luke 24:5-6 of Luke 24

You can't take God on and win!. It's impossible to do this. Jesus is a winner and so are all who belong to Him. He has triumphed over death. He's alive, just as He said He would be. The devil had a mighty shock. He thought he had defeated Jesus and got Him out of the way and felt he was now the leader of the world. But boy, he was so wrong. Jesus blasted out of the realm of death. It could no longer hold Him. He has taken death and defeated it - totally. He is alive!

And because of this, all Christians, even though they will die at some stage, will rise to life too - to be with Jesus in His Kingdom. Jesus has the keys to Heaven. He reigns there victoriously and He wants you to be there one day, too. But if you don't know Jesus, how will you get there? He has the key; the password, which is 'Jesus is my Lord.' People will only go to Heaven when they die if they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

He suffered terribly to give you and me the certainty of Heaven - eternal life. We will die to this life one day but we will be with Him, living eternally. This is the thing that keeps people going when they have lost someone close to them. The pain and hurt is unavoidable but if the deceased was a Christian, there is a certainty that they will see them again. This s why King David was able to write in Psalm 23:4:

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

He had a certainty of being in Heaven when He died; and so can you. Jesus didn't go through this terrible ordeal on the cross for nothing. He died for you. He took your sin - all the stuff you know you have done wrong in life, and are ashamed of - He took your place on the cross, paid the penalty of your sin and as you ask Him to forgive you, He declares you not guilty. 

Now if that isn't something to shout about, I don't know what is. Imagine that you're taking a train journey and there are two stations you can get off. Station one, will be a bright, sunny, beautiful day with all expenses paid; Station two is on fire and people will abuse you all the time you're there. Which station would you prefer to get off? Of course, you would choose Station one. Well this is the choice you will have to make in your life.

Jesus has done all He can to pave the way for you to be forgiven and enjoy eternal life with Him in Heaven. If you don't do this, you will have no choice and will receive a ticket to hell. Please don't shoot the messenger, I didn't write the book, God did; just read your bible:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. (Read the whole of Chapter 3)

Jesus longs for you to make the right choice. If you want to accept Jesus and be certain of eternal life, please say this prayer with me:

'Father, I realise that You sent Jesus to die in my place on the cross. I recognise that I am a sinner and ask You to forgive every sin that I have ever committed. I accept Jesus as My Lord and Saviour, and My friend. I ask You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me live for You from this day forward. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Spiritually minded or Carnally minded

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"For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."     Romans8:5. NKJV

Who is the CEO in your life? Who is in charge? RT Kendall wrote, 'Will my flesh rule this moment or my spirit?' It is quite an important question because it determines the state of our heart. (Matthew 12:34). 
Casey Treat says, 'When your mind agrees with your spirit, you're spiritually minded. But when it agrees with your flesh, you're carnally minded.' You can't get away from that. You're either allowing your mind to agree with your spirit or with your flesh. This would explain the explosions of anger that we have. Or the lustful thoughts that take control of our thinking. It would explain judging, accusing and gossiping that we become involved in. It shows where we are in the Lord. Possibly, not many of us do well in these areas.

But take heart, we have a friend in Jesus, who knows what it is like to be tempted (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus knew the temptations that come upon us. He was tempted just the same. The difference was, He didn't fall for it like we do. He was sin free. However, because He knows the temptations that come upon us, we only have to shout to Him and He will be there to rescue us. The thing is, some of us, may have got so used to what we're tempted with that we're reluctant to give it up. It feels good - it's not doing any harm, surely? Yes it is. The Spirit of God cannot reign in an unclean vessel - which is us. He gives us grace to allow us to shed these things off us, but for how long? The clock is ticking.

Do you want to be blessed beyond your dreams? He wants to bless you. Take a look at this scripture:

'Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.'   Ephesians 3:20

Note the last part, 'according to the power that works in us.' This is important. That power is The Holy Spirit. Even though God has promised not to leave us, He will not be able to reign in power within us unless we make a choice to live according to the Spirit.

It's a choice that we need to make - an important one, one that will change our lives, for the better or for the worse. The choice is ours.

Remember when sin comes against us, 'Will my flesh rule this moment, or my spirit?' 

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Crucified for you and me

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"Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called the Praetorium and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed  Him with  purple and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head and began to salute Him, 'Hail King of the Jews.' Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on him; and bowing the knee, they worshipped Him. And when they had mocked Him they took the purple off Him , put His own clothes on Him and led Him out to crucify Him."  Mark 15:16-20. NKJV

How does this make you feel? This is Jesus that they abused, used and murdered for no reason at all. Prior to this terrible ordeal, Pilate had Him scourged. (John 1:19). This was the Roman practice of being whipped 39 times. The whip was probably made of leather and would have had broken pieces of pottery and sharps stones woven into the leather itself. The idea was when the person was flogged, the whip would wrap itself around the body and the person doing this awful act, would then pull it. The result being, it would tear the flesh causing the most diabolical pain and suffering. Jesus had this done 39 to 40 times. His skin would have been torn and on fire. 

He was then abused by the soldiers, as mentioned above. They slapped Him and tormented Him, rammed the crown of thorns onto His scalp. These thorns were possibly 2 to 3 inches long. Again, the pain would have been awful.
Not stopping at that, they made Him carry His own cross to the place of execution - the place of the skull or in Hebrew, Golgotha. All the way, the majority of people would have been jeering Him, laughing and trying to throw things at Him. Every movement would have caused Jesus terrible discomfort because of the flogging He had received

Arriving at the designated place, the soldiers laid Jesus down on the cross and nailed His hands and feet to it. The nails were probably 9 inches long and rusty too. They then hoisted the cross and dropped it into a hole with so much force that it may have pulled His bones out of their sockets. There they left Him to die.

As He hung there, people laughed at Him and suggested that He give Himself a miracle by coming down from the cross. They would then believe in Him. All Jesus said was, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' (Luke 23:34)
Two other men were crucified alongside Jesus. One shouted abuse at Him but the other one defended Jesus after rebuking the other man, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.' Jesus replied, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. ' (Luke 23:40-43)

In all the emotional turmoil and the severe pain that He was suffering, He was still prepared to do God's will. That should show you the heart of Jesus. That criminal is now in heaven. 

The pain and humiliation that Jesus suffered that day, He did for you and me. Why? To give us all the opportunity of sharing heaven with Him when we die. You see, we were born sinners and no matter what we do, we cannot get away from this fact. God's a Holy God and cannot and won't look upon sin, therefore, God came down to earth, as a man, in the form of Jesus Christ, and took our sins and our sicknesses, upon Himself so that as we accept Him into our hearts as our Lord and Saviour, He forgives our sin and declares us 'Not Guilty'.

The people who had been involved in His crucifixion, thought that it was over. But it was only Friday - Sunday was coming!

If you have been affected by this and know that you are not saved, Born again or whatever we Christians may call it, why not ask Jesus into your life, right now

'Lord Jesus, thank you for dying in my place. I ask You to forgive my sins, and fill me with You Holy Spirit. Please be My Lord and Saviour from this day. Amen'

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Innocent of any crime

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"Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Are you a king then?' Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth, hears My voice.' Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?' And when he had said this he went out to the Jews and said to them. 'I find no fault in Him at all.' "  John 18:37-38  NKJV

Jesus knew His fate. He knew that He had been born to be crucified for the sin of the world. His disciples could not comprehend this. I suppose if we had been there at the time, we would have felt the same.

To celebrate the Passover, Jesus held the Last Supper in the upper room of a house in the city. During this time, they ate and prayed and Jesus washed their feet. This is the significance of Maundy Thursday - the ritual that some Christians hold, which involves the washing of people's feet. Others call Maundy Thursday - Holy Thursday. Whatever, it was a time where Jesus spent quality time with them and revealed that one of them, would betray Him. This obviously bothered them and they questioned each other about this.

After the meal, Jesus took them to The Garden of Gethsemane, where He left them for a short while while He poured out His heart to the Father. He became so full of anguish as He prayed, 'Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.' (Luke 22:42)

Jesus knew there was no other way. He would face what was expected of Him. The wrestle between His spiritual side and His human side must have been so stressful for Him.

Once he had settled this, He left the garden with His disciples but was approached by Judas Escariot, who kissed Him, which was a sign to the chief priests, the captains of the temple and the elders, that this was the man. He betrayed Jesus for a few pieces of silver.

Jesus was arrested and taken to the chief priests house where He had to undergo a trial where false accusations, lies and judgement were placed upon Him. After this ordeal He was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea for sentencing. The Jews could not put a man to death, but Pilate had the authority to have Jesus crucified. 

It was a complete shambles of a trial. Totally false and unfair. But Jesus hardly said a word in His defence. Pilate had found no fault in Him when He had spoken with Him. However, he recognised the pressure that was upon himself, so therefore, he washed his hands of it all, and gave the Jews their wishes. There really was nothing else to say; the chief priests and elders had decided they wanted Jesus executed and this was their opportunity to get Him out of the way.

Imagine how Jesus was feeling at the time - His humanity must have been tested so much. And what about the Father. It had to be done, Jesus had to pay the price of everyone's sin in order to give us freedom. However, this was the Father's only son. He must have been emotionally affected.

The disciples, apart from being bewildered by His arrest must have been desperate, wondering how this would all turn out. Peter, who had denied Jesus, as Jesus had predicted He would, must have felt awful, as the events of the evening and early morning unfolded. 
How would you have felt if you had been there. Can you picture yourself there at the time. Just for a few moments, try and meditate on what you would be seeing and how you would be feeling. It would have been a frightening time. Jesus had suffered a terrible ordeal at this false trial, but there was far more to come, as we will see tomorrow.

  Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard  

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com                                                                                               

Covetousness

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"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. 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

Today, let us look at the subject of covetousness. Acting in this way includes, seeking personal recognition and wanting power over others. It means trying to be the centre of attention and craving for what other people have. This can include:

A house, wealth, someone's wife or husband, car, job, and success to name some of the things that covetousness covers.

Does this ring a bell with you? If so, you need to address this urgently. Being ungrateful for what God has given us, along with moaning, groaning and grumbling about it all and never, ever being satisfied, angers God. He wants us to be content with what He has given us in Jesus. This is far better than craving for what someone else has been given. You're not them; you are yourself and that's the way God intended you to be. 

As I've said earlier, God becomes angry when we're ungrateful. Take a look at Psalm 106:

'They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul'. ( Verses 13-15 ). 

Moans and dis-satisfaction with how God was treating them. A closer look at the Israelites departure from Egypt will show how they quarrelled and complained on a daily basis.

One thing is for sure, if your goals are God-centred, He will help you to achieve them. But if you're asking Him for something just because your neighbour has it, you'll be disappointed. Yes, some people win the lottery, but really, it is pure luck that they do. Also, in a way, they're being covetous by trying to feed their greed and get that fancy house, boat and film star life-style. You can pray to win the lottery but I personally think you'll be wasting your time. Just be content with what you have.

What is the point in craving and coveting what someone else has, only to die just when you've received it. It's pointless.

God wants us to be rich and healthy, yes, but in Jesus, not in any other way. If He wants you to have that nice, fancy house, He'll give it you. But until He does, be content with what you have. Do you realise that some people in the Third World countries have nothing, except Jesus. They don't live in comfort like we do. Some are murdered for their faith. Many are raped or imprisoned. And yet, their faith and dedication to God would make us feel embarrassed. They literally trust Jesus from one day to the next, for their daily needs. They can't go down to the cashpoint and draw some extra funds out, like we do. What they have, is the bare essentials.

We don't realise at times our fortunate we are. This is why, we need to give God the Glory and thank Him each day for what He has given us.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

My Protection

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"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress. My God in Him I will trust.' ". Psalm 91:1-2

'Where is the secret place? Where God is! Well it can be anywhere, but must be somewhere. It can be any time but must be a set time.'  (Bob Gass)

It's basically where we spend time and intimacy with Our Heavenly Father. The eye of a storm is the most peaceful place on earth. This is why Jesus slept in the middle of the storm. In Mark 4:38, He was at peace because He knew that the storm couldn't take them under. 

The secret place is a place where we spend special times with Jesus. Often, we call it our quiet time. It's a time where Christians have a personal time of prayer and study with the Lord. It can be anytime and any place, and preferably the same time each day, but this can differ slightly. We need this time to regain our strength and listen and be taught by God. It is essential that we have these times. Nothing should come before these times, if at all possible.

As we spend time in this place we learn to dwell - live, rest, live - in Him and this is where we gain insight and get to know Him better. Also, if Jesus is our friend, we need to spend time with Him. If we don't spend time with a friend or speak to him or her, it is a very strange relationship. One that doesn't go far.

Jesus is not only our strength but He is also our refuge, the place that we can hide and nestle up to in those very hard and difficult times. A refuge is a safe place, one where a person is protected and taken care of. A person in a refuge can expect shelter from any danger or attack. A refuge describes where Jesus is amazingly well. The refuge Jesus provides for us is a fortress- solid, safe and a reliable hiding place.

In this world, it is hard to find anyone that we can totally trust. People tend to let us down quite often. I suppose you know that from your own life. However, what Jesus provides is the safe, reliable, protected kind, one in which He pour out all He has to love and take care of us.

Is this what you need right now? Perhaps you would benefit from the peace He has to offer you. Perhaps you need to adopt the habit of reading your bible and praying at a set time each day. It really is the only way to get to know Him better and to know the way forward.

Give it a try. If you haven't a bible, buy one. If you can't afford one, I'm pretty sure a local church would be able to help you. There are also the Gideons Society who will give you one free of charge. It'll be the best decision you make and that's a promise.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Living in Freedom

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"If you abide in My Word you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth  shall make you free."   John 8:31-32. NKJV

Today, many people live in captivity, in fact slaves. They may be a slave to some type of addiction, tied up in in some awful situation, controlled, bullied, hooked on something or chained. Some people are subject to human trafficking and may never be seen again. The world can be a cruel place to live in. We read of Christian women, from some Christian Societies abroad, who are forced to marry a man who may be into  a strange cult or religion. The world can be an evil place. Alternatively, some people may be trapped in their own sins and cannot find a way out of what they're involved in.

Jesus offers freedom and shows here in our text for today, how it can be achieved. He tells us that we need to: 

Abide in His Word. This means that we need to live the life; live in His Word, dwell in it. In fact, make our home in His Word, being totally sold out for Jesus.
Word  Read your bible and study it everyday. Obey it and live it out to the letter. The bible is our road map; our direction in life. We need to get stuck into it. We will then:
Know the truth We will know Jesus Himself on a more intimate basis. This will help us to know the way forward - what we should do or not do, where we should go. Words such as  Proverbs 3:5-6 will be uppermost in our thinking:

'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'

Truth shall make you free. We will be liberated, Rescued, redeemed, in fact Freedom shall be ours. We'll never be the same again.

However, we need to continue to live in the Word. As we do, it becomes a part of us and before long, we will feel Jesus directing our paths. This needs to be a permanent feature in our lives. Jesus needs to be our first checkpoint about the way ahead - what shall we do, where shall we go?

Freedom cannot be paid for. No amount of money will completely set a person free, no matter what amount is paid. Freedom is not affected by status, where we live or what job we have. No works can bring freedom. We cannot earn liberation. And once we have it, there is nothing that can match it. 

No one can experience the freedom that Jesus offers except by abiding in His Word; by being His disciple and surrendering and living their life for Him. 

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com