'I can't do this.' "Yes you can.' Part two

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse

"O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."
                                                                                                            2 Chronicles 20:12 NKJV

Carrying on from yesterday, we find Jehoshaphat in a great dilemma. a great multitude of armies were coming against him in battle. It looked certain defeat. Surely nothing or no one could save them from this. However, Jehoshaphat had a 'I can' attitude about him. He didn't know what he could do about this predicament but he wasn't about to give up. He declared a fast and and sought the LORD for guidance. That's a good move. Whenever we are in a situation that appears to be an impossible one, God is the one to seek. He is the God of the impossible.

Jehoshaphat united the assembly in prayer. His attitude was one such as, God has done great things in the past, I know He will do it again. He was honest as he stood before the people and prayed. He told them that he didn't have the answer to this. He could only trust God. He prayed:

"O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

He humbly laid it before God and told Him basically, 'Lord we don't know what to do here, but You do. I trust You LORD. Our eyes are upon You. We're counting on You, LORD. (We're just casting this burden on You.'  Psalm 55:22)

That is the way to pray; honestly and humbly. Jehoshaphat wasn't saying he 'Can't'. He was telling God, 'We can't do this alone LORD, but with Your help we can defeat this enemy and claim the victory. And God answered his prayer.

Let's put this into today's perspective. What is it that is causing you fear or anxiety? Jehoshaphat feared and no doubt was quite anxious but he had a, 'I'm not giving up," attitude. He was not going to give in. Yes, he was human and he feared but he did the most responsible thing. He called God into the equation. He called on His help. He cast the burden onto the Lord's shoulders, because God is able- very able.

Don't you think He can handle this difficult situation for you? Of course He can, but if you don't give it to Him, you'll have to struggle alone. He wants you to pray, to humble yourselves and pray: 

'If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.' ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 ).

Come on, it's time to remember that you are more than a conqueror but you can't do it alone. You need God to give you the victory. You can do this. Give it a try, right now!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

"I can't do this - Yes you can!"

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."  
                                                                                                                Romans 8:37. NKJV

To be a conqueror means you're one who overcomes by gaining control. Does that sum you up? Are you a person who quickly gains the control over things that come against you so quickly that you don't really have the time to think? Yes you are but you may need to re-tune a few things.

As a Christian, one who has the power of God Almighty dwelling within your heart, you should never say, 'I can't do this', because you can - with God's help; because you are more than a conqueror. The bible says you are and that does not lie. It is full of truth. Therefore, in the words of Smith Wiggesworth, 'if God says it, I believe it and that settles it.'

Bob Gass says, "Life will either bless you or bury you. The difference lies in having the right attitude. When they throw dirt at you - and they will, just shake it off and step on it."

A conqueror stays in control of things. A more than a conqueror person has Jesus in them and therefore has the help of Heaven at his or her grasp. The thing is we need to be dead to reaction. A hot-headed person reacts without thinking first and makes a complete mess of things, stirring up hurt and destruction wherever they may be. There is no control in this. This person is not a conqueror, let alone a more than conqueror. A more than conqueror takes things on the chin and thinks things through before acting, if at all. Where do you fit in this? Is there room for improvement?

A more than conqueror never says, "I can't'. He or she knows that they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. (Philippians 4:13) However, this verse must be read as doing things in Christ's power, not in your own. He is the superior one, not us.

God wants each of us to have the victory through Jesus. He wants us well; He wants us holy; He wants us honest and truthful; He wants us humble, not puffed up; He wants people to see Jesus in each one of us by the things that we do and say each and everyday. 

Ask yourself, 'Do people see Jesus in me - in my reactions; in how I speak and handle things; in how I live my life? Self evaluation is a good thing. Here, the question is, 'What do people see in me?' 'Do they see Jesus?' You may say, "I can't live up to His expectation of me." Yes you can, because if Jesus lives in you you are more than a conqueror. 'Yes, but you don't know what I have to put up with in my life.' No, I don't; but God does and He still says that you are more than a conqueror through Him who loved us.

So change your, 'I can't,' into, 'I can'. Watch your reactions and be in control of every situation by allowing Jesus to operate through your life more and more. A final thing, make sure that your time with Jesus is regular, every day; praying, reading the Word and spending time with Him. More than conquerors need this daily!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Know alls

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse. 

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things."  1 John 2:20 NKJV

I have used this scripture many times in my preaching and I love people's faces when I tell them that God thinks they are 'know alls.' You know all things, because The Holy Spirit reveals things to you, and will continue to reveal things to you as you continue to walk with Him. The Gospel of John reads:

'However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak and He will tell you things to come.'  (John 16:13)

When we were saved, God gave us an anointing from the Holy Spirit. He also provided a way that we could have access to dunamus power, by way of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, such as happened to the disciples at Pentecost. (Acts 2). He also commanded us to be baptised in water. This baptism is an outward sign that we belong to Jesus, that we have received Him, died with Him and been raised to life again with Him, through the baptisimal waters. Failure to do this, or be baptised in the Holy Spirit however, does not prevent us from going to Heaven when we die We are already saved. However, if Jesus commanded baptism, then it makes sense to obey Him. We want and need everything that He has for us.

Not only does the Holy Spirit tell us all things but we are also friends of Jesus. He actually calls us this in John 15:15, 'No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father, I have made known to you.;
This is amazing, stop for a moment and digest what Jesus is saying here. You are His friend and He will tell you all He has heard from God. Yes, even though you may have just been involved in some type of sin, He still calls you His friend. That is friendship - true friendship. Where could you go to gain such love and faithfulness. Jesus loves each one of us with the same measure. He has no favourites. He is not pleased that you may have just sinned, but as you repent, He pours His love upon you and says:

"I see no stain upon you because you're mine and you know me, to Me you're only holy, nothing that you've done, remains only what you do in me."
                                                                                                 Words and Music Keith Green

You are loved; you are Holy; You are known to God; You are special; You are Jesus' friend.
Why not let that sit with you as you begin to thank and praise Him for His faithfulness to you. If you were God, I'm pretty sure you would give up on someone if they persisted in breaking the rules and letting you down, endlessly. God's not like that because your friend Jesus pleads with the Father each time you let Him down.
Isn't that something to be grateful for?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You Need God!

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse. 

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go ; I will guide you with My eye"
                                                                                                                    Psalm 32:8. NKJV

I remember my university days; the initial fear as I commenced my first day and the desire to want to leave that same morning, as I discovered all the work that I would have to cover in order to qualify. It was totally awesome, However, deep down, I knew that I could do this; I knew that God was with me. This did not stop me from failing my first essay though. As I asked God about this, just before I was going going to quit, He quite simply told me that I had not asked Him to help me. He felt that, as I hadn't asked Him, I would be able to manage it well. I was flabbergasted and decided there and then, that I would never manage this without asking Him for help.

My problem was, I was puffed up, I didn't need anyone to help me; I would sail through all of this, I thought. WRONG! It was quite an awakening and I had to live with the fact that I had to re-submit my first essay. I felt stupid and my ego had suffered a major smashing.
But we live and learn, and I learnt very quickly, I can tell you. 

God gave me the above verse. He told me to pray this over every essay and exam that I had to do and all would be good. I never looked back from that moment and managed to get some very favourable results, even coming first in psychology - which included Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Grief counselling. But I had to learn the lesson that without Him, I can do nothing (John 15:5)." 

When we are young, we have this feeling that we can conquer anything that we face. Thankfully, God is there to point us in the right direction, and that means allowing us to have egg on our face when we think we know better than Him.

This feeling that we can do whatever we choose to do, never really leaves us. What we have to do is, learn to submit to God, draw near to Him and then he will draw near to us. (James 4:7-8.) God doesn't want us to be puffed up and proud. If we are, He will resist us. (James 4:6.) When we are proud, we tend to say to God, that we don't need Him, we can do this on our own. When we do this, we soon learn that we can't. We need to humble ourselves and then things will go well for us.

What are you doing at the moment. Are you at Uni or working in a high profile job? You need God to help you, if you haven't worked that out already. God wants you to be successful, but He will share His glory with no one. He is God, and He wants the best for His children, but we belong to Him and he wants to guide us. 

Have you learned this yet? If not, make sure that you do pretty quickly!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Are you a Back Seat Driver?

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse. 

"Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, 'But Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'If I will that he remain till I come , what is that to you? You follow me!' "  

                                                                                                             John 21:21-22

Peter had been talking with Jesus and wanted to know if John had to do what He was telling Peter to do. Straightaway, Jesus told him basically to get on and do what he had been told and not to worry about what John would be doing. In other words, He was telling Peter, 'Never mind, "What about him - what about you? You do what I've told you to do, I'll take care of the rest.'

It all boils down to as long as we are doing what God wants us to do, that's the way God wants it. The thing is, at times we find ourselves pointing the finger at other Christians. We feel that they shouldn't be doing what they are doing. They should be disciplined.  At times like this, it is more likely that we need disciplining for thinking such stuff about other people.

But we do this. At times, we are like back seat drivers. We even feel that we should be controlling what God should be controlling. 'I mean, for Heaven's sake, why does God allow this to happen? Doesn't He know about what they are doing and saying?' Yes, He does, but it is still no concern of ours. We should be doing what God has told us to do and stop trying to judge people. I always say, if we were meant to judge people, we would have been given a curly white wig and a long black cloak.

We becomes wrapped up in what other people are doing that, at times, that is all we can focus on. Bob Gass, writes, 'Learn to respect your fellow believers, not because of who they are, but whose they are' ( Bob Gass UCB). The very people we judge and point the finger at; the very people that we are tempted to talk about, or to put it correctly - gossip about, belong to God. They are created in God's image the same as we are. How would you feel if they were talking about you to people? It's not nice and I tell you, God is not pleased with such behaviour. 'Judge not, that you will not be judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.'  ( Matthew 7:1-2 ) 

Sitting in the back seat of a car telling the driver what he or she should be doing is akin to sitting in church or in a group talking about other people. Basically it is gossip and we will pay a high price if we continue with this. Yes at times, people do wind us up; there are times when they should be acting in a more appropriate way; but talking about them or judging them behind closed doors is not the way. If there is something you're not happy about, talk to God about it; get some direction and if it is needed, approach that person and gently speak to them about what offends you. If not, then, you do what God wants you to do and let God deal with them.

It is not worth losing your peace and that wonderful flowing in The Holy Spirit. And remember, if we allow the devil to get into the back seat of the car, pretty soon he's going to want to drive. Think about that.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Time-outs Part two

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse. 


Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you ; you are not able to perform it by yourself." Exodus 18:18

Jethro, Moses' father in law had made a visit to see Moses and observed that what he was doing, was far too much for him or any man. He felt Moses could be heading for Burnout unless something was done - quickly. He suggested that Moses choose men he could trust and allot them a portion of people each that they could take responsibility for. Moses was humble enough to heed this advice and he set this into action.

At times, we tend to take too much on and fail to see that what we are doing is over the top. Many of us have a job to go to each day and oftentimes, that in itself is demanding. On top of this, we tend to take on things within the church and that makes us feel good, because we have a feeling that we are doing something for God. Again, this is good. However, have we ever stopped and thought, 'Am I doing too much?' 

Many of us need to balance out the work that we take on. Within the church, it makes us feel wanted that God has called us to do something for Him. If He has called us to do a particular thing, He will help us balance it out that we don't get worn out and will give us the necessary time-outs. However, if He hasn't called us to do this particular thing, we are heading towards wearing ourselves out.

We can't do it all. There are many people who want to help out within a church family but don't really get the opportunity. Perhaps it would help to point these people out to leadership and enquire if it would be favourable to let them help out, in order to share the workload.

Some people say 'Yes' whenever they are asked to do something, and that is great. The problem is, it can be the same people doing it all and that is where the tiredness and imbalance can take affect. Sometimes it is right to say, 'No, I can't take on anymore at the moment.' It may not go down too well and you may suffer guilt for saying this, but common sense has to prevail.

Finally, a word for Pastors. Do you delegate, or do you try to do everything yourself because that way, you can be sure that it is done correctly? Again there are people who want to help and are longing for you to recognise their callings and talents. Don't sit on their ministry, delegate and give them the chance they're longing for. Perhaps, at one time, you may have felt this way too.

The main point is, we need to watch the Burnout factor and ensure that we don't take on too much. Is the speaking to you? Do you need to slow dow down a little? Do you need to prioritise in particular areas? Are there time-outs required in your life?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Time-outs

If you're reading this in an email, scroll down to the very last link and click the link to view in your browse. 

"Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  Mark 6:31.  NKJV

A time-out can be classed as a break; a cessation from toil; a time for refreshment and an intermission. This time-out may be instituted by a sports official or someone who is in charge of a particular piece of work that we are doing. Basically, it is a short break from work or play. Children have these at school; workers have tea breaks and such. It is a time where for a few moments, we can re-group, re-focus, gather our thoughts and regain our energy. Time-outs are essential in one's very busy day.

Jesus recognised this when He called His disciples aside to have a short rest. They had not even had the time to eat, let alone think things through. Working at this pace can be a recipe for Burnout. According to the World Health Organisation, Burnout is now a  legitimate Medical Diagnosis, although it can be argued that it falls closely into the category of stress. Basically, Burnout is when a person is not coping well with their job or situation. Tiredness, irritability, depression and lack of concentration can be factors of this condition. However, my intention here is not to attempt to give out medical diagnosis where I'm not qualified to do so. My quest is to point a person in the right direction to attempt to avoid this condition.

Jesus recognised the dangers of taking too much on. This is why He advised His disciples against the perils of missing out on rest and not eating their meals properly. This is a big concern in our society today. Many families don't even sit at a table to eat together any more. Preference is given to having their meal on their knees while they watch TV. Some people grab a sandwich or something else that will satisfy the hunger pangs for a time. One only has to watch some of the police dramas on the TV to get an idea of how the stars demonstrate how busy they are and manage to eat at their desks while they write reports, talk on the telephone or dash in the car to some crime scene, burger in hand. It really does nothing to promote healthy eating and it certainly does nothing to recommend having a rest before they go any further.

Our health is most important. God wants us healthy. Many people are giving in to bad health because they just do not take care of themselves. Some people are overweight and yet do very little by way of exercise. Others burn the midnight oil watching endless movies and then struggle to get up and get through the next day. Diets are ignored. Illnesses such as Type 2 Diabetes are on the increase. Strokes, heart attacks and other life threatening illnesses are a risk because we are just not listening to what Jesus told us. We need to take time out. We need to rest; We need to eat properly and at regular times. We also need to get plenty of sleep.

God wants you well. He wants you fit and healthy. He wants to use you - yes you! But things in your life need to change. There needs to be a more stricter schedule in order to reach the place Jesus wants you to be. We only have one life. It is far better to live it to the full, don't you agree?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com