It's not over until it's over

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"Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green." 
                                                                                           Psalm 92:14  NLT

A chap once said to me, 'There is no retirement in the Kingdom of God.' We were discussing retirement and what he would be doing when he finally had to leave work. It made me think of men of God from the past, such as Moses. He was 80 years of age before God called him to go and bring the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. That would be unthinkable in our culture because we have fixed in our minds that when a person reaches retirement age, that will be the time when they will wind down somewhat and concentrate on hobbies such as the garden or cooking. 

However, that is not the case. I have found since I retired that I am busier now than I have ever been. God has shown me that retirement has freed me up to concentrate on what He wants me to do, instead of being committed to a work contract. 

As a Christian, who has reached retirement age, God does not place a person in a home for the elderly. Far from it. He has invested quite a few years in that person and now they are able to be free enough do and go where He directs. Retirement is just the beginning.

Many people become depressed when they eventually reach retirement age. They've worked all their life and been active. Now work has come to an end, some have wound down so much, that there is no point in anything. God doesn't want that for people. He wants retirement to be a thing of the past and even though to many people, the grey hair gives the age away, there is still far more that can be offered. There is life to be had and room to bless people. Retired people, for one thing, have a vast experience that can be shared to the younger generation. God doesn't wish for the years of gained experience to just fizzle out and be lost. He wants people to share this. 

Retired people were young once, and they were also inexperienced. Thank goodness that there were older people around that could teach and mentor us in the things of God. Old age affects us all. There's no getting around it. Everyone becomes grey at some stage. But there is no way that a retired person should be put out to graze and be forgotten about. They have a voice and a brain and younger people can benefit from the vast experience that they have to offer.

To tell the truth, life for Moses was only just beginning. As DL Moody says, 'He had spent 40 years in Egypt thinking he was a somebody. Then 40 years in the wilderness learning he was a nobody and then, another 40 years seeing what God can do with a nobody.'

God's idea of retirement is, 'It's not over until it's over.' Grey-headed people are important and a force to be reckoned with. They pave the way for the future generation who have a lot to learn before, they too become a grey head. 

If you're retired or reaching that age, rejoice, God has some work for you that only you can do. Get excited about it, even if other people are not. You are valuable!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Time

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"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Verse 1"
                                                                                               Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Note this verse carefully; it says there is a time for every purpose. It's there in a nutshell. We often claim that we do not have the time to do all we have allocated for the day. But, that may be down to bad planning. The Word of God is true. We can't get away from this fact. There is time for every purpose. However, we need to take a look at how we handle our day.

If we have not the time to do what is required for the day, then perhaps we have taken on too much! We need to prioritise, making sure that the most important things of the day are taken care of and the less important ones, possibly left until tomorrow, or better still, delegated to someone else.

When our days are packed with loads of things to do, then an order of priority is the only way to approach these matters. Braking things down into bite-sized chunks (manageable pieces) makes good sense. This basically means looking at what's on the list for today and planning how to negotiate it. It may be that the thing we have broken down into manageable pieces, can be broken down again to make things that much easier. If anything more urgent crops up during this time, then that must take priority. A diary or a To Do list must be flexible, otherwise it can lead to stress and disaster. Learn to prioritise. It takes practice, but it makes for a better, manageable day.

God has given us ample time to meet every busy demand. It's us that mess it all up. One of the things that can lead to stress and unrest is time-keeping. God is always onetime, never early and never late. Therefore, we need to work in such a way too. There is nothing that causes more indignity than booking appointments for a particular time and then being 30 minutes or so late. It doesn't show the person you are meeting, that you are busy. It shows a lack of time management. Of course, occasionally because of one thing or another, this is unavoidable. However, avoid doing it on a regular basis. It adds nothing to one's self-esteem.

A great way of remembering all that needs to be done, is to keep a To Do list or a diary. But if you don't look at these planners, then it will all go pear-shaped. God may keep us waiting for answers to prayer, that is true. But that could either be because we are asking amiss, or the time is not right for God to act yet. Spending time with Him will show the way. There is no way, if we were meeting God for an hour or so, that He would turn up late, so take some lessons from Him. If a church service was due to start at 11am, it would be awful if the pastor or whoever's in charge, turned up 30 minutes late after leaving everyone out in the cold. It just couldn't be. So let us check our time-keeping.

Really it is a discipline and one that is important to take control of. Yes life is busy, things can happen out of the blue, but really, there is no excuse for bad time-keeping. Furthermore, there is a time for everything; it is just a matter of getting it right. It takes practice, hard work and most of all discipline.

Why not manage your time better from now on?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailtlifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Being grateful

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"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."
                                                                                                    Psalm 107:1. NKJV

Cast your mind back to the days when perhaps, money was not so readily available. Those times when you used to window shop without going into the shop to buy, because you just didn't have the money to purchase what you had just been viewing.
I remember when I was young when I used to look in the windows of this immense sports come toy shop. It had so much in the store. It was amazing. All around the outside of the store were windows so it was very easy to peer in longingly at the wonderful sights. I used to press my nose up against the windows so that I could get a better view of some game that was just outside of my view. I would spend ages there, re-visiting most days just doing the same, until that wonderful day when I had received some birthday money. I would then dash to this store and walk inside proudly to buy what I had been looking at all this time. I used to be so grateful when I had received this longing in my heart.

Perhaps you remember the days when your parents could not really afford to purchase certain things for you. My parents did their very best and I really lacked nothing. However, there was always something that the other lads used to have that I didn't. This is life really. There is always someone that appears to have everything while others have a great lack.

 As we grow older and get married and start a family, money can be tight. Children must take priority and once again some parents have to wait until the financial climate is much better before the purchase of something longed for, can be bought. When the children have grown up, left home to start families of their own, that is probably the time when parents can re-invent themselves again. There may be better jobs which bring in a better salary. Both parents may be working, so things begin to brighten up, a lot. Yes, there is still financial pressure of bills, rent or mortgage payments and whatever else. But there seems to be less pressure to it all. It is nice to look in a shop window or view online shops and be able to purchase what we see, without much worry about paying for it all. As long as a person has the funding and is not depending on credit card payments that they can't meet, it's good and a blessing.

I stop and think of the earlier days and I'm so grateful for what God has supplied to me and my family. We are blessed. What about you? Can you say the same? Are you grateful for what God has done in your life. He is so good. You may have financial pressure at this time but, as long as you put God first and trust Him, He will not let you down. He will lead you along the paths of gratefulness. It's not far away.

Try and think back to the times when you had very little. Think of the ways that you have seen God bless you, bail you out of a predicament and put you back on the road again. Do you really feel He's going to leave you on your own now? Of course he isn't. Get your praise music on and start jumping, shouting and singing to God for His faithfulness to you now and for what He is going to bring you in the future. What are you believing Him for? Trust Him, accept it by faith and believe that it's on the way to you.

It is time to look up and be grateful. Its time to thank Jesus for salvation and friendship. It is time to get ready for what He has in store for you. Think big because He is a big God and there is no stopping Him. 

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Leaves but no Fruit

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"18 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away." Matthew 21:18-19

There was a false illusion here and it displeased Jesus. The fig tree was displaying leaves which meant that there should have been figs on the tree. However, there wasn't. It had only the leaves. It was actually displaying that it was fruitful but it was false advertising - letting people believe it had something that it didn't. 

People can do this. Some people profess to have something but in the end it turns out to be untrue. False illusion. Basically, this parable shows God's disapproval of people who are all leaves and no fruit. These type of people display nothing but false hope and untruth and should be avoided wherever possible.

This tree was cursed by Jesus because it professed a lie. It had nothing but leaves. There was an outward form but nothing to back it up. God has immense displeasure when we claim to have fruit but don't. When we claim to have a prophecy but all it is is empty words. Such prophecies have ruined people's lives and in some cases, driven people away from a Godly walk God is not pleased by such behaviour and in a way, it shows that the person who gave the prophecy was displaying no good fruit whatsoever. They were just dried up and should never have attempted to prophesy in the first place. It was all leaves and no fruit.

God doesn't approve when there is a profession of fruit but no reality with it. To put it into the words of David Guzik, 'It is talk without walk.' Jesus commented on this in Matthew 7:15 - 20:

'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears  good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit , nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire . 20 Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.'   NKJV

Now a word of warning here; not everyone who gives a prophecy that is wrong, is a false prophet. They just lack experience. They should however, be subject to leadership oversight and not be allowed to give a prophecy unless it goes through the leader beforehand. As time goes on, experience would kick in and less strict oversight be necessary. However, it is good practice to adopt this type of controlled ministry in order to avoid completely messing up someone's life with false prophecy.

If a person stays close to God on a daily basis; reading the Word, praying and learning from The Holy Spirit; before long, a level of good fruit will be recognised by the leadership and they will be raised up into their ministry. It is not really possible to expect to bear an overpowering level of fruit without spending time with God. On another note, be careful that you don'y sit on the fruit God has given you, afraid to administer it to whoever He leads you to. If you Bury it, it may shrivel up and die,

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 


dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't take the bait

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"My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent."   Proverbs 1:10. NKJV

In other words, don't take the bait. It would be awful to be a fish and realise, too late, that the tasty morsel floating in the water that we have just bitten into, was actually a trap and we've fell for it and this is the end. This is how it can feel to Christian people who have given in to their craving desires and committed sin.

Solomon here, speaks of sinners. Well we're all sinners, but Christians are sinners, saved by grace. Here Solomon is speaking about people who act in a very sinful way. He is saying, they are the ones to be careful of. 
All around us are temptations and people scheming to get us to do a particular thing that we know we should not be doing. A Christian needs to avoid keeping bad company. Friendships need to be made carefully. Rather like it would be foolish for an alcoholic to keep friends with someone who is a heavy drinker; likewise it would be unwise for a Christian to keep company with someone who is likely to drag them away from their faith.

There used to be an old saying, 'Show me your friends and I can see your future.' There is a degree of truth in this statement. We need to be careful where we go and avoid areas which would do us no good at all. No harm can come to us unless we allow ourselves to join in and consent. So wisdom is the name of the game. Wise people distance themselves from risky situations. 

There has always been risks around in the Christian and non-Christian circuits. It is being careful about what we do and where we go that matters. It is maintaining our values. Men and women can so easily wind up in adulterous relationships, whatever their beliefs. There are many predators out in the world who are skilled in tricking people into things that they would usually avoid. It only takes a few drinks from the wrong people and things can go very wrong. Young Christians become involved in sex and drug taking if they fall into the wrong crowd. Abusive situations happen all over the place, as the media is constantly showing us on a daily basis.

It is not only young Christians who fall to temptations; men and women who have been believers for many years can become involved in adultery and viewing porn on the internet.   
Many Christian marriages are falling foul to the devil, as are Christian ministries where pastors become involved in extra marital affairs. Lives and families are broken in two by unwise behaviour such as this. Daily, Christian marriages are biting the dust because of adultery, alcoholism, drug taking and abuse.The devil is not our friend and if he can force a marriage apart, he will. If he can cause a partner to become involved in adulterous relationships, he will. If he can ruin people's lives and see children placed into a care situation because parents can't say no, he will.

Solomon, who was full of wisdom, had the answer to these temptations many years ago. He clearly said, 'Do not consent.' And that is the bottom line. Be watchful and careful wherever you go and whatever you do. The price is way too high to blow things. Wise up!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Vindication

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"No weapon formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue which rises against you in judgement, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me, says the LORD."  Isaiah 54:17  NKJV

This is a promise from the Lord to His people. He will foil accusations and evil plots against us. Oftentimes, we become very hurt when we hear that people have been critical about us and our work. It brings great pain and very often it us uncalled for. People will always be people and can become jealous because we appear to be thriving when they're not. Therefore, this jealousy comes in the form of personal attacks against us. Mostly this is malicious gossip behind our backs but also it can involve false accusations that soil our integrity. Now this can come from a non-believer or a fellow believer. When it's the latter, it can be doubly hurtful.

The devil uses people, Christians and non-Christians to mount up against His people and this can bring FEAR. Bob Gass uses the acronym of fear as: FALSE, EVIDENCE, APPEARING, REAL. and it is so true. Criticism can come against us so powerfully that it appears so convincing and the sad thing is, many people begin to belief this. It is a weapon sent by the evil one - an arrow sent to bring harm to God's people (Ephesians 6:16). It comes in the form of a SCUD missile and can cause all sorts of damage to our reputation and integrity.

God can thwart these attacks before they begin to do much damage. However, He will sometimes allow these piercing arrows to strike us and cause all kinds of chaos for us. We often wonder why but we should realise that if God hadn't have been with us in the first place, it could have been far worse that it was and He will always give us the ability to get through the situation. Whatever happens, He will vindicate us and whether or not we see it, He will deal with the person who has been this bad to us. Their punishment may not be the way we would have expected and may not be until they stand before the judgement seat of Christ. But they will answer for this behaviour. This is why, we should always let God handle these things instead of blustering in and causing more trouble than there should be. Leave it to Him, we'll always make a mess of things.

The weapons that may come against us, may be, sickness and all sorts of problems. They may also be curses that have been made against us. However, as the above scripture tells us, they will not prosper against us. We can simply pray against these attacks as follows:

'Lord, I refuse to be afraid of this weapon the devil has brought against me because I know that according to Your word, it cannot prosper. I trust You to protect me and I thank you for it now, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Whatever happens, whether God deals with the weapon now or at a later date, we can be sure that we are protected and can move on without any fear.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

The Name of Jesus

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"9 Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name  which is above every name, 10 that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow of this in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father."  Philippians 2 9-11. NKJV

The power in the Name of Jesus is amazing. It is the Name above all names. Let us look at  the name of Jesus in a breakdown form:

  J - Justice. Jesus brings justice to everything that we place in His hands. The world may
                       use and abuse us but as we cast things over to the King, He takes care of 
                       every issue, and brings us out on top. He is totally committed to us and will
                       stop at nothing to bring justice into our lives.

  E - Elite.     This can be classed as the best or most skilled members of a group. One only
                       has to take for example, the Special Air Service (SAS). They are considered
                       the best fighting group in the world, therefore Elite fits their reputation very
                       much. 
                       Jesus has given us a place in His group (family) and we are the Elite. We lack
                       for nothing and through Jesus, we can do all things. We are Elite members of 
                       His Kingdom and we need to recognise and receive that.

  S - Salvation
                       Through His death on the cross, He has made the way possible to have a
                       a place in Heaven. We have done nothing to gain this place. Jesus did it for
                       us. Salvation is a Greek word meaning Soteria. It means deliverance, preserv-
                       ation, soundness, prosperity, happiness, rescue and general well-being. It is a
                       present possession with a fuller realisation in the future. 

  U - Unmerited Favour
                       There was or is nothing that anyone can do to obtain a place in Heaven. For 
                       all who believe, God gives this freely. It is called Grace. Just stop and think 
                       for a moment. Your insurance premiums are paid up to date. Jesus paid them
                       with His death on the cross. He was delighted to do it too. Why? Because he 
                       loves us with all he has. He opens His arms to us and those nail- pierced 
                       hands, reach out and embrace us with His love and compassion. 

  S - Sinner's friend
                       Jesus was a radical. he went where He chose to go and that was to people in
                       need, just like us. Many times, He was seen in tax collectors homes - the 
                       scum of the time, also prostitutes gathered round Him, not to offer their
                       favours but because, here was a man who knew how to treat a woman with 
                       respect and honour. They had never seen anyone like this before. 
                       Everywhere He went, there was always a host of people following Him. They 
                       just couldn't resist Him and He couldn't resist them either.
                       And He is the same with you and I. He simply cannot resist us. He loves us
                       more than we could ever imagine. He is our friend and wants us to be His too.

Now if that doesn't move you, nothing will. The Name of Jesus. The one and only true God, the Word made flesh, the one who would go out and search for you, if you were the only one lost in the whole world. He loves us. Wow!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com