Superabundance

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"20 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; 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen,"   Ephesians 3:20-21.  NKJV

God can do anything, anything that He chooses. Nothing is too hard for Him. Exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think. That is an amazing statement and we need to focus on that for a while to get the fuller meaning of what it promises. Whatever you need or desire, He is able to do; there's nothing that He cannot do. 

Verse 20 says, 'according to power that works in us.' Yes, we need to believe and receive so there is an element of faith required to bring things about, but He is able to do this. The power that's mentioned, is for now - today. Not when we get to Heaven. We don't have to wait for God to work for us, it's here right now, we just need to believe. 

Only God can do this for us. Think about it. Anything that you have ever dreamt about, God is able to deliver. It's not difficult for Him. Any great thing that you have lived through, God is able to do better, much bigger; much greater. He can do beyond measure or description.

We need to focus on these things. No one, super-billionaire, King, Prince, Sheik, you name it, can give us what He can. He may not give us all we desire but we need to believe that He can, so that, when we face problems in our lives, and we come to God in prayer; we need to know, beyond doubt, that He is able.

He is the God of the Superabundance. Jesus said in John 10:10b, 'I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.' Basically, this means more than enough, overflowing. King David lamented in Psalm 23:5, 'You anoint my head with oil, my cups runs over.' That is overflow, superabundance, more than enough. 

Do you want a deeper walk with Jesus?  He can do this.
Do you need physical healing? He can do this.
Do you need emotional healing? He can do that too.
Do you need help with university, college or other training? He can do this.
Do you need help in your work? He can do this.
Do you need help in your marriage? He can do this.
Do you need help with financial dealings? He can do this.
And He can do much, much more!

Therefore, believe and receive and let Jesus take you to a higher level. 
He's longing to help. He is so able.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

It's time to move on

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"16 No one puts a piece of un-shrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved."     Matthew 9:16-17 

Jesus didn't come to reform or repair the Old Covenant but to promote a New Covenant. This replaces the Old and goes far beyond it. The Apostle Paul said, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.'  (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means that when we were born again, we became new with a New Covenant. Everything for us, became new. As soon as we became a Christian, we had a new beginning.

Even though we may try, we cannot live in the past. It's time to move on. God is an active God. He doesn't sit around all the time watching to see if we're behaving ourselves. He's always spreading His power throughout this world, via His Holy Spirit. He's always opening up a new way forward.

We often try to live in our comfort zone. It's a safe place and we don't like the idea of moving out of it or changing things. We tend to be creatures of habit. But we need to break out of our comfort zone. We cannot effectively walk into the new if we don't effectively walk out of the old. Jesus is in the new and wants us to be there too. He's moving on, not stagnating. There are people who are still not saved and He wants them to have the opportunity. This is where we come in. If we don't tell them, they won't get there, it's as simple as that. You see, if someone is not saved, they're living in the old - the past. Being born again will catapult them into the new.

But there are also hang ups that are weighing us down. Don't you think it's time to cast them away. To get rid of the burden and move on. There's probably things that messed you up - years ago. If you can't do anything about it - leave it. It's holding you back. 'Yes but..' Yes, but nothing, this is fact, you won't move on until you ditch the old stuff. Jesus is waiting for you with open arms. He wants you to come out of your comfort zone and trust Him - totally. Do you? Do you trust Him totally? If you don't, you need to make some changes because this is one of the roots that are holding you back. Trust Him; walk towards Him and get saturated in the new. This is where you belong!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't leave it - do it!

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"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."

                                                                                                            Proverbs 27:1   NKJV

James says a very similar thing: '13 Come now, you who say, "today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit." 14 whereas  you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say , "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'   (James 4:13-15.  NKJV)

It is unwise to put things off until tomorrow, unless there's a genuine reason. This may be due to other things that need doing, or tiredness, or in fact, to just sheer idleness. We can adopt a 'can't be bothered attitude', and we all have them from time to time. I love photography, it's my hobby but the other night, I couldn't be bothered to go out and take some shots of the sunset. I missed probably one of the very best - ever sunsets - through my total can't be bothered-ness.

Many people say, 'I won't cut the grass today, I'll leave it until tomorrow.' When tomorrow comes, it's raining and it continues for days until the grass is not only long but saturating too. Other people put things off until tomorrow, but sadly for them, tomorrow never comes. Many people leave home for work or wherever and never return because they're involved in a fatal accident or have a bad health episode. Therefore, they never got to do what they said they would.

God wants us to plan, that's true, but He wants us to plan in Him. He wants to be involved in our every day activities. He doesn't wish for us to go out on a whim, doing our own thing. 

This is where it becomes very risky if a person puts off the opportunity for salvation. We never know how much time we have left on this planet. We need Jesus to get into Heaven, without Him were headed for destruction. It is too much of a gamble to take. Make sure you belong to Jesus, plan your days with Him involved and enjoy your time together. 

"Lord Jesus, I give my life to You and ask You to forgive my sins. Please come and live in my heart and be my Lord and Saviour. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

LORD, what shall I do?

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"A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.'    Proverbs 16:9.  NKJV

If you've ever been in a situation where you just don't know what to do about something, then you'll know how difficult this is. On some decisions, if we make the wrong one, it could spell a major problem. If we decide against it, that may be just as bad. It really is a time when we need someone to make this decision for us. However, if we allowed them to do this and it all went wrong, they'd be a target of our wrath. It can be a nightmare and many suffer this plight. Probably that's where you are at this moment.

When we first got married, we used to face decisions by writing the Pros and the Cons out - the For's and the Against's. Many is the time when we made the right decision by this action, but occasionally we got it wrong. But where do we go when that decision has to be made?

Well, God gives us opportunities to speak to Him about issues. In Jeramiah 33:3 it says, 'Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.' When we were first saved, we used to call that verse, God's telephone number. It's one way that He has promised to answer us when we call out to Him.

Furthermore, He tells us in Proverbs 16:3, 'Commit your works to the LORD and your thoughts will be established.' In the Hebrew, this means to roll the issue or problem over to God. It gives us the picture of a camel that has walked for many miles through the hot desert, ladened up with baggage. When it arrives at its destination, it crouches down in the sand and rolls over so that the weight falls off its humps. This is a wonderful example of giving the weight of our issues to God.

And really this is what we must do. He is interested in us doing the right thing but He doesn't always answer us as we would like - straightaway. And, if He Does, sometimes it is not as straight forward as we would like, at first.

Basically, we need to hang fire and await His answers. there's always a reason for His delay. If you're waiting for the answer at the moment, hang fire because He will show you what to do very soon.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

daillifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Itching ears

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"2 Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill  your ministry."                                  2 Timothy 4:2-5.  NKJV

We should preach the Word and no other. We should listen to the preaching of the Word and no other. There are many people out in the world who are trying to force their religion upon whoever is gullible enough to listen and accept it. This is why many sects knock on people's front doors, offering literature and want to discuss their own particular beliefs. I know some Christian people do the same, but they are not as pushy and headstrong as the others are. We've all had them call. This is why we need to be skilled in the knowledge of God's Word, because there are many who are trying to drag people away from the truth. 

There are many people who don't want God's revelation but they want what will satisfy their longings. They want something that will mean that they don't have to make any changes in their own particular lives but something that will give them many benefits. This is where the phrase, 'Itching ears,' comes from. Many do not want the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many don't believe in such things. They believe that the world was evolved by the 'Big Bang.' and that is all they'll believe in. In other words, they're believing in fables, as it says here in the scripture. 

You must have met people who appear to be able to stitch you up in confusion as you try to discuss your belief. They're skilled at it and no matter what you say to them, many will never back down and have the ability to make you feel that you are wrong and they have it right. Avoid them with everything you've got. They'll only lead you astray.

There are also others who grumble when the person behind the pulpit, preaches the same old sermon every week. Well I once heard Reinhard Bonnke address this matter. He said, 'For the people who claim that I preach the same old sermon over and over again, well know this, I don't come from Hollywood, I come from Calvary and I will preach the same old thing until people hear it and respond to Jesus Christ' That really is the answer to repetitious preaching. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:1, 'Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe,'

Therefore, in closing, be watchful in your world. Keep your eyes on Jesus and stay in the Word.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Total peace

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"23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was asleep."
                                                                                                  Matthew 8: 23-24   NKJV

The Sea of  Galilee is notorious for sudden storms, some very violent ones such as this. Here we see the disciples struggling with the wind and the waves and they were petrified. Now some of these were experienced fishermen. They were used to high waves going over their boat and battering them. But something about this incident really frightened them. 
Usually after great days of miracles and God's blessings, we can come under attack from the evil one. And these disciples had certainly seen the power of God at work, when they  had been out on the road with Jesus. However, they were panicking, and maybe the evil one was causing them to lose their focus.

Jesus was asleep in the boat at the time and they hurriedly woke Him, screaming that they needed His help as they felt the boat would sink and they would all die. Jesus looked at them and said, 'Why are you fearful. O you of little faith?' Jesus was not annoyed that He had been awoken. Not at all. But, He was probably disappointed that they had witnessed powerful miracles and now they had given in to fear, which is a partner of unbelief. 

Picture the scene. Scary, raging waves. Panicking disciples and a sleeping Jesus. I certainly would not have liked to be out there in this storm. It must have been horrendous. Just stop and picture what a storm can accomplish - total devastation. But the disciples had missed one very important piece of detail. Jesus was in the boat with them. At times like this, it is helpful to know this fact. 

Jesus was at peace, therefore, He slept. It reminds us of yesterday's scripture in Psalm 3. In verse 5, David said, 'I lay down and slept.' David was so confident in the fact that God was with him and would help him, that he was at peace, and fell asleep and was rested. Here, Jesus acts in a similar fashion. He was at complete peace too and so therefore He rested. Sadly, it was short-lived as the storm caused the disciples to be fearful. He would have liked the disciples to rebuke the wind and the waves. He had certainly taught them how to do this. They had even had full displays of Jesus in action, doing this.

How do you react in crisis? How do you handle sudden storms that come into your life with the intention of causing havoc? Like this situation, Jesus is with us. He has demonstrated His commitment to us but wants us to take the lead in certain situations. Yes, Jesus is always with us, but He has given us the power to handle daily issues; to take on the powers that will come against us. He's given us the armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-18). He doesn't want us to be fearful, panicked or feeble. He wants us to stand tall, in the armour of His might, and deal with the issues that come against us, in His Name.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

My help comes from the LORD

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"1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, 'There is no help for him in God.' 3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.:   Psalm 3:1-4.  NKJV

David was really up against things here. His son had become his enemy and was out to kill David and take over his kingdom. Many people believed it was poetic justice for the sin that David had been involved in with Bathsheba and then her husband, where he had arranged his death. People were saying, 'There is no help for him in God.' This really was a powerful statement and one that none of us would want to hear. However, David had repented and God had forgiven him. He was free from this sin.

Many non-believers find this hard to understand that God can and will forgive people who have committed such sin, but whoever asks God for forgiveness, receives it. This is what God is about - the God of the second chance. Thanks goodness for this for none of us would make it without His help.

David knew God. He knew that he had a shield of protection around him and he knew God would help him through this ordeal. David didn't pray about this predicament; he made a declaration. He said, 'But You, O LORD are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head.' (Verse 3) David was completely confident in his God. As he called on Him, he knew God would answer him. David was able to lay down and sleep while God sustained him. That is difficult to do, if God is not with you in such problems. God lifted his head, took him to higher ground and a higher level in Him. 

Note that when David called out to God, He heard him. And He does the same with us. Whatever you have been through or are facing, you will find that calling on God is the recipe for our success. Whatever is happening in your life at this time, remember with confidence that your help comes from the LORD.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com