Do they see Jesus? Part 1

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which your were called; with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."   Ephesians 4:1-3.  NKJV

Mostly, unbelievers don't go to church, except for special occasions. What they pick up of Christianity is what they witness in us. We are the bible to them, in fact, we represent Jesus to them. But just what do they see? Unbelievers have been heard to say, very often, 'If that is being a Christian, I don't want to know; they're hypocrites.'

Many times that may be true. But just because a person attends church each week, it does not make them a Christian. They may be seeing the wrong side of Christianity because the person they look at, may not be walking with Jesus. They may be just a churchgoer and that is all. Let me explain:

Keith Green used to say:

'Going to church each week, or having the biggest bible does not make you a Christian, anymore than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger.'

Being a Christian means that a person has recognised that they are sinners and that they need Jesus Christ in their hearts to forgive and cleanse them from their sin and be their Lord and Saviour. 
Therefore an unbeliever may get an unclear message about Christianity from someone who has never made a commitment to Jesus. However, if a person is a Christian but isn't walking with Him, they may give off this hypocrisy to the watchers. And this is where we have to be careful and clean up our act. We cannot serve Jesus and the world. One of them has to go. It's clean up time!

For all of us who accepted Jesus into our hearts, we have a calling from Him to do a certain task. It is finding out that task that can trip people up. Some people's calling are not that clear but it may be that your calling is to honour Jesus and let Him be seen in you. Yes, there will be times when an unbeliever sees the wrong side of you, but it shouldn't be on a regular basis. 

Tomorrow let us look at this area in a little bit more detail


Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You are loved so much

"I in them, and You in Me, that they be made perfect  in one and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me."
                                                                                         John 17:23.  NKJV

In my opinion, this is one of the most treasured verses in the New Testament. It is awesome and confirms the love that God has for each one of us; that he loves us as much as He loves His Son, Jesus. I don't know about you, but every time that I read this, it overwhelms me. I mean, what have we ever done that deserves such love- nothing; we just receive it by grace, God's unmerited favour.
 I felt God speak to me about this verse  20 years ago. Quite simply, I felt Him say, 'If people would grasp and believe this truth, it would revolutionise their whole life.' And it would too. There's a lot of hurting people in this world. People are grieving because their wife or husband has left them and may have committed adultery. Another may have lost all of their hard-earned money on a scam, that seem to be everywhere at this time. Couples may not be able to pay their mortgage and are near to eviction, and the ultimate - death, may have struck someone very close to us. Pain, pain and more pain.

At times, it can feel that there's no one in this world that we trust and no one appears to love us. Actually, some may love us, but it's extremely difficult to believe this when you have been hurt and betrayed so much in your life. The suicide rate is going up each and every day because, to some, there's no other way, it's a quick exit to ending all of the hurt and rubbish that is being thrown against us.

If that's the way you are feeling at this moment, STOP AND LISTEN, Jesus Christ loves you, the Father sent Him to this earth to shed His life for us, so that we could share in His eternity - Heaven and be protected and loved for ever. This is what this verse is all about. God couldn't demonstrate anymore than He has. He allowed Jesus, His precious Son, to die in our place so that we could have a hope. Please don't feel that no one cares. Jesus does; the Father does.

Today, before you do anything else, get down on your knees and pray:

'Father, thank you that you sent Jesus Christ to save me, and love me as You love Him. I need You. Jesus please forgive me for all of my sin and come and live in my heart. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and be my Lord and Saviour from this day forward.
I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.'

It doesn't matter what the world thinks about you, not when you have the most amazing friend - Jesus. Cherish Him and walk with Him from this day forward.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

God & Co

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."   Ephesians 2:10.  NKJV

I recently saw a van travelling along the road which inspired me to write this piece today. On the side of the van, the sign read, 'DAD & SON'. It made me think about our relationship with Our Father and how much He wants to spend time with us, each and every day.

I remember trying to wallpaper a room in my house and how it went terribly wrong at first. The paper was all creased up, one piece was pasted upside down and other pieces were falling to the floor after  a short time. I said, 'Why is this all going wrong?' My wife, having heard this statement, replied, 'Have you asked God to help you?' And then I realised where I had gone wrong. I had left God out of the equation. We prayed straightaway without hesitation, asking Him to help me get it right. After that, it was soon finished with no more problems, and the result was amazing. It looked like a pro had done it, instead of a total novice.
I jokingly said to my wife, 'I thought Jesus had been a carpenter, not a decorator.' She replied, 'He's s decorator too, in fact, He can do all things! And there we have it. We are God's workmanship and He wants to help us with everything. All He wants us to do is place things into His hands and His help is guaranteed. 

Have you been the victim of trying to do things on your own? Attempting to carry out tasks without the direction of Jesus? It is much harder to try on our own and much better, and easier, to ask for His help. He wants a partnership with us. He wants to join us in our daily business, whatever that may be. It may be at work or at home; in our business or doing a task. He wants us to to invite Him to join us. We can then coin the phrase, 'God & Co', because that is what it is. We are in business with Him. To Jesus, our business is His business too and that covers everything from our career to our family life. 

Genesis 18:14 says, Is anything too hard for the LORD?' The answer to this question, is no. Is anything too hard for us? Yes, everything is. Without His help we are lost. John 15:5 says, "without Me you can do nothing," and this is so true.

Listen to me, God wants to be involved in all you do. He's seen the disasters that you made trying to fix this and sort the other out. He is the master of all things and He is inviting you to join forces with Him. He won't force this upon you. He's a gentleman and waits for you to ask Him for help.

Don't you think it's time you just that?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Treasuring God's Word

"Oh how I love Your law; it is my meditation all the day."   Psalm 119:97.  NKJV

Study and Research it
Do you want to be successful and blessed in all ways? Then read your bible. If you haven't got one, invest in a good, modern version. These make for easier reading. However, a good study bible is a diamond to have, as it will offer you a wealth of information and knowledge.
Studying God's Word on a daily basis is a recipe for wisdom. It is a must, because God speaks to us and shows us a mountain of interesting things, together with the road ahead. Because it is a living word, we see things differently although we may have read a particular passage many times.
As we meditate on God's Word or expound it, which is searching for a deeper explanation, we go to a newer depth in our reading and walk with Him.

Absorb and Remember it
As we meditate on His Word, a fresh excitement is attained as we become so absorbed in it. It is then difficult to stop because we become energised and want to see and know more. We also find answers to many of life's problems and we obtain a newer understanding of how we should live our lives.
It's important to remember key issues, so a notepad is a handy thing to have around, as is marking things in your bible. This is a brilliant way of bringing things to mind when we need them.

Meditate and keep things in your mind
As we meditate on God's Word, it is important to keep certain things in our mind. Then, as we go about our daily chores, we can also be considering what we've read and how we can handle things God has illuminated - things that effect you personally.
Reading the Word daily, is a life-saver. It equips us as we go through our day and you'll be surprised how God will flag up things that you've read, possibly the same day.

The Psalmist said:
'Oh how I love Your law; it is my meditation all the day.'  Psalm 119:97

and the Apostle Paul wrote"

'Let the Word of Christ, dwell in you richly.'    Colossians 3:16

As you do this, you'll be equipped for every situation

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Flattery

"The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And a man is valued by what others say of him".  Proverbs 27:21.  NKJV

It's so easy to give in to flattery. We all like to hear nice and constructive things said about us. It makes us feel good about ourselves. However, where does God fit into this. Shouldn't He be receiving the glory, not us; after all , He created us to be like Him and gave us the power to perform things.

A flatterer is someone who will pat you on the back with one hand and in some cases, stab you in the back with the other. If we're honest, we may have all done this in moderation, at some time. I own up to it right now. Really though, it is from the pit and we must beware of doing this.
Bob Gass says:
‘When you think about flattery it is really, insincere praise from an insincere motive and the bible warns us to be aware of it.’ Check out Proverbs 20:19:

'He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, therefore, do not associate with one who flatters  with his lips.'

It really is serious business and we need to be on guard for one who is ready to sing our praises, too much. We really should watch how we give praise to people. We should give it with the sincerity it deserves, but without overdoing it. When people start to give praise to us, we should be very wise in how we receive it. As I've said, it is ok to have someone speak a good word about us, but if they are overdoing it, perhaps we need to mention that we couldn't have done it without God's help. It is so easy to get puffed up with pride.

Don't get me wrong on this subject. We have all learnt to flatter people at times. However, there are people around who are very good at this type of thing and use it all the time. It may be their way of dealing with people; or they may find it difficult to socialise and use flattery in order to be accepted. Then again, there are the ones that we need to beware of because, if we're not careful, we can easily get sucked in. Solomon warns us in Proverbs 5:

'My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding, that you may preserve discretion, and your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman, drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood.' 

                                           Proverbs 5:1-4

Adultery has always been around; but it seems to be attacking today's church more and more, especially ministers. Only the other day, I saw on the news that a vicar had been having an affair with a lady from his congregation, and also with a 16 year old young lady. Adultery has a root in flattery. Men and women use this type of thing to get the attention of the opposite sex. The words can be so carefully chosen to reach the target, this is what flattery does.

It's time to wise up. There's any enemy out there and he is skilled in tripping us up if we take our eyes off God. Don't forget, he's a thief and if he gets a chance, he will rob you of every bit of happiness that you have.

Walk wisely!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewith jesus@protonmail.com

Learn to stand

"Therefore, take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."   Ephesians 6:13.  NKJV

When my kids were young, they had a blow up toy that stood about 3 foot high. It had a funny face on it and was dressed like a small clown. It was round at the bottom and tapered as it reached the neck. If you pushed it, it would topple but spring back again. One could almost hit the thing - which my kids often did. However, even though it could be knocked to the ground, it would instantly spring back up again. It was virtually impossible to get it to lie down.

This is the way God wants us to be. he wants us to keep standing, no matter what comes at us; whatever floors us. He wants us living in this type of victory. 

Bob Gass once said, "When we do the standing - God does the strengthening."

And this is so true. He wants us to resist the enemy and get up, not just lie there. The devil will not stop attacking us. If you think that, I'm afraid you've got that wrong. His ambition is to make our lives a misery and to kill us if he can. Our ambition should be to resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). 
Derek Prince often had profound teaching and one of his statements was: 'The devil chooses the weakest moment and the weakest place.' He knows how to hit us and he won't stop. This is why we need to stand and keep standing.

The word Withstand is an interesting one. The Greek variation is antihistami and this is where the medication antihistamine comes from. Antihistamine puts a block on such things as hay fever and certain allergies. Antihistemi tells us that with authority and spiritual weapons, we can withstand evil forces. Therefore, we need the Armour of God, which is recorded in Ephesians 6: 14-18. A lot of Christians verbally pray this over themselves each day. It's a way of confirming that we are clothed in the armour of God, and it does no harm to do this. It's a prayer aid.

Like the toy I mentioned earlier, we need to be able to spring back to our feet whenever the devil tries to floor us. We should stand, and keep on standing.

What are you like at standing when the flak comes against you?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Reactions

"A quick tempered man acts foolishly."   Proverbs 14:17.  NKJV

People react to things very differently. Some are quick tempered, as mentioned in today's text. They throw a wobbly before they've really taken in the full story. Many is the time when they've got it wrong, hearing only part of the story or got the wrong end of the stick. Other people react very defensively; their backs go up straightaway and it's difficult to get through to them when they're this way. Others show no particular interest at all. It's It's almost like they don't really care, or if they do, they keep things very close to their chests.

It was a little like this when Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. Some knew that something had happened out of the ordinary, the air was charged with excitement. King Herod reacted with hatred and hostility. He saw the rise of a king of the Jews as a threat to his kingdom and plotted to find out more about this child. Like Herod, some people want to do what they want to do and don't wish for someone coming along who may lay a trip on them. They find Jesus a threat to their life; He stands in their way and they want to destroy Him.
Actually, Herod had quite a nice side to his nature. He often helped people who were penniless and at one time had some gold melted down to give to a starving family. However, if he was threatened, he would have people executed, mostly for no reason at all, other than, he wanted them out of the way. They couldn't be any challenge to him then.

Other people had heard the rumours about a child being born in Bethlehem, after all, the wise men had come asking about Him. But they were more interested in themselves and wanted to get on with their lives. Life was busy and they had things to do and were determined to get on with them. It's a little like this today. Yes, people have heard of Jesus, "I mean, that's what Christmas is all about isn't it?" They may say. However, they have businesses to run; a stressful job that demands their attention every day of the week. They also have demanding families and a nightlife to look after. They're too busy to bother themselves with 'religion' and church; and become offended when it's mentioned to them.

Reactions control our lives and can really mess them up too, if we are not careful. If we have a short fuse, it can be so easy to open our mouths and say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It's also so easy to be so busy with work, a hobby or the garden. It's not often that people focus on Jesus - the one they need. They may go to church for weddings, Christening or a funeral but that's it. Some may attend church on a Sunday morning and go through the rituals but not even know God, or want to know Him. They go because, it's the right thing to do. For the remainder of the week, they have nothing to do with Jesus, reading a bible or praying - unless of course, there's a crisis in their lives.

I wonder what God's reaction will be when they come to the end of their life and have to bow down before Him. I wonder what their reaction will be if God was to say to them, 'Why should I let you into My Heaven? I wonder how they will feel if they hear the formidable words, 'Depart from Me, I never knew you.'

Perhaps we need to check on our reactions more in the future.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com