Taller and stronger

"(16) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. (17) If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. (18) But even if He doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."   Daniel 3:16-18. NLT

Nebuchadnezzar, had erected a massive gold statue and he had ordered that everyone would bow down to it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused and for this, they were thrown into a blazing furnace. They belonged to God and Him only and nothing, absolutely nothing would make them worship any false gods.

It's interesting and quite exciting how they said this to Nebuchadnezzar. They were not rude but showed him total respect. However, they were rock solid in their decision that they would not bow down to the statue. 

There were three levels of faith that they mentioned:

OUR GOD IS ABLE
AND HE WILL
BUT IF NOT, WE'LL STILL TRUST IN HIM

God is not developing escape artists and Houdini's. He is creating overcomers! CS Lewis in his book, The Screwtape letters, tells of Satan warning one of his junior demons: 

"We are never in greater danger than when they look around and all traces have God have forsaken them; yet they still choose to obey Him."   CS Lewis

A few years ago, I watched a film that Open Doors had made. It was set in China and showed all of the suffering that was taking place because the people were Christians. They were beaten, some were killed and anyone who survived this, had to live on very small supplies of rice and just have the clothes they were wearing. It was awful but factual. One of the highlights for me, one that I have never forgotten, was when one of them said to a guard, just before his death, 'You can hack us down, but just like the bamboo, we will grow taller and stronger as each day goes by.'

What a testimony. Many of us have never been in such a situation as this, but we may have suffered minor similarities in our day to day lives, because of our faith. Our faith may have cost us our families, our jobs and our friends. For some, it may have cost the break up of a marriage. To follow Jesus, there is always a price to pay. But:

'Like the bamboo, we will grow taller and stronger as each day goes by'
SO, NEVER, EVER GIVE UP

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Preaching and Teaching

"(23) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (24) Then His fame went throughout all Syria and they brought to Him sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments and who were demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics and He healed them. (25) Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee and from the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan."
                                                                 Matthew 4:23-25.  New King James Version

Jesus was becoming very popular and wherever He went, crowds gathered. He even began preaching and teaching in the synagogues. These were placed wherever a small crowd of people wanted to gather and they had three parts to their services:

PRAYER
READINGS 
These were reading from the Law where members of the congregation could take part.
ADDRESS  
This was for preaching and teaching and there was no particular minister who administered this. The president of the synagogue presided over the arrangements of the service and any distinguished visitor could be asked to give the address, or any one could volunteer if they had a message and the president thought them fit to carry out this task. Afterwards, there would be a  time of discussion and question time.

As mentioned earlier, Jesus was becoming very popular and He used the synagogues to preach and teach and also to bring healing to people who needed this. People came from all-around to see Him; even people from the Decapolis, which was ten independent Greek cities, which apart from one, were on the far side of the Jordan. This gives an idea of how popular He had become.

Preaching and teaching are key elements of the Gospel, together with healing. Thus, Jesus was performing the full Gospel. Preaching and teaching, should always be a prominent part of church services. People need to hear about Jesus and how He changes lives and also, what He can do for them - today!

William Barclay comments:

"Preaching is the proclamation of certainties, not perhapses, maybes or probablies. It's a definite message."

We need to be filled with God's Word on a daily basis. Praising and worshipping is fabulous and we should do this whenever we can. Jesus deserves this praise. However, preaching and teaching needs to have an equal part. Sadly today, the preaching and teaching side of things become condensed and the emphasis is more on worship. There needs to be a healthy balance, so that the full Gospel can be proclaimed.

In this day of the internet, Christian teaching is readily available 24/7 and many of the programs are good, offering sound and solid teaching. Some of the programs need a little more checking out as the emphasis can be more about giving our money away. For myself, nothing beats just getting out my bible and a useful commentary and becoming filled up with teaching.

There is something wonderful about, just sitting alone with Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you new things. If you are suffering from a lack of teaching, then get close to God and let Him teach you. Preach to yourself; fill your note books with lots of texts and write down what they mean to you. Get into the Living Word. Pretty soon you'll be hooked!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Jump in and get saturated

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, O God."   Psalm 42:1.  NLT

A deer, pursued by hunters, is a terrible thing to see or think about. Sadly though, it happens on a regular basis. I've often walked through the fields and startled a deer as it was hidden in the undergrowth. Initially, it can be quite frightening as this large animal leaps out of the long grass or bushes and heads off in another direction.

When you think about it, the deer is more scared of us as it sees us as the hunter. Therefore, it hurries off at great pace, leaping over fences that may have barbed wire on the top of them. This can cut into their skin quite deeply. Although wounded, it won't stop until it feels that it is out of danger. 

When it is really being hunted, the deer has to keep on running and trying to avoid a bullet that may end its life. If it does survive, it is exhausted by the chase and as it comes to some water, it may jump right in, panting and attempting to refresh itself.

Imagine what a welcome sight this is for the deer. It may be a hot day and the deer may have been dodging the hunters for sometime. Panting with thirst and absolutely exhausted, the sight of water can seem so inviting.

One thing that the water can do for the deer, is to refresh it. Also, if it has been wounded by barbed wire or such, the water can be so soothing as it helps to bring healing to the wounds. Water can also cover its tracks and scent but the main thing is, the water will satisfy its thirst.

Very often, we can feel like the hunted with no place to hide. It can feel like everyone is our enemy and there is no one we can trust. This is usually when we've been deeply hurt by someone or something.

The New Kings James Bible gives a slightly different interpretation to Psalm 42:1. It reads, 
'so pants my soul for You, O God.' Look at the word 'soul.' The soul is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions. As The Readers Digest Universal Dictionary puts it:

'The animating and vital principle in humankind credited with the faculties of thought, action and emotion.'

When we're hurt and feel like it's difficult to trust anyone, our soul can become tainted and we can begin to feel insecure and have bad thoughts about the people who have wronged us. Our will, can kick in and tempt us to become stubborn and unforgiving and our emotions can throw Pity parties all over the place. This is why David writes in Psalm 103:1:

'Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.'

As we allow our souls to bless God and Praise His Name, our mind, will and emotions begin to be set free, in fact, totally liberated, because, Praise brings please!

Remember the deer, in chase as it reaches the water, it jumps right in there. Perhaps you need to approach the living water that only Jesus has:

'The water that I shall give him will become in him, a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'   (John 4:14.)

Why not rush up and jump in and get totally saturated in Jesus? Let Him refresh and soothe your pain and satisfy your thirst.

You know it makes sense.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Deception

"During that time, the devil came and said to Him. 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread'. "   Matthew 4:3.  New Living Translation

Notice how the devil tried to deceive Jesus. He attempted to place doubt into His mind about who he was, 'If you are the Son of God.' Jesus had been in the desert for 40 days and nights. he must have been cold, very tired and extremely hungry. Don't forget that Jesus was in His human form and subject to what happens to all human beings. He could easily have started to doubt when the devil said this. It may only have been down to interpretation; the 'if' may just have been, 'since.' However, Jesus was struggling. We see this from the following:"Then the devil, went away and angels came and took care of Jesus" (Matthew 4:11)                                                                                       Therefore, Jesus could well have fell to the devil's lies and deceit, but He didn't! 

Next, we see that the devil used Jesus' hunger to tempt Him to turn the stones into loaves of bread. William Barclay writes, 'In the desert around Jesus, was many round stones that looked remarkably like bread. Perhaps this is why Satan caused Jesus to look at them.'

Jesus was more than likely very hungry and as he looked at these stones, the devil hoped He would be tempted to change them to bread. You know, the devil is so predictable. He did very similar to Eve in the Garden of Eden:

"The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and it's fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it."

                                                                      Genesis 3:6

The devil used similar tactics on Jesus and he will do the same to you as well, if you allow him to. The more we look into the face of temptation, the harder it is to resist; and before we know it, we are in deep trouble.

The word 'Deception' means:

'Those measures designed to mislead the enemy by manipulation, distortion and falsification of evidence to induce the enemy to react in a manner prejudicial to the enemies interests'

                                                                                             thefreedictionay.com 

The devil uses deception quite often and we are his enemy. He will do all he can to lead us off the path to Jesus. He has wrecked many lives and he wants to wreck yours too, if you allow him to. This is why we need to be alert:

"Stay alert. Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."   1 Peter 5:8

Don't let it be you!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Is there a New Season in your life?

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old is gone; a new life has begun."   2 Corinthians 5:17.  New Living Translation

At the right time, Jesus left His home in Galilee, never to return to live there again; and He headed towards Capernaum. He had a job to do. John the Baptist had paved the way; it was now time for Jesus to fulfil His ministry and forge a way forward. He would no longer be a carpenter, but Jesus, the Son of God doing what He was sent to do. The old door had closed and He walked through the new one into a brand new chapter of His life. The changes would be amazing and for many, hard to handle. 'One minute He is the carpenter; now He is a preacher, calling Himself the Son of God.' Major changes and great difficulties.

It's always hard to negotiate change. We're used to a rigid set of plans and rules and when someone comes along and changes this situation, it can be difficult to accept. It can be so stressful also, for the person who has to do it. Moving house, moving jobs and even schools can be very hard to handle. As one door closes and a new one opens, regret, distress and fear can kick in together with, 'Am I doing the right thing here.'

The thing is, seasons come and go and we need to be able and willing to move along with them. As Christians, if God has directed a change in our direction, then we know without fail that He will guide us through whatever he has in store for us. 

Peter and Andrew, together with others, had a profitable fishing business. That is until Jesus turned up and said, 'Follow Me:'

'(18) One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers - Simon also called Peter and Andrew, throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. (19) Jesus called out to them, "Come follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people." (20) And they left their nets at once and followed Him.'
                                                                                   Matthew 4:18-20.  New Living Translation

Notice something here; Jesus called to them and they followed Him, at once without even considering it. They had probably never seen Jesus before but something drew them to Him and made them obedient. For them, the old had gone and the new one had arrived. An old chapter had closed and a new one had begun.

Doors close and new doors open, with new opportunities. The new can appear daunting at first, making us want to stick to what we know. Know what I mean? However, we need to get ready - all of us, for the main door that will close - our lives - and the new one that will open - Heaven. This is one chapter that none of us will be able to prevent, no matter how hard we try. But until then, God has something special in store for us.

Is God showing you something new? Is a door about to close and a new one about to open in your life and you're not 100% certain of it. You never will be. This is where we need to let our faith take over. A new chapter is a new beginning in a way. It can be exciting and very rewarding too. But you won't know until you do what Peter and Andrew did - 'they left their nets at once and followed Him.'

Do you trust Jesus? Do you think He would lead you into a problem? Of course we can trust Him and He would never lead us into problems. 
If God has flagged up change for you, don't you think you should do it?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

No Compromise

"(1) Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. (2) Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts. (3) They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths. (4) You have charged us to keep Your commandments carefully."   Psalm 119:1-4   New Living Translation

One of the biggest temptations in this world, is for us to fall to the level of compromise. It is all around us. We have television that show us films and dramas, that although they are good entertainment value, are suspect in presentation. There are DVD's that also present us with the same kind of thing. Further to this, there is certain types of music and some bars to visit that really should be avoided, and that's just a start. 

At the risk of being a spoilsport, this is serious business. Most weeks, we hear of rapes, stabbings, people being mugged and beaten up and even some people being shot or murdered. We live in a dangerous society and we have to make a stand and draw the line of what we do and where we we go. 

Colossians 2:8 states:

'Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.'

The word 'capture' here, means to plunder or take you captive; also to lead you away as prey. Think about those meanings for a moment. There are many ways that people can become hoodwinked by evil or taken in with scams and false beliefs. Many times, certain people from other religions knock on our doors, or stop us in the street, intending to tell us all about their faith, which they say is the truth. Most of them are very convincing and many fall to the things that they say and offer. 

Then of course, there are the people who push drugs or try to get us involved in activities that we know are wrong and against all that God stands for. You may think, 'that could never happen to me, I've got my head screwed on and I know what to look for.' This may be true, but you may get caught out one day if you're not careful.

There are so many scams about and it is only going to get worse. Oftentimes, you may receive emails that somehow have avoided the Junk mail and ended up in your inbox. The content may sound so convincing, and let's face it, that is the nature of a scam. Many people have fell foul to these scams and have been conned out of a lot of money. The people that conduct these scams, are not our friends. Therefore, we need to wise up.

It is nice to go out and have a drink, especially if a meal is included too. However, we need to be careful that we know our limit. That one drink too many can lead to much embarrassment, shame or disaster. 

God wants us to enjoy ourselves and there are a lot of ways for us to do that. He has blessed us with so many things in life. We have beautiful music, really good books, great hobbies and of course, our families and friends. There is no need to compromise, but we can if we're not careful. Really, it is being in control of ourself, walking in the Spirit and being guided by God in all we do. 

'My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk, stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet, stay on the safe path. don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.'

              

                                                                      Proverbs 4:20-27.  New Living Translation

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Alone with God Part 2

"Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place and there He prayed."           Mark 1:35.  NKJV

It must be noted that being alone, even in Jesus' presence, can be a vulnerable place to be. Jesus discovered this when He went out to the wilderness - a solitary place and the devil came and attacked Him spiritually. Therefore, we can be sure that he will do the same to each of us when we choose to be alone with God. Satan came along and tempted and tested Jesus with all that he had. 

Spiritual attacks usually follow great moments in our lives. Jesus had just been baptised and the Holy Spirit with the appearance of a dove, fell upon Him. It was a great moment, one in which the devil was not amused. Immediately, the Spirit took Jesus into the wilderness (Mark 1:10-13) and there Jesus met His tempter.

It was similar with other great men and woman of God and still is today. You may have noticed this. You've just had a wonderful blessing and shortly afterwards, some sort of attack comes along trying to steal your blessing. This kind of thing will never stop until we are in Heaven - a place where satan will not be allowed.

It's interesting too, that Jesus must have relayed this account to His disciples. Don't forget, He was alone, so the only way it could have been included in the Gospels, was if Jesus had mentioned this.

As much as it is a blessing and very much needed in order to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, we must realise that the devil will not be wanting this to happen. He knows that we will a stronger threat to him if we become more like Jesus. So, he will throw all he can at us to try to prevent this happening. There will be distractions - things that will be sent to take us away from this special time with Jesus. These distractions, may come in the way of, the telephone ringing and the feeling that we must answer it because it may be very important. Someone may turn up at the house unexpectedly, or there may be other things that appear so important that we've got to attend to straightaway.

God will be the perfect gentleman as we spend time alone with Him. However, He may bring things to our attention that we don't wish to hear about. There may be someone brought to our mind who we have wronged and He may want us to go and put this right with them. There may be people brought to our attention that we need to forgive for hurting us. Or He may wish us to address a very difficult time in our life; a time where our heart was broken. We may have tried to bury this, but like painting a cracked wall with whitewash, the cracks soon come back to the surface. He may wish to bring us healing on this matter. 

Let me say here, He can be trusted and will treat you like a treasured piece of china that may shatter if it's handled roughly. Trust Him. He knows best and the thing is, you will end up more liberated than you ever have been before. 

There are great benefits in being alone with God, but it will not always be easy; but it will be fulfilling!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com