Our thoughts

"(3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God , bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
                                                                               2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV

Our thought life needs to be under control. If not, it can run away from us and cause havoc. Paul here, is not referring to warfare against a human enemy but against the mind. The arguments he mentions, are the pride that can overtake us in our thinking. We have to deal with this and quickly.

If we're not careful, the mind can really run riot. We have all had these type the thoughts, you know, the ones where we think bad things about someone or something that has caused us problems throughout our day. This may be a boss, who has been arrogant, rude and disrespectful. Our mind can lead us to want to use warfare upon him or her. Then of course, there is our marriages, where one partner has been totally out of order and wound us up tightly. We moan and groan inwardly and look at them with daggers. Then what about the person, who parks in your parking space, you know, the one that you always park in, or sits in the seat that you always sit in at church. This is unforgivable, you may think.

If we could run a tape back on all the thoughts you've had throughout the day, you would be shocked at how you have reacted in your thoughts. Of course, it becomes worse if the thoughts are allowed to break out from your mind and enter into our speech. This can be disastererous, when we speak out what we have been thinking. You've never done that? Oh yes you have, and you know it. We have all let loose with our tongues at times, some of us with both barrels. The thoughts have built up so much then - POW! - it has been impossible to prevent the fallout and a type of Victor Meldrew or green monster has been born within you.

This is why the Apostle Paul instructed that we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. In other words, we need to 'nip it in the bud,' before it gets out of hand. People can tell when we hold bad feeling and thoughts about them, you know. We just can't hide it. It shows in our face and how we handle ourselves before them. Sometimes we may be abrupt with them. It is far better to take them on one side and confront them - in a soft and gentle manner, not a bull in a china shop way. That is, if you have been wronged and you just can't live with it any longer. But a word of warning, think before you act. Do you need to confront the person? Will it be to your advantage to do so? Will it serve any purpose in doing so?

It may not be a person that you are having the bad thoughts about. It may just be life in general. If it is, give it to God. Go for a walk in the fields or woods and shout your frustration out. Make sure that there is no one about here, or people may think that you need hospital treatment.

The most important thing, is to get on top of the thought life. We all have them, but many of us have learnt to take them captive and give them to Jesus. Come on, you can do the same, can't you?

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

People seeing Jesus in you

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realised that they had been with Jesus."                                           Acts 4:13.  New King James Version

The word uneducated here means that the disciples had not received formal instruction in the rabbinical schools. The word untrained, describes them as common laymen, not professional experts.

And yet, these 'common laymen,' were the chosen vessels to promote the Kingdom of God when Jesus ascended into Heaven. They were called to preach the Word and nothing was going to stop them doing this. They had a determination to carry out what Jesus had called them to do. And it would turn out to be very costly for them, as they carried out this ministry.

Many people today are Spirit-filled and, like the disciples, know the Word through and through. They have an anointing directly from Jesus and carry His authority. However, if they were to apply to certain Christian denominational institutes to become a vicar/pastor, they would be asked to undergo several years of training before they were set free to do this; and perhaps that may be the right thing to do. However, many serve as pastors today who have not been to theological colleges or had professional training. Yet they are being used greatly by God.

Many very influential people who have been used by God over the years, had no particular training; Charles Spurgeon, DL Moody, William Carey, Martin Lloyd-Jones and Hudson Taylor, spring to mind. And what about Smith Wigglesworth? None of these great men of God had undergone professional training and yet God, used them mightily. 

Jesus Himself chose, trained and ordained His disciples. One only has to look at scripture to see the training He gave them:

'(1) And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. (2) Then He opened His mouth and taught them.'  Matthew 5:1-2

Matthew describes The Sermon on the Mount in detail. It would have been impossible to cover all of this in one sitting. There are 107 verses recorded. No one could sit through a sermon of such length, and if they did, they would never be able to absorb it all. No, it must have been over a time that Jesus taught them.

Whatever the time-scale was, Jesus taught them and this is why the Sanhedrin noticed that they had been with Jesus. They had had no formal training but were spiritually eloquent in all they said.

Therefore, a person can apply for formal training at a theological college and that is all right. Likewise, a person who has done much personal training in the Word, but not had formal training, can still be eligible to pastor a church, and this too, is all right.

The main thing is knowing God and living His Word. The more time we spend with someone the more like them we become. This is why many married couples are so alike in what they do and think. It is also why, people who spend time together, possibly at work, pick up certain characteristics. So, spending lots of quality time with Jesus has got to benefit a person; they become more like Him and it shows itself to other people.

If you spend more and more time with Jesus, pretty soon, if not already, people will see that you're different. And what an honour that will be, for someone to realise that you have been with Jesus.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

'Why am I going through this?'

"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, then you will rejoice and no one can rob you of that joy!"                                   John 16:22.  New Living Translation

Why do things happen that totally devastate us? We can be sailing along nicely, one moment and then, 'Pow,' we're sunk by a torpedo that smashes our lives apart.

Jesus told us, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome this world.'  (John 16:33.) Okay, some may say, 'Jesus told us that we would have trials and sorrows, but is that fair? After all, we belong to Him; surely we should be exempt this pain?'

What we have to realise is, the same sorrows and trials happen to everyone, no one is exempt. Everyone has to suffer painful experiences. The main thing is, as Christians, we have Jesus, we know the truth and He is the one that will help us through. For the unbeliever, there isn't that type of hope and support. They have to find a way to make it through the difficult period.

Jesus told us:

"The thief's purpose is to steal and to kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."   John 10:10.  New Living Translation

However, the thief - the devil - will send powerful distractions that are intended to rob us of all the joy we possess. As joy is a strength, (Nehemiah 8:10) such an attack can knock us to the floor. Bob Gass said, 'Satan continually uses distractions,' the acronym of this is SCUD. The enemy fires a scud missile at us (Ephesians 6:16) This is why we need to ensure that we are carrying our shield of faith.

We all suffer things at various times in our life. This may be where you are right now. It's common to have pain and sorrow, especially where there is a loss of a loved one. With this, there has to be a time of grieving for this purpose until some kind of healing can take place. It cannot be rushed.

For other things, Satan will fire these scuds at us and if we are not careful, we will be so distracted by them that we will lose our focus, giving the devil the feeling that he has scored a victory.

NEVER! We belong to the King of kings. We have Jesus in our hearts and He leads us to victory. But when we have been distracted and beaten up, we can't just lie there. We need to get up and stand. The victory is ours, as long as we keep standing.

It may be a rough and difficult time for you at the moment. You may be angry, disappointed or frustrated because things are coming at you from all directions. STOP AND PRAY! You may not feel much like praying but it is a powerful weapon that releases the angels to come and minister to you. Don't call on the angels; this is not the right thing to do. Call on God and He will release them to help you:

"(11) For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. (12) They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your feet on a stone."  
                                                                                     Psalm 91:11-12   New Living Translation

Change you words from: 'Why Am I going through this?' to 'I am not having this; I have the victory in Jesus; come Lord and help me.'

As you do this, your victory, hope and joy will return, because in Jesus, YOU'RE A WINNER!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

A Wealth of Knowledge

"For the LORD grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding."
                                                                     Proverbs 2:6.  New Living Translation

Cast you mind back a few years and and realise just how far this world has grown with technology. Back in the 80's, we had to queue up at telephone boxes if we wanted to make a call to someone. Now, everywhere you look, people are walking round with a mobile glued to their ear. If they are not doing that, we can see them sitting waiting for a bus as they text their friends. People do their supermarket shopping while they have a conversation with someone who has just rung them. We may be having a conversation with someone when their mobile rings and they say to us, 'I must take this.' I know that the mobile phone, would have been so helpful to me when I was stuck somewhere with a broken-down car and having to walk a mile or so until I found an emergency telephone, to ask for help. The downside to the earlier models was that they were the size of a house brick and practically impossible to put in your pocket. One social worker I know, used to carry his office mobile around in a brief case because it was too big. The thing is though, the world had brought progress.

Then of course, their were vinyl records, which were then updated to cassette tapes and from there to CD's which are still popular, although, vinyl is becoming popular again. What about iPads, laptops, MacBooks, PC's or iMacs. We can take a photograph on our iPhone and instantly send it to someone else by email, WhatsApp or messenger. Further, with the iPhone, one can airdrop it to another IOS facility - instantly. In church, most people sit there with their mobiles or iPads, reading the bible, or if they're bored, playing solitaire, Lol.

The age of digital technology is upon us. What is it going to be like in another 20 years or so? It's amazing what God has brought about; giving man the wisdom to create such wonderful things that we have. The internet has given us the opportunity to preach the Gospel worldwide, therefore, people who had never really heard the Word of God, now have full access to it.
I visited a store recently that I had never been into before. After looking around for a short time, I left. About an hour or so later, I received a text asking me how my visit had gone. Amazing, they knew I had been n their store through the GPS on the 'phone.

We have so much to be grateful for. Look at the contents of your house for one thing. There are fridges, freezers, flashy ovens, every type of utensils you can think of. Then there are showers, luxury bathroom suites, the conservatory and the extension. I could go on forever; we have so much to be thankful for. Yet for some people, they're never satisfied. They're always chasing around wanting something extra or something their neighbour has. 

You know, God loves us and demonstrates this everyday to us. His desire is to bless us and as long as we're walking in tune with Him, He will. A thought has just sprung to my mind, imagine, you may not yet have received the full blessing that God has in store for you. Now, whatever that hope you have in your heart is; God may want to send that your way, very soon.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

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