Re-focus before you're consumed

"(1) If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Set you mind on things above, not on things on the earth."                                                Colossians 3:1-2. NKJV  

'If you don't redirect your focus, the problem will consume your life. '  Kenneth Copeland 2005

This means either focus on the problem or be grateful that other things are going well in your life, for instance, having gratitude. Sometimes though, it is so easy to focus on the wrong things. It may be something like a disability and this may lead to a 'Woe is me,' type attitude. You can begin feeling sorry for yourself by allowing thoughts such as, 'It's just not fair'. As long as we focus on this, it will consume us and our faith will begin to dwindle. 

Think what is going well for you. "Not a lot,' you may say. Well you're alive for one thing. Many who have died would give anything to be in the place that you are at this time. You have life, they don't. 

We can remain where we are or re-focus - on Jesus and what He has done for us. The old chorus goes:

Happy day, happy day,

When Jesus washed my sins away,

He taught me how to watch and pray,

And live rejoicing every day,

Happy day, happy day,

When Jesus washed my sins away.                

                                                                                 
           P Doddridge

We also sing, 'Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all.' You know something, soldiers get shot at and blown up and many have horrific injuries and disabilities. Yes, they may have bad feelings about it all at first, but then, they fight back and get on with their life, no matter what their disability is, they fight on.

Do you know something? You're a soldier as well. Your Commanding Officer is Jesus Christ, you know, the one who died on the cross just for you. The one who had nails pierced into His hands and feet, was laughed at; spat on and whipped so badly that His back was ripped open. Did He moan about it. NO. He was heard to say, 'Father, forgive them because they do not know what they do.' Luke 23:34. ‘Yes, but He was the Son of God.’ True, but He was also human at that time. He hurt, He bled, He had feelings. Don’t let us forget that.

Millions of people have disabilities and it can be difficult to live with at times, believe me, I know. The thing is, if you keep focusing on this, you will miss out on the many blessings that God has in store for you. 

As the old chorus above says, you need to live your life in such a way that you live, 'rejoicing every day.' Hard to do? You bet it is. Beneficial, you bet it is. 

Start living your life with with these words on your breathe, 

'Happy day, happy day

When Jesus washed my sins away.'

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Don't lose your persistence

"(41) Then Elijah said to Ahab, 'go up, eat and drink for there is the sound of abundance of rain.' (42) So Ahab went to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees, (43) and said to his servant, 'Go up now, look towards the sea,' So he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.' And seven times he said, 'Go again.' (44) Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said, 'There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising out of the sea.' So he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you."                                                      1 Kings 18:41-44   NKJV

Before this time, Elijah had prayed that there would be no rain and therefore there had been none for 3 Years and 6 months, causing a drought on the land. This was because the pagan god, Baal, professed to be the Sky god or weather god, creating a large following of the people.

As time went on, God called Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that rain would come once again on the land. There was a humiliating contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal where Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal to see who could call down fire on a bull that had been prepared for sacrifice. No matter how much they tried, the prophets of Baal failed to call down the fire. Eventually, Elijah, on God's direction, prepared an altar and fire came down and consumed the burnt sacrifice. The people believed and the prophets of Baal were gathered together and executed.

Therefore, Elijah knew that it was time to pray for rain. He went up Carmel to pray, bowing down before God. Seven times he asked his servant to go and look out to sea and for six times the servant gave the answer, 'There is nothing.' Many people at this stage, would have given up believing that they had not heard God properly. Not Elijah, he had told Ahab that he had heard the sound of abundant rain - the sound of a large thunder storm. He was not going to give up at all. On the seventh time, the servant reported that he could see a cloud, the size of a man's hand. Elijah knew this was it and sent the servant to warn Ahab to get in his chariot and head off before the rain fell.

 If you don't have persistence, then not very much is going to happen, in fact, you may miss out on all that God has for you. We need to accept the small blessings to make way for the bigger ones. Don't forget, massive oak trees grow from small acorns. Some times, what we receive from God we may feel insignificant. Don't ever be tempted to feel this way. As Bob Gass used to say, 'Walt Disney began with a mouse.'

Following our prayers, we may have a promise from God to provide for us in some way. This doesn't mean that we stop praying for this. We should carry on until we see fulfilment of that promise. Even though his servant said those faithless words, 'There is nothing,' he still carried on. People who know that you're waiting for God on something, may come and say that perhaps you haven't heard God properly. If you believe God, don't give up. Hang on to your prayer - your dream and look for that small cloud.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Receive things differently

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
                                                                                Romans 12:2.  NKJV

When things are coming at us right, left and centre; instead of giving into the injustice of it all, it's far better to turn the situation around. Instead of seeing them as negative, try to see them as positive. Instead of seeing chores and bad feelings, try to see them as blessings. In fact, be blessed instead of being robbed. Now this obviously is not easy to do. It takes practice, patience and perseverance.

It may help to look at a very basic form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Using this, one is helped to take control of their thoughts and look at the emotions it causes. They can then look for a better outcome to the situation.

In basic CBT, we have, a Situation, an Emotion, an Automatic thought, a Rational response and an Outcome.  Let us look at an example very briefly:

SITUATION
This may be the pain of seeing someone promoted into a job that you thought was yours.
EMOTION
You may be hurt, jealous and very angry because of this.
AUTOMATIC THOUGHT
'I hate that person, they always do better than me. I'm always left on the sidelines.'

From here, a person can throw a wobbly and cause a major scene, even putting their own job at risk. They may even walk out, telling everyone what they think of them
Therefore, we need to adjust our thinking somewhat:

RATIONAL RESPONSE
*  'I have a choice here. I can leave and find a better job.'
*  'Does the person realise the amount of responsibility that they're taking on? They won't cope'
*   Congratulate the person (I know it sucks) but do it anyway - genuinely, and offer to help 
     them in anyway you can.

OUTCOME
Relative peace and the knowledge you've done it God's way

We need to train ourselves to think differently. Doing things the way Jesus would do them, is not always easy. We want to rant and rave and moan and groan at some people - Jesus blesses them.
Hating a person because they have done better than us, is not the way forward and it shows the state of the heart. We need to rectify this - immediately!

What issues or problems are you facing at this time? Together with prayer, Romans 12:2 and this basic form of CBT, which is basically in tune with this scripture, try to forge a better way forward. The way Jesus would go. This CBT formula can be adapted to whatever you may be facing.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com


















  

Captivate the people you see

"Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father."                                        Matthew 5:16 New Living Translation  

Repetitious preaching and teaching can have the affect of being a hammer that is continually knocking a nail into a wall. It can seem tedious. However, it is needed. You will notice that many preachers, especially on the God channels, appear to teach on the same subject and text every week. I love listening and watching RT Kendall. In my opinion, his teaching is powerful and reaches me every time. However, he will teach on the same subject for many weeks. This is because he is expounding the scripture - squeezing every drop of it out for our benefit. 
You may find, that many daily commentaries do the same, including this one. When I seek God for what He wishes me to write each day, I wait until He has given me the instructions. Therefore, I must write what the Holy Spirit gives me, and the preachers and teachers we see, have to do the same.

The Apostle Paul teaches us on this subject: '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. ' Philippians 3:1. Paul is saying that this method of his teaching is important to safeguard them. There were many people out there, and still are today, who seek to mislead us, taking us away from the truth.

Therefore, let us once more look at Matthew 5:16. Jesus is saying in The Sermon on the Mount, 'Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.'
Note the words 'everyone' and 'good.' It is God's desire that everyone, throughout this world, get to hear the Gospel of peace. With the technology that we have today, this is a great possibility, but there is more to do here, and this may be the person who lives next door to us.

The Greek word for 'good' here in our text is Kalos and means that a thing is not only good but it is also captivating, beautiful and attractive. Kalos draws people and charms them in a Godly way. It draws attention to God  - not ourselves. We should never be tempted to think how good a job we have done but thank God what He has done through us or enabled us to do.

This is the type of 'good' that the world needs and is seeking. People are searching for something but many don't know what it is. For some it may mean money, for others it may mean a better house than other people have. Yet others may be seeking sexual relations with as many people as they can. Drugs, booze and the wrong type of excitement. At the end of the day, what good will it do them if Jesus isn't their Saviour.

Notice Jesus in the Gospels. As He walks around (doing good - kalos) He captivates and draws crowds to Himself. People just couldn't resist Him because He had something, they hadn't, but wanted but they wasn't sure what. And this is what it is like today. People need Him. When they are in our presence, they know there is something difference about us but they just can't figure it out.

As we get closer to Jesus, and start to spread Kalos wherever we go, we too will captivate and draw people to us; not because of ourselves, but because of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ lives within us.

Now that is 'good' news

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

We're here on serious business

"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."   Mark 16:15.  NKJV

William Barclay says:-
'One of the most poignant tragedies of life is for someone, especially a young person, to come and say to us, "I would never have been in this situation in which I now find myself, if you had only spoken to me in time."

Let those words sink in for a moment. The words remind me of a question from Evangelism Explosion, which was a successful evangelism training programme back in the 80's. One of the questions that people had to ask someone they met was, 'If you were to die today and go up to the gates of Heaven and you were asked why you should be allowed in, what would you say?' Of course the right answer to this would have been, 'Because Jesus is my Saviour.'

The first example would be directed at us with someone basically saying, 'Why didn't you tell me that I needed Jesus to get into Heaven?' The second example would be the realisation that a person cannot go to Heaven by attending church, reading a bible, being good to people or giving lots of money to charity. They are good works, but not good enough. Both of these examples require Jesus. He is the link into Heaven. People need Jesus, He has the key to Heaven. Without Him we are lost.

Charles Finney wrote:-

'However perfect and holy we may become, Jesus Christ will forever be, the sole reason that we are not in hell.'                                                            Charles Finney Living for God P14

Finney was a very direct and strict man but he was sold out for Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, and his presence alone caused fire to fall. Here's an example:-

'Charles Finney passed through a small community in upstate, New York. Houghton, New York, was a normal town, yet one day as Charles Finney's train was passing by, the Holy Spirit fell on the sinners of the community. Men in bars fell on their knees, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and asked Jesus Christ to save them.'
                                                                  Intercessors Arise International, Facebook page

We all get one chance at being a human being. This is it. The thing is, what are we going to do about it? People are dying everyday. What will be their destination? This brings us back to the first example; are we going to tell people about Jesus or not? Thanks  If not, how will you feel if they come up to you in Heaven and ask, 'Why didn't you tell me? I don't know Jesus, but I could have done if you had told me.'

Does this sound like a trip is being laid upon you? I'm sorry, but that is because it was intended of you to do so. We are not all like Charles Finney and we don't need to be. He had a special calling. However, let's not forget the commission that Jesus left us with, 'Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.'   Mark 16:15.

We all have the ability to talk to people about our faith and why we believe as we do. We don't need to have attended a bible college to do this. We don't have to be a certain age to carry this out either. The young can do it and so can the elderly. There's no retirement in the Kingdom of God. 

The young are learning about it and the elderly have a wealth of knowledge to show them, almost like, 'Watch and learn.' The thing is, whatever age you are, there's still a lot more to learn about Jesus and He still has a job for us to do, whatever that may be. No one is too young and no one is too old. In God's eyes, we're all valuable assets.

Finney, before he knew Jesus, was searching for Christianity, and told people that he was going off into some woods and wouldn't return until he had heard from God. A couple of days later, the power of the Holy Spirit came down upon him with so much force, that he would never be the same again. 

Jesus introduced Himself to Mr Finney and then taught him. Whatever age, we need to be doing the same, because we're here on serious business!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

A Pebble in your Shoe

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."                                                                           John 16:33.  NKJV

The word 'Tribulation,' can cover trials, distress and suffering. It is something hard to bear physically or emotionally, or an annoying or frustrating, catastrophic event.

Tribulation can cover a multitude of things, not only major ones that we expect may happen in the End times, but things that can happen to everyone from time to time.
Take for example a pebble in the shoe.  When this happens it can feel like we have a massive, jagged boulder in our shoe. However, when we check, it may only be a tiny pebble. It's crazy that something so small can give us so much discomfort.

Mostly, although annoying, we can slip the shoe off and be free from this terrible discomfort. At other times, it is not so easy especially if we're on a route march, where we can't really stop and where to remove the boot would be a major chore.

How do they get in there in the first place. If we were to tell someone that we're going to kick up a small stone and make it land in our shoe, it would probably never happen and they would feel that we're very strange. But, when we're least expecting it - Wham! - a pebble arrives from nowhere and it's threatening to dig into our big toe. Not nice.

Life's a little like this though. We can be getting on with our day, when suddenly, something happens that knocks us for six. One minute we have a measure of peace, the next anxiety, pain and utter despair; and rather like the pebble, no matter how small it may be, it hurts and we can't seem to move it so that we can have some relief.

Our lives can be very much like this. The pebble may represent something that has happened to us that we can't forget. It causes pain and discomfort and no matter how much we try, we can't seem to forget what has happened so that we can move on. 
Alternatively, there may be something that we have done or said and the pebble causes us guilt and condemnation. Firstly, we need to remember that there is no condemnation for Christians:

'There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.'   (Romans 8:1)

Secondly, guilt is a reminder that we need to put something right. We may need to go to someone and tell them that we are sorry for our behaviour towards them. Then if the guilt remains, we will know that it is the enemy attacking us and trying to turn this into condemnation. We can then tell him to get behind us in Jesus' Name because we are not guilty.

The pebble can be a good thing actually. It can be a time when we search within ourselves and assess our walk with Jesus, and how it is going. We all have issues in life and we have to learn to deal with them appropriately. The answer to most issues such as this is: forgiving people and asking for forgiveness. When we do this, it brings a certain release. It is rather like taking off our shoe and shaking the pebble out.

Forgiveness sets a person free from the bondage we've been living under. It's a choice, but Jesus has very strong feelings about this. Make sure you read and understand the following:

'(14)For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) but  if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.'
                                                                                                  Matthew 6:14-15

These are very important words and words that we need to take notice of. When we do, the pebble in our life will disappear and we'll have a new bounce to our Spiritual life.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Salt

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned?"  
                                                                                   Matthew 5:13.  NKJV

Salt was connected to purity. Therefore, if Christians are the salt of the earth, they must be examples of purity. James 1:27 says that a Christian should keep themselves, unspotted or unstained from the world. Colossians 1:22 says that we should present ourselves holy and blameless and above reproach, because that's what Jesus did for us.

Salt is a preservative. Many people on farms, still have meats, such as bacon, preserved in salt. I remember some farms that used to have these joints of bacon, hanging from their kitchen ceilings until they were ready to eat them. Therefore, salt keeps things from going bad or from corruption. Salt also protects. Just think how it melts the black ice on our roads during a cold winter. 

In Roman times, salt was considered a valuable commodity and it wasn't unusual for soldiers of the Roman Empire being paid in salt. Hence the sayings, 'He's worth his salt,' or if he was a poor worker, 'He isn't worth his salt.'

Salt creates a thirst and draws people to water. If Jesus called His disciples the, 'Salt of the earth,' then He was saying they had the capabilities to draw people to Himself. Also, He classed the disciples - and us - as precious commodities.

I don't use salt in my food all that much, in fact, hardly ever. However, for me, salt does add flavour to the food. It seasons it just right. That's my opinion, your may be different. Jesus wants us to offer flavour to all we meet; to season them well by introducing them to the Kingdom of God. 

If salt is connected to purity; then we also should be pure in all we do and say. Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, therefore, we should be an example to whoever is around.

Salt never really loses its saltiness and we shouldn't lose ours either. Jesus was speaking here of how mixing with the wrong crowd and compromising our faith from time to time, can lead us to losing our saltiness. We all like to enjoy ourselves but there are limits. We can so easily step over this line, and let's be honest, we do and that is the start of losing our saltiness - becoming ineffective, stained and full of blame where fingers can be pointed at us. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote, 'But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.' I Corinthians 9:27.

These are strong words and we have to be careful that we too, are not disqualified because of our behaviour, caused possibly, by the wrong company we keep, and/or not being in control of ourselves.

If you feel this is you; if you feel disqualified then there is good news. You may have lost your saltiness but repent; put it right with Jesus, and then get on with the good work. You know why? Because, you're the salt of the earth!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com