Christian Love

"(43) You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' 
(44) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, (45) that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just  and on the unjust. (46) For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? (48) Therefore, you shall be perfect just as your Father in Heaven is perfect."                                                           Matthew 5:43-48   NKJV

You may ask, why does Jesus demand that people have this love? It is because such love as this makes men and women, just like God. When we achieve this, we will be perfect. However, Jesus is not speaking here about the type of perfection we are used to. For us to reach this type of perfection is impossible.

There is a Greek word for perfect which is teleios. To give an example, a man who has fully grown is teleios, which is different from a half-grown youth. The man has reached his maturity. A student who has reached the finishing line of their studies at Uni, is teleios, whereas a new student just starting out, as no grasp of it yet. They still have two or three years to go to reach this.
In the Greek, a thing is perfect if it has fully realised the purpose for which it is planned. So, as we have the love that Jesus demanded - as we achieve it - we have teleios and we are the 'perfection' that Jesus spoke about here in v48. We have fulfilled the purpose for which we desired.

William Barclay puts it this way, 'The Greek idea of perfection is functional. A thing is perfect if it fully realises the purpose for which it was planned, designed and made.' 

The world's idea of perfection, is just too impossible to reach. People strive and walk over other people to try and achieve this type of perfection. Actually, the root of 'Perfectionism' is fear. People don't realise that while they are striving to achieve a particular goal they are stressing out if someone beats them to it, or if they can't fulfil what they're attempting the way they feel it should be achieved. A perfectionist lives in fear of not being able to reach what their particular target is and they will spend wasted time attempting to get there; to be the best.

If that is you, Jesus does not want that type of perfection. He wants us to love people as He does; in other words, for us to be like Him. It's attainable, but it takes willpower, dedication and the ability to shrug off persecution, bad-feeling and abuse from those who are our enemies at this time. To win them over - if that is possible - we need to show them just how Jesus is, and that starts with loving them, no matter what.

So latch on to the Greek version of perfect - teleios- because that is what Jesus was discussing here.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard 

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

He supplies all we need

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory, by Christ Jesus."
                                                                                                     Philippians 4:19.  NKJV

Are you ever amazed at how God supplies all we need? In my life, there has been many times when I have felt that I am paying out more than I'm taking in. Do you know what I mean? Add to this, tithing and we can begin to become quite anxious. I've even heard people say, 'I can't afford to tithe, I'd never be able to manage.' Really, the answer to this is that, we cannot afford not to tithe.

Years ago when my wife and I were first saved, I read about tithing and how we are robbing God, in a Christian magazine. I was horrified. We had young children to bring up; bills were coming out of our ears. It was quite stressful. I felt, that the Christian writer was out of line to write such a thing and I determined in my mind that I would not read any articles penned by him, again. 

The thing is, we can't hide from God, can we? Under conviction, we began to give a tithe out of our hard-earned, small income. From that moment. even though I almost went white overnight, God never let us down. we always had enough, more that enough at times. You see, it's God's money in the first place and as soon as we accept that fact and start giving to Him, he takes care of all we need.

Jesus Himself said, 'But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.'  Matthew 6:33. When you think about it, it all comes down to trust; how much we trust Him, how far are we willing to go for Him. As He went the ultimate distance for us, it really means that we should trust Him with everything; not only our money, but our lives, our health, our families; all of it.

He has given you everything you will need in this life. Some things and people, may have been taken away, but He still gave you that joy in the first place. So therefore, determine to give Jesus the first place in your life. You'll never regret it.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

'You know where I am!'

"(4) And you know the way to where I am going"                                 John 14:1-6   NLT

How many times do we hear this from well-meaning people when we are having a difficult time? How many times do we say it to others whom we talk to when they are going through a bad time?

About one out of ten people take up this offer. The others don't, mostly because, 'I don't want to bother them or be a nuisance. They probably don't really mean it anyway, just trying to make me feel good, that's all'. It's true sometimes. Some people listen to problems but feel inadequate or unqualified to help out. So they speak a few words of comfort, pray for the person and say, 'You know where I am'. Not everyone is like this though. many are willing to hear people's problems again and again. So if someone has said this to you just lately, you won't know until you try and take up their offer. 

Thomas, a deep thinking man, one of Jesus' disciples, questioned Jesus about what He had said. He wasn't being rude, he was being honest and wanted clarification to untie his confusion. (v5) Jesus reassured him by saying, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.' (v6) Note that Jesus didn't say, I'll show you the way; but I am the way. He didn't promise to teach the truth, but that He was the truth, and He didn't show them the secrets of life, but said that He is the life. As the disciples and and us seek Him and spend time with Him, all of this will become apparent. He is everything and has everything. He is all we need but we need to press into Him, then we will get to know Him much better.

People say, 'You know where I am if you need me', then we need to take up this offer they have made; just the same as we need to understand fully where Jesus is and what He is offering us, where He is going and what life is like, serving Him, and live life full of Him. He has told us, that one day He will return and take us to where He is. At the moment He is getting it ready for us. 

Until then, when we say to people, 'You know where I am if you need me', why not follow this up via a text or a telephone call. Just the same as we need to accept the offer of help at times, it is good to give our help to others, when we can.

Until Jesus returns, we have ample time to do this.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Did you think you'd blown it?

"(15) Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?"                   John 21:15-19.  NKJV

Have you ever felt that you've blown it - big time? I mean, have you ever said or done something and you think God won't forgive you, this time, because you've gone too far? This must have been the way Peter had felt when he denied Jesus three times, to save his own skin. He was heartbroken that he had let Jesus down in such a way, especially when he had told Jesus that he would lay down his life for Him. (John 13:37-38).

Peter was a broken man and although he still hung around the other disciples, there was no real spiritual flow from him. He had gone from being, Peter the Rock to just plain Simon Peter and this was the way that Jesus addressed him when He had been resurrected. Three times he asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter answered, 'Yes Lord, You know that I love You'. The type of love Jesus asked Peter this question in the first two times, was in Agape love, the highest expression of love. Peter answered in Phileo love, an expression of friendship. This was all Peter had at this time, and Jesus knew it. On the third time that Jesus asked the question, He met Peter at his level and asked the same question in Phileo love. Peter was grieved when he heard this again and this caused the Holy Spirit to speak through him when he answered, 'Lord, you know all things; You know that I love You.'

Jesus met him where he was, came down to his level. built him back up again and once more he was Peter the Rock, with a list of instructions, to feed the lambs, tend the sheep and feed the sheep.

When we have messed up big time we need to remember that, Jesus knows our heart. He knows that our intentions are not to walk away from Him but to serve Him the best way we can. However, occasionally we get it wrong, and that's where you may be at this time. 

Listen, Jesus knows your name; he knows your heart and he knows that you are sorry. Accept His forgiveness and let Him build you back up and set you back on the road again.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

How do you see things?

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."                                               2 Corinthians 5:7.  NKJV

When we look at something - sickness, lack, loneliness, injustice or whatever, we are tempted to believe that this is the way it is; there will be no change at all. But are you open to the fact that you may be looking at things through the world's eyes, not by God's. Our scripture tells us, 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' Is that just a throwaway statement that the Apostle Paul wrote just to fill the space on a page? No, it is fact!

Let us back up to Chapter 4:18. This reads:

'While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.'

Jerry Savelle quotes this verse as,"Subject to Change'. Think about that for a moment. If we walk by faith and not by sight, then the things we see - bad stuff, sickness, hurt, trouble and all the rest, are subject to change. How? By prayer and what we confess.

If we say, 'I've lost my job, I'll never get another one like it,' then you probably won't. If you confess sickness upon yourself or others, you or they, will remain sick and so on. We must change how we look at things and what we say about them. If your child is not doing very well at school, confessing, 'He's not academic, he'll never do much in life', then he probably won't. The child needs faith-filled words putting into him, not doubt.

Proverbs 18:20 reads, 'A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth'. What we confess, we get. What we see, happens. We need a mindset that Jesus had, that things are subject to change.

Take it on board that you can walk by faith, not by what you are seeing. What you see and hear about is subject to change. After all, you were!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

What if?

"But Moses protested again, 'What if they won't believe me or listen to me?' 'What if they say, "The LORD never appeared to you?"                                                              Exodus 4:1.  NKJV

'What if?' This phrase appears to be widely used by many people throughout the world. This phrase is used by people who worry about certain things. They become anxious because they are being asked to do, something that seems to be a mammoth task - alien to their thinking. 

Mose here, was no different. God had commissioned him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go. This had caused all sorts of excuses to come to the surface from Moses. 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?' (Ex 3:12) 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent,' (Ex 4:10) Excuse after excuse. What if this and what if that. Moses had a great fear - a Specific Phobia which can be an irrational and unreasonable fear about doing a particular thing, a thing that one will attempt to avoid at all costs.

Many of us can relate to this at some time in our lives but if it is a common part of a person's life, help may be required to overcome this. Counselling and prayer are a great remedy but worries and fears such as these, can take some time to work through. The 'What if?' is very similar to the, 'But.' They both flag up reasons why something shouldn't or cannot be done. It may just be an excuse because someone doesn't want to do a particular thing. But there may be a deeper root to it and discussing this with someone may help find what the problem is.

Anxiety is associated with a lot of worries and 'What ifs'. What if I lose my job, how will I pay the bills? What if I can't find another job? What if I go to uni and fail; I'll look stupid? What if I go on holiday and get burgled? Or what if the car breaks down? Worry, worry, flap, panic. 
I feel that we all may go down this road from time to time but for some people, the anxiety is massive and can cause a lot of problems.

It's difficult to stop worrying if you are a worrier. It's not easy to control the fear when we have to go somewhere or do something that is scary. But try and remember that Jesus tells us not to worry (Matthew 6:31). His Word also tells us to cast our care upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Therefore, write down the things that are a worry and look at each one of them seeing if there is an easy solution. Often, the things we worry about never happen anyway. The things that seem stubborn - the ones causing anxiety, hand over to Jesus and try and leave them there. It really is the only way but it is a winning formula.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

See the real picture

"(1) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand. (2) Think about the things of heaven not the things of earth."                                            Colossians 3:1-2.  New Living Translation

A photographer uses light and dark to produce excellent images. If it is too light or too dark, depending on what he or she are trying to create, it may need a little post-processing. Normally, the image would need to be focused properly, not too sharp and not blurry, unless this is planned.  At times, filters can be used to produce a sky that isn't as blue as required or grass as green as would be liked or whatever else is required for the image. Composition is a major requirement all the time so that the eye can see what the photographer is attempting to produce. Finally at the end of the shoot, the photographer may enhance the image in post-process, to give it that added attraction.

This can be a wonderful analogy of our Christian walk. We want to walk in the light, because that is where Jesus is, and yet occasionally, we will push our luck and be tempted to try the dark side of life. We need to be careful here. The world would have us to walk the way it does, but we are different, we belong to Heaven not to this earth. This is just temporary for us before we receive the bigger picture.

We need to focus our sights and our thoughts on Jesus and what He requires from us. We need to get the clear picture of where we are going and what we are doing each and every day. We may have to change who we hang out with and where we go for entertainment. We all need to relax and chill out, but we need to edit this so that we are not at risk of compromising our faith.

Filters enhance a photograph and at times, help the viewer to see what isn't really there, such as a very dark sky when it is really quite light. In the same way, we need to keep a check on our walk - where we go, what movies we watch, what bars we visit etc. We need to be aware of what is there. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to : 'Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.' Don't let it be you!

Composition is important. It allows us to fill the picture with what should be there and what shouldn't. It helps us to get rid of the clutter that ordinarily is not needed. It is the same with our lives - our picture, there are things that are just a clutter. They need discarding so that your picture - your walk with Jesus, is a prize winner.

At the end of the day, don't try to put into your picture what shouldn't be there. Be yourself; be you - not a copy of someone else. God created you as you, not a photo-enhanced, out of focus, over-exposed composition of some other Christian.  

Make your life what it is, not what it isn't.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com