Don't forget to pray

"(16) Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."                                                    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  NKJV

Prayer is communication with Our Heavenly Father. With prayer, we praise and worship Him and speak intimately to Him. We also ask Him for protection from evil forces. 
Psalm 91:2-4 says, (2)'I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him I will trust. (3) Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the Fowler and from the perilous pestilence, (4) He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings, you shall take refuge.'
Hence, as we ask Him, He places a hedge of protection around us to protect us from enemy attack. But for this to happen, we have to ask Him, we have to pray. William Barclay quotes a Rabbi as saying, 'He who prays within his house, surrounds it with a wall that is stronger than iron.'

The Jews were committed to prayer and had regular times for this. Many of the prayers could be repetitive and of a ritualistic nature quoting rigid prayers over and over again. Some may have just gone through this ritual because of an obligation. William Barclay further comments, 'As Christians there are many occasions when we do precisely the same with the prayer which Christ taught us to pray.'
The Lord's Prayer should always be prayed from the heart, never as a formality that we first learnt at school.

Even our quiet times with God may fall into a kind of formalism, where we pray from a list in a rigid and ritualistic manner. We need to pray in the Spirit and avoid the risk of repetition. Don't forget that prayer is a two-way conversation - us and God. We need to wait and give time for Him to speak to us.

On your next quiet time, why not just sit in the quietness of your prayer-cupboard, before God and just listen for His voice and leading. It may take practise and be difficult to leave the prayer list out for a time. But it may lead you to a deeper place with your Father.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail

SAD

"Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again - my Saviour and my God."   Psalm 42:5.  NLT

There are so many occasions when we feel extremely tired; so down in the dumps; irritable and just seem to have lost our get up and go. There can be a a great darkness over us that takes away any positive feelings we have, and replaces it with a 'Can't be bothered attitude' Now this may be depression. Many men of God suffered this on occasions - King David and Elijah spring to mind.

Periodically, we can begin to feel this way and no amount of prayer seems to lift this on a permanent basis. We need to consider what has been happening to us over a set time. We can often pinpoint where things seemed to go wrong. However, there are times when we can't.  

If you're feeling this way at this time, sit and reflect on how your life has been over the past few months and how you have been coping. There may be an obvious answer to this. However, you may be one of the many who go with the weather. This affects some, especially when it is persistent rain and one can't get about without getting saturated, time after time. It may be the seasons that are affecting you. Many people, as soon as the clocks go back and the darker evenings come upon us, their feelings become lower than normal.  The organisation MIND discuss this in detail. Here is an excerpt:

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that you experience during particular seasons or times of year. Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time, and affects your everyday life.If you have SAD, you'll experience depression during some seasons in particular, or because of certain types of weather.It's common to be affected by changing seasons and weather, or to have times of year when you feel more or less comfortable. For example, you might find that your mood or energy levels drop when it gets colder or warmer, or notice changes in your sleeping or eating patterns.But if your feelings are interfering with your day to day life, it could be a sign that you have depression – and if they keep coming back at the same time of year, doctors might call this seasonal affective disorder or 'seasonal depression'.If you have SAD, you might experience some of the signs and symptoms below. But it's different for different people, and can vary season to season, so you might also have other kinds of feelings which aren't listed here:

• lack of energy
• finding it hard to concentrate
• not wanting to see people
• sleep problems, such as sleeping more or less than usual, difficulty waking up, or difficulty falling or staying asleep
• feeling sad, low, tearful, guilty or hopeless
• changes in your appetite, for example feeling more hungry or wanting more snacks
• being more prone to physical health problems, such as colds, infections or other illnesses
• losing interest in sex or physical contact   

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/#.Xc_gsC2cY6V 

It may be that the way that you are feeling at this moment, is because of SAD. If so, a visit to your GP may be the answer. Many Christians have suffered from some type of depression on occasions; for some it is ongoing. It is nothing to be ashamed of. You may feel that because you're a Christian, you shouldn't feel this way. If you do, then you are very wrong. 

Make a quality decision to put this right. God will help - big time, but occasionally we have to admit we need professional help. If this is you, don't put it off, go for it, TODAY!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Thoroughly Blessed

"Seek the Kingdom of God, above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."                                                                                                  Matthew 6:33   NLT

As we saw from our reading yesterday, seeking God first has great benefits. Solomon told us in Proverbs 3:5-6, 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.' (NLT)

These two verses are so important to our daily lives. By putting God first, 'above all else', and living a righteous life, it will bring us many benefits, as God gives us all that we need. I stress the word, 'need.' God knows what is best for us - what will bless us and what will bring us to ruin. He will only give us what will bless us. However, just like a loving parent, who wants to make his child happy, God will give us blessings. We may not ask Him for a particular thing, because it may fall into the 'want' category but He knows we would like it and that it would be such a blessing for us. Therefore, because of His love for us, on occasions, He may just add a blessing to our day.

I have lost count of the times that this has happened to us and no doubt you have too. You see, He loves us and watches over us throughout the day. As we ask Him for directions - should we go here, do this particular thing or make a particular decision about a most important issue, He will happily show us the way. In Psalm 32:8 (NLT) we read,'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.' Note that on all three of the readings that I have mentioned, that the emphasis is upon us. We have to 'Seek and Trust.' In other words, we have to go to Him first. He expects us to seek and ask Him and when He advises us, trust that He is right and do what He says.

Our own thinking can lead us the wrong direction time and time again. Our thoughts can be so convincing and often, despite advice from people, we can rush into a particular project and 'POW', it can go pear-shaped. We must take control of the over-active thought life that takes us over periodically. God is never wrong - never! We frequently are. Quite often, we are convinced that this is the right thing to do and instead of waiting on God, as he tells us to, we follow our own direction.

It is time to make some adjustments. We need to think differently and the only way we will do this, is to seek the direction of our Commander in Chief - Jesus. He knows the way because He is the way. And that is all we need for a successful future.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

How to achieve intimacy with God

"(13) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
                                                                                                          Jeremiah 29:11-14.  NKJV

It is time to become serious with God. Time is running out. He could return to this planet any day. Would you be ready? Jesus knows our make-up. He knows what we think, before we even think it. He knows our heart. He knows what makes us tick. He knows our thoughts to other people and He knows what we do when we are on our own, when no one else is around.

He knows all of this and yet, he adores us and can't get enough of us. Why? because He is totally sold out for us. We're on His mind 24/7. What about you? Is Jesus on your mind 24/7? Are you totally sold out for Him?

We become sold out for God when we become serious about Him. Verse 13 tells us, 'And you will seek Me  and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.' In other words, when we live for Jesus wholeheartedly. When He becomes the most important person in our lives. When we seek Him in this way, we will find Him and spend more intimate moments with Him than we have ever spent before. As we reach for this intimacy, note in verse 14, that His word tells us that he will bring us back from our captivity. Captivity for us today, may be some kind of bondage or persistent habit that we are involved with that we find difficult to give up. As we truly find God, he promises to free us from this captivity and take us home.

Heaven is our ultimate destination, but until we achieve this, it is time to turn our lives around and begin to really live for Him. This means, taking Him to the supermarket with us. He's interested in this. Try taking Him into the garden; to that football or rugby match, that musical concert or when you're playing the drums, guitar or any other instrument. He's great company when you're fixing things around the home and on a walk He flourishes. Speak out loud to Him, don't worry if people can hear you. Anyway, in this day and age of technology, people are speaking remotely on their mobile phones out in the open all the time. Whatever you do or wherever you go, remember, Jesus is totally interested. If you never thought this, then involve Him and you'll soon recognise this fact. There is no need to ever be alone again, because He wants to spend every moment with you. 

Seek Him wholeheartedly and you will find Him

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Seek the giver, not the gift

"When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face LORD, I will seek.'
                                                                                                        Psalm 27:8.  NKJV

On occasions, we can treat God as if He is some kind of Glorified Santa Claus, by continuously asking, 'Lord, give me this,' and 'I need this Lord, please let me have it.' But God is much more than this. Yes, He gives to His children but only what He believes we need. Praying to win the Lottery, no matter how nice that may seem, is not one of those needs,. This falls into the category of 'wants.' 'Yes, but I could do so much with that amount of money; people would be so blessed as I gave to them.' No amount of justification will change God's mind with this one.

God expects us to work whenever that is possible. The Apostle Paul makes this very clear in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10. Verse 10 reads, 'If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.' You can't get it any plainer than that, can you? We should all be willing to support ourselves and our families. It's true, that through certain circumstances beyond their control, some people can't work - for a time. However, many can and should.

The Apostle Paul and many other people in ministry throughout the age, have worked to support themselves and their ministries. It is always helpful when a minister is supported financially by a church or body, but many aren't and they have to take jobs in order to manage.

As we read in yesterday's reading, God wants us to seek Him first and His righteousness. He then promises to take care of us. Seeking Him is seeking the giver, not the gift. The gifts come as we become close to Jesus - the giver. As we become sold out to Him, He commits Himself to taking care of every issue. I once heard one famous minister say to God, when the church had a very large bill, 'Lord, this is Your department - Your bill, not mine. I'm going home to get some rest and see my family. I know You'll take care of it. And God did. It may sound rather ostentatious for the minister to talk this way to God. But, this was the relationship that he had with God. Both him and his church, were faithful in their work; they trusted God for everything and their faith was rewarded. This is the way God wants us to be. Totally reliant on Him.

As we seek the giver and not the gift, placing Jesus in the driving seat, we will be blessed, time and time again. Try it!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Giving to receive rewards

"(1) Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in Heaven."                       Matthew 6:1-4.  New Living Translation

The Pharisees made a great show of giving alms. They were always wanting to look good in the eyes of other people. This is why Jesus said, 'they have their reward.'( v2) The reward that they received was admiration from people, which really gave them nothing at all. The reward we seek is the one from Our Heavenly Father.

If we stop and think about it, what we do for others and what we give, goes unnoticed; but does that matter? If God sees what we do, that is all we need. He is the one that will reward us, not this world. However, if we give to the church or to a particular project or person, and announce this fact with the sound of trumpets, then that is the only reward we will receive - people's admiration, not God's.

You see, God doesn't want us to be all puffed up with pride and acting in a totally pious way. He wants us humble - 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble, so humble yourselves before God.' (James 4:6-7 NLT) 

God wants us to use our money and our time, sensibly. With regards to our money, it is His in the first place, we gave Him our life and that means everything. So therefore, we need to give Him His share - a tithe which is usually a tenth of our income. From thereon, what we give to people, as a seed, we can expect a harvest from. 'But this, I say, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.' (2 Corinthians 9:6) This doesn't mean that if we determine in our minds to give £100 believing that we will receive back a harvest of say, £1000. It doesn't work like that; that is a business deal, the way the world would operate. We are on Kingdom Business and God will reward us with a harvest if we give humbly on a seed time and harvest time basis. 

We don't give to receive; we give to bless and when God sees this, He opens the flood gates of Heaven's blessing towards us. That is God's reward, not the world's. What we need to remember is, without God, we would have nothing. He is our resource; He is our life; He is the one who walks with us on a daily basis taking our hand when we become hurt and frightened. He is the one that matters and that is all.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Window in the Wall

"(33) but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands"
                                                                                                          2 Corinthians 11:22-33.  NKJV

Paul had suffered many things because of his faith; probably more than the average Christian could ever suffer. He was very humble and considered that his sufferings were the only things that he could boast about - not that he had undergone sufferings for Jesus, but that, in his weakness to alter this, God considered him blessed and rescued him, time and time again.
Paul was writing about the time that he was in Damascus, not too long after his conversion. He had been preaching about Jesus and the governor had his troops guarding the city to catch Paul, so that the only way out, was to be let down the wall in a basket, something that Paul regarded as a weakness.
This wasn't the first time that this type of thing had happened. Rahab, had helped the spies to escape by letting them down a wall too. (see Joshua 2:1-15.)

God is the great escape planner. He can provide for us, a way of escape at any time of the day or night. he can rescue us from issues with work-related problems, health-related problems, marital-related problems, financial-related problems and a host of other things too. He is wonderful at providing a window in a wall.

On many occasions, He may leave us in a position that we don't wish to be in. This is not because He doesn't want to help us. It is because there is a learning point that we have to master first. Think of Daniel, he had been cast into a lion's den - not the sort of place that anyone would wish to go. King Darius had not had a choice over this matter as it was a matter of law. That night, Darius had little sleep and early in the morning, rushed to the den to see if Daniel was ok. He was. God had sent an angel to shut the lion's mouth's and no doubt, Daniel had had a better sleep than Darius had.

Time and time again, we read about how God has provided a way of escape for His people, whether it be a window in a wall, an angel providing assistance or guards having their eyes closed so that a bible smuggler can get through the checkpoint to give out God's Word to people in need. At times, God turns up to show us the way. At other times, we need to look for that window in the wall opportunity; but one things for sure, God will be there for us when we need Him.

Perhaps you are in a place or situation at this time, that you don't wish to be. This is not a time to panic. It is not a time to start blaming people, or even God. It is a time when you need to pray, be alert and watch and be ready for when God provides a way forward. Whatever it is that is bothering you at this time, don't give up on God but trust Him, and be patient. He doesn't rush in when we want Him to. He waits for the right moment; that right window in the wall opportunity. This is why you need to be ready. That opportunity will come!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com