Your Good Shepherd

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."                                              Psalm 23:1.  NKJV

This Psalm is probably the most read and most well known of all the Psalms. Because it is well-known, it is easy to skim over it when reading because it is so familiar. Most of us can quote it off by heart. However, there is still so much to learn from it because it is a Living Word. This is the beauty of the bible. Each time we look at various verses, they mean something different. There is always something new to glean from it.

Here David is worshipping God and he gives Him the title of shepherd. This was a title that David knew everything about; he had tendered his father's sheep for years, protecting and guiding them. Now David sees the analogy.

A shepherd provides for his sheep and guides them and protects them wherever they go. The sheep become so familiar with their shepherd that a trust is established that will never be broken. They will follow their shepherd and know that if they get into any difficulties their shepherd will protect and in most cases, save them. This is where the rod and staff come in. The rod would be used to ward off any predators that was attacking the sheep and the staff or crook would guide them and lift them out of holes and ditches if required. 

If you happen to walk through some fields where sheep are grazing, see what happens if you walk up to them. They won't know you, so in order to be safe, they will run away. Yet if you happen to see their shepherd approach them, they will do the opposite and run up to him or her. You see, they know their shepherd and they trust their shepherd. Do you get the picture?

Jesus is our shepherd. In John 10:7-30, we see Jesus telling the people, 'I AM the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.' (V11). And, 'My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me.' (V27). If you're not in the mode of realising this, do it today. There is not a thing in your life that Jesus - your Shepherd - is not interested in. He is watching over you 24/7 and as you accept this and ask Him to place His protection all around you, your angels will be there to ensure that you are safe. This includes putting your armour on - daily, Ephesians 6:10-18. Pray in the Spirit (Tongues). If you don't know how to, ask God to help you. If you've been Baptised in the Holy Spirit, you can do this; but you must make the sound and then by faith, trust God that the rest, even though it may sound like gobbly-gook, is your heavenly language. Practise it now.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, your Good Shepherd is there with you. Enjoy His presence, talk to Him, listen to Him, study His Word. He's not religious, He is great fun, very faithful and He is your Friend for life.

If you've never been Baptised in the Holy Spirit pray this:

'Father, I ask You to fill me with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit rise up within me as I praise God. I fully expect to speak with other tongues as You give me the utterance (Acts 2:4). 
In Jesus' Name. Amen

Now begin to praise God and use your Heavenly language. You must use your own voice, it won't happen any other way. It may sound very strange at first, but keep at it. It is powerful. You may not understand it but God does.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Chosen, Adopted and ready for Thrills and Action

"3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do and it gave Him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:3-5. New Living Translation

Note the word in verse 3 'every'. He has blessed us with 'every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.' These are spiritual blessings from the Holy Spirit and they include, divine privileges and resources which are available to us now. Among these are, we are chosen and adopted; forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit with access to the fruit of the Spirit and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because of His great love for us, our Father also blesses us with material gifts. He bestows on us, our families, our homes, marriage, financial blessings and lots, lots more.

Words fail when we attempt to describe just how much God loves each one of us. Even before He created this world, He was thinking about us. How wonderful is that? Have you ever considered it? The creator God, who was preparing to bring this world into operation, had you and me on His mind. He chose us for Himself then. People get mixed up here when we speak about being predestined. Predestination does not suggest that some are chosen and some are not. No one is excluded from being God's child and having a place in Heaven with Him one day. No, we are all chosen to be a part of His family. The thing is, some accept His invitation and sadly some don't and God gets no pleasure from seeing someone He loves - dearly, refusing to accept Him.

The thing is, it all comes down to choice and when we accept His offer of adoption, He looks at us through eyes that see no fault in us at all. No spot and no blemish. He sees no stain upon us. Yes we let Him down daily, we are weak human beings. He knows that. But as we repent - say sorry for our sin, He wraps His loving arms around us and hugs us. Shall I tell you something? When you were so far away from Jesus, lost in your sin, He watched out for you every day. He watched and waited for you to return to Him, battered and torn, bruised and rejected. And when He saw you coming back to Him, He ran to you and hugged you, tears flowing from His eyes, so grateful that His son or daughter had returned to Him. (Please read Luke 15:11-32).

It is impossible to gauge how much Your Heavenly Father loves you. It is immeasurable. He has blessed you spiritually with all you need to stay focused on Him. He has also blessed you with goodies to make your life enjoyable but He has more - much more. You are part of the blessing and God takes care of those who are blessed. Each and every day, ensure that you involve Him fully in all you do. He's exciting to have around and He wants to show you lots more about His love and character. Embrace His love; praise Him, love Him, walk with Him and make Him the central-part of your life and believe me, you'll need seat belts as He takes you off down the road of blessing, hope and glory.

Copyright 2010 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

New Beginnings

"Behold, I will do a new thing"                                                                          Isaiah 43:19

In this passage - Isaiah 43:18-19, God says, 'Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.'
Things may not have gone too well in 2019. You may have messed things up or had the rough end of things forced into your life. However, 2020 - a new decade, can be seen as a new start for you, if you'll give it a chance.

God is doing some exciting things at this time. There is a sense of spiritual excitement around and God wants you on board so that you can feel alive again. Some leading Christian leaders believe that we are in the last stages - approaching the End Times, before Jesus returns. This may be so. Let's face it, there are many awful things happening around the world at this time - volcanoes erupting, major flooding, a massive rise in violence and terrorism on the increase. One could speculate that we're in the last days. However, until God says it's over, it's not over and we have things to do. People need Jesus, otherwise they could be left behind and this is where we all come in.

God wants each one of us to know Him better. He wants us to get into the position that wherever we are, Jesus is seen. Imagine that; you walk into a place and people feel the glory of God coming from you, to them. They feel Jesus shining out of you. How can this happen? When  we are so full of God's love the Holy Spirit just pours out of us and He will always, point to Jesus.

Do you want this? God wants it for you! There are a lot of mixed up and hurting people in our world today. We can be of help to them. But how? 
Firstly, you need regular, solid bible based teaching - solid food. If you don't put it in, you can't put it out. Read your bible; study it through and through; watch Spirit-filled teaching on Christian TV - Kenneth Copeland, RT Kendall and George Pearsons would all be excellent resources. Read Christian teaching books. Fill your life with God's Word. 

Secondly, put Jesus first in your life. Seek Him, believe His Word, live it and spread it around. People will then be affected by your presence. 

Make this year count for you. May this be your New Beginning for this New Year.

God Bless

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

"For I Am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."                                  Romans 1:16.  NKJV

Do you ever feel ashamed of your faith, or in other words, feel embarrassed when some people discover you're a Christian? This may be when you're with close family or friends who are not believers and you may feel that you don't want to offend them. Therefore, you remain quiet about your faith. This may be when you're at work or anywhere else where there may be a strong animosity about Christianity and religion.

Quite often certain jobs and places of training, such as universities can be hostile towards a person's faith and are discriminatory to them. There was one Christian chap who was at University with me, training to be a social worker specialising in child care. In a group discussion, the lecturer, who had a reputation for not liking Christians, asked him if he believed in smacking his children if they were in the wrong. He replied that he did as the scriptures say:

'He who spares his rod, hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.'
                                                                                                            Proverbs 13:24

The lecturer then brought up scriptures such as Proverbs 23:13-14 which refers to correcting a child with a rod. The chap tried to explain that the passage was referring to spanking the child, not beating them as in physical abuse. However, he was on a hiding to nothing and very nearly got thrown off the course. The devil loves to stir up bad feeling.

The apostle Paul was determined that he would not be ashamed or embarrassed about doing what he had been called to do - spread the Word and plant churches. He would not let anything get in his way of doing this task. He knew the oppositions that he faced and was willing to take them on, no matter what, and this is the determination and attitude that we need to have as well.

There comes a time in our walk with God that we must make a stand concerning our faith. This happened to me when I was completing my social work training at Uni, all those years ago. I was on my final placement and a social worker there, who didn't like Christians - at all - stirred up a hornet's nest about my faith stating that I believed that homosexuality was an abomination and that I would be discriminatory in my practice.
This was a classic example of how our enemy, the devil twists the truth. A meeting was called to discuss this and my future. I challenged them quoting Leviticus 18:22 which says, 'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.' I made it clear that God finds the act of homosexuality an abomination, not the homosexual. He loves them and would expect me to do the same. I told them that I was not here to judge but to do my job and honour other workers and the people I see as clients. I did not have to agree with their lifestyle or have it forced on me, as I wouldn't expect them to agree with mine or have my Christianity forced upon them. The meeting ended and God honoured me because, I had honoured Him by making the stand. Why? Because I AM not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 

If it wasn't for Jesus, we would have nothing, we would be lost. However, He found us, so never be ashamed or embarrassed of your faith.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

How Do You Use God's Name?

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."                                                    Exodus 20:7   NKJV

Many people use the name of God or Jesus as a swear word. In many circles you can hear this every day. Furthermore, at extreme times of pressure and stress in our own lives, we may be tempted use His name this way too. But is this taking His name in vain? In one way yes, it is disrespectful and dishonourable. But I believe this goes much deeper.

Just what is His name, anyway? Is it God? Is it Jesus? In Exodus we get a clearer picture:

"13 Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?'
14 And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you."   Exodus 3:13-14   NKJV

This really is Yahweh  and means 'God is.' He has no equal! Moses would have been familiar with this term because, his mother was called Jochabed, which is Yahweh my glory. 
David Guzik comments, 'I AM means 'God is', there was never a time when He did not exist, or a time when He will cease to be.'

Therefore, if God is I AM, why then do we say things like, 'I AM ILL - I AM DEPRESSED, I AM FED UP etc. etc.' Saying things such as this is contrary to the Word of God that says, 'by whose stripes you were healed,' 1 Peter 2:24 or 'I AM the LORD who heals you,' Exodus 15:26, or 'who heals all your diseases,' Psalm 103:3. So, if God says His name is I AM, then we are taking His name in vain. We are not only disagreeing with His Word but we're being disrespectful about His name too. 

God (I AM) says 'I AM the LORD,' Jesus used this term as well:

'I AM the Light.'   John 8:12
'I AM the Bread of Life'. John 6:48
'I AM the Good Shepherd'  John 10:11

Therefore, if Jesus recognises this name, then shouldn't we be careful when we use it? Shouldn't we be confessing, 'I AM a well man/woman,' 'I AM healed.' I AM filled with the Blessing of God?' 

We need to watch the words that come out of our mouths. They are death or life Proverbs 18:21. Say things like, 'I AM a Christian and I AM carrying Jesus' Name.

So as we enter into a New Year, change what you say. Instead of saying that you're sick, say that you're well. Instead of saying you are broke, say that you are blessed. Start walking into 2020 as a Blessed woman or man of God and filled with the Spirit of Jesus.

Say I AM going to have a Blessed New Year.

Happy New Year everyone

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You're never Too Old!

"13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD, shall flourish in the courts of our God. 
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."
                                                                                                                     Psalm 92:13-14.  NKJV

It's never too late, in fact, it's never over until it's over. If God has planted you - which He has, He's not going to uproot and tell you that you are too old. No matter what other people may say or think. It's what God says and thinks that matters. 

You have been rooted and grounded by God Himself. He is the one that saved you. He is the one that called you to do a particular piece of work. It doesn't matter how old you are; you may have grey or even white hair but God has called you to bear fruit and that fruit isn't old. It's has fresh as the day God gave it to you. 

He has called you to flourish, in other words to thrive, prosper and be in peak condition for the work He has given you. To flourish means that you have excellence, influence and the ability to qualify in all you do. Your work for God is still fresh. Proverbs 16:31 says, 'Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a Godly life.' NLT. 

'Ancient cultures were sensible enough to honour and value the wisdom and experience of old age. They saw the white (or grey) hair of the elderly as a crown of glory.''  David Guzik.

In verse 13 above, the text reads, 'shall flourish in the courts of our God.' This is referring to our ministry,  in the church which would be preaching, teaching, evangelism and worship. It would also include writing songs, books, poetry and being fresh in mentoring, teaching and advising, whatever age you are.

Theirs a host of things still available to the white or grey-headed person. Check out your bible and just see what some of the great-headed people got up to - how they took the lead in some circumstances; how they established righteousness wherever they went.

Be encouraged, there's plenty of scope for the person who has reached a senior age. Don't give up and sit about in an armchair for the rest of your life. Get close to God, get your bibles out, refuse to be labelled - 'Grey-headed,' which really means too old. There is no ageism in the Kingdom of God. You are still very much of value to God and to people, so press on.

Grey-headed people rule, Yeah!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

High Speed with Jesus

"And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
                                                                                                                Jeremiah 29:13.  NKJV

Over Christmas, I received a small present from a family member - a book - and it was entitled, 'Finding Jesus' by Winston Rowntree.  It was a real howl because it is based on the 'Where's Wally' books. Instead of looking for Wally, people search for Jesus.

Now the family member who gave me this was a Christian but through one thing and another, fell away. It was amazing seeing him and other members of the family, eagerly searching for Jesus throughout the pages. I am sure it was something that Blessed Jesus, as it certainly blessed me.

This made me think of the above verse from Jeremiah. As we seek Jesus from our hearts, we will find Him. You see, I believe that the time is right for giving Jesus all that we have. You may have been a Christian for years but do you really know Jesus? Could you say, honestly that you are His friend? I ask these two questions not to point a finger at anyone but to ask you to look deep inside yourself and decide. 

The reason being, when we know who we are and where we stand with Jesus, we can stand on this and rely totally upon His Word. If we look at the two previous verses, they read:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you."  Jeremiah 29:11-12.

If we know Jesus, we have a future; we have a hope, however, this is based on searching for Him with all our hearts - with everything that we have. As we do this, we will feel His blessing upon us, real time. We will not be fearful when things come against us, when evil strikes, we will squash it in its tracks in the mighty Name of Jesus; we will feel the hope and peace that He offers us.

There is far more to life with Jesus than just asking Him into our lives. Yes, if you do that, you are saved and have a place reserved for you in Heaven. However, God has so much more that He wants to give us and as we dare to get into top gear with him, we'll feel the benefit of going high speed with Jesus. There is excitement to be had living this way. Want to sign up?

'Jesus, I want to get into top gear with You and travel at high speed each and every day. I commit myself to You; I've searched for You with all of my heart and now, I have found you.
So Lord, let's fasten our seat belts and hit the road. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com