Stand and Refuse to be Intimidated

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord, in one place. And suddenly, there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind and it filled  the whole house where they were sitting."              Acts 2:1-2   NKJV

Jerusalem and the people would never be the same again. The Holy Spirit had come as Jesus had promised and there was chaos in the streets. People were speaking in strange languages and dialects and yet everyone understood. 

Basically, there were only two languages that was spoken in this day; the Jews mostly spoke Aramaic and the rest spoke in Greek. However, like today, there were different dialects from different regions. Now there was also a very special language - tongues - a language from the Holy Spirit. , but everyone still understood what was being said. Picture the scene, it is no wonder that some were saying that they were drunk (Acts 2:13). God had turned up with His Spirit and the place was literally on fire. 

Now, whenever there is a revival from God, the devil is revived too. He will do all he can to cause people to doubt what is happening and put it down to madness. One example was the Toronto Blessing back in the late 90's. Many thousands were blessed and healed and had their lives changed forever. Many others though, including the media, claimed that it was the work of the devil.

You may notice this in your own life too. You are blessed by God and become on fire yourself with the Holy Spirit. You're flying high, at 50,000 feet, reading your bible, playing worship CD's non-stop and full blast and filling all day, of every day with Jesus. All of a sudden, it all goes wrong and everything and everyone appears to be against you. What has happened? The devil has fired a dart at you (Ephesians 6:16). All of a sudden, that wonderful, Godly feeling has left and arguments, unrest and bad things take over. You feel floored and robbed. Well, that is what has happened; the devil is a thief and he has snatched your feeling away. (John 10:10). This is not the time to feel sorry for yourself. This is the time to stand and keep standing (Ephesians 6:10-18).

You must tell the devil to depart. You have the authority. Jesus gave it to you (Luke 10:19). Stand up to him and order him out: 

"Look here devil, you have no right in my life. I AM a believer in Jesus of Nazareth. He is My Saviour and lives in my heart. So depart from me and this situation now. In Jesus' Name."                                                    

The devil prowls around wherever the Word of God is established. Don't be surprised if he uses your boss at work, your family or your friends and neighbours to make your life difficult. The word for you is to 'Stand'. Put on your armour; read your bible; pray; praise God and refuse to be intimidated.

You're the son or daughter of the King of kings. Don't forget it!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com   I would love to hear from you

Things can change so quickly

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me, for John truly baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
                                                                                                                  Acts 1:4-5.  NKJV

At times, God shows us, or tells us about something, He wants us to do. But many times, He tells us to wait for the right time. This can be a trying time, if you're like me. We think we know what He wants of us and therefore, we want Him to set us free to do it; but we have to wait. Who likes waiting? Some do but I definitely don't. Once briefed I want to get into it. I know that I'm not the only one here who feels like this. However, there is always a reason we have to wait and often, we never get to hear about it.

Joseph must have felt something like this, at times. Hated by his brothers; sold into slavery; falsely accused of attempted rape and imprisoned and even though, highly favoured, forgotten about by authorities. (Genesis 37 - 41) Trusting God, serving Him faithfully and waiting - waiting for the chance of release. But one night Joseph went to bed a prisoner and the next morning he was promoted to Prime Minister. What a difference a day can make. 
Have you been waiting for God to move and open a door? Your waiting, rather like Joseph, may be over. Today could be your day. 

The disciples had been told to wait for the Holy Spirit; so they waited and they waited and then, 'Suddenly, there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them, divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.'  Acts 2:1-4.

Everything changed - SUDDENLY! It's interesting to see that the first thing the Holy Spirit did was to take control of the tongue. It's time to speak God's Word instead of your own. You'll only do this by allowing Jesus into your heart with Holy Spirit Power.

Now that's a thought! Perhaps the reason you are having to wait so long for things to happen or change, is because God is waiting for you to get into position by allowing Him access to your heart and the words that you speak.

When you do this - POW! - Watch out there's a power source ready to hit the streets.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Covenant People

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off, have been brought near by the Blood of Christ."                                                                            Ephesians 2:13.  NKJV

We were purchased by the Blood of Jesus. We have a contract with God - a Covenant.
A Covenant is a binding agreement and we have this with Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour - if you are born again.

George Pearsons says:

'A Covenant is a solemn, binding, unbreakable agreement of total devotion between two parties that have joined together to support, defend, protect and provide for each other.'

When we asked Jesus into our hearts, we gave Him all of ourselves and we became one with Him, made in His image. We belong to Him - totally and He belongs to us. He is our brother but also our God, He is our friend but also King of kings and Lord of lords.

God is serious about our Covenant with us. He tells us in Psalm 89:34, 'My Covenant, I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.' He will not break this Covenant and expects that we won't either. He is committed to us and expects us to be committed to Him. It is a two-way contract.

It all sounds very official and in a way it is. However, it is a Covenant in which we have many blessings. His sole intonation is to bless us because that is what we were born into. 

Christian marriage is a Covenant between two people who both have Jesus residing in their heart. If one partner is not a Christian then it is possible that at times, one is pulling in another direction to the other. One grows in Christ, the other grows in a different area. When the two partners are both believers, they walk together with Jesus in the central part of their marriage. In fact, they are one, joined together in Jesus. When they are not, there will always be that dis-jointedness. After all, they both entered into a Covenant of marriage and this means, with Jesus at the central part. Something then, is missing.

As believers, we are Covenant people purchased by Jesus' Blood. We can rely on His faithfulness and we need to endeavour to allow Him to see that He can rely on us too. When He asks us to do something for Him, He expects us to carry this out. When He tells us something while we are in prayer, if it is a private issue about someone, He wants to know that we can be trusted to keep it to ourselves for as long as is needed.

A Covenant relationship is sacred. As believers, we are all joined together by the Blood of Jesus. Yes we have our differences; there may be people we find difficult to get on with. However, as Covenant people, we love them all the same; we forgive wherever that is needed. We hold no grudges; keep no records of wrongs and watch the words that come out of our mouths, in other words, we only speak the way Jesus would speak. 

How do we do all of this? By faith in Jesus. By staying very close to Him and thinking the best of people no matter what we may hear about them. Covenant people do not judge or point the finger they just know there is a better way - the Royal way.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

You can rely on God

"5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."                 Proverbs 3:5-6.  NKJV

TRUST
In this context, to trust, means to lie helpless, facedown. It pictures a servant waiting for the master's command in readiness to obey. To break it down further, trust means to, have faith in, to rely upon, to depend; to be sold-out for God and to realise as one does, it is safe to do so.
WITH ALL YOUR HEART
Note the word 'all.' Sometimes the temptation is to trust God a little but to keep back some trust so that we can rely on ourselves too. This is not the way. We have to surrender 'all,' there is no other way when we walk with God. He requires everything - all we have, in fact, to be committed and completely signed up to His will. When we are, He will take care of everything. This is where He wants us to be - totally dependant and reliant on Him.
LEAN NOT
Don't doubt or rush in to things hastily. We need to ensure that what we are doing; where we are going is the right thing for us. Leaning into God, is seeking God-inspired direction, not self-reliance
ACKNOWLEDGE
'The Hebrew word for acknowledge is Yada and means, direct, intimate contact. It refers to life-giving intimacy as in a marriage. It suggests an intimacy with God in prayer that conceives and births blessings and victories' (sourced from The Spirit Filled Life Bible).

Again in verse 6, we're told to acknowledge God in 'all' our ways. We do this with prayer - seeking Him, asking Him and seeking His advice for all we have to do. We have to check the way head, rather like we do when going on a long journey - we need to know the way.
DIRECTION
We need God to direct our paths. Rather like me in the past, you may have made a few blunders which were caused by dashing in and not asking God first. We need to learn by our mistakes and put Him in the driving seat. He has given us the Instruction Manual (the bible) so read it, seek God's view and don't do any more until He shows you what to do. 

The bottom line is, we either believe and trust God or we don't. He has given us His Heavenly compass - the Holy Spirit, so we need to check out what's on the road, what lies ahead and what to avoid.

The devil is around every corner trying to trip us up. When we trust God in everything, to protect and show us the way forward, the angels are all around us.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

Superabundance

"My cup runs over."                                                                                Psalm 23:5.  NKJV

Have you ever been filling a cup, taken your eyes off the cup for just one second, and had the contents pouring over the edge of the cup onto the work surface it's standing on? It happens, especially when we are busy and multi-tasking in order to get things done, all at once.

This is a similar example of how God blesses each one of His people who trust and rely on Him on a daily basis. We are the cup and He fills us with blessings that overflow out of us. He can't help it. When we're walking with Him obediently and sin-free, He just wants to smother us with  His love and blessing.

Psalm 23:1 says a similar thing, 'I shall not want.' As we seek God first in our lives and His righteousness, He will give us what we need and lots more too. Matthew 6:33.

Let us take a look at John 10:10 for a moment:

'The thief does not come except, to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.'

If you remember in Genesis 3, we see the devil, dressed in a serpent's skin, leading Adam and Eve astray by convincing Eve that it was ok to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, thus causing them to sin and by this, allowing sin to enter into the world. He is a thief, a killer and will destroy all you have if you allow him to.

On the other hand, God wants to abundantly bless each one of us and fill our lives with love and contentment. The Greek word for Abundant is perissos which means, superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over and above, more than enough, profuse, extraordinary, above the ordinary and more that sufficient (source Word Wealth Spirit Filled Life Bible).

Our Father is Our Excessive God. Satan is the joy robber and Jesus is the joy bringer - the God of too much. The New Living Translation reads, 'My purpose is to give them a rich, satisfying life.' John 10:10.

We can begin to see how David could write, 'My cup runs over.' When God gives, it is to overflowing. It overflows giving us superabundance. This is the blessing that was given initially to Adam and Eve in the garden and caused Abraham to be fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to perform. Romans 4:21. The blessing hasn't stopped. God wants us to live in it each and every day. He will bless us with all that we need to serve Him and carry out His Will for our lives. He will give us all we need - over and above - for us to live and enjoy.

It is the most wonderful feeling when God turns up with financial blessing when your pot is becoming empty. Do you know something. As long as you give to God, your pot will never be empty. He will pour into your cup until it is overflowing whenever you need it. Why? Because He loves you, enjoys your company and loves you honouring Him with all you have. Whatever you give Him, He will pour back to you abundantly!

Now that's good news

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

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