Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Friday 13 March 2020

You stand on Holy Ground

"And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed." Exodus 3:2. NKJV

It is not unusual for a bush to catch fire within a desert. It happens very often because of the intense heat and the dryness of the bush. What is unusual, and what caught Moses' eye, was the fact that the bush continued to burn without stopping. It was on fire - a raging fire. Another extremely unusual thing that Moses discovered was that this bush spoke to him and Moses spoke to it. The bush told him that the ground on which he was standing, was Holy Ground and he should take his sandals off. Perhaps if that was to happen to us, we may be questioning our sanity. However, Moses took it all in his stride. He had lots of time on his hands alone with his flock, so perhaps he was very much in tune with God. Let us look at this more closely.

Firstly, what Moses witnessed here was a Theophany. This is an appearance of God or a god - to a human being. In other words, a divine manifestation. The word Theo indicates God. The Angel of the LORD had appeared to Moses within the bush and began speaking to him. That in itself is an amazing thing to happen, but the burning bush was even more amazing. It demonstrated that God can become a burning fire that never goes out. A fire that we as Christians long to have within us - the Fire of God. Isn't this what you want to happen to you? To have the Fire of God - the everlasting Fire of God burning away within you? Well Moses came face to face with this fire and so can you.

Secondly, the Fire of God - the Angel of the LORD, told Moses to take his sandals off because he was standing on Holy Ground. Wherever God is, we are on Holy Ground and we and others that we meet will be affected by this. This may give the answer why we meet with so much hostility at times. Non-believers don't know what the feeling is, but satan does and he causes people to react badly towards it.

This opens further thoughts. Sickness has no right to stand on the Holy Ground that we are standing on. It does not belong there. We, as the People of God, are a Holy Priesthood - kings and priests unto God, so we are standing on Holy Ground. Sickness can not be allowed to approach us in any form. Philippians 2:9-11 says:

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

Sickness has a name! Cancer has a name! Diabetes has a name! Heart disease has a name! Parkinson's disease has a name! MND has a name! And the Coronavirus has a name! Why are we so fearful? They are names and they have to bow to Jesus Christ Our Saviour. Why? Because we belong to Him and we are living on Holy Ground and the Coronavirus and all the other sicknesses have no right - absolutely no right, to try to stand on this land. How dare the sickness try to invade our lives.

Make a decision today that if you belong to Jesus, you are filled with the Fire of God, that you stand on Holy Ground and no sickness, not even a headache has the right to attack you. This is not a game. We either believe it or we don't. Yes there are things we cannot explain, but we are still standing on Holy Ground
It is a name and Jesus' Name is greater. So cast that sickness out in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

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Thursday 12 March 2020

Grab hold of some patience

"(2) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work , that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."
James 1:2-4. NKJV

For most people, patience is very hard to live with. We tend to want answers - now! We tend to want to get on with what we need to get on with, so, why the waiting? Mostly, because when we rush in with both guns blazing we are prone to get it wrong.

When things test our patience, such as the washing machine breaking down, fence panels blown over in the wind and it's our neighbour's responsibly, not ours, but they don't seem to be doing anything about it, and then traffic jams making you late for appointments, things tend to get a tad tedious and we find it very difficult to cope with, let alone find it joyful.

But the thing is, troubles come our way in order to transform us - to help build our character. The ultimate purpose of trouble in our life is to perfect us. It is God's desire that we get into a position where we are complete and lacking nothing.

God allows us to go through certain trials in order to train us to have character. If you have a short fuse with practically no patience at all then you can expect many trials to come your way. However, with the trials, God gives us the ability to be able to withstand these but it takes time to perfect. If you blow your top at the first obstacle that comes your way, then this is for you. If you handle things a little bit better than this, then this is also for you.

The Ancient Greek word described here, for patience is hupomone. It does not describe a passive waiting such as sitting in a busy doctor's surgery waiting for your turn to go in. It describes an active endurance. It is the determination that helps you finish a marathon. It describes someone who doesn't give up but carries on to the very end. It describes aggressive determination.

If we begin a project, we would normally plan it out to the best of our ability, noting the things we need to complete the project and the possible problems that it may hold for us. As we get into the project, we may find obstacles that try to prevent us from completing, that test our patience. However, because we have planned properly and have the determination, together with a sense of humour, it is finally completed.
It is the same with our daily life with God. We will come against many problems and trials in our daily walk with Jesus, but the ability to have a sense of humour - that joy that comes from God, and also an ability to be able to laugh at ourselves if things go a little pear-shaped, we will find that we can accomplish each and every thing that we meet.

If you struggle with impatience, try and allow your sheer determination to carry you through by praising God, playing some praise music, and generally being happy. Does this sound impossible? It isn't but it takes practice rather like running a marathon.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Wednesday 11 March 2020

More on Fear

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7. NKJV

Fear is a major problem in the world today. People are fearful about their lack of money, ill-health and a host of other things as well. Now, because of the Coronavirus, fear has escalated and people are panic buying in order to ensure that they have enough supplies should this virus completely take over their lives.
Believers are no different, their whole Christian walk can be marred by their fear about what may happen in their lives and the many, 'What if's, that plague the whole of their day. This shouldn't be. God tells us not to fear; in fact, His word today says, He has not given us a spirit of fear. Believers should be declaring, 'There is no fear here.'

Let's look at three areas of fear:

PERFECTIONISM
Certain people have an in-built need to be perfect in all that they do. In a way, this is a good quality. However, not if it takes over their lives and they begin striving to be better than anyone else. Many psychologists believe that the root of perfectionism is fear. Perfectionists dread not being able to meet the high standards that they have set themselves and if they can't reach it, they worry that someone else will succeed where they couldn't. Some goals are impossible to reach, and let's be honest, what has it achieved if a person has a heart attack or breakdown as they attempt to achieve their goal? It is excellent to provide the very best, but not at the cost of our health.
ANXIETY AND PANIC
When a crisis hits us, some people feel the necessity to panic and get things out of complete control. Take for instance the Coronavirus. Many are panic buying because of their fear. Shelves are empty in stores because of this and this leads others to panic because they may not have enough food or medical supplies themselves. This whole virus has created a fear within certain people and they have been thrown into chaos.
In other areas, people become anxious over many things. Again the, 'What if's' kick in and people dash off with an agenda of panic. To be blatantly honest, there is only one place that fear comes from, and that is satan. He is the author of fear and if he can get you to be afraid, he knows that he has a hold on you. Cast that spirit of fear out now, in Jesus' Name. It has no part on a man, woman or child of God. You have the Almighty God - El Shaddai within you. The victory that has set you free. 1 John 5:4.
The word victory here, comes from the Greek Nee-kay from which the sports company formed their company Nike. The Greek reference number in Strongs is 3529. So become a Nike person not someone who is controlled by fear.
HYPOCHONDRIA
This is often characterised by fears that minor bodily or mental symptoms may indicate a serious illness. It is demonstrated in constant self-examination, self-diagnosis and a preoccupation with one's body.
Hypochondriacs become their own symptoms. Many of these symptoms they feel are often physical sensations caused by anxiety or depression that can go along with Hypochondria. The constant worrying can release harmful stress hormone's that can do real physical damage.

Is it really worth having fear? You may say, 'Well, I can't help it.' Well, yes you can! It is down to you, a Spirit-filled believer of Jesus Christ. Fear will always try to come upon you but you - child of God, have the power to squash this right now.
Has Nike says, 'JUST DO IT!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Tuesday 10 March 2020

'I'll be back"

"However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved."
Judges 16:22. NKJV

It is quite a normal thing to want to get your own back when you have been wronged. This is why, Paul said in Romans:

'Beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay", says the Lord' Romans 12:19.

This can be a hard order to follow because our own will is fighting against God's will. Flesh against the Holy Spirit. When we do obey this, God is true to His word and does avenge; but not always the way that we had hoped.

Samson was a mighty warrior with amazing strength. He was a Nazarite who had been born to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. However, after a series of events he fell in love with Delilah who deceived him by revealing to the lords of the Philistines, the secret of his incredible strength - his hair had never been cut since his birth. The Philistines came and gouged out his eyes after shaving his head - the source of his strength. He was then powerless. But they had made a dreadful error. They should have shaved his head on a daily basis but neglected to do so. The result being, his hair began to grow back, as did his strength.

As time went on, Samson was in the temple, performing for the Philistines' amusement when he grabbed hold of the pillars and pushed them out of way resulting in the roof caving in, killing them all.

People may have hurt and wronged you; but that doesn't mean you should try to get your own back on them. But it also, doesn't mean that you should become a door mat letting people walk all over you. Have a Terminator mentality by thinking to yourself: 'You may have wronged me, but I forgive you and bear no malice against you. But know this, 'I'll be back - the hairs on my head are growing again, I am re-gaining my strength and I will not be prevented from doing what God has given me to do.' Amen!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Monday 9 March 2020

Why are you so fearful?

"There’s no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.'
1 John 4:18. NKJV

The Greek word for fear is, Phobos, from which we get Phobia. This includes, fear, terror and dread plus quite a few other areas. When we consider these areas, you may see yourself in them. Fear attacks us all at times. When a person has to give a speech in front of people, it can cause tremendous fear. You can be dreading it. For some people, just being in a room with people who they don't really know, can cause fear, especially if one of these people speak to them. Many times we put this down to being shy and this may be the case. However, many times it is total fear. If you suffer in this way, when you're in a crowd you may hide away in a corner hoping that no one notices you or if there is someone that you know and feel safe with, you may go and stand with them, again, just to feel safe.

At other times, sheer dread can come upon you. You may even feel terrified of something and the more it plays around in your mind, torment begins to take over. If you're not careful, this can totally disable you, preventing you from doing what you should be doing. A new job or school can cause this type of fear. Going somewhere you have never been before and having to take a lead role can be scary.
Even our prayers can begin to take on a fear-based theme instead of faith-based. Fear-based prayer leads to disaster, faith-based prayer brings victory.

Fear robs our soul of all joy and confidence before God. It also shows us that we are not made perfect in love; and this means we're not complete and mature in Him.
Kenneth Copeland says, 'Fear gives the curse life again.' When we look in Galatians 3:13, we read, 'Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.' The blood of Jesus has set us free from the curse and as we walk and get closer to Jesus, we can allow Him to perfect us in love, because God is Love. 1 John 4:16.

We can therefore, realise that there is no fear in Love because God is Love, or Love is God, whichever way you look at it.

2 Timothy 1:7 informs us that, 'God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.' So it is time to stand up and be perfected in this Love. God does not want you fearful. Its against His rules. It brings pain and sickness. Therefore, allow me to lead you in prayer to free you from this.

Lord Jesus,
We come before You this day and fully realise that it is not Your will that we have fear within our lives - at all. Therefore, we ask You to break the power of fear upon us and help us to be perfected in Your Love.
In Jesus' Name. Amen

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Sunday 8 March 2020

While you have breath - Praise Him!

Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.' V2
Psalm 150. NKJV/ NLT

Praise should always be a major part of our Christian life. This should never stop. However, there are times when God has done something so wonderful and exciting, that you just can't contain it. And this is what I want to address today.

Look at verse 2 again. Two phrases stick out above the others; 'Mighty acts,' and 'Excellent greatness.' The Amplified Bible puts it this way, 'Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness.' This abundance means He is our excessive God; the God of too much; Jesus the joy bringer; giving to the full, giving till it overflows. The New Living Translation says, 'My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying Life (John 10:10).

Allow your spirit to absorb this and focus on what God has done for you recently. It was something that no one could have worked out. Something that was beyond human intervention. It required divine intervention and God turned up and did just that. Where man's help was impossible, Your Mighty God - El Shaddai, sorted it all for you. This was a mighty act according to the abundance of His greatness - His excellent greatness.

Verse 6 says, 'Let everything that has breath, praise the LORD.' At times, He takes our breath away so much so, that it is difficult to get beyond, 'Thank You Lord, we bless and praise You.' Really, that is all we need to pray because that is showing God our gratefulness. However, our spirit wants to give Him more but we don't know how. This is where our Heavenly language - speaking in tongues - can come into being. Our spirit meets with the Holy Spirit within us and we praise Him in tongues.
As you begin to do this, you feel much more satisfied as the words that you wanted to say but couldn't, are now translated to Heaven for us.

Today, you have something to praise Him for - you know you do! Get alone with Jesus and allow your Heavenly language to reach into the very Throne room of Your Father. Let Him really know how blessed and thankful you are!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Saturday 7 March 2020

God will always avenge - if you allow Him to

"37 But Paul said to them, 'They have beaten us openly, un-condemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out." Acts 16:16 - 40 NKJV

It would be beneficial to read the whole of the text in order to get the whole picture.

Whenever you're doing something for God, you should expect spiritual attacks. They are designed to stop you in your tracks or make you a laughing stock so that you will lose your confidence, integrity and credibility. Here, a girl who had a spirit of divination was following Paul and Silas around the city, harassing them and screaming out that they were servants of the Most High God proclaiming His salvation. There was demonic opposition, hindrance, humiliation, distraction and disruption in her words, which is how the enemy works. Should Paul have left the demon alone, so that he could get on doing what God had sent them to do? It's difficult to know as their reasons for being there had already been exposed. Some people would have left well alone but Paul was not having it and these demonic utterances could cause them further damage. It is interesting to note that Paul and Silas were on their way to prayer when this all happened. Demonic activity usually attempts to cause mayhem at such times.

The girl was being pimped by certain men who were making a good living from her fortune-telling. It's very much like today where evil men and women find vulnerable young people and use them in drug dealing, trafficking and prostitution. They make a fortune out of these poor, unfortunate people who have been misled and had false promises made to them of a better life. When the evil business is brought to the light - which it will be sooner or later - they lose their fortunes. The masters of this girl cared nothing for her, only what she could be used for.

When the masters realised that the girl's usefulness had dried up, they seized Paul and Silas and took them to the authorities with trumped up charges of troubling the city. It's interesting how they didn't give the real reason for their accusations. There was a strong Anti-Jewish discrimination about it all. They assumed that Paul and Silas were Jews, not Roman citizens and they had come to the city to stir up trouble. It is always wrong to make assumptions, we usually get them wrong. Paul was actually a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25) and Silas may well have been too. His name was actually Silvanus which means 'of the forest,' and this was a Roman name. Paul always referred to him in this way, as did Peter (1 Peter 5:12).

They were both brutally beaten with rods. The Jewish legal tradition gave a maximum number of blows that could be delivered but the Roman's had no such limit. They must have been beaten terribly. After this beating, they were taken to prison and placed in the maximum security suite, which was the inner prison and would have been dark, damp and probably rat-infested. Their feet were placed into ill-fitting stocks which may have caused them cramps and further pain. The jailer was told to keep them securely.

They were treated like terrorists but all they had done was preach the Word of God and drive a demon out of someone. Total injustice and terrible suffering and we have the audacity at times to moan when things don't go our way.

This didn't stop Paul and Silas, they prayed and sang hymns at the top of their voices. They would have been in agony and the other prisoners watching, would have realised this too. Things always happen when we act in such a way. Suddenly, there was an earthquake. But it was different - a supernatural one that ripped off the cell doors and broke every chain.

The conclusion to all of this is that, the jailer and his family were saved after asking, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' (v30). Paul and Silas had their wounds soothed at the jailer's home but instead of escaping, they returned to the prison until the next morning. They received word from the magistrates that they were free to go. Paul, however, refused and demanded that the magistrates come and tell them personally. After all, they had been wrongfully arrested and severely beaten even though they were Roman citizens.

This caused the magistrates great fear and they came and pleaded with them to depart quietly. God will always avenge if you allow Him to. So therefore, whatever you may be undergoing at this time, find time to praise God. Don't go round like a bear with a sore head. Praise Jesus and then wait and see what the Lord will do.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Friday 13 March 2020

You stand on Holy Ground

Thursday 12 March 2020

Grab hold of some patience

Wednesday 11 March 2020

More on Fear

Tuesday 10 March 2020

'I'll be back"

Monday 9 March 2020

Why are you so fearful?

Sunday 8 March 2020

While you have breath - Praise Him!

Saturday 7 March 2020

God will always avenge - if you allow Him to

Grace

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

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