Shine in the darkness

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

                                                                                                            Matthew 5:14-16.  NKJV

Does anyone know that you're a light burning with the fire of heaven? Do you? Jesus said, that if you belong to Him, you're the light of the world and that means wherever you may be in your busy day and whoever you are with. God has called us to shine in this dark world that we dwell in.

Dwight L Moody writes in his book, The Overcoming Life:

'Remember a small light will do a lot when it's in a very dark place. Put one little candle in the middle of a large room and it will give a good deal of light.'

I remember my army days, when on Escape and Evasion exercises, where one has to get from one place to another without getting caught, where we would be in the middle of nowhere - cold, wet and miserable. If we saw a light shining in the distance, how comforting it would be as we moved closer towards it to get our bearing. It was a warm and comforting sight to see.

As Christians, we live and move in the darkness, it's all around us. Therefore, we're called to shine and show the way for all we come into contact with. Some may not be welcoming as our 'light', shines upon them. They may repel our presence. Others may be grateful that they have someone who cares, someone who is willing to listen and if possible, help them.

Light attracts all sorts things - moths and other flying insects for a start. It also gives away a person's position. As the light shines on them, others are able to see where they are and what they are doing. Light illuminates the way for many people. Many are lost and have no sense of direction. The light (us) can direct them to the way (Jesus). Light also reveals things that we need to be aware of and avoid. Remember, if people repel against you, the light that shines from your presence, may well be convicting them.

Whatever you come up against, make sure that you keep shining for Jesus, in this very dark and uncertain world we dwell in.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Your words affect what you do

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."   (v29)

                                                                                                              Ephesians 4:25-32.  NKJV

How often we grieve the Holy Spirit by our behaviour, especially by what comes out of our mouths. (v30). We are tempted to lie every now and again. We do this by way of exaggeration, painting things much bigger than they actually are. We add bits and take away other bits so that they fit into the story that we are telling, because it sounds better that way. We also become angry at certain times, where our mouths begin to rule and we end up saying words that we don't really mean, but once said, are impossible to erase. By not being in control of our anger, we fall straight into the trap that the devil has laid. 

We confess with our mouths that we will never steal - we could never do that, and yet, many of us have pens, note pads, highlighters, elastic bands and staples that we have taken home, and we justify this by saying that we may well be doing some work in our own time, so that we can catch up with things. But really, they're not ours.

But the biggest area of grieving  the Holy Spirit, is in the words that we speak out. We're tempted  to tell a joke, one that is quite unsavoury and contains swear words. We may feel that we need to fit in with our colleagues or neighbours but actually wouldn't it be better making a stand and showing them Jesus by setting ourselves apart? Our words and behaviour don't have to be 'religious', we don't want that type of reputation, but if we are letting them know that we are Christian, then they need to see this, otherwise they may form the opinion that we are a hypocrite. 

Let's do a little self-analysis; ask yourself, 'Do my words build people up?' 'Do they edify myself?' 'By my words, can people see that I'm different, that Jesus lives in me?' Wherever we are and whatever we do, let us always attempt to impart grace to people through our words and how we live our lives. And above all else, let us always be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit. He is gentle and loving; peaceful and helpful; but He's also delicate and we can easily grieve Him by our attitude, our words or things that we do.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Don't give up

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season, we shall reap if we do not use heart."

                                                                                                     Galatians 6:9.  NKJV

'I've had enough of this, nothing's happening' I never get used. I'm leaving'. Have you ever heard this or said it yourself? What about: 'I keep trying with this but I'm getting nowhere; I may as well give up, I'm nothing more than a failure.' Or there's this one: 'What's the point? I'll never get that job, it's a waste of time applying. They wouldn't want me, I'm not brainy enough.'

Three avenues of phrases of doubt that if we keep confessing, we'll believe and take on board, deflating any chance of living a life of faith. They're all full of failure and depression. The thing is, we're all tempted to feel this way every now and again. Life can seem like a great competition, where we begin competing against each other, trying to be what we are not. God wants you as you are. He knows you that way, not when you're being a cardboard cut-out of someone else or trying to achieve what is not meant for you.

All through the years, life has included people who have tried and tried again but never quitting until they met their goal. Thomas Edison was one. Time after time he endeavoured to perfect the electric light bulb but had many failures. Once he was quoted as saying, 'I have not failed. I have only discovered hundreds of ways in which this bulb does not work.' He wouldn't quit until he had won; and he did win. Bob Hoover, was an American test pilot and throughout his long career crashed many planes while testing them out. Yet, he refused to fear or to give up. His motto was, 'Get back into the cockpit of the bird who bit ya'. 

You may be only five minutes away from your harvest - your dream. Don't give up now - persevere. It will come, you can do this - with God's help. Proverbs 24:16 says, 'For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.' Life can be tough at times; we can all feel like throwing in the towel and walking away, whether it's our marriage, our job or even the church. But hang in there, 'Get back into the cockpit of the bird that bit ya'.

Seasons come and go; the tide goes out but it does come back again. This tide may be yours. Don't give up!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

SIN

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

                                                                                                                           Romans 3:23.  NKJV

Have you ever looked at the middle letter of the word 'Sin?' It is 'I', and quite a significant point because the worst enemy you have to overcome is yourself. DL Moody writes, 'I have had more trouble with DL Moody than with any other person.' It seems quite strange for a mighty man of God to say but when you think about it, it is true. We can all be obsessed with ourselves. The 'I' factor is the central part of our focus quite a lot.

Conversion is like enlisting in the army. There's a battle going on and if we're to receive a crown, we have to work and fight for it. It doesn't happen straightaway. DL Moody said:

We have to learn how to watch, fight and overcome. When God and man work together, there will be victory. We are co-workers with Jesus. It is His power that makes the way of grace possible.'

When you consider this, we don't step out of Egypt to the throne of God. There's a wilderness in-between that we have to contend with and this is full of traps and giants and this is where our problems begin. One rule we must remember is, we can't make it on our own. We need Jesus (John 15:5). When we recognise this, the 'I' factor begins to crumble and becomes redundant. The problem is, we still try to go it alone. We can listen to ourselves instead of God. We can please ourselves instead of God. When we live this way, sin prevails because we're living for ourselves.

This is why the Apostle Paul stressed:

'I' have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer 'I' who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which 'I' now live in the flesh, 'I' live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.'           Galatians 2:20.  NKJV

Notice that I have used quotation marks around each 'I' within this text to give this clarity. For us to live our lives in a Christlike manner, we need to die to self - the 'I', and put others first. When we can do this, we are living at a higher standard. We are no longer ourselves but are living for Jesus. The 'I' has been taken out.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Walking by sight or faith?

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

A basic example of walking by faith is, getting up out of your chair and walking to a light switch to flick the light on. Two things happen here, (1) Your mind leads you to want to see more clearly as it is getting dark in the room. To do this, you have to get up and walk. (2) You flick the switch on and you have light. You may feel that is natural but really it is taking for granted that you can walk and that you can see more clearly when you put the light on. Yes, I agree it's taking things for granted that when we do this, it will happen, but it happens because you've accepted it. Imagine living like this all the time as Paul suggests here, 'For we walk by faith, not by sight'. If we would only do this, mighty and wonderful things would be possible in our lives. Expectancy is the key!

Many people walk by sight because they want to see what happens first. It's rather like the chap who told God that he was going to live by faith from now on. However, could God give him a lot of money, just in case things went wrong. You may laugh, but that is not faith. If the priests had not stood in the River Jordan as God had directed, the water would not have separated. They would have stood there forever. (Joshua 3:13).

Jacob walked by sight. He made a vow to God: 

'If God will be with me and keep me in the way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, (21) so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.'  Genesis 28:20-21)

If Jacob could walk by sight, at times, then we will also. It's an in-built thing in our lives. We tend to want to see the future before we take a risk. It's rather like not buying a house because you're scared that if you lose your job you will lose the house also, because you won't be able to afford the mortgage.

We need to lose the fear-mentality and trust God more. Remember, if He said it, He will do it. He doesn't lie, and He won't let you down either. As scary as it can be, this is how God wants us to live. When you think of it, it's putting God in the driving seat. He wants you to trust Him.

Are you ready to do it?

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Brokenheartedness

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

                                                                                                          Psalm 34:18.  NLT

Broken hearts are usually created by the loss of a loved one, either by death or a broken relationship. Of course, there are other areas that can cause this, such as, being ripped off by a trusted friend and losing a large sum of finance, or perhaps, finding out that someone you thought was a close friend, turned out not to be. Whatever caused the pain and hurt, can lead to a deep darkness that is hard to negotiate. It can feel like the bottom of your world has been removed and you are sinking into oblivion. However, don't avoid God at such times as this. It wasn't Him that did this to you. 

At times like this, a person can feel down and useless to everyone, especially God. But God knows that this is a time when you really need Him the most and He wants to hold you tightly and bring you comfort. He is always there to offer strength to the person who seeks Him. Though you may feel defeated at this time, He is closer than you realise. He is always with you and longs to heal your heart.
Take a look at some tips that may help to heal your broken heart:

Face up to the situation
You have to grieve to be able to move on, therefore, face it. If you deny the hurt and the pain and everything that goes with it, it will catch you up later on. So don't deny it - face it.
Let go of the hurt
Let go because there is life out there and it is calling you. It may seem like life has stopped for you at the moment, but outside, it is still moving on, so join it. To do this you need to detach yourself from the hurt. I must stress that this detachment is from the pain, not the person. If someone has died, the last thing you want to do is to forget them. It is the hurt that does the damage - not eating or sleeping properly and neglecting your self. Let go of that.
Testing time - check out your strengths
As you're searching for a way through the pain, try out new things. There could be hobby that you have thought about doing but not got round to it yet. It could also mean, visiting new places - a new adventure or chapter in your life.
Internalising the situation
Acceptance is the only way forward. There is nothing you can do to change the situation. Searching for reasons why this had to happen will lead to nowhere. It has and there is really only one way to go, and that is forward.
There will always be regret and the feeling that you wish you had done things differently. However, freedom from pain and regret is what you need and I know a man that can give you just that - His name is Jesus!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

 

Don't make assumptions

"Don't be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbour deals you a shameful defeat."

                                                                                                          Proverbs 25:8.  NLT

It is so easy to make assumptions about something or someone. We can believe that we are certain about something even though we have no proof whatsoever. When we go down this road, we are heading for big problems, a lot of pain, embarrassment and loss of integrity.

In the above example, Solomon speaks about the folly of someone taking another person to court about something; spending a fortune on legal fees and then losing the case. He points out that if you lose, you may be put to shame. However, whatever happens, it will be costly - financially and socially. This can be linked to believing something that isn't true. It may appear so and the devil may pour seeds of doubt and suspicion on it all. But if you're wrong, you will end up with egg on your face and with hostility from the people or person involved that you made assumptions about. You will then end up the loser.

Assumption can be akin to suspicion. It can be anything but becomes something as we focus on it more and more. In fact, it can totally take over our lives leaving us unable to focus or concentrate on anything else. This is the time we need to stop and analyse the suspicion. We can be so suspicious that with every breath we take, we begin assuming that what we are suspicious of, is the truth. If we don't take action at this stage it may lead to disaster. 

Without proof, there really is nothing we can do to address the situation sensibly. We must cease from following the lies of the devil because all he will do is make matters worse. That's what he's like. Instead, what we need to do is:

'Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you'.  1 Peter 5:7   NLT

'Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall'   Psalm 55:22.  NLT

It's always sensible to start with God, because He can be relied on and knows all things. He can save many a heartache.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com