Are you a Mary or a Martha?

"(39)And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His Word. (40) But Martha was distracted with much serving - "              

                                                                                                     Luke 10:38-42.  NKJV

Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, were opposites. Martha was diligent to the extreme in her house chores; Mary wasn't lazy, she just wanted as much of Jesus as she could get.
Jesus was visiting and true to form, Martha wanted everything in place for when He arrived. When He did, Mary sat at His feet (v39) feeding on all He said. This was a posture of Jewish scholars while listening to the Rabbi's. This, Paul mentioned in Acts 22:3, when he wrote that he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel.

Martha didn't do anything wrong, she was just distracted from Jesus by her work. She also wanted Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Martha's biggest problem was not Mary, it was herself. She was becoming irritable because she felt she had so much to do and Mary wasn't helping her. The thing is, Mary had learnt what to do, 'sit at Jesus' feet.' Hardworking Martha, still had to learn this.

At times, we can be so absorbed in what work needs to be done that we miss out on what Jesus wants of us. Many times, He just wants us to sit at His feet and learn, be encouraged and built-up. However, guilt can kick in as we feel that we should be doing this or that and the work takes first place.

There is enough time in every day for every purpose. (Ecclesiastes 3) and it's a matter of getting the balance right. Obviously, if we have a job, there are time commitments and we need to be there to fulfil our task. If we're at home, then perhaps there may be a degree of freedom in our schedule. It's just a matter of fine-tuning.

The warning signs are - if you are becoming irritable and stressed out because you have so much to do, and the workload is taking you from time with Jesus, then you have it wrong. You need to re-group your thoughts. Ask Jesus to show you the best schedule for your day.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

    

There may be trouble ahead

"And Noah began to be a farmer and he planted a vineyard. (21) Then he drank of the wine and was drunk and became uncovered in his tent."        Genesis 9:20-21.  NKJV

After all the mighty work that Noah had performed for God, the last thing you would have thought, that he would go and blow it. But blow it he did. It just goes to show, that no matter how great a work we do for God, we are still susceptible to sin and that sin can lead us to do things we never thought we'd do. Here Noah, after the work of the ark, has settled down and started farming. With this, he has constructed a vineyard and thus, his 'brew your own days' have begun. Noah either didn't know the strength of the alcohol that he had made, or he had begun to enjoy it and decided to go a little further each time. This particular day, Noah has become so intoxicated that he has passed out. His son Ham goes in and finds his father crashed out and naked on his bed. From there, whatever happened we don't know. What we do know is that he went out and told his two brothers about this. Shem and Japheth took a garment with them and walking in backwards, covered their father's shame. Later 'Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done.' (9:24) He then cursed Canaan, who was Ham's son. Why would he do this? David Guzik comes up with a couple of suggestions:

'It may be Noah was abused sexually by one of his sons or relatives. (Ham?) Other's think Ham's only sin here was in seeing Noah's drunken, uncovered state, and that he made fun of him, mocking him as a father and as a man of God. The Hebrew script literally says that Ham,"told with delight", what he saw in his father's tent. He determined to mock his father and was undermining his authority as a man of God. As Noah knew what his younger son had done to him, this seems to indicate that whatever happened to Noah, it was more than one of his sons or grandsons seeing his nudity. This explains the strength of the curse.
                                                                                             David Guzik   Enduring Word

Whatever happened that day to Noah, was of his own making. He took his eyes off the Lord and took an evening off. This all goes to prove what I wrote the other day, about the Christian Walk. We don't step from Egypt to the Throne of God. There's a wilderness in between and that contains giants, and that's where the problems begin. We have to watch every step we take. We can't afford to take time off from our faith. Relax yes, but not at the risk of leaving Jesus out of the equation. He needs to have the central part of our lives - every moment, of every day.

Sadly, we will blow it at times. As careful as we may be, there will be times when we drop our guard; we're human beings. However, if we train ourselves to avoid certain areas that we know are our weaknesses, we will be better placed. We all have weaknesses, and we know where we can let ourselves down. So, avoid them. It would be unwise for someone with a major drink-related problem to frequent a bar. There would be too many temptations. In the same manner, we too should avoid the areas that we know are our weakest. It just makes sense.

Thank goodness, we have Jesus who we can turn to and either ask for help, in our time of need, or confess that we have blown it and receive forgiveness. Where would we be without Him?

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

The Door has Closed

"So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him and the LORD shut the door."

                                                                                                          Genesis 7:16.  NKJV

When a door is closed it's practically impossible to open it again, except possibly by force. But that would make a situation worse and you wouldn't stay there very long. When God closes a door, no-one can open it again. 'He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He opens and no-one shuts, and shuts and no-one opens.' (Revelation 3:7). No matter what a person does, if God closes a door then you will not be able to open it again.

This was how it was on the day that Noah and his family entered the ark. Prior to this, he had preached about how a flood was coming and everyone would be swept away unless they entered the ark. However, they wouldn't listen. So on that tragic day, God shut the door of the ark and the people who wouldn't listen, were left outside and perished. One can imagine how awful it would have been for those left behind, banging on the ark walls to be let in as the flood came and they realised what Noah had said, was true; but too late, being swept away by the mighty surging waters. This reminds me of how it will be on that final day when we stand before the Lord and those who are covered with the blood of Jesus, are allowed into the Kingdom, but those who haven't will be refused entry - forever.

The thing is, when God closes a door, we have to accept this. Until that final door closes on Judgement Day, we have work to do for Jesus. For you, the door may be closing to a certain work. This can be quite scary but also exciting. The scary bit is leaving the comfort zone of where you have settled. The exciting bit can be that God is opening the door to something amazing.
Is a door closing for you? You may not recognise this at first, although there may be signs, such as, you not being used like you used to be or there are so many changes and you just don't fit in anymore. If this is the case accept it and ask God to reveal the door He wants you to walk through. Sometimes it's hard to accept that it's time to move on, but God knows what He is doing, so trust Him.

For the ones who are uncertain about that final door that will close, why not give your life to Jesus, or rededicate yourself right now:

Lord Jesus, Come into my life and be my Lord and Saviour. Forgive my sins and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I am Yours. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Now walk through that open door and don't look back at the one that has closed!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

It may sound bizarre, but just do it.

" (14) Make yourself an ark of gopherwood" - "(22) This Noah did it; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."

                                                                                                   Genesis 6:13-22.  NKJV

Noah could well have thought he was hearing things; I mean, build an ark in the middle of dry land? How would you have reacted to that? Probably the same as most of us, I guess. I think the general consensus would have been, 'That was not God - it was me'. However, amazingly, Noah did it (v22) and it looks like he didn't even question it either. Why? Because he had a close relationship with his Father; Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8). Noah was a just man, blameless and full of integrity. He walked with God. (6:9)

It makes me wonder what his family, friends and neighbours must have thought about this. It is not the norm to build a boat in a desert type environment. They must have felt that he was having a crazy moment, possibly a breakdown. Whatever they thought or said, it didn't prevent Noah fulfilling what God had ordained - what He had commissioned him to do for Him, and this is my point for today.

Over the years, God has told me to do some pretty crazy-sounding things; I'm sure that you've had similar requests from Him. When you're walking close with God; when you're hearing Him on a regular basis and your relationship is close, you will know - without doubt, when God asks you to do something that sounds bizarre, that it is Him, not yourself. You will have no doubt. Others may, but God is not speaking to them, He will be speaking to you . When this happens, it doesn't matter what people say or think about it - just do it! Don't let it prevent you fulfilling what God is asking you to do.

It may sound bizarre, it may even sound loopy but when you are close to God, you will know that He is speaking to you. It may be a test; it may be genuine. Whatever it is, do it. People may try to talk you out of it but don't let them; God will continue to confirm it to you. Really, it may be better not to tell anyone, or as few people as possible, but if you do, prepare yourself that they may not agree.

Thank goodness that Noah obeyed God, doing what He asked. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

A Contrite Spirit

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."                                                                                          Psalm 34:18.  NKJV

Contrition is being sincerely remorseful about a wrongdoing. There is a deep remorse, regret and sorrow about what has happened. It can be described as being broken with the greatness of the calamity.

When we have fallen into sin, we need this. It's a deep Godly sorrow. Without it, a marital partner may tell their other half that they are sorry for shouting and being rude to them and then do the very same thing the next day, and be back to square one. If there isn't contrition, then there will be no full repentance.

Let's be honest, we can do things like this on a regular basis with each other. Afterwards, we feel so guilty; so full of shame and regret that we can tend to close down and even avoid God because we feel so unworthy. But God knows that when this happens, we need Him the most and He longs to comfort us, His strength being always available. Some days we can never seem to get things right. Oh, we mean well, but things go pear-shaped and instead of saying and doing what we know is right, a lot of old garbage utters out of our mouths and by then, it's difficult to change things. We know this, so we end up going down into the doldrums because we feel so awful. But take comfort, when we're under conviction, it's a sure sign that God is with us, because if God didn't reign in us, we would have no remorse at all - no Godly sorrow.

However, what it does flag up is that we need to do some work on these areas in our lives. Start by playing the video back in your mind, of what happened. Identify what you should have done differently and make a note to make some adjustments. You can't change what has happened but, you can change what happens in the future. 

You're not perfect. No one is except Jesus, but you can come pretty close by being a mirror-image of Jesus:

'But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.'

                                                                                                              2 Corinthians 3:18

Look in the mirror and see Jesus in you and decide that whatever mistakes you make, that you're going to learn by them and avoid them in the future.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

 

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