This is a blog that centres on Jesus Christ - my Lord and Saviour. My aim is to describe how He has helped over the years, together with offering daily teaching and encouragement
Tuesday 14 July 2020
Monday 13 July 2020
Spiritual Recognition Part 2
"She turned round and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus."
John 20:14. NKJV
Appearances change. When you haven't seen someone in a while, it can be hard to recognise them. Their hair may be different and their weight may have changed to what you remember. This can throw us at first. It was no different for Mary. She didn't recognise Jesus until He spoke to her. He had accomplished all He had been sent to do and was now ready to return to His Father.
Ezekiel 1:28 says: 'Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.'
This refers to God in all His fullness, especially as He interacts with man. And this is how He appeared to Mary. She saw the Glory of the Lord that day, in all its fullness, and this was why she didn't recognise Him at first. He had changed. Gone was the agony of the cross and the sickness, death and sin He carried there. This was the Glory-Filled Jesus and He chose to speak with Mary to ease her devastation.
And He will choose to speak with you as well, as you call on Him. Why? You may ask. Because when you sent Him a friend request, He accepted it, and now you belong to Him and what's more, He sees you filled with the glory of God. To Jesus, you have the appearance of His glory all around you. You may not think this, but on the day you said, 'Yes', to Him, your appearance changed and you are now a mirror-image of the resurrected Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).
You may see yourself as a failure because you keep letting God down. He sees you as He does His Son and loves you as much too. (John 17:23). You may let Him down endlessly throughout the day, but He looks at you and sees the glory of God all around you. You may feel like turning away from Him, but He can't let you go. He'll watch over you and love you until you return to Him.
If He thinks you're great, then live like this. You have the appearance of Jesus, so see yourself as this. The devil doesn't like you because he knows your potential and threat you can cause. If he recognises this, stand up and recognise it yourself in the appearance of the Living God. You are His son; His daughter; His chosen vessel and precious friend.
You can do no wrong in His eyes!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Sunday 12 July 2020
Spiritual Recognition
"Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus." v14
John 20:11-16. NKJV
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' closest friends. Many people in the Western Church believe she was the sister of Lazarus and Martha. However, this is not certain. What is certain is, she visited the tomb after Jesus' burial and found it empty. Devastated, she began to weep. She saw Jesus there but didn't recognise Him. He asked her why she was weeping and who she was looking for. At first, she thought that He may have taken Jesus' body away and asked where He was. As she looked back at the tomb, He said, 'Mary', which in Hebrew is 'Mariam' and Greek for 'Maria'. David Guzik comments: 'Jesus didn't reveal Himself to Mary by telling her who He was, but by telling her who she was to Him.' Mary instantly knew He was Jesus because no one else would have spoken her name with so much emotion.
The thing is, why didn't she recognise Him straightaway? He appeared different to her His appearance was different. Now there could have been two reasons for this:
(1) Mary was so distressed that the tears in her eyes were blinding her. It's possible; stress patterns of grief can be so painful and intense.
(2). Others feel it was the release of all the sin and sickness that Jesus had carried for all of us. When Mary had last seen Jesus, He was on the cross. He had the pangs of death upon Him, together with the sin of the world and all of our sicknesses. It was a terrible burden to carry, as well as the pain He was undergoing. However, He had beaten all of it and when she first saw Him again, He looked totally different - radiant, stress and sin free - the Risen Son of God.
At this present stage in our lives, we live in a body that is subject to sin, sickness and pain. We get older and parts of our body wear out in the process. And when we meet with someone we haven't seen in a while, we notice the difference that life has enforced upon us. Sometimes, it is hard to recognise someone. Age cannot be avoided and when it's coupled with sin and sickness, it can be so noticeable. But take heed, we will have new bodies when we reach Heaven. They will not wear out or be subject to sin or sickness ever again. In fact, we'll be just like Jesus - liberated and sin free.
That's a promise!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Saturday 11 July 2020
Have Amazon got it?
"but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." v14
John 4:13-15. NKJV
In the past four months or so, during Lockdown, it has been difficult to get essentials from stores. In fact, we have had to queue for ages to find, half of the things we require, are not on the shelves.So some of us have had to shop online and that too, has brought problems when the things we ordered, have not turned up. It's been a time of frustration but, hopefully, this is in the past now.
Quite often we have been tempted to buy essentials from Amazon, and I dare say many of us have done this. They have practically everything we need and can be relied on. Or can they? They may have most things that the average human being needs but not everything. What about peace? Amazon may well give us peace of mind in being able to fill the gap where other stores have failed to help us, but are we at peace? Is the peace of mind everlasting or short-lived until the next order?
Amazon may well have met our needs materially and we are very grateful for that. But it is not everlasting. It is not eternal. We have to keep on ordering if we want to keep the peace of mind. Do you remember the Samaritan Woman at the well? Jesus told her about the water - Living Water, that will never run out:
'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (15) The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.' John 4:13-15
This is the major difference, the world's way of looking after us is stunted, it can only serve us as long as we order. What Jesus offers us is far more permanent; far more reliable and far more beneficial. The Samaritan Woman realised this when she asked Him to give her the water so she wouldn't have to keep returning for more.
We're still not completely out of Lockdown yet, but Jesus has all we need to survive this and whatever else may come against us.
He never runs out of things!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Do you know the password?
"Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of Glory shall come in." v7 Psalm 24. NKJV
In this incredible day of technology, we have passwords for everything; in fact, so many that we forget most of them. But they are vital for opening doors online or in buildings. We can do nothing without them.
Really, it was no different in David's day. He wrote Psalm 24 to signify the ark of the covenant returning from Philistine hands into the Israelites hands. (2 Samuel 6:11-18) It was assumed that when a king approached the gates of a city, a voice would cry out, 'Open the gates.' The reply from inside would be, 'Who is there?' 'It is the king.' The doors would then open.
The term, 'the King of Glory shall come in,' v 7 was fulfilled when:
(1) The ark of the covenant returned to Jerusalem
(2). Jesus ascended into Heaven Acts 1:9-10
(3) And when and individual's heart opens to Jesus as King Rev 3:20
When God is welcomed with open gates and doors, He is pleased to come in. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. James 4:8. But this is where the password comes in - Jesus. He is the password; He has the key to Heaven. We'll never make it without the key; we'll never make it, if we neglect the password. The question may be asked - 'Who is this King of Glory?' Our answer must be Jesus.
But we need to clean up our act! We need to change things we know are not fit in the Kingdom of God. 'What things?' You may ask. The things that make us feel overwhelmed with guilt when we've done or said something we know to be wrong. V3-5 says, 'Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? (4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol. Nor sworn deceitfully. (5) He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.'
It is clean up time! A time for refining our walk with Jesus. We have the password and we have the invitation. If we stood before a king, wouldn't we be clean and spruced up. We need to be more so for Jesus.
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Don't blow your own trumpet!
"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (6) Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."
1 Peter 5:5-6. NKJV
When you've done something for God that you're really pleased with, do you seek other people's praise and approval? We all like to be appreciated and thought well of, so consequently we look for praise from people for what we have done. When we do this, we become a trumpet player, announcing to whoever will listen, our latest feat. This can happen if you preach a sermon, lead worship or perhaps give a prophecy. However, God does not want us to be this way.
It is so easy to become proud and arrogant, only doing what we choose to do not always what God has in mind. We may find ourselves saying things like, 'I'll preach but I'm not sweeping the car park or washing up. I know my ministry,' God resists this type of attitude.
One of the main things God looks for in us, is submission. Submission to Him and to His Word. We should also be submissive to each other not thinking higher of ourselves. A closer look at Jesus will give us an idea of what true submission is. He put others first and was always willing to help when He was asked. He became angry at times, yes, but it was righteous anger, the type that confronted people from making a mockery of the temple by trading in there. He also became righteously angry with the Pharisees, who treated people like second-class citizens. But He also had compassion. Look how he dealt with the young woman who was caught in adultery (John 8). He showed her the love and forgiveness of God. He didn't wag a finger at her, or rule over her, He was just honourable; something she had probably never seen in a man and something that would be life-changing for her.
He was submissive even to the cross, knowing the pain He would suffer but realising there was no other way to give each one of us freedom and a new life. He never once blew His own trumpet. He didn't have to, others did it for Him. They saw His works, His love and compassion and they wanted to be with Him.
Play another tune on your trumpet, such as, 'Jesus is Lord, Thine be the Glory and Amazing Grace'. Allow Jesus to give you His approval, not others. That is the highest honour.
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Thursday 9 July 2020
'God, it's not fair'
12 “Look at these men of arrogance; they never have to lift a finger—their's is a life of ease; and all the time their riches multiply.” 13 Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure? 14 All I get out of it is trouble and woe—every day and all day long! Psalm 73:12-14 Living Bible
Asaph appears to be having a right old whinge at God and what he says, we can easily identify with. There are times when we feel just the same - taken for granted, trod on and left out of things, where others prosper and are thought well of. We can well identify with Asaph's words, 'Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure? All I get out of it is trouble and woe - every day and all day long.' (v13-14) We all go through times when we feel if serving God is worth it, especially when we see people who are not Christians, and don't serve the Lord, living in comfort and prosperity, while we do serve God and at times are scrimping and scraping. We can then easily utter, 'God, it's not fair.' However, our obedience to God is never in vain. Asaph reminds us in Psalm 73:16-19 that we are reaping a harvest in eternity. The rich and yet unsaved, may be having a great time with their wealth and sinful living, but it will all come to an end one day. What they sow they will reap and if they don't reap Jesus, then it's all been in vain and they will spend eternity - lost! As for us, things may be tough at present but be joyful; things will get better and we have an eternity with Jesus to reap.
'Yes but - .' But nothing. Used in this context, the word, 'but', is so negative so try to leave it out of your vocabulary. Only speak words that will build yourself up. (Ephesians 4:29). Phrases such as, 'I'm fed up, bored and can't see the point in anything', are so negative and will only drag you down. Try this kind of approach, 'I'm a bit down today, but God is still on the throne and I praise Him for that.'
Joy is strength. As we praise God and begin to feel good about ourselves, we become stronger and more able to get through temporary setbacks. Things will always come against us, but like David, encourage and strengthen yourself in the Lord. (1 Samuel 30:6-8) God is fair, very fair and that is only one of the many benefits of being His child. Whatever we go through, He walks beside us and wants us to involve Him in this , especially when we come against a problem. Why struggle when the King of kings is by your side?
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
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