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
Saturday 18 July 2020
Friday 17 July 2020
Lessons from the Prodigal Part 2
"I will arise and go to my father and will say, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you." v18 Luke 15:11-32 NKJV
The Prodigal had hit rock bottom. Nothing he did was right and he was penniless, broken, miserable and unloved. It's at times like this when we realise that we've done things wrong and we don't know what to do to put things right. The answer is staring us in the face - prayer - but sometimes it's the last resort because we don't want to admit that we got it wrong.
The Prodigal realised he had got it wrong and was fed up eating pig food. He was lonely and hungry and that day he made probably the wisest choice that he had ever made - he would return to his father, repent and ask him if he would allow him to be one of his servants.
Admitting we got it wrong can be difficult. We have to face all of the, 'I told you so's' and 'If you had only listened, but no, you know best.' We have to humble ourselves; get rid of the pride and be ready to take all of the ridicule on the chin. It's not easy but it can be life-changing.
Elton John wrote a song entitled, 'Sorry, seems to be the hardest word,' and it's so true. It takes grit to admit when you're in the wrong. Married couples can struggle in this area quite a lot. One partner may be quick to admit they were wrong and say they are sorry. The other partner may not be so willing to give in for hours or possibly weeks, inwardly fuming until they calm down and accept the apology. The 'sorry' word seems to stick in our mouths.
When we accept someone's apology, we set two people free - the person and yourself. We daily ask God to forgive us for the wrongs we have committed and expect Him to forgive us. But why should He if we are holding a grudge against someone and won't forgive them. (Mark 11:25-26)
Perhaps things are not going well in your life at the moment. Do you think that you need to go to someone and say you're sorry or, 'I forgive you?' Until you do, things won't change. We have to come to the Father first, He will then do the rest. Until then, there is an impasse; things are going nowhere.
As we shall see tomorrow, things certainly began to improve for the Prodigal as soon as he returned home to his father and apologised. You know they'll change for the better for you as well!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Thursday 16 July 2020
Lessons from the Prodigal Part 1
"Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood." v12 Luke 15:11-32. NKJV
At a father's death Jewish Law allotted one-third of the estate to the younger son and two-thirds to the elder. A Jewish father was allowed to put this into operation before his death.
This request by the younger son demonstrated his selfishness and a rebellious attitude. Unlike the elder son, he couldn't wait to leave home and be independent. This can be the hallmark of the young. Some just can't wait to leave and set up home on their own. They think they know best and refuse to listen to reason. However, many adults can fit into this category too. Some have fancy jobs and spend money like it is going out of fashion. Others don't have a job, but still live at a good level living on plastic, getting more and more into debt.
The younger son was no different. He had money which drew many false friends. However, as soon as the money had run out, they didn't want to know. He had joined himself to the wrong Covenant. (v15) He had left the Covenant he had lived with his father and their Godly environment, and had walked into the lion's den which was aimed at ruining his life.
Many people are doing this today! When we become born again, we entered into a blood Covenant with God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. We were all joined together under the protection and love of this relationship - this Covenant. When we walk away from the Covenant, we take upon ourselves the responsibility to care for ourselves. We become selfish, possibly because we want things NOW! When we do this, we're listening to and being guided by a counterfeit - Satan. He is only too pleased to take us off the narrow path. He'll feed us with lies and false promises that all lead to heartache. Many have left the safety and love of our Covenant relationship with Our Father and have lived in sin, sickness and total regret. Some have even died early.
Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' John 14:6. Have you walked away from Jesus? If not, have you been considering doing this? STOP RIGHT NOW! Is it really worth it? What can be gained by leaving God out of your life? Isn't it time you returned to Him and started living 100% for Him?
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
Tuesday 14 July 2020
Are you overcoming?
"For whoever is born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. (5) Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5. NKJV
DL Moody writes:
'Every temptation you overcome makes you stronger to overcome others. And every temptation that defeats you, makes you weaker. You can become weaker and weaker or stronger and stronger. Sin takes the strength out of your vitality, but Godly character makes you stronger. If you're not overcoming temptations, the world is overcoming you.' The Overcoming Life.
Note the phrase, 'Sin takes the strength out of your vitality.' It is true, sin drags a person down; it ages us and brings a fear that one day they may get caught out as God reveals it, whatever sin it may be. Sin is a robber, when we're tempted into this, it robs us of all of our joy, strength and our very integrity. If God was to reveal to the world what we're really like, we would hang our heads in shame. Thank goodness for Jesus who pleads for our very soul and stands in the gap.
This doesn't mean that it's ok. We have to stand up to temptation and say, 'No - never again,' and then by the faith God gave us at the new birth, live the life of an overcomer. It's not easy. We are all guilty of certain things that we do and say, and whatever that is, sin is sin. It can't be measured by thinking it was only a small sin. No, some sins are not worse that others. They are all measured the same.
Be honest, what sin are you falling to on a regular basis? What is robbing you of the blessing God wants to pour upon you? He has so much that He wants to give us but sin prevents Him. What have you been waiting on God for but it has been some time now, and it doesn't look like coming? Could sin be blocking this?
We know deep down when we have hurt God. We carry a never-ending burden of guilt and it won't go away until we have repented. But then, we do it again. God doesn't give up on us; He only sees the best in us. However, the rewards that He has for us are put on hold until we are in a position where the devil can no longer point an accusing finger at us. When we're in that position - and we can be - then the blessing will come zooming our way!
Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard
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
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