Trials and Tribulations

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."                   1 Peter 1:6-7.  NKJV

Often we are tempted to ask, 'Why?' when we are undergoing problems, trials and upsets. It is not easy for anyone. Some people tell us that God stretches our faith at these time to see how we handle the situation. From these two verses that seems the case. God wants the genuineness  of our faith to reign so that as we go through this period, we are still able to praise and rejoice in Him. Craig W Hagin says, 'No matter what, I am still happy, because God is on the Throne and He has things in control.'

Let's face it, how would we ever learn to trust God if we never experienced times where we know that He's the only one that can help us? He wants all of the impurities to bubble to the surface as He refines us, so that we have a solid confidence in Him - whatever we go through.

The key to finding the ability to rejoice in trials, can be found in James 1:2-3, 'My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.'  

The key to finding joy in adversity, is where we place our focus. If we focus on the trial, we'll be discouraged. If we focus on Jesus, we have access to joy because we know God will help us through the trial.

God wants to teach us not to react to trials emotionally but to respond with faith in His perfect provision. When we do this, we can endure anything because our character is strengthened and our focus is on Him, not the circumstances. 

Whatever situation you are in, God sees it differently. Check out theses amazing verses:

'The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance  of our God; to comfort all who mourn. (3) To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.'   Isaiah 61:1-3   NKJV

There's always a way through with Jesus!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

God is your supplier. Part 3 and this includes the end of Coronavirus

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him I will trust."                                                                                         Psalm 91:1-2.  NKJV

The term, 'Most High', here is Shaddai - Elyon and Almighty is Elohim - The Sublime God. In verse 9 of this Psalm, we see the term the LORD which is Jehovah or Yahweh which is the personal name of God. Again, like yesterday's study in Philippians 2:8-11, we see the Name above all names, our refuge and our King. The Living Bible actually states this: 'For Jehovah is my refuge! I choose the God above all gods to shelter me.' Psalm 91:9 Living Bible.

Did you see that? The God above all gods, Jehovah, Yahweh, Most High, Almighty is there for us to choose Him to take care of us. But we must choose Him!

When things all around us are bleak, when they're crowding us in with stressful areas, sickness, troubles and all other nasty things, God can be relied on to take us to a place of safety - under the shadow of the Most High (v1)

At this time, the world has many fears, and possibly the most prevalent one, is Covid 19. This plague, because that is what it is, has killed very many people throughout our world and people are living in fear that there may be another wave which will attack us again. Let us stop right there for a moment! Check out these verses from this Psalm:

'Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence' v3

Again in v 9-10:

'Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, (10) No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.'

This could'nt be any more clearer, there's a pestilence around the world. It's a plague by the name of Coronavirus or Covid 19; but it is a name and subject to the Name above all names - Jesus Christ of Nazareth - God Himself, our refuge and place of safety.

We should be wise about this plague though, taking all the precautions that are directed by the various governments. However, we are not to be fearful. It is defeated! This plague is in the grave, defeated by the Name above all names.

Who's going to shout Amen first here? Your supplier has even supplied healing by His stripes and when you read Psalm 91, you will see He was prepared for it, many years ago.

Relax and praise God.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

God is your supplier Part 2

"But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"

                                                                                                             Philippians 4:19.  KJV

Let us take a closer look at this verse, breaking it down into relevant key words. Firstly:

MY  You and I belong to Jesus and Him to us. This happened when we accepted Him as our Lord. He is ours, the creator God; the Almighty God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, belongs to us. He is our God.

SHALL  Therefore, He shall - He will look after us . He promises that in this verse. We have no need to worry, He is on our side and has our backs covered. He is our daddy (Abba Father), therefore, He shall, not He might do, but He will do.

ALL  He will supply all we need - not everything we want. He doesn't want us to be greedy, He wants us to be blessed beyond our wildest dreams. (Ephesians 3:20) He has an abundance for us - more than enough, so when we think about it, He has a super-abundance, ear-marked for each one of us. 

NEED  He knows what we need, and He's responsible for us - if we let Him be by putting Him in first place in our lives. If not we then have to sort things out ourselves.

Christ Jesus  He has the Name above all names. (Philippians 2:8-11) There is no other name higher than Jesus' Name. Other names must bow the knee to Him - to His authority. There are so many names that are relevant to us and they must all come under His authority. Among them are:

DEBT  If we surrender our debt to Jesus, repent and say we will be more careful in the future, He will take the lead on this. The debt may not be cancelled out at once, but He will give us the opportunity to be free as time goes on.

SICKNESS  According to 1 Peter 2:24, we are already healed by the stripes of Jesus - by His death on the cross. We just need to exercise our faith and receive it. Jesus put sickness in the grave. We need to trust Him for this manifestation. This is what faith is.

UNEMPLOYMENT  We may need to humble ourselves and take a lower paid job to exercise our trust in Jesus. Benefits may pay more than this job, but they could never be higher than God's benefits. I've been there years ago and it's not easy. But when you show Him that you're willing to do your bit, He'll meet you halfway.

ABUSE, FEAR AND DEPRESSION  These are all delivered to us from the pit of hell. But Jesus is greater than your fear; He can lift that depression and He can and will, deal with the abuser in your life. But again, we need to trust Him; He is watching and waiting for your call. There is no name that is greater than the Name of Jesus. He will make any of these names bend the knee. Read and claim Philippians 2:8 - 11.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

 

God is your supplier

"My purpose is to give life in all its fullness"                              John 10:10.  Living Bible

A look  at the word 'Fullness', shows it is translated abundance. It is actually God's desire to give us life in abundance, in fact, more abundantly (John 10:10 NKJV). This means everything: life, health, happiness, prosperity - you name it. God's wish is to bless us as we walk in obedience to His Word.

The thing is, we need to trust Him; we need to believe that He wants the very best for us. This is where our faith Comes in. We see in 2 Corinthians 5:7, that we walk by faith, not by sight. This means we have to trust that, no matter what, He will meet our need from His riches in Glory (Philippians 4:19). We may not see it now, but as we look through the eyes of faith it becomes a reality. Our job is to reach out and take it by faith - to receive it.

However, if we want God to be a giver to us, we must be a giver to Him. This is where tithing comes in. Charles F Stanley writes, 'God has set forth very specific directives about what He expects us to give back to Him. Malachi 3:8-12 clearly teaches us that we are to give Him a tithe, which is 10% of what we produce or earn. ' The word 'tithe', is based on the number ten in Hebrew.

Sometimes believers fail to give what God calls them to because they feel they will not have enough to live on. The thing is, we cannot outgive God. Be confident that He will give to you and meet your need because you're following Him in obedience.

God longs for us to walk in faith with Him. Jesus explained it clearer in Mark 11:22-24 (read it for full understanding). Whenever we ask God for something in prayer, we are to believe that we receive them and we will have them. Oral Roberts used to say, 'Doubt and do without, with faith, believe and receive - expect a miracle.'

Notice those last three words - Expect a miracle. We pour doubt on things too much. We ask God for something and then cancel it out with doubt by confessing, 'I still feel unwell,' or 'We'll never get through this financial crisis.' Stop the 'I can't' and replace it with, 'I can, with God's help.'

Why not believe for a miracle today? Believe and receive; in other words ,'Take it'.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Lessons from Proverbs 4. - Part 3

"Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. (25) Let you eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. (26) Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. (27) Do not turn to the right or left; remove your foot from evil."                                              Proverbs 4:24 - 27.  NKJV

The Living Bible translates v24 as: 'Spurn the careless kiss of a prostitute. Stay far from her.' This paraphrased verse offers the reader a warning to stay on the right path of the just and advises us, to give much attention to our lives. Deceitful and perverse words are used to cover up deceitful actions, as are what we look at and the feelings this may stir up. This is a warning to us all as it is so easy to take a wrong turn and be lost.

The paraphrase of this verse, paints a picture of how dangerous it is when we become sidetracked. Charles F Stanley writes: 'God calls us to stay spiritually alert at all times, and that includes taking regular inventory of our lives' directions. What you allow to affect your heart, influences everything in your life. If you are constantly occupied with wicked and worldly matters, that is what will flow forth from you.' The Spirit Filled Bible commenting on this says, 'How Solomon would have profited by following his own advice.' This is probably true of us all; we must live up to what we confess. This is what attracts people to Jesus, not hypocrisy.

We have to keep our eyes on the ball. If a goalkeeper keeps looking to the right and the left and not on where the ball is, this is where someone will score a goal. Do you get the picture? Our spiritual concentration needs to be constantly focused on Jesus. This helps us to keep on the path of the just. We need to keep checking and re-checking our words, our attitude and how we handle things each day. Deceipt and perverse talk are from the pit as are unwholesome thoughts. We have to regularly keep a watch on these areas, looking straight ahead. If we see something that is not what we should look at, keep going and don't look back. If we do, we can get hooked and reeled in. In other words, we need to be wise and never walk into potential evil situations.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Lessons from Proverbs 4 - Part 2

"Keep you heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."    
                                                                                                            Proverbs 4:23.  NKJV

Talking around Matthew 12:33-35, Derek Prince said, 'When the heart is filled it overflows through the mouth, and that overflow tells us the real condition of the heart.' It comes down to what particular fruit we are bearing - good fruit or bad fruit. There is so much temptation around that each of us has to make a concentrated effort to stay on the straight and narrow.

What we watch on TV, or what particular movies we favour play a part in how we operate in our lives. If we're not careful we can be easily influenced and encouraged to let our guard down and, 'take a night off Christianity'. After all, no-one will know, will they - will they? Well for one thing, we may be very careful but we'll never be able to hoodwink God. He sees and hears all.

This is why this verse tells us clearly to, 'Keep your heart with all diligence'. Actually, the word, 'Keep', can be translated 'Guard' - hence, 'Guard your heart with all diligence'. This makes it sound more serious and it is. When we guard something, we keep a watchful eye on it. This needs to be done on a regular basis so that the thief doesn't break in. If scripture tells us, 'the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,' (1 Peter 5:8) we get the picture that this is very serious business indeed. Therefore, we need to be watchful.

If you've ever noticed the rituals of a Meerkat, you will see this in action. The one's on guard will stand and watch non-stop, looking in many directions. They know it's their responsibility to keep the others safe as there are many predators ready to attack them. Remember, someone once said, 'When the floods came, Noah wasn't in the dark, he was in the ark'. (Genesis 7). Be ready and alert.

We need to protect and guard our heart with all diligence. We know from experience that most unbelievers never read a bible, they read us instead and they're very diligent about it too. One small mistake on our part and it goes around the neighbourhood like a rocket out of a gun. This is why it is so damaging when a leading Christian is caught in some particular scandal. It causes the body of Christ much pain.  and the newspapers love to print these type of stories.

Each of us, have a responsibility to Jesus. He calls us His friends. This means He trusts us. Isn't that amazing? Jesus Christ of Nazareth, trusts us. May we always attempt to protect His Name and live up to our calling.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com

Lessons from Proverbs 4

"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. (21) Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; (22) for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh."                     Proverbs 4:20-22.  NKJV

One of the most important things during a counselling session, is for the counsellor to show they are actually listening properly. Looking out of the window or checking the time on a watch, just shows the person that they are not being listened to properly. Good attending skills are extremely important.

In the same way, we need to give attention to God's Word. We can so easily be distracted. In church, some may be more concerned that someone has sat in their regular seat than what is being taught. It is also, so easy to drift off, especially when there is a pressing schedule of things to be done at home. We need to focus on what is being said and what is happening. It is the same at church or at home, distractions happen.

Solomon mentions the words, 'Incline your ear.' Again, this is ensuring that we are listening properly. To incline the ear, means to slightly lean forward to show that people have your attention - that you're taking notice. This helps us to focus more and again, shows the listener that you are actually listening. You often see this on the TV, where a news reporter leans forward as they speak to who they're interviewing. 

We need God's Word! It's as important to our spiritual well-being as food and drink are to our physical bodies. Without it, we will die. God's Word contains power - power to change situations, to prosper us and to heal our bodies. Note in v23 that Solomon says, 'for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.' God's Words are vitally important.
God gives us many promises in the bible but if we don't read it, we won't be able to find the relevant verses we need to confess and stand on, when we need them. The Word of God gives us life; it changes our outlook on things. It refreshes, empowers and edifies us. Life in this world can be so negative and violent. Politicians say one thing and then do another. It can be so daunting and unreliable. But God's Word is 100% reliable!

Let us all learn the art of giving attention to what God is telling us in His Word. One moment, you can be in a complete quandary, the next, POW - something wonderful has happened. What is it? God has given life to His Word and health to our flesh. However, it only comes by, 'Inclining the ear'.

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com