The Act of Covetousness

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have." 

                                                                                                 Hebrews 13:5.  NKJV

There is a fear attached to covetousness. At times, to covet is to pursue, urgently, what another person has with a strong need that it must be attained at all costs, even if it means getting into debt. It can be a love of money or belongings - a desire to be better than others. It includes seeking personal recognition and wanting power over other people. A need to be the centre of attention can be an indicator, together with a craving for what other people possess.

God wants us to be content with what He has provided, but jealousy and envy can often take over our urgency, causing us to want more. When this happens, God is not pleased as we can see from Psalm 106:13-15:

'They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel,

(14) but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness; and tested God in the desert,

(15) and He gave them their request, but sent leaness into their soul.'

God had rescued the Israelites from captivity and was leading them to a bright new future. However, they moaned and groaned and wanted things now! They were never satisfied; so consequently they paid the price and didn't receive their blessing.

Some people covet people's houses, wealth, wife or husband, car, job and their success. When they see what others have in comparison to what they possess, they become ungrateful, and then are never satisfied. Some have said that covetousness is akin to ambition - wanting to succeed and be happy; and some of this may well be true. But God knows whether it is ambition or greed; there is a major difference. We really should have a strong need to be content with what we have. It could so easily be taken away from us in the blink of an eye.

If our goals in life are God-centred, He will help us to achieve them. But if we're asking Him for something just because a neighbour or relative have it, we will be disappointed. Covetousness is the total opposite of contentment and there is a need to check ourselves to ascertain which one we lean towards. He will not smite us from the face of the earth, if we lean towards covetousness. He knows we're only human and have many weaknesses. However, He will expect us to monitor this and make some changes. If we do, He will keep sending us blessings. If we don't receive many blessings, we will have an idea that we still have some tweaking to do.

Where do you stand on this? Are you content with what you have but have the ambition to want to make some positive changes? If so, you will be blessed. If you lean towards covetousness, lay it before Jesus and ask Him to help you get things right. God has so much for each of us and therefore, we have no need to want what others have.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Dying to Self

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."                          John 12:24.  NKJV

Here, Jesus was redefining His impending death. He had to die to fulfil His Father's plan. Once He had, He would produce much more grain - or fruit. It's the same for you and I. To bear the fruit that Jesus expects from each of us - our potential, we have to die - die to self. This requires leaving behind all of our bad habits and often our possessions and living fully for Jesus.

Martin Luther was reported as saying to a visitor who had called asking for him, 'Martin Luther has died, Jesus Christ lives here now.' Not many of us would explain things that way but Martin Luther was unique. He lived totally for Jesus, in fact, he was sold out for Jesus, and was willing to let the world know this fact.

Dying to self means just that. 'Self' has reigned in our lives for too long and we need to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. When we live a selfish life, no one else gets a look in, we are totally self-centred and focused on what we want, not what others need from us. But how do we die to self, satisfactorily? Well, it takes strict discipline on our part and we'll probably fail many times in the process of this transformation. Bob Gass suggests that we, 'Find a cause bigger than yourself and give your life to it. Do something that's not for you and watch what happens.' Now that is wise counsel and it works; however, it costs us and it takes all we've got.

A dead body no longer responds to whatever we do or say. A pin could be pricked into the body but there would be no response. This is because, it is dead to reaction. When you are living this way, people can say or do whatever they wish but you, will not react in the way you may have done before the transformation.

Making Jesus the most important part of your life and living in His Word, will change your thinking and the way you react to any given situation. You are dying to self and living for Jesus. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. It takes great commitment to be able to live this way. When we take on the non-reactionary ways, together with the No Attack - No Defence principle, we are headed for victory, but don't forget, still open for attack. The devil does not like you and he'll like you all the less for the changes you have made. It means, he'll have to change his tactics and try harder, so make sure your armour is on before you go into battle. Remember, you're not only a winner but you're a new creation too. (Galatians 2:20)

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Light exploded through the darkness

"Then God said, 'Let there be Light,' and there was light."            Genesis 1:3   NKJV

Have you ever imagined what it was like prior to God giving this command? Genesis 1:2 tells us that the earth was without form; it was totally empty and dark. But the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. Wherever the Spirit of God is, there is life! Your life may be void, empty and lonely at this time but God's Spirit is looking over the situation, waiting for you to call to Him.

Do you realise that there would have been nothing else on the earth except the Lord Almighty? There wasn't even a weed because weeds hadn't yet come into existence. There was not even a fox barking in the dead of night, eyes glistening. There was nothing, until - LET THERE BE LIGHT, and there was light, and that light exploded through the darkness!

We can be in a situation where there appears to be nothing. Nobody around to be our friend, nobody around to walk or sit with and then, POW, God explodes through the situation and brings life. Let me say one thing, you may be all alone with no one to give you love or be your friend, but Jesus is watching over you and as you call out to Him, He explodes into your very existence, because He loves you.

Notice that the Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters but nothing happened until the Word of God was spoken. God spoke - the Spirit acted. As you call out to Him, He will speak into your situation and changes will be made. Only God can create something out of nothing. You may feel that you have nothing in the whole world, but placed in the hands of the King of kings, you can have everything.

God was walking around the Garden of Eden one day when He suddenly called to Adam, 'Where are you?' (Genesis 3:9). Just imagine that God is calling out to you today, asking the same question, what will be your reply? I believe His reason for asking this question is to get you to consider your spiritual position at the moment. So this could include, 'Are you at peace, are you contented?' or, 'Are you full of fear and anxiety?' 

Consider these questions and any others that be flagged up and answer them honestly. Mentally, have you all you need at this time, or is your mind full of turmoil and worry? Only you know the answers to these question, but the Spirit of God is hovering over you waiting for you to respond to what He is asking, 'Where are you?' The answer to this question will determine what type of day you will have today.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Rubber balls

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." 

                                                                                                     Ephesians 5:18.  NKJV

God spoke to me this morning as I was walking our dog. He quite simply said, 'You're like a rubber ball.' He went on to describe how a rubber football, gets filled with air, but with all the kicking around it receives, gradually it loses it's capacity to perform well. The air has been emitted and it needs blowing back up. God went on to say that we're all like that rubber ball - spiritually. We become filled with God's Spirit but because of the knocks and kicks we receive in life, we need to ensure that we're topped up on a regular basis with the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we become flat.

In today's verse, the footnotes in the Spirit Filled Life Bible read, 'The tense of the Greek for, 'be filled,' makes clear that such a Spirit filled condition does not stop with a single experience, but is maintained by continually being filled as commanded here.'

To be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, we have to be in the right place. What I mean by this is, we need to be open to God wherever we are and at whatever time of day or night. If we fail to do this, we risk being flat at some stage. Gradually, all that we have taken in by bible study and walking with God, gets used up and we become spiritually flat. To overcome this, we need to continually, day by day, fill our lives with God's Word and presence.

Remember, a rubber ball gets kicked. In a game of football it is kicked away by a defender or kicked in the direction of the opposing goal. As Christians, every now and again, we get kicked. We may be kicked out of a job through redundancy. We may also be kicked out of our home if we don't pay the mortgage or rent. We may also be kicked out of places where we're not welcome and where we don't fit in. The kicks hurt and do a lot of damage. We can end up spiritually crushed. But rubber balls also bounce; they bounce back. They don't remain still, they keep on bouncing until they have no bounce left.

You may have been kicked around in one way or another. You may be feeling flat and crushed with all of your air forced out of your body. Don't stay down. Pick up your bible, sing a praise song, pray and get re-filled with the Spirit, email me and I'll pray for you, then bounce back into the game. Like that rubber ball, when you're kicked, bounce back; score that goal no matter who tries to kick you out of the way.

Be filled with the Spirit, every day; in fact at all times. You've a goal to score, no matter who kicks you, bounce your way into that goal because, you're a winner. And winner's score goals.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Lies and deceit

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 

                                                                                             2 Corinthians 10:4-5.  NKJV

We're not dealing with flesh and blood here but against the devil and his demonic forces that try to take us out night and day. In this passage, Paul discusses warfare of the mind - arrogant rebellious ideas and attitudes, which he describes as arguments. The aim is to bring every disobedient thought into captivity and make it obedient to Christ. 

Note here in verse 5 where Paul mentions, 'every high thing.' May I put it to you that it is only classed as high because we make it so. Through schemings, the devil convinces us that a particular thing is more important or damaging than it actually is. He convinces us, if we allow him, to believe what he says, and the problem goes sky high.

Bill Johnson says: 'The enemy uses lies to make problems appear bigger than the solutions we carry.' In other words, 'Your prayers won't help in this instance. You've blown it, you will not get to Heaven now, you're a loser.' Do not believe him. He is a liar! Remember what Bob Gass says about fear - (F) False, (E) Evidence, (A) Appearing, (R) Real. If we allow him to, the devil will convince us of something and we'll end up believing the lie. Nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. Make your every thought subject to Jesus. If you continue to think about Him, the devil won't have the opportunity to get in. But the moment you drop your guard, he'll be there.

One of the Devil's favourite schemes is to attack the mind. If we allow him, he will sow seeds of doubt into our minds, and before too long, we'll begin to believe it. We'll be convinced that it is true. What he likes to do is convince us that our partner is being unfaithful to us. He'll twist it so much that the false evidence that he provides, does in fact appear real. When this happens, we're on a downward spiral. We could ask our partner if this is true - are they being unfaithful? But their response of, 'No' can fall on dear ears because we have been programmed to believe the lie. 

You may be undergoing this or something similar at this time. Don't believe the false evidence; take it captive and make it obedient to Christ. Get some proof seeking God first. 99.5% of the time, you'll be wrong and the stress and the heartache of it all will have taken its toll.

Seek God, don't believe the lie. If there is anything untoward, God will bring it to the light and reveal it. The solution to this problem is to cast it over to Jesus and refuse to believe the lie. Don't forget, one of the roots of 'Fear', is torment, and this comes from the enemy, not God.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Ask Him, Believe Him and He will do it!

 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it"                               John 14:14.  NKJV

Here Jesus makes a promise, 'ask me anything in My name, I will do it." Not might, but I will; not I'll think about it and let you know but, it's on the way. Many people will deny this fact; all they want to do is go around telling people what a hard time they're having. Dwight L Moody observes, 'I believe they carry their troubles in their back pocket and bring them out at every opportunity.'

However, we can't get away from the fact that Jesus said this. But we need to stay connected to God as our provider. He wants to bless and prosper us. He wants to multiply your finances, exceedingly, so that you have more than enough. But you need to walk closely with Him; get your life in order and then ask Him and believe you receive without any doubt at all. If you doubt, you'll go without.

Don't limit God. The Israelites did this in the wilderness and went without: 'Yes, again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.' (Psalm 78:41 NKJV). Doubt is small thinking; it's negative thinking and it's forgetting what God has done in the past. Jesus said to Bartimaeus, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' (Mark 10:51) Bartimaeus replied, 'that I might receive my sight.' And Bartimaeus saw! 

Jesus says the same to you, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' If you need it, you could say, 'Lord, I want my own house, will You buy it for me please?' Do you believe that He could and would, do this if you asked? Or do you believe that He may consider it? There's a major difference. Jesus said to ask Him for anything we want or need. So if you ask, you now have to believe and receive it and never doubt at all.

Don't forget that we serve a God who calls things that are not, as though they are. (Romans 4:17). Keith Moore says, 'When you want what God wants, for the same reason He wants it, you become unstoppable.' If you ask and believe, you'll receive, it's as simple as that. However, you must - and I stress must - believe that you receive without doubting. 

Let me tell you something, what you receive is directly connected to how you believe and what you expect. God doesn't respond to your need, He responds to your faith. He knows what you you need and want already, but He wants you to have the faith to receive them.

Dare to ask God for what's on your mind. He says, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' So tell Him; lay it before Him, believe that you receive and you will have it. (Mark 11:24). It may not come straightaway, so this is where your faith must kick doubt, out!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

The Dove

"And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the Heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove."                                                      Mark 1:10.  NKJV   

If you know anything about birds, you will know that if you get too close to them, they'll fly away. Many times, I have been left frustrated when the 'Perfect shot,' I was going to take - that award winning photograph, has flown away probably never to happen again. We need to be very careful that we don't disturb them or else, all is lost.

It is similar with our walk with Jesus. Here, we see the dove - the Holy Spirit, descending upon Jesus as He comes up from the baptismal waters. Note how important this was. God parted the Heavens, in other words, He tore open the Heavens; such was the necessity of the Holy Spirit to come upon Jesus.

And it is the same for us. When the Holy Spirit descends upon us, power - the dynamite of Heaven comes with it. Without it, we can do very little. Yet the Holy Spirit is as gentle as a dove and very sensitive. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. He is totally for us. When we're baptised in the Holy Spirit, He rests upon us so that we can perform all that He wishes for us to do. Note the difference, as it is very important. With the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we have access to the gifts including, speaking in tongues, and we have the power to perform what Jesus wishes for us to do (Acts 1:8). Now, God has said that, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' (Hebrews 13:5), and that is certain because He dwells within us at all times. However, when we're walking in power to perform His ministry, the Holy Spirit rests upon us for the times that we are ministering to people. Rather like we can easily disturb the dove by rushing up to it, we can also disturb the Holy Spirit if our life or attitude is not right. Our sin and attitude disturbs Him and it's like He flies away leaving us unable to perform our ministry. He has not left us, but that power that brings the manifestation has. 

I remember Benny Hinn saying something similar a few years ago. He was conducting one of his conventions but nothing was really happening. He inwardly asked God what was wrong and God told him that he needed to repent over some matter. He did, right there and then. From that moment, the service was like electricity - full of power.

We need always to be careful how we walk. Galatians 5:17 says, 'Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh'. If you feel little is happening in your walk with God, check yourself over and see if there is anything blocking the power of the Spirit. If there is, repent and receive.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com