Stop being a copycat

"But by by the grace of God, I am what I am and His grace towards me was not in vain." 

                                                                                                        1 Corinthians 15:10.  NKJV

The New Living Translation of this verse reads: 'But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favour on me - and not without results.' I like this. It reminds me of a comment I read, years ago, by a chap called John Mason, 'You were born an original - don't die a copy.'

All over the world people try to copy other people. We see young people modelling themselves on the latest pop sensation. Others model themselves on film heroes or football legends. We've all done it at some time in our life. In a way, they become like role models to us, but that is not always a good idea.

But the thing is, you're not who you've modelled yourself on, you are you. God knows you that way. He finds it difficult to get to know whom you're not, and let's face it, you even become confused after a while.

The copycat style mostly begins in pre-adolescence and dependant on your life, can continue for many years. Some preachers model themselves on other preachers instead of finding their own style. Young budding pop stars copy their favourite stars and wonder why they don't get the breaks they were hoping for.

Ask yourself a question. 'Do I copy someone else?' Be honest with this answer, look inside of yourself. God wants you to be yourself not a copy of someone else. 'Yes, but as myself, I don't have much to offer, but when I model myself on.................I'm successful'. That is not true and is a lie from the devil. You are whom God created and He was pleased when He created you: 'Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.'  (Genesis 1:31). You belong in this verse. He created you and He was very pleased.

Simon Lawton, Pastor of Elim Church, Newcastle writes in his book, Imagine:

 'God thought you were worth creating. Isn't it time, you simply enjoyed being you?'

                                                                       Copyright Simon Lawton 2018 Imagine

God thought you were worth creating; not the person you copy, but little old you. So isn't it time  you stopped trying to be someone else? Isn't it time that you became you? You may think that is boring and that you have nothing to offer. But with Jesus, you have lots to offer and God thinks you are amazing. He thinks that you are so amazing that He took your place, paid for your sin in full and gave up His life. 

Now that He is the resurrected King of kings, He wants you to understand that there has never been a time - ever, when He didn't think about you with the loving heart of a Father. If you want to copy someone, copy Jesus!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Difficult days? - Keep praising Him

"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."   

                                                                                                    Habakkuk 3:17-18.  NKJV

There are times when everything seems to be going wrong. Money is tight but bills keep piling up. Things all of a sudden begin to break down, either at the same time or one after another. We think we're over the hurdle when something else crops up. Pressure, pressure and more pressure.

When you begin to feel that you can't take much more, the washing machine floods the kitchen out, the car breaks down and your mobile has died on you; high winds blow the aerial off your roof and the dog has an ailment requiring urgent medical attention. AAARGH.

This may sound a little exaggerated but it can happen. You see, we don't plan that the washing machine is about to flood the kitchen, or that the car will break down and you have to walk miles because the battery is dead in your mobile. No, things happen and somehow we have to cope with it all.

It's easy to think, 'Where is God in all of this? I thought He loved me.' He does love you but these things happen to believers and unbelievers alike. No one is exempt bad days, or even weeks such as these.

The thing is, we have to face adversity. We do this by focusing on God and finding out what is happening here. He may be teaching us and trying to take us to another level. Two things that we need to learn out of this type of thing is, Patience and perseverance. Not easy I know.

When we are in similar situations, we have to be careful what we say, because in times like this the devil may suggest that we blame it all on God for allowing this to happen. This can be like a curse when we do it. There's is also temptation to blame other people. It can be quite therapeutic to have a good old, 'Point the finger and blame someone else' party. But it does no good whatsoever. We have to watch the curse - that self-fulfilling prophecy. When we use negative words they have a habit of happening, so be careful.

Today's scripture, gives us some good advice:

(17) 'Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labour of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flocking be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls - (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.'      Habakkuk 3:17-18.  NKJV

This is the answer for each one of us. Troubles may come upon us, all at once, but God wants us to stand tall and praise Him, reaching the deeper level in Him. It makes sense!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

 

Temptation

"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. (15) Then when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."                                                                                 James 1:14-15.  NKJV

We need to be in charge of our desires, otherwise, there may be a time when we are enticed and commit sin. Things may tempt us, but our choice is to walk away or fall into the trap, 

Back in the Garden, the serpent knew all of this when he began his lies, deceit and flattery with Eve. He confused her so much that she fell, and so did mankind. And yet, Adam, who was in charge of the Garden and Eve, stood by and allowed it to happen, even eating some of the fruit himself. He should have shouted to the serpent, 'Get out of my Garden.'

There are three aspects of temptation that can be seen in Genesis 3:6. Firstly they saw that the tree was good for food. Yet, they were not allowed to eat from this tree, only tend it. Sin always leads us to want what we are not allowed to have. Secondly, it was pleasant to the eye. Now this is one of the main reasons why people commit adultery, watch porn or possibly steal from others. It's the pull of the forbidden that creates the excitement and challenge.

Finally, it can be desirable to make one wise. Within most people, there is a desire to be wise and respected. It gives us power to have the ability to create and run a thriving business or to get that degree at Uni and land that once in a lifetime job. The ability to be successful, respected and rich can pull like a magnet.

The name of 'serpent' fits well here. Satan acts like a snake. He's cunning, crafty and shrewd. He has had a lot of practice and is only too pleased to oblige, given the chance. A serpent has four characteristics:

HE HAS A DEADLY TONGUE. It is full of flattery, lies deceit and disrespect - you name it. He can twist your words around and make them feel very convincing.

CRAWLS INTO SITUATIONS. He's never far away and ready to crawl into each and every situation, if he gets the chance to. Be aware, he will attack you if he can.

HE LIES IN WAIT. Like a snake lies and waits for the opportune moment, Satan does the same. He will bide his time until he can - 

STRIKE AND BITE YOU. People who have been bitten, know how painful this can be. One of our dogs was bitten by an adder and he lost the use of his back legs within a very short time and had to go to the vet.

This is why we really need to watch and pray. The devil will attack you, especially when you're at your lowest. Stay alert; stay in the Word; stay away from his lies.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Crisis or Peace?

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."                            John 14:27   NKJV

At this present time, because of the increase in the Covid 19 pandemic, much of the world is in panic. However, those who are in Jesus Christ - who belong to Him wholeheartedly, are at peace.

The increased spread of the virus is indeed, worrying and very serious. But if we are in Jesus, He is the author and finisher of our faith, the future is very much in His hands. (Hebrews 12:2). As Christians Jesus tells us not to be afraid, or in fact, to worry. Bob Gass writes, 'Worry is something you permit, peace is something you pursue.'

Therefore, we need to take control of what is going on in our minds; we need to place ourselves into His hands, where we will receive His peace. This is the peace which surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7).

Note in our text today, the words, 'not as the world gives do I give to you.' The world may offer peace to each one of us but it comes with a price and is short lasting. With this type of peace, we have to watch our backs as there may be something else creeping up on us. 

Not so with God's peace. It is Shalom peace - 'nothing missing, nothing broken.' God's peace is eternal, as long as we continue to walk with Him. 

Charles F Stanley writes, 'We know that no matter what our circumstances, the Lord Jesus will sustain us, strengthen us and enable us to walk through it victoriously.' Did you get that? Jesus will, sustain us, strengthen us and enable us to get through whatever is going to happen, through the pandemic or anything else that may come our way.

It's good practice to pray such words as this, 'No matter what may come my way, I have God's peace. He has given it to me; not as the world gives, as He given it to me, but directly from the Throne Room of God Almighty.'

We, as people of God; as Children of the King of kings, are not in crisis, no, we are in Jesus, the risen Prince of Peace, the author and the finisher of our faith.

'Father, we pray for all people who don't know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Please allow them to feel Your peace today and Your salvation. We also pray for a demolition of the Covid 19 virus throughout the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.'

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

 

Get your attitude right

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, (15) that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, (16) holding fast the Word of life."                                                                                               Philippians 2:14-16.  NKJV

Our attitude says it all. If we're not careful, we can begin finding fault in most things we come across in our life. We can dispute what someone says, especially if we're listening to a preacher who we find difficult at the best of times. 

Our remit here, is to be blameless which means to the best of our ability, living without fault. Difficult I know but with Jesus in our lives, achievable. Our text above, also says that we need to be 'harmless children of God.' In other words, we need to live innocent lives wherever we go. 

We live in a world that is perverse and wicked; a world that is full of people who practice, one-up-man ship. This means it's competitive and people want to appear better than the other - at everything. The world is full of sin - adultery, pornography, theft, child and elder abuse, murder, drugs and terrorism, just to name a few. There is attitude wherever we look, so the world doesn't need us to add our bad attitudes to this as well. 

At times, our attitude can be awful. With our mouth we praise God and with our mouth we berate people who we don't particularly like. This has got to change. We are already in a world full of darkness. If we are children of Light (Matthew 5:14), then we need to shine like a beacon; we need to be that light in the tunnel of darkness. 'Yes, but what difference will it make? We're only one person, they won't take any notice anyway.' We don't know what difference it'll make and its up to the people whether they take notice or not. We're called to shine in this dark world, and that's what matters.

One of the things that we can change is our attitude. When we whinge, moan and complain, honestly, we're no different than the world. When people see us this way, there really is nothing to recommend. They'll think, 'If that's Christianity, I'll stay the way I am.'

Do you get the point? We need to be above reproach. We need, to the best of our ability, to live so that people don't have ammunition to point the finger at us. Think, if a light is not working properly, pretty soon the light will fail and the place will be plunged into darkness. In the same way, we need to ensure that our light does not malfunction, by letting our guard down and becoming involved in worldly issues and things that are no good for us.

A good place to start is by changing our attitude. Why not read and pray Phillipians 4:8:

'Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.'

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

         

Robbers of your faith Part 2

"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."                                  Mark 10:46-52.  NKJV

Today, we'll look at another example of robbers of your faith. Jesus was on His way to the Passover and this meant walking through Jericho. At this time of year, many gathered on the side of the road as it was the custom that a distinguished Rabbi or Teacher, on making this trip, would preach as they walked along. Everyone was expected to attend the Passover but it was not always possible for this to happen. Therefore, they would wait at the side of the road to try and hear what God was saying through the preacher.

Bartimaeus was probably one of the first to find a place. He had done this many times as it was a good place to do his begging. This time though, he had been told that Jesus would be walking through, someone he desperately wanted to see. What Bartimaeus had was not just a vague desire to see Jesus but a desperate desire. He knew that this urgent desire would be noticed by Jesus. It is this type of desire for Jesus that gets God's attention.

He started calling out repeatedly to Jesus as He walked past, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.' v47. He became so vocal in using this acknowledgement of the Messiahship of Jesus, by calling Him the Son of David, that people near to him, warned him not to do this and to be quiet. The people were berating his faith in Jesus so much, that it became intimidation along with threats. Bartimaeus was adamant, he would not be robbed of this once in a life time chance of meeting with Jesus. Nothing was going to stop him.

It worked; Jesus heard him and called him over. Despite being blind, Bartimaeus shot up and made his way over to Jesus. He knew what he wanted and that Jesus could provide it. Jesus said to him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' He replied, 'Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.' Jesus replied, 'Go your way, your faith has made you well.' Bartimaeus was instantly healed, and the only way he was going to go now, was to follow Jesus.

Notice once again how the robbers of faith used their intimidation to stop Batimaeus from receiving his healing. He was in faith, but they considered him, just a reject. The fact is, Bartimaeus could now see. He wasn't a reject to Jesus, he was special, the same as you and I. He could easily have been pushed over, beaten or even trod on, before he went over to see Jesus. But he gave that no thought. He knew Jesus had the answer to his predicament and he was not going to lose the opportunity that was there for the taking.

In church services, many hold back from going forward when there has been a prophetic word concerning a certain condition or a call for salvation. They know that they should go forward, and they want to, but they're frightened. Someone may laugh at them, or point the finger. The enemy may have mentioned to them, this is all a con. 

We should always take the chances that God gives us. One day we may run out of chances. Bartimaeus knew that this was probably his only chance, it may be yours. Take that step towards Jesus, despite what others may say or think. Receive your healing, let Jesus commission you to preach that Word, or even make that step towards working for Jesus. You'll never know if you allow people to hold you back.

 Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Robbers of your faith

"(39) Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping. (40) And they ridiculed Him "       

                                                                                                           Mark 5:21-43.  NKJV

Wherever you go, there will always be at least one person who will ridicule your display of faith. You see, the devil is the author of lies, deceit and ridicule. He has come as a thief to try to, steal, kill and destroy whatever God is doing. (John 10:10). So it is understandable that he will use who he can to cast doubt, humiliation and intimidation on what God is leading you to do. Just stop and think for a moment, you will have met at least one of these people. The devil uses them to rob people of their faith.

In this passage, we see three examples of this in action. Firstly, in verse 31, we read, 'But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitudes thronging You and You say, Who touched me?' Now this brings it home to us, even the ones we trust and associate with, may bring doubt to what you're doing. The disciples were not deliberately trying to rob Jesus of His faith, not at all; but through their logical reasoning, they were doubting Jesus had read the situation properly. People that we're close to may do this to you. They may be genuinely in covenant with you, but they still try to convince you that you have it wrong. Take Jesus' example. He ignored the doubt and did what He had to do; and the woman was healed.

Again in verse 35, we see Jairus waiting for Jesus to come to heal his daughter. Suddenly, some people from his house, come telling him not to bother Jesus any longer, his daughter had died. This had the power to totally destroy Jairus. Jesus seeing this, said to him, 'Do not be afraid, only believe.' In other words, don't listen to the robbers of faith - trust Me.

Finally in verses 39-40, we see the professional mourners outside of Jairus' house, ridiculing Jesus because He had told them that the young girl was sleeping, not dead. One can almost hear them laughing and sniggering at such a statement. However, this didn't stop Jesus, He went into the house after clearing out all of the doubters, and raised the young girl back to life. Note that Jesus would not have doubters around Him as He performed this miracle. They were already laughing at Him; to attempt to do ministry in such circumstances, would have been difficult.

You too, if not already, will come up against the doubters - the robbers of your faith. Do not let them intimidate you. They use very convincing words and if you're not careful, they will make you feel inadequate and you'll lose all of your confidence. Don't let them do this. You have a ministry. You may not be a leader in a church but Jesus has given you a commission. Fulfill it, despite the comments that come against you. Refuse the intimidation; you do not need their approval because you have God's. That's all you need, so do what he has called you to do.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com