NOW is the time, not yesterday or tomorrow

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 

                                                                                                          2 Corinthians 6:2   NKJV

Today is the day; it is the time. We don't live in the past but now - today. Yesterday is in the past, today is now. Tomorrow is not here yet, not that it is wrong to plan. When we pray for something we don't say things like, 'Please Lord, heal me  next week.' No, we ask healing for now. We need to live for today. The Greek word for time is Kairos, and this means an appointed time or season, rather than a certain length of time. Therefore, the right time to receive God's grace is now. 

We tend to live in a era where time is a loose term. Often we hear, 'Yes, I'll do that in a minute', or 'I'll do that tomorrow.' Often tomorrow never comes because the person has forgotten about it, they have classed it as unimportant, which can demonstrate a lack of care to the person who asked. It wouldn't be nice if God treated us this way. If we prayed to ask Him into our lives and He replied, 'Yes ok, but I'm rather busy at the moment so I'll put you in the diary and we'll look at it next week.' Thankfully, God is not like that and really, we shouldn't be either.

Time is very important. People find that out when they are lying in a hospital bed with only hours left to live. Then there are the people who rush out for work promising that they will do a certain thing when they return from work. Sadly for some, they never make that, as they have a fatal accident on their way to the workplace. Awful to think about, but true just the same.

Now is the day of salvation. Live for today. Some people can take this too far and never plan to go on holiday or do a certain thing within the family. We shouldn't do this. We have to plan certain things, it is necessary to do so. However, it is wrong to do nothing and have the attitude that if it's the Lord's will, it will happen. This borders on the side of being irresponsible. There is a balance to get right.

I've known some people put off their chance of salvation because they have a lot of wild living to do first. This may be so. But it may also be a bad choice if their life is about to end. Without Jesus, we are lost. We need Him to gain forgiveness and our place in Heaven. Without that assurance, we are taking a mighty gamble.

Do you put things off? Is there room in your busy schedule to improve your time-keeping. If you have an appointment-based job, one where you book to see clients, it is unprofessional to have no care of time and keep someone waiting. Sometimes, it is unavoidable but not on a regular basis. Surely, there is room for improvement? What do you think?

Seek God and ask Him to help you improve your use of time. Time really is all we have. Without it, we're not here. So make use of every opportunity. (Ephesians 5:16).

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Faith - the substance and evidence?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 

                                                                                                       Hebrews 11:1   NKJV

What does all of this mean? Well, take for instance buying a house. The substance is the title deed and the confirmation of the deal. However, unless you buy the house outright, a trustee will hold the title deed until the loan is repaid. This will be the evidence of something hoped for but not fully seen yet. So the substance is the realisation and the evidence the confidence. 

In the same manner, when we pray for something in faith, we don't see it at first but we feed our hope for it on God's Word. This is faith. When we stand in prayer for something, we pray and then believe and receive it although we don't yet actually have it. This is the substance hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.

Scripture tells us that, 'We walk by faith not by sight.' (2 Corinthians 5:7), and 'we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.' (2 Corinthians 4:18). Look at it this way, faith is the building material and hope is the blue print. We need hope before faith can begin building anything. As we feed our hope on God's Word, it can paint a picture within us like we're seeing the finished product. This is a power picture and it helps us to remain in faith until the promise is fulfilled.

Faith is not an easy thing to hang onto. People can defuse our faith by their words. Also, we can be our own worse enemy by being impatient and giving up. When we do this, we usually start saying things such as, 'This is never going to work - it's a waste of time.' When we start going down this road, it never will work because by our own words we have cancelled it out. Therefore, when you're in a faith situation, watch what you say and think and try and bypass people who laugh or scoff. This is why Jesus wouldn't allow anyone with Him when he was ministering to the young girl in Mark 5:39-41. (39) 'The child is not dead, but sleeping.' (40) And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child and those who were with Him and entered where the child was lying. (41) Then He took the child by her hand and said to her, 'Talitha, cumi', which is translated, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise'. And this is what happened. A miraculous act of faith and healing.

Learn to live and walk by faith. This is God's desire for each one of us. 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Under threat?

"And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." V3                                                            2 Chronicles 20:1-37  NKJV

There was a mighty threat coming against Judah. The Moabites, Ammonites and others were coming against Jehoshaphat and this brought him fear. It was a major crisis and understandable that he felt this way. However, notice how Jehoshaphat handled it. He didn't flap, run away or crumble. No, he looked to God, declared a fast and waited on deliverance and guidance. In other words, he took action and that is the secret. Often we can become panicked and get ourselves into all sorts of problems. We need to determine to seek God when we have a vital need.

Be reassured, no-one, absolutely no-one can take God on and win. It's foolishness to try. Therefore, we need to stand firm, praise Him, pray and if you decide it's required, fast. He'll save you from this situation if you put Him in His rightful place.

Jehoshaphat told God that he was powerless with the situation and he didn't know what to do. But then he said one important thing - 'our eyes are upon You'. In other words he was saying to God, 'Lord, I don't know what to do here, but You do and I'm counting on You.'  He was trusting God for direction and help (Proverbs 3:5-6).

God spoke to one of the prophets declaring that it was not Jehoshaphat's problem but the Lord's. All he had to do was to get into position and await further instructions. And this is what we need to do. When we're under attack, we need to remember that it is not our problem if we put it into God's hands. If we try to sort it ourselves, it will go wrong. Is this where you are at this time? Have you come against a mighty problem that is threatening your whole livelihood? It is so worrying that it is making you ill fretting about it all. Do yourself a favour, give it to God - NOW! Then praise Him, yes that's right, praise Him. This is what Jehoshaphat sent his men on to the front line to do - sing and praise Him. 'Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever' (v21). God then caused so much confusion that the enemy began attacking themselves until all were defeated.

Are you getting this? This is how God wants each one of us to live - total dependance on Him and submitted and set apart. When we're like this, He will take care of the rest. You may have the most awful of problems and worries at this time. You may be having sleepless nights trying to figure it all out. Is it working? No. Your friend Jesus is telling you to cast all your cares upon Him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

What are you waiting for? Give it to Him and then thank Him and praise Him like never before; and watch your problems disappear.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Have you Humpty Dumpty Syndrome? Part 2

"The LORD is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).                          Psalm 34:18.  The Amplified Study Bible

When sadness and depression settles into one’s mind, heart, and soul, it is not easy to shake the feelings off, break out of the rut, and move on as some may suggest or think. At times, inner despair remains regardless of the goodwill offered from those that care. If this sounds like you, realise you are not alone. Many others have or are currently battling with valleys of darkness too.

God is near to the crushed and broken-hearted. It can seem that you are beyond repair because you have lost so much. However, if you can hang on to your hope, you will make it. You may have lost something or someone most dear; it may be everything that you have worked for and this, can drive you into despair - the feeling that you want to withdraw from the world and hide away. Don't do that. Don't go within yourself. If there is nothing inside of you that can help, you don't want to go there, it has nothing to offer except more despair. 

People may be talking about you. They may feel that you have been unwise - even foolish. They may listen and say they're sorry but, they will then get on with their own busy-ness. That's life really. You may feel so alone but let me encourage you to take another look at our text. 'God is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' It can't be any plainer that that. He cares, so do many others but the difference is, they have their own problems. God doesn't.

CBN says:

"Are you aware that numerous men and women of the Bible struggled with sadness? Yes, God-believing people experienced depressed feelings, emotional grief, and times of despair.

Set aside time for vigorous physical exercise. Walk three miles each day – it will help wash away anger and stimulate positive creativity. Smile while you walk – and notice all birds, trees, and children.

Seek out a godly mentor. Don’t isolate yourself. Maintain strong family and friend relationships.

Reduce TV watching and instead read or listen to inspirational material at least two hours daily.

Volunteer for a worthy cause. Helping someone else in need is a great way to ease the inward pain.

Forgive everyone in your life. Make peace with your past. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Get a job – even if it’s not your dream job or a great career move. Deliver pizzas or work in a garden department to get moving in a positive direction while you continue to build for long-term success. 

At the end of each day, complete these two sentences:

"Today I am thankful for......"

"Today my most significant accomplishment was......."

https://www1.cbn.com/finance/overcoming-a-crushed-spirit

Things will get better for you. The king's horses and the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again, but I know a man who can and His name is Jesus.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Have you Humpty Dumpty Syndrome? Part 1

"The LORD is near to the heartbroken and saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).                          Psalm 34:18.  The Amplified Study Bible

People all over the world are broken and others find it difficult in putting them back together again. Life can be cruel at times through one thing and another - broken marriages, being ripped off in a business deal, breakdown in families and even death. A person who has been broken in such a way, can easily internalise all of the pain and then become embittered. There is then a battle going on inside of them. Just take a can of coke, shake it up and down but don't take the top off. Inside it is chaos as the liquid and gases mix and get ready to erupt. When the top is finally taken off, the result is displayed all over the place. This is what can happen to the person who has internalised pain. When it is finally released, there can be much damage done as the pent-up feelings explode in anger.

When we were children, we used to hear about Humpty Dumpty:

'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horse and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.'

There's a degree of truth in these words. When a person has been broken, many people may try and counsel them, offering words of comfort and wisdom. Yet, oftentimes, the person is so hurt and shattered that whatever is said, goes over their head and is no help at all. Counsellors deal in this type of thing all of the time and their job is to pinpoint what actually brought the crisis on. Many things may have happened in the person's life and they may have coped with it all. Then, one separate problem comes along and they snap and all of the past events are thrown into the situation too. It can be a minefield of deep-rooted pain.

You may be feeling this way at this moment. Painful life events, rob us of our peace and we find it difficult to be able to cope with it all. Whatever your pain is; whatever has brought you to the place of feeling rejected or broken, it can be fixed. Humpty Dumpty was beyond repair but you aren't. But it may take some time and pain to allow things to change. Jesus is the best counsellor I have found. I have told Him lots of things about myself and over a period, He has helped me to see clearly.

Perhaps the first place to start is with forgiveness. This is a powerful thing. If we don't forgive the people involved in our situation, it will continue. You may feel they don't deserve forgiveness and this may be true. However, none of us deserve this, but through God's grace, we receive it anyway.

So today, why not decide in your heart to name these people and just tell God that you forgive them. This way, you will owe them nothing and God will help you to be honourable wih this. Once, you have forgiven them, leave the matter with Him and He will deal with it.

Try this for today, and tomorrow we will look further into brokenness.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Things will get better!

"These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the festive throng."

                                                                                                                         Psalm 42:4.  NIV 

This Psalm was written in exile and the Psalmist is remembering, with longing and tears, the times when he was able to worship God in Jerusalem. Remembering how things were and now are, can be difficult to cope with. Even though, this Psalm was written a long time ago, for some people it can be relevant today when they remember how they used to do a particular thing, maybe in the church or somewhere else, and this has now ceased to be. It can be hard to cope with.

This may have happened to you. Perhaps you were a 'somebody' and now you feel that you are a 'nobody'. Perhaps Adam could relate to this. He was a 'somebody' in the garden and because of his lack of wisdom and sin, he was cast out of the garden and had to learn to be a 'nobody' - in his own eyes. Let me just say, everybody is a somebody in God's eyes! Did you get that - you are a somebody. When we long for the earlier days, we can become hurt and bitter, washed out and on the scrapheap. Don't feel this way. You are special. Things will get better.

Loss is a difficult area to handle. Loss brings many changes, changes that we don't want and never thought would come. Loss happens to other people, not us. However, when it does, it can be so difficult to work through. It forces upon us, things that we would rather not have. It's not always a death that brings loss and change. It may be a marital breakdown, losing a job, an operation that has brought changes to your life or perhaps, moving to a strange area where you miss your family and friends. It all takes time to make sense of it all.

Let's look at verse 5 of Psalm 42:

'Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,

My Saviour and my God'

There is always hope where God is concerned. As we place our hope in Him and praise Him, He reaches out to us and helps us through the path that we're walking. 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.'  Psalm 23:4 NIV.

Have you considered that this may be a new chapter in your life? Perhaps like a book, one chapter has come to an end and you need to open a new chapter to find what is going to happen. Perhaps this is where you are at. 

One thing is for sure, you are not on the scrapheap; you have not been discarded and forgotten; you are a somebody with a bright future and pretty soon, things are going to get better. Now that is someting to consider and praise God for.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Keys to your healing

"My son, give attention to my words, incline your ears 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

What we say counts. What comes out of our mouths is powerful stuff. Proverbs 18:21 says, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.' Therefore, we need to speak positively not negatively; what you confess - you get! So therefore be willing to learn to use your words wisely; this is what giving attention to your words means. We can either speak words that bring death to a situation, where there is no faith, or life and if we need healing, this is what we need to focus on. Otherwise we can cancel it out.

So let's examine this. We should listen properly by having good attending skills, not looking out of the window or practicing multi-tasking skills. To incline the ear, means to sit slightly forward letting the person who is speaking to us, know that we are listening to them. Doing this, helps to blank out other things around us and helps us to focus and concentrate much better. We need to do this when we are listening to a speaker or reading our bibles. There are distractions at every corner and we can easily be drawn away, especially when we are praying and the telephone rings.

When we read or hear scripture, we need to mull it over properly. In other words we should ponder the words and meditate on it until we get the bigger picture. There is life in God's Word and He wants us to receive it. If we are wanting to be healed of some sickness, we need to receive it and confess we are healed, despite our body telling us differently. When we receive and confess healing, we internalise this fact and live 'healed'. Proverbs 12:18 tells us, 'The tongue of the wise brings healing.' 

This is God's prescription, as Derek Prince was always teaching us. However, to quote a study note from the Amplified Study Bible, 'This demands constancy of heart and purpose, honesty in speech, steadiness of gaze and a right goal in walk and life.' Now to do this is not easy. Things will trip us up every step of the way. It is no casual thing. We need to live it if we want to see it. If you tell people that you are healed when they believe that you are not,they may ridicule you and this can bring much discouragement. The moment you begin to doubt, you will go without. Stand on your healing no matter what!

Practice joy, which is a strength and remember scriptures such as, 'A merry heart does good like medicine.' and 'This is the day the LORD has made, we will (let us) rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalm 118:24. Jesus wants the best for us; check the scriptures out where He told people that their faith had made them well. These were not 'bible times', they happen today and God wants you to live well - good health. So believe and receive. 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com