Angels all around you

"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."  v16

                                                                                            2 Kings 6:15-17.  NKJV

What an amazing verse! Those who are with us, are more than those who are with them; or those who are coming against us. The enemy may have a great plan to get you, but God has a greater plan, to get him and protect you. Romans 8:31 says, 'If God is for us, who can be against us.' As we walk in the Spirit, we will see this happen.

The king of Syria had sent a great army to capture Elisha because he had been telling the king of Israel, his battle plans: 'Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king the words that you speak in your bedroom.' (2 Kings 6:12). Elisha was using his God-given gifts to obtain the king of Syria's schemes. Therefore, he sent a great army to capture him and when Elisha's servant looked around, he saw the awesome sight of enemy soldiers, all around. But, as Elisha prayed, the servant's eyes were opened further and he saw the amazing spectacle of angels all round them and the enemy. They far outnumbered them.

We too, can be like Elisha's servant, and we can't see the reality. We don't have a big enough vision to see what God is doing around us and in us. We tend to become too wrapped up in our own ideas. At times, we can be so full of ourselves that there is no room for God and the vision He wants to bring into our lives. We must learn to see the bigger picture and that will only happen as we begin a closer walk with God- not until.

Often, we become panicked by things around us; by things that we hear that are frightening. When this happens, we can tend to get things all out of proportion, fearing the worst and there becomes no time or place for prayer. Think back to a time when you became like this. Something had come against you that was so big that you began to feel that you would never be able to find a way out of if. What did you do? If you prayed there and then about it on the spot, you did the right thing. God wants us to give Him our burdens. But if you panicked and became so full of fear that you became so worried that it made you have sleepless nights, you got it wrong. 

Look around you. Ask God to show you the angels that are there to protect and help you. Just think about it; it's amazing to know that they're there. However, they can do nothing for you unless you call out to God. When you do, He releases the angels to fight on your behalf.

Whatever, you are going through at this time, there really is no need to become fearful and upset by it all. God has everything under control - if you allow Him to help. This is all down to you though.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Is your glass half full or half empty?

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:  12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 

                                                                                                 Philippians 4:11-12.  NKJV

Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Is your glass half empty or half full? This is really important because it demonstrates how content you are. In the Stoic philosophy, this Greek word 'Content' was described as being self-sufficient. Paul takes this further stating that his sufficiency is in Jesus Christ, whose peace and purpose he enjoys regardless of life's circumstances. Bob Gass said, 'When your contentment is based on status or possessions, it can be taken away in an instant. But when it is based on your relationship with Jesus, nothing, absolutley nothing can rob you of it.' 

In this contentment - when your glass is half full, your are satisfied to the point where you are not disturbed or uneasy, regardless of what is happening in your circumstances. You are being an optimist and optimist's thrive on faith. Pessimists, believe and then waver losing it all.

Where would you place yourself? How do you view your life? When the chips are down and there's no food to put on the table and no money in the bank to buy any, how do you cope with this? You may think this is rather extreme; but many people in the poorer regions of our world, have this dilemma every day. If they are believers, they have to trust Him for every scrap of food that they can get. This is their way of life and it is very much alien in our comfortable Western life.

The thing is, when we act in a pessimistic manner, it can actually stress us out. We constantly worry about what is going to happen next. This leads to sleepless nights and eventually to sickness if we're not careful. Do you really believe that God loves you? Are you convinced that in anything, He won't let you down? A pessimist will ask God for something and will then begin to doubt in their heart that He will give you this. They only see doom and gloom ahead. Some may believe that because they have been in a Covid 19 hotspot that they may now test positive for the virus. It's true. It is all doom. 'I won't apply for that job because I won't get it,' type of thing. The thing is, you'll never know unless you try.

If you can identify with this, isn't it about time that you gave yourself - and others, a break and start being more positive in your outlook? It is far better to have a glass that is half full. 

Start practicing living with a half full glass instead of a half empty one and I think that you'll begin to enjoy the things around you, much better.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

'I've got no time'

"There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under Heaven."                           Ecclesiastes 3:1   Amplified Study Bible

This means God is in control of everything and if we walk with Him, and allow Him, He will help us to perform all that we need to do. Did you get that?

Often, we hear, 'I've got no time to do this, sorry, I'm rushed off my feet,' or 'There's not enough hours in the day, why didn't God create eight days?' The answer to this is, if you had eight days, you would want nine. There is enough time for everything that you have to do. If you disagree, then you need to check out the scriptures. 

Life is very busy indeed and some days we are in a turmoil as we try and see how we are going to get through the day. I used to feel this way working in a busy social work office. My work tray would be spilling over with paperwork and orders, the telephone never stopped ringing and I would be due in court on a case I was involved in. But when we hand things over to God, He has a way of freeing us up. Appointments get cancelled, somehow we do the job quicker that we thought was possible. It is amazing how He can take over, if we allow Him; and that is the bottom line.

We have to learn to manage our time better. Not everything is essential that it has to be done today. We have to learn to prioritise. This is not letting anyone down; not at all. It is ensuring that we are free enough to spend time on what we have allocated for the day so that we can do the job well. However, we need to be flexible. Sometimes emergencies or something very important crops up and we have to leave what we are doing and attend to this. If we're too rigid with what we have planned, we'll struggle big time, with having to change the agenda. It's all a case of priority and listening for God's direction.

He is a great planner but we must keep up with Him, he knows best, not us. He is the way, the truth and the life, not us (John 14:6). When we place Him in the driving seat, He will drive very expertly; but when He shows us what to do, we must obey, even though we may not agree and feel we know a better way. Believe me, you don't and you'll mess it up as you try.

Trying to do everything on your own is a recipe for disaster. Stress city comes to mind and when you become stressed, you do things wrong and become irritable with people.

Learn from God's Word, there is a time for everything. You'll find this as you seek God.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

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