Adultery

"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  v28                                              Matthew 5:27-29   NKJV

This is a most delicate area to discuss but it is one, that affects us all. Jesus was speaking as if to 'man', but this was a definite address to both sexes.

Just a glance at our text shows us that a person does not actually have to commit the act of a adultery in the flesh. Jesus tells us, that when we look at a man or a woman with lust in our hearts for them, we have already committed adultery with them. These are very strong words and some may argue that this is not really fair. After all, just to think about it is not as bad as actually doing it, is it? Yes it is, because it shows you the state of your heart.

Take a look at James:

'14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death.'

                                                                                                             James 1:14-15.  NKJV

It is the desire that becomes fired up as we look lustfully at another person. The root of lust is 'unsatisfied longing.' This unsatisfied state is the fact that a person has not had sexual relations with this person yet and the temptation is there to do so. When we internalise this lust, we can paint pictures of fantasy in our mind and the adulterous desire becomes even worse.

Andrew Womack says, 'Sin is conceived in your emotions,' and this is so true. Some people may fantasise about their desire until it actually becomes a reality and they commit physical adultery. Others may just keep it within their hearts. Whatever, they are both wrong in Jesus' eyes; He calls it adultery whatever we do.

To help avoid these lustful thoughts, which once they get a hold is so difficult to dismiss, we have to take control of the heart and body which begins with controlling our eyes. Jesus is not referring to self-mutilation in verse 29 when He says to pluck out the eye. No, He is saying that we need to take rigid, moral self-denial. This, as I've said, is very difficult to put into practice once the lust has formulated in our mind and become a stronghold; but it is achievable. It requires a renewing of our mind, which we discussed the other day. We have to take the old self, discard it and put on the new self. This takes a long time to perform - very possibly a lifetime' but it is so necessary.

Remember, all around us is temptation. Just switch on the TV and we can see sexual content every day of the week; today's music presents videos that leave nothing to the imagination and the general consensus is, 'It's ok to have some fun, you're a long time dead.' People are tempted at work by colleagues, at parties, in fact in most places. This is why, as a Christian we have to make a stand and decide that it is time to clean up our minds and our actions; and we have someone who is willing to help - Jesus.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Are you hearing properly?

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.'    Romans 10:17   NKJV

Charles F Stanley says:

'Listening to God is essential to walking with Him. The Lord blesses us when we hear His promises and respond to them in faith.'

The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to awaken a response of faith within us and this can be relied on. As we confess this faith and believe, faith builds up within us in the supernatural. This is why it is so important to get into His Word, reading the bible each day and meditating on what He is saying to us. If we don't listen, we won't hear and that is the bottom line.

So let's look at this a little closer. God's Word tells us that we are healed by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5) and yet many of us are not and this is where the hurt and confusion can kick in. Some are healed and some appear not to be. Take for instance Joni Eareckson Tada, following an accident in which she dived mistakenly into shallow water in 1967, she has been in a wheelchair ever since. Despite much prayer she hasn’t been healed. Instead, God chose to use this lady to minister all over the world to other wheelchair users, and because of this, many thousands have received salvation and their own healing. However, she must have struggled at times with God's Word saying one thing and life saying another. But God may still choose to heal her at any time. We should never give up.

There is really no answer that anyone can give when they are not healed. It is one of life's anomalies that we won't find out until we see Jesus face to face in Heaven. However, that doesn't mean that we give up. Not at all, we should remain fully convinced in the Word He has given us. 

Derek Prince told of time when he was a soldier in the war, when he desperately needed healing. Despite asking God for this many times, healing wouldn't come. One night, God told him to change his words. Instead of saying to God, 'Lord, I need to be healed,' say, 'Lord, I believe, according to Your Word, that You want me to be healed, please fulfil Your Word.' This worked, and he was healed instantly. As soon as Derek had changed his wording recognising that God wanted him healed, he received it. Instead of pleading for healing for himself, God showed him to allow God to have His will done. The thing is, if Derek had not have been listening, he may have missed this all together and died.

Perhaps, you may be waiting on God to perform healing or some other important issue. You may have been waiting a very long time. Allow me to encourage you, Galatians 6:9 says, 'And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.' Your 'Due Season,' may be just around the corner. You may have been waiting a very long time. Listen to God, seek Him, Praise Him and read His Word, as you have been doing all this time. He is faithful and in due season His blessing will manifest.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

How do you renew your mind?

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by he renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 

                                                                                                                  Romans 12:2   NKJV

This process is lifelong that will not be completed until we're with Jesus. It is a process of examining our values and making the decision to change them and live for Jesus. This doesn't come easy, as I've just said. It takes effort, discipline and a determination to knock ourselves into shape so that we can walk in the Spirit. We have to learn to yield our whole self to God. Let's take a look at Ephesians 4:22-24 to examine this further.

"22 that you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man (self) which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man (self) which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.' 

Therefore, we're dealing with the old self and the new self. Paul compares the Christian life to stripping off the dirty clothes of a sinful past and putting on the snowy white robes of Christ's righteousness. So, the old self says, 'I want my will to be done, I want, I want.' The new self says, 'Not my will be done, but Yours Lord.' Do you see the difference? This is how we are changed or made new, in the attitude of our minds. We are putting God first.

It is completely discarding our former nature which has been corrupted and is being continually renewed in the spirit of your mind by having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude. This renewed nature is being created in God's image - Godlike, living in such a way that expresses to God your gratitude to Him for your salvation and everything else that He does for each one of us, daily.

God will not do this for us, but as we show Him that we mean business, He will help us every step of the way. Basically, it's learning to think how God thinks and this can take a life time. But let's not forget that He has given us a promise in His Word:

'being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.'  Philippians 1:6

You're not there yet; there's a lot of work to be done; but as you look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, He will give you the ability to grow more like Him, each day.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

We have missions to perform

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." 

                                                                                                        Matthew 6:10   NKJV. 

God has given us missions to carry out for Him here on earth.

(1)   Preach the Good News (Gospel) to everyone. Mark 16:15-19. NLT

(2).  Establish His kingdom and will on earth as it is in heaven.

You see, when satan rebelled in Heaven and was cast out, the earth fell into his hands. So the will of God could not be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Therefore, God created a man (Adam) with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself. Sadly, Adam blew it, but God always has a plan, He sent Jesus to bring Heaven's rule on the earth and recover it for God's interest, so that the will of God could be done on earth as it is in Heaven. God's relying on us - His people to pray for this and live in such a way that this may be established.

One day, Jesus will return and the way the world is going at this time, it would be easy to predict that it is imminent. However, we have no idea when this will be. People in the past have predicted Jesus' coming over the years and not one of them has been right. I remember a time about 30 years ago, when someone paid a vast fortune for a double spread in the broad sheet newspapers, claiming he was Jesus and claiming that he would be returning in a week or so - we had to be ready. Of course, the date passed and we were still here. Then there was a sports presenter who on live TV claimed that he was Jesus Christ. People have tried things like this for years. When Jesus returns, He will not need to place advertisements in the newspaper advising us of this. He will come quickly, like a thief in the night 2 Peter 3:10.

Until then, we have work to do. Everything we say and do needs to be a reflection of whom we claim to be. If we claim to be a Christian, we need to be displaying this wherever we find ourselves, and this includes in our own home when we're behind closed doors. We need to establish God's kingdom in our home and His will. It should be done as it is in heaven. That's right, we need to take action and live in such a way that we live up to what He has made us - kings and priests to God Revelation 1:6.

The time has come when we need to take control of ourselves. Jesus may be coming soon. If He does, what is He going to find? Imagine being caught out in immoral behaviour if He walked into your home. It's unthinkable. This is why, I say that we need to take stock of ourselves and live the life. Don't let us ever claim to be what we're not. If we are Kingdom people - kings and priest to God, then let us live in such a way and go flat out that if God's Kingdom is to come, then let His will be done on earth (wherever we may find ourselves), as it is in Heaven.

Make a reputation for yourself as you establish God's Kingdom wherever you go. Does it really matter what people may think of you. Isn't it far better to offer God's Kingdom to your family

and whoever you may meet along the way.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

When you think you know best

"And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living." v12-13

                                                                                                                   Luke 15:11-24.  NKJV

This was a situation that is relevant to many families today; a young son or daughter, thinking they know best, gather up their things and leave home, looking for stardom or any other kind of wild living and then end up with problems and some in peril.

When we are young, we do tend to think that we know it all and despite much advise and pleading from parents, go off and do our own thing.

It was no different for this younger son. He asked for his share of his inheritance. At this time, a father could release the inheritance before or after his death, mostly it was after. However, this would be at his discretion. The son was successful in having his wishes granted and he set off on his adventure. After living the high and wild life for a while, his fortune ran out and he was broke. Adding to this, there was a famine and he made the mistake of joining himself to a citizen of that country in order to gain a wage and some food. I say mistake, because with his father, he was in a covenant relationship. With this relationship there was no covenant, as he quickly found out.

He was assigned to feeding pigs with pods. These were seeds from a carob tree, which was evergreen. The fruit - the pod, was like a bean which was used as fodder to feed the animals, which here, was a total insult because he had to feed these pods to pigs, which to a Jew was unclean. He was in such a state that he would gladly have eaten them himself, such was his hunger. However, the hunger he felt in his heart, was for his father, who he had wronged and left. He would have been crestfallen.

He eventually, came to his senses and returned to his father, rehearsing what he would say on his return. But note what happened. His father had been looking and waiting for him possibly ever since he had left and when he saw him in the distance, he ran to his son and hugged and kissed him, restoring him back into the family.

And this is how it is when we return to our Father. We may have left Him out of our thinking for a while, or even walked away, but He is always watching and waiting for us to come back. But notice some thing, we have to go to Him, He doesn't come to us, although He may give a few nudges. As we return to Him in repentance, He throws His arms around us, kisses us and gives us His all. Why does He do that? Because He loves us and can't get enough of us. He adores us. You may know what this is like if you have had a child return home to you. It is a time to rejoice and this is what our Father does.

The bottom line though, is stop thinking that you know best, because you don't. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'

Do you need to return to Him and say that you're sorry?

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

Bless the Lord

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." 

                                                                                                   Psalm 34:1   NKJV

How do you feel about what David said here when someone has been rude to you. When they've shouted at you in public and embarrassed you. Can this Psalm be in your mouth at such times? Difficult isn't it? You may say, well it's not God's fault, He hasn't done this to me. This may be true, but He still sees how you react to such things. He knows the way you feel and although it may go unsaid, He still knows what you're thinking.

It is so difficult to be a Christian at times.The devil knows what winds us up and so, he plays on it. There is only one way we can react in such situations and that is, 'be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.' James 1:19. 'Isn't that being a doormat, letting people walk all over me?' you may ask. No it is not, it is being like Jesus; it's thinking, how would Jesus react to such situations and acting accordingly.

This is why Paul told us to bless those who do us wrong Romans 12:14. That may cause us to shout, 'Ouch,' at such times but it needs to be done. We need to bless them. Probably, you may find it easier to bless God instead. Our text directs us to 'Bless the LORD at all times.' In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul further says, 'in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.' As we bless and praise God from the heart, it becomes difficult to have bad feelings towards someone who has wronged you. 

We are called to forgive; paraphrased, this could read, 'Deal with it.' Otherwise, it will fester away ruining your day and causing you bitterness. When we bless God, affectionately - from the heart, all of the things that mattered to us one minute, diminish as we become enveloped in His love and in His presence. When we do this, our very soul, which is made up of our mind, will and emotions are placed into Jesus' hands. In other words, we are surrendering our mind - all the things that we have been thinking about and becoming angry about; our will - all the things that we would have liked to do to the person who wronged us and finally, our emotions - the way we are feeling about the situation. Put together, we are surrendering it all to Jesus by blessing Him and offering Him our praises.

You may feel that this is difficult to do. I agree, it is; but it needs to be done if we are to enjoy our walk with Jesus and allow people in the vicinity to witness how we handle such a situation. Think for a moment, there are eyes around wherever we go. People love to see people, who claim to be 'religious,' acting in a way that they can use as gossip. 'I saw such and such the other day, and he was shouting at someone in the shop; isn't he supposed to be a 'churchgoer?' Know what I mean?

It's far better to bless and praise God than allowing someone to rob you of your peace.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

 

Don't try to climb the mountain - speak to it

"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."                                                  Mark 11:23    NKJV   

Have you ever done any mountain climbing? Some people find this adventure so thrilling; others won't even consider it. Like most things, it depends on each person's taste. For myself, I prefer to do what Jesus advises here - speak to the mountain. It is less stressful to say the least.

Think about the type of mountain that Jesus is speaking about here. Sickness is a mountain. It looms over a person's life and if it is life-threatening, it will bring that life to a premature ending. Therefore, Jesus told us to speak to the mountain and tell it to be removed and if there is no doubt, just total belief, it will be done, the person will be healed.

Financial lack is a mountain. Lack of food and clothes or somewhere to live falls under this category. If a person has no job or only has one that pays a very low wage, it can become a mountain too. Think about it, there are many things in our lives that qualify as mountains and Jesus directs us to take action against them.

Now there are two ways of accepting this verse, as well as Mark 11:24. Some say that what we ask for, must be in accordance with God's will. Well, healing most certainly is; Psalm 103:3 tells us, 'Who heals all your diseases,' and then, 'And by His stripes we are healed.' Isaiah 53:5. And then, 'And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.' Philppians 4:19. 

But one cannot get away from what Jesus said, 'I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.' Really it all comes down to how you interpret the scriptures. Some say praying for a house with all expences paid, is not God's will. Others, who have done this, successfully believe otherwise. As I've said, it is how you choose to interpret this. What I feel is more important, is the state of a person's heart. If we are holding a grudge against anyone and we're refusing to forgive them, the scripture tells us that we will not be forgiven either. Mark 11:25-26. How can we expect God to bless us when we refuse to bless someone else. It's hypercritical.

Whatever you believe, as you pray, believe and receive, the things in accordance with God's will, will be changed. But, I believe, what Jesus says; whatever we ask for, if our heart is right with Him and we believe and receive it by faith, then we will have it.

There are many mountains to speak to in life, we have a choice to speak to them or not. The choice is yours.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com