Those Little Foxes. 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊

 "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes."                                                                                    Song of Solomon 2:15   NKJV

I've always loved foxes. I remember seeing them years ago chasing rabbits and tricking them into submission for the kill. This ritual is called 'Charming', one where the fox runs around chasing its own tail and generally making a fool of itself, whilst the rabbit looks on mesmerised. Gradually, the fox gets closer to the rabbit until it can finally grab it and that, is the end of the rabbit.

I have also quite often, seen a fox trotting through my local nature reserve with a coot in its mouth. Wonderful stuff, but from another point of view devastating especially when the fox attacks chickens totally destroying it. Sady, the fox is only doing what nature has taught it to do for survival.

It was no different in bible times. The foxes were related to jackals and could be quite a menace, especially the little foxes who would gnaw at the tender shoots of the grapevine and run amok about the place destroying the whole crop. 

In this passage, Solomon uses little foxes as a metaphor for the many problems that creep into marriage destroying the sweetness of it all. Initially, a new Christian marriage can be bliss where each partner is caught up in this new adventure. However, after a time, the flame can begin to flicker a little and little things can begin to wind a partner up until it is a big problem. Before it gets this far, each partner needs to recognise what is happening and determine to sit down and talk things through. Remember, the devil will steal your love for each other if you allow him to. Don't! Communicate with each other instead.

This can also happen to well-seasoned marriages too. No one is exempt tensions and outbursts and quite a few older people sadly, have affairs and/or divorce because they have nothing left for each other. Don't let the little foxes steal the joy of your marriage and love no matter how long you have been together. Love and marriage built on the Rock of Jesus Christ is too precious for this to happen.

Little foxes can turn up in churches too, again destroying everything that has been built up. Also your own walk with Jesus can be open to devastation. Don't forget this is also a marriage - Jesus is the Bridegroom and the church/marriage partners, are the bride. We belong together.

The fox is sly, clever and cunning. Who does this remind you of? Yes, that's right - the devil himself. Don't be out-foxed. Check out your own marriage and walk with God. Are there any niggles or tensions around? It could be a little fox. Be careful!  🦊

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Nothing is going to stop you

 "and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."  v1

                                                                                                          Hebrews 12:1-2    NKJV

Reading through Hebrews 12:1-2, we see several phrases that I want us to ponder on. 

Firstly we have:

Cloud of witnesses   

In our daily lives, the people around us can observe how we handle ourselves and live the life we profess as Christians. This may be our family, friends, neighbours and the people that we  work with. Even in the supermarkets, people still observe us. How we react to a given situation determines what they think about us. There are witnesses everywhere we go.

Alternatively, we have a cloud of witnesses in Heaven - our Heroes of Faith which includes names such as, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Issac, Jacob, David and many more who have run the race with determination and urge us to do the same. Experts of faith even though they may have made mistakes.

Lay aside every weight

There are so many things that we need to lay aside in order to run our race successfully. We worry about this, fear that and lie awake all night wondering how we can sort this out. Stop, it's a weight and it needs laying aside. We should not carry around burdens. Its true that we will fall into some sort of sin most days of our lives, but we are not to feel condemned by it. There is only one who condemns us - Satan. He is the accuser of the brethren. Romans 8:1 tells us, 'There is therefore now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." We may feel guilt but once we confess to Jesus, we are declared not guilty. That feeling of sin must depart and, in the Name of Jesus, you have the power to command this.

Ensnare us

There are traps everywhere we walk and we need to avoid them by walking with Jesus in the armour of the Lord. Some things from our past may pop up and accuse us. This may lead to us feeling chained and imprisoned. If you've never submitted this to Jesus, do it now and allow the chains to fall off. Be watchful and alert; be careful of who you spend time with, where you go; what you read and what you speak and think about. Don't allow yourself to become ensnared. Shake it off.

Endurance

Run the race of faith with determination and true grit. Beat your body into submission. You're a soldier who is on the assault course of life. Train and complete the race and never surrender; never, ever, give up.

Author and Finisher

Jesus started it and He will finish it. With Jesus, we 'back the winner every time'. He's taken you this far. No matter how further ahead it is, you can be sure that He will take you to the end, even if He has to carry you.

Joy

His wish for us; His dream for us and His desire for us, is to be joyful in all we do, because then we will be full of all of His strength. (Nehemiah 8:10).

In closing, just think a moment; Jesus has sat down relaxing with His Father. This means He is confident that you will make it. Amen? Amen.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Jesus knows how you feel!

"14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need."     Hebrews 4:14-16    NKJV

Jesus has been there. He knows what life is like and what it takes to walk with God. He knows the struggles, the heartaches and the persecution that may come our way every now and again. He knows what a struggle it is to keep our sinful nature under control and how temptation can lead us astray at any time. He's been there, as we say in these times, He has the t-shirt, but His is covered with His blood shed on the cross for each one of us.

Jesus is our great High Priest. He is the only High Priest that is great. We can go to Him whenever we need to and His door is always open. He has passed through the heavens; He is the Son of God and He is the only one that truly knows what the Christian life is like and what a battle it can be at times. He knows temptation but He never sinned; He does know what the pull of it can feel like, however. He knows.

Jesus sympathises with us, with our struggles, with the sin we commit and the way we feel when we do sin. He tells us to 'Hold fast', our confession. This means we are to cling to our confession with determination. It takes all we have got. We are to cling to His forgiveness, to the fact that He knows what it is like. He cares. 

Sympathise in the Greek, is made up of two words = 'Suffer with', and this is what Jesus does for each of us. Counsellors speak about being in someone's Internal Frame of Reference; and this means, to sit in their shoes so that you know exactly what it is like to suffer. David Jeremiah in a comment about 'Suffer with', says: 'The term expresses the compassion of one who does not simply see suffering from the outside, but who enters into the suffering and makes it his or her own.' Copyright 2013 David Jeremiah.

Jesus becomes involved in what we do - if we allow Him, and that includes our suffering. He knows what weakness is. This is why He tells us that, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'  2 Corinthians 12:9. He calls us to pass all our problems to Him and whenever, we have blown it - which we do and will do until we are perfected in Heaven - to have the confidence to approach the throne of grace, confess our sin and receive His love and forgiveness. We receive His grace and His mercy (Hebrews Hesed), and we receive this to help in our time of need V16, in other words, 'just at the right time'.  

In conclusion, He will never cast you aside; He will never ground you or tell you that 'you've gone too far this time'. Not at all. As you come boldly to His throne, He will bless you beyond your wildest dreams. Why? Because He just can't stop loving you.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Be a worthy soldier of Jesus

"So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called (that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character , moral courage, personal integrity and mature behaviour - a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation)."                                                             Ephesians 4:1 Amplified Study Bible

This is the life that Jesus has called us to and the life that grabs the attention of people around you. Yes, you may suffer persecution from people who see you living for Jesus but, deep down, many of them want to be like you but they can't lose their street credibility, they have so much peer pressure that they just have to play the roles that they do.

To start with today, ask yourself:

Does my life exhibit godly character?

Do I live a life that expresses gratitude to God for my salvation?

Your honest answers to these two questions, will give you an idea about your Christian walk and what changes you may need to make in order to get it on track. To start with:

*  Change the way you talk about yourself. 

You are a child of God, so act accordingly. Don't accept the bad things others may say about you, just start confessing what God says about you and begin living that life, for Him. Listen to your words and change them where necessary. Only use wholesome, faith-building words about yourself.

*  Does what I do and say, live up to what I practice  - Christianity?

When you are in non-Christian company, be careful to keep your Christian values uppermost. Keep your witness by refusing to act the way the others may be acting - such as, dirty jokes, gossip and the language you use. When you're in company with non-believers - family or friends - it is so easy to drop your guard and start saying things like they do; using unwholesome words and generally lowering your standards. The American preacher, Bill Winston says, 'You can't run with rabbits and hunt with the hunters as well.' There is a choice that we have to make and this goes for the company that we keep.

*  Don't get dragged in

Don't ever let what the majority is thinking or saying influence you to go against the Word of God. Remember Joshua and Caleb. They had been sent out with others to spy out the land that God was leading them into. Joshua and Caleb came back singing its praises saying how great the land was. The others, brought a bad report - full of woe - saying that it was not for them, it would be a bad move (Numbers 13). So therefore, they ended up wandering around the wilderness for 40 or so years, and died there, except for Joshua and Caleb and that generation. Don't allow anyone to cloud your judgement. If God says it's ok, then it's ok.

Just live your life for Jesus, living up to your calling. This way you will be blessed.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Laugh your way to victory

"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (11) So the Levites quieted all the people saying, 'Be still, for the day is holy, do not be grieved."    

                                                                                                         Nehemiah 8:10-11    NKJV

Ezra the priest had just read the Book of the Law to the people. He had started in the morning and now, at midday, he concluded. The people were so touched by the Word of God that they began to weep. Nehemiah, the governor at that time, told the people not to mourn or indeed, weep because the day was holy. Instead, he told them, to be filled with the joy of the Lord which is their strength.

Realise that each new day is holy to us because Jesus is in our lives. We should live holy lives because He is holy. (1Peter 1:15). And what is more, each day Jesus tells us not to mourn or be sorrowful but, to be joyful. 'This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.' (Psalm 118:24). He has created a new day for us - a day that is holy and he expects us to enjoy it - be glad in it and joyful. 

There are many opposites that we come up against each day. Take for instance faith; the opposite of this is fear. Joy is no different; it has an opposite and this is despair, which is the misery of the world. It includes depression, anger, moaning, criticism, judging and aggression. These are all wrapped up in weakness, failure and spiritual decay. So therefore, joy is our strength; but to live the opposite is weakness.

God did not say, 'This is the day the Lord has made, we will despair and moan about it'. Absolutely not. We can choose to do this, that is our right. However, it is not a very good choice. It's far better to carry out God's directive, 'we will rejoice and be glad in it'. 

Laughing is a great way to be free. It releases tension. We can laugh our way to victory. We can also laugh ourselves into good health. 'A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.' (Proverbs 17:22).

Joy and merriment are a recipe for victory and we should choose to live this way every day of our lives. We need it - the world needs it. Each day is a holy day with Jesus and He is never in despair. Take a leaf or two out of His book - these verses.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Are you holding a grudge?

"But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him."                                          V30 of Luke 15:11-32     NKJV

We all know the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the way he went off with his father's inheritance, wasted it on wild living and then returned to his father asking for help and forgiveness. It is well documented and we can all see a part of ourselves within the text. However, what about the brother? It would appear - from his perspective at least - that there was a kind of favouritism between his father and younger brother. Younger children sometimes do take the 'favourite' roll for a time.

The father must have been devastated to hear that his younger son was leaving home but, he acted very fairly to him, sharing out equally, his livelihood between the two sons. But when this all went wrong and he returned to the homestead, the older brother, being a faithful and reliable son, felt that his brother had treated the family abysmally.

He was hurt and angry towards his brother and his father for welcoming him back as if he was a king returning from a mighty battle. He had a big, 'This is not fair, Pharisaical attitude and he couldn't even bring himself to call his brother by name. He called him, 'this son of yours'. Have you ever been like this? I have, especially when our dog has been up to no good. I say to my wife, 'This dog of yours has done - whatever.' We may joke but we do this.

The older brother couldn't see that grace was ruling the moment - the unmerited favour which God shows to us all when we need it. We don't deserve it but we get it anyway, and this was what happened to the younger brother. The older brother had a major grudge about all of this and we don't read that he ever repented.

We have to be careful of this powerful weapon. Grudges hold you back, they separate you from God; it is unforgiveness with a giant blame and accusation attached to it. Be careful, there is only one accuser and that is Satan himself. 

Think back, are you holding a grudge about some person who has wronged and hurt you or treated you unfairly? Listen to me, you are going nowhere with God until you let go of this and forgive the person. When you do, you will receive God's grace to help you deal with it all.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

He has anointed us and sent us to carry on the work

"18 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."                            Luke 4:18-19    NKJV

Jesus stood in the synagogue and read this out, loud and clear. He was reinforcing Isaiah's statement in Isaiah 61:1-2 and declaring that this was being fulfilled in their presence; He was the promised Messiah.

Later, in Chapter 9:1-2, we read that He passed this ministry to His disciples, 'Then He called His disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.' And then the entire church Acts 1&2.

As disciples of Jesus ourselves, we have this same mission. Jesus has commissioned us (Matthew 28:16-20 and Mark 16:14-18), to carry on this work wherever we are and whenever we can. We have been anointed by Jesus Himself to preach the gospel to the people who haven't heard it or don't fully understand the meaning of it. Without this, they are hell-bound, it is serious business. There are many people who are brokenhearted in our world today, who desperately need Jesus. He is the answer to their problems and their longing and they need us to explain this to them. Then there are those who are chained and held captive to drugs, porn, abuse of all kinds and poverty. They are in need of Jesus, they need to be set free and we, have the power within us, to do that. Depression, oppression, sickness, loneliness, just to name a few, are being suffered by people all over the world. I heard the other day about a person who was executed in a distant country for owning a bible. People need Jesus and now!

And we have the capability, we have the anointing of Jesus and there are many ways that we can help. We can send money to Christian charities; we can help children be schooled, fed and clothed by a small amount of cash each month. But also, there are the people in our neighbourhood, the people we live near to, who we work with, our family or friends. Everyone needs Jesus. This is why Jesus anointed you and I. We can make a difference.

Their is vast pain in this world. People have lost loved ones through Covid 19. People have lost someone through a car crash or a stabbing. People have been raped. Pain, pain and more pain. We can't take the pain away but we can help a little.

Do you realise that there is someone living near to you who has awful, pain-filled problems? They don't know Jesus either. They really have no one to help them. Can you help?

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE