Make it a habit to focus on Jesus.

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."  

                                                                                              v2 of Colossians 3:1-2     NKJV  

These two verses  in Colossians 3, give us a good insight into focusing all we have on Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith. We have been raised with Christ. Those who have been baptised by submersion, symbolically died with Jesus as they went under the water and as they re-surfaced, they were raised to a new life in Jesus. Baptism is an outward sign to the world that we belong to Jesus. Don't worry though if you haven't been baptised. It won't prevent you getting into heaven. If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then you have died to your old life and been raised to a new life in Him. Baptism is a symbolic example of belonging to Jesus. Maybe if you haven't been baptised, you may want to do this at some stage.

Now that we belong to Jesus, we are to set our minds on Him. The world has relatively nothing to offer like Jesus has. We have His DNA; we have identified with Him by being born again. Therefore, we need to make a daily habit to focus on the things above where Jesus is. On the earth, things are all gloom and doom; there's endless news on Covid 19, political arguments, violence and deep unrest all over the place. It doesn't draw us to it and is definitely, not edifying. Newspapers are just full of stuff that can lead our thoughts away from what matters the most.

What we think about affects us more than we realise. Unimportant things can take our minds over. Whenever we hear gossip, we should nip it in the bud straightaway before it takes a hold and we begin to see it as the truth. All through our day, we encounter things that want to misguide us and lead us in the wrong direction. We become wound up over something that really does not matter, such we take the dog out and it begins to rain - heavily. On the walk, despite being saturated, the dog decides to do, 'his business', right in the middle of some grass which has now become quite muddy. 'Why can't you do it next to the path?' you exclaim as the dog looks at you wondering what you're saying. Think, yes you're wet and you're now covered in mud; but is it really worth losing the peace of God.

Be in control of your thoughts; focus on Jesus - on the spiritual reality of heaven. Let this control your motivations. Make it a daily habit, rather than being caught up with earthly things. When you set your mind on things above, you are setting your mind on higher things - Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all He wants to show you today.

Make it a habit to speak in tongues more and more. You may not understand it and the devil definitely doesn't understand it and he hates this fact and becomes paranoid that you may be plotting something against him. But you're probably not; he's not that important anyway because you're speaking to the one who really matter, Jesus Himself; and He totally understands what you're saying.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

God's benefits

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."           Psalm 103:1-5   NKJV

The benefits that are handed out to people who cannot work for some reason or other, in the UK, are means-tested. This means they give it to you with one hand but, if you receive finance from another quarter, they will take the equivalent away with the other hand. Thank goodness that God's not like this. His benefits far outweigh any you could receive anywhere else. 

This is why David here, tells us to bless the Lord with our souls: 

Our Minds:

what we think and say; what we profess or confess; what goes on within us.

Our Will:

our determination to be faithful to God; to be a trusted follower of His; what we do

Our Emotions:

How we receive His benefits with gratitude in our hearts towards Him and show compassion to others with the willingness to try and bless them too.

His benefits cover a multitude of things, but here David mentions, forgiveness, healing, redemption, love and compassion and an attitude of gratitude and satisfaction towards God, so that we feel renewed - and this is for each day of our lives.

Think back if you will, on all the things that you have done wrong in your life. Yes, God has forgiven you, if you've asked Him to, but if you were God, would you? Would you forgive? Some of us can't even forgive ourselves when we have done something wrong, let alone forgive others. Thank goodness for God.

There have been times when you were ill, on medication and with a deep fear within your heart about it all. But God turned up and laid His healing hand on you. What about when God rescued you (redeemed) from certain destruction or death?

Each and everyday, He showers us with love and kindness - His love knows no end. Ok, things may go wrong and there may be pain for some people. However, He never leaves your side and shows you endless tenderness.

He has given you satisfaction. You have food and clothes and live in nice places. You are blessed. At this moment, you may not feel that you are blessed but, you are and as you begin confessing that you are blessed over and over, something will happen - you'll begin to believe it.

Try it - try saying, 'I am blessed, I am blessed'. Keep saying it, then begin to shout it out. Open the windows and shout it outside at the top of your voice. You may get taken away, but relax, if you do, God will redeem you, still shouting, 'I am blessed'. 😀

As you confess this over and over, you will not only believe it, but you'll begin to live it. You'll believe and accept it so much that you will live a blessed and a satisfied life with God's benefits.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Choices

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain."                                       John15:16    NKJV

You are a beloved friend of Jesus (v14). He chose you, not the other way around. That is amazing in itself. Jesus chose you and I; we didn't have to do a thing. He came along and chose us to be His friend. He trusts us enough to say this. We are friends of Jesus Christ and He has appointed us - ordained us to serve Him every day of our lives.

Each day, we have a choice whether to serve God. This is an over and over kind of thing. It's not just when we said, 'Yes', to Him and He came into our lives but, each and every day, we need to choose to serve Him afresh. It's a daily decision. Some would disagree and say that they serve Him anyway. However, this is a way of rubber-stamping the fact and it keeps us on our toes instead of getting staid.

We choose to serve Him in every situation. We all have choices. We have a choice to be depressed or blessed. You may say that you can't help being depressed but. God's Word disagrees by saying, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Philippians 4:13. We were delivered from this and healed, 'by whose stripes you were healed.' 1 Peter 2:24 and 'who heals all your diseases.' Psalm 103:3. We have a choice to make, so choose to be well and blessed.

Serve God and Him only. Each day we are faced with many alternatives. We must continually choose to serve God - wholeheartedly! Therefore, we can say, 'I choose not to lie, I choose not to steal, I choose not to commit adultery, I choose not to judge or criticise' etc. etc. We have to make the choice today, not tomorrow. 

If you have made the choice to follow Jesus and live for Him and Him only, then He will help you accomplish this. A well used Proverb is one that I recommend you stand on:

'Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways, acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

                         Proverbs 3:5-6    NKJV

 

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

          

Your Reward is Absolutely Inexhaustible

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. (12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."                                                

                                                                                                            Matthew 5:11-12    NKJV

How do you feel when people insult you for being a Christian? How do you take it when you find that people you trusted, are saying false things about you, behind your back? When I first became a Christian in 1980, I was a little rough round the edges and, not being out of the army very long I would always respond loudly to anyone who, 'Had a go at me.' When I first found people talking about me from the church, I wanted to punch their lights out. This was what I had been used to and I was ready. Fortunately, Jesus began a re-moulding job on me - which is still going on today, I can assure you. I have learnt, by verses such as above, that it is actually an opening for me to be blessed.

The whole meaning of 'Blessed', is to be happy. It possibly could be written as, 'Happy is the man who....'. God wants us to remain in a state of happiness and joy. Why? Well the amplified version of these verses give us a clue. Verse 12 says, 'Be glad and exceedingly joyful for your reward in heaven is great, (absolutely inexhaustible. Did you get that? God's blessings to us will be nothing less than absolutely inexhaustible. Now I don't know about you, but I want blessings like that. So insult me any way you want to Lol.

As Christians, people insult us because of our association with Jesus Christ. Just the mention of His name winds some people up. In some quarters, it's a conversation stopper. Others use the name of Jesus as a swear word. Many do not like Him, but why? Because He convicts them. He makes them see what they are really like and the guilt hits them like a meteorite. Just the mention of His name or your presence in front of them, freaks them out and they do almost anything to get away. And so, they revert to abuse towards the Christian person and church, which they normally use the word, 'religion'.

To be verbally abused, or reviled as the NKJV says, is hurtful, especially when it comes from a Christian brother or sister who you have respected and trusted. It is devastating and makes you feel, 'Who can I trust?' The sad thing is, we are not going to be able to stop it and as time goes on, it will get worse as we continue into the End Times. Therefore, we are going to have to be able to stand against this and receive all insults as a blessing. This is hard I know, but remember, Gods blessings to us will be nothing less than absolutely inexhaustible. What we do is learn to turn the abuse into a blessing; the insult into gems of glory; the hate into life and joy. You can do this because, Jesus Christ dwells within you and He will deal with the abusers, not you. You just keep your eyes on Him and receive that absolutely inexhaustible grace and blessing - that mercy (Hesed) and keep on, keeping on and then keeping on a little longer.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

'Lord, I need Your help'

"I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place." 

                                                                                                        Psalm 118:5    NKJV

There may have been times when you have been in distress - in anguish - when it seemed that everything was against you and there didn't appear to be a way out. Then Jesus turned up in answer to your call for help. You may have been in a dangerous position - life-threatening even and, as you called out to God, He was there quick as a flash to help.

The scripture above reads, that God set the psalmist in a broad place. This means that when God answered, He set him free, delivered him and gave him the victory. If you've been on the end of a desperate prayer such as this, you too have been delivered, given the victory and totally rescued.

There are many who have become enveloped and chained in difficult situations and you may be in one of them right now. You may have tried everything to set yourself free but, it has all been in vane. There is only one who can set us free from anything and, His name is Jesus. (John 8:36). 

Some of us need to be set free from habits that have become a rigid part of out lives. It may be over-eating - obesity, drinking too much alcohol or smoking. Pleasures at the time but pleasures that can reduce the length of our lives, drastically. It may be difficult to change this but with Jesus' help, it can be attained. It just takes a little dedication, commitment and sheer hard work. Some people can do this by going cold turkey, others can't. Don't be put off by this; Jesus has the answer for you. You must though, recognise that He may not just wave His hand over you and the habit has gone. He can set you free this way and has done to many in the past, but not always. He may expect you to bite the bullet and be prepared - with His help - for a determined effort.

Many folk may have burdens and hurts from the past. They crop up from time to time but they are usually buried before anyone can notice this. When we do this, it is similar to painting a very cracked wall with whitewash. Initially, the job looks good but then it dries and all the cracks come back to the surface and they look uglier. In the same manner, our burdens and hurt do the same. They're forever there until you decide to do something about it, such as ministry, counselling or prayer. You may not want this but it's better than a lifetime of bad memories, isn't it?

Try this:

'Lord Jesus, I recognise that I need your help. I need to be set free from my stubborn habits such as......................Please help me Lord. I also have burdens and hurts from the past such as ............................. Again, please help me Jesus. I know that you have flagged this up today, so I come to You in faith, approaching Your throne of grace in my time of need, and ask You to heal me and set me free. May the chains fall off today Lord. Also, Lord, I have walked away from You like the Prodigal, I return right now and give my life back to You. Come into my heart, forgive my sins, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and be My Lord and Saviour.

I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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