Be filled with the Spirit

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."    

                                                                                                           Ephesians 5:18    NKJV

To be drunk with alcohol is to allow that situation to take us over, totally, until we are no longer capable of being in control and are subject to reckless stupidity, something that we may regret when we come to our senses the next day. However, to be filled by the Spirit of God is very different. Charles F Stanley comments:

"When we talk about being filled with the Spirit of God, it does not mean that we receive something more from God. We are indwelt by the Spirit in full measure at the time of our salvation. Rather, being filled with the Spirit means that we live in submission to Him - or under His control. As He prompts and directs us, we immediately respond in obedience to His commands.'

We live for Jesus. When we were born again, He gave us His Spirit and we are to live in such a way, that we are continually filled each day, in fact, throughout the day. The power of the Holy Spirit leads us to perform what we would never be able to perform without Him. Just look at the guys in Acts 2 when the fullness of God's power came upon them. This is the same power that God wants to fulfil in us.

The reference to being drunk on wine is an analogy of fake strength. When a person is under the influence of alcohol, they believe they can do whatever they wish. They feel that the world loves them; they can fight the biggest person in the world and achieve great things like climbing up a large building, risking their lives. If they don't fall off and kill themselves, they wake up the next morning wondering what they have done - in shame. It is a short trip, it is over quickly and can be very expensive too. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, is much different and is permanent. The Spirit of God leads us into the things of God; that great excitement and hope that can be found nowhere else. He is empowering. 

Charles R Swindoll, starts each day with this prayer. Why not do the same:

'This is Your day, Lord. I want to be at Your disposal. I have no idea what these next 24 hours will contain. But before I begin, before I sip my first cup of coffee, and even before I get dressed, I want You to know that from this moment on throughout this day, I'm Yours Lord. Help me to be a branch that abides in the vine, to lean on You, to draw strength from You and to have You fill my mind and my thoughts. Take control of my senses so that I am literally filled  with Your presence and power and dynamic. I want to be Your tool, Your vessel today. I can't make it happen. Without You I can accomplish nothing. And so I'm saying Lord, fill me with Your Spirit today.'

                             Copyright 1993 Charles R Swindoll Flying Closer to the Flame p81

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

 

Delight in God, not the world

"6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  8And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves."

                                                                                          1 Timothy 6:6-10     NKJV

Some people long for the Lottery day to come, especially the Euro-Millions. If a person wins the jackpot, they go from nothing to multi-millionaire over night. Now for many, this sounds good. Just think about it, winning this fortune can give you all the many things that you've only been able to dream about. Win and it becomes a total reality. But there have been a few people who have won only to have their lives shortened through unwise living. Where are they now?

The above text spells the reality out very clearly. We brought nothing into this world and, we will certainly take nothing out of it, when we die. When we are standing before Jesus, it won't mean a thing if we tell Him that we are a multi-millionaire. It will mean nothing. The only thing that will matter to Jesus is how you lived your life on earth. If you know Jesus, you will be able to stay, otherwise, I'm sorry to say, you will be refused entry.

To be happy, is to delight ourselves in God, not in the world. There are so many lovely people in this world. However, many of them, despite being nice people, live a life far away from God. They just do not want to know about Him. If we spend too much time with that kind of people, we are at risk of being pulled away from our Christian walk and placed into their life styles. As harsh as it may sound, if they are not interested in Christianity, we need to limit our time with them and spend time with the ones who are interested.

When we delight ourselves in God, it means that, we stand tall and firm and hold up the banner of Jesus Christ. We do not hide it for an evening or two just to satisfy certain friends. So therefore, we have choices to make. Is there a chance that these friends may steer us away from what we believe? Are they interested in Jesus? The answers to these two questions determines what choice we should make.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

With all you've got

"I will praise You O LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of Your marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."    

                                                                                                              Psalm 9:1-2      NKJV 

In other words, David, the Psalmist, was telling us to praise God with all we have got, your  whole heart. The word 'Whole' is something that contains all the components; it is complete, not divided or disjointed, it is one unit. Now place this description into this context and it describes how the condition of our heart should be.

From thereon, when we tell of God's wonders, all the things that have happened to you and how blessed you have been, the Holy Spirit give us an excitement that is hard to ignore because, it is full of fire - the fire of God. This makes you glad and ready to rejoice, His love cannot be avoided.

Kenneth Hagin's grandson - Craig W Hagin, once said, 'No matter what, I am still happy because God is on the Throne and He has things in control.' Whatever happens in our day, God is always worthy of our praise - our whole praise. He takes care of us; as verse 9 of this Psalm tells us, 'The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed. A refuge in times of trouble.' He tells us something very similar in Psalm 91:2 'I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' He is our hiding place, our place of safety, our shelter, protection and our relief. When we realise this fully, it makes you want to shout praise to His name.

Some of you may be in trouble at this moment. There may be something that is worrying you, threatening you or causing you great fear. Stop right there and begin to praise God. Praise Him with your whole heart. He is still on the Throne and His Throne is available to us anytime we wish to visit Hebrews 4:16. 

Go to Him right now and begin to pour your whole heart out with praise and your worries and cares will be so small in His presence.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Plan your path prayerfully

"Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.    

                                                                                                       Proverbs 4:26      NKJV 

There is a need for us to stay spiritually alert at all times. This includes taking regular inventory of our life's directions. Psalm 139:23-24 says, 'Search me O God and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; 24 and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' 

If we ponder the path we are walking on - to our destination, it will lead to a more wiser way of living. When we are focused properly, we are less likely to go to the left or right. Proverbs 4:27 warns us not to swerve off course. This would be the result of allowing distractions to rule. We have choices. The most sensible course is to look straight ahead and refuse the distractions; the temptations, that will come our way. Athletes have to overcome this when they are in the starting blocks. If they look at, or listen to the person next to them who us telling them negative stuff, then it can affect their performance.

When an unwholesome thought comes into your mind, you need to capture it and make it obedient to Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you will take the wrong path; and let's be honest here, most of us have done this in the past.

It would be rather unwise to go on a strange journey without, either a map or sat nav directing your way. You could end up in problems. Do you get the idea? So plan your path wisely and prayerfully.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Logos v Rhema

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

                                                                                                                   John 1:1     NKJV 

Logos, is the Word of God - the written Word. Jesus is the Word. He was with God at the beginning, prior to creation and He was God. He always has been. People struggle with the Trinity, but quite simply, it is made up of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three separate person's but all in one. 

Logos is the written Word of God which we know as the bible. Within this Word, we will find all we need about the past, present and the future. It is all about the Trinity. The thing is, we can read the bible everyday, studying it until we can quote all the key verses, and that is good; but if that word is not in our hearts, this is all it is - head knowledge. We know everything about God and His Word but, we don't know Him in our hearts, and this is where the Rhema Word comes into play. 

In the basics, Rhema is heart knowledge. The written Word - Logos, has become a living Word within us. Rhema is the communication of the logos message. Whereas Logos is the bible in its entirety, Rhema is a verse from the bible that has become an explosion of awareness within us.

We can become excited about what we read in the Logos Word but, it doesn't become a reality until it comes to life within us and this is Rhema. Rhema brings us the fire of God within us; it is one of the ways in which God communicates with us; one of the ways that He leads us forward, directing us to carry out tasks for Him. Rhema promotes a relationship with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It ignites the flame of God within us, the fire that we so long for.

Therefore, don't just read your bible, allow God to speak this Word into your heart. When you do this, you will never look back.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

The Accuser

O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me."                                                                                       Psalm 7:1     NKJV 

One of David's major enemies was, Cush a Benjamite, who he suspected of causing him trouble with King Saul by feeding Saul with lies and false accusations about him. We all have those types of people around us; they spread rumours, gossiping behind our backs and ripping apart our reputations. Put it this way, if Jesus had them, you can bet that you will too. 

At times, it is easy to believe that God is allowing them to get away with it. But He doesn't do this; at some stage, unless they change their ways, they will fall. Haman was building a scaffold to hang the Jews, but it was turned against him and he, and his ten sons, were hanged on their own scaffold. Esther 7:10; 9:13. God will avenge if we allow Him to. Romans 12:19.

What should we do while this is all happening to us? We should rejoice and be exceedingly glad Matthew 5:12. Now this is hard to do, especially when someone has spread lies about you. However, if you try and address it, chances are that you will end up with egg on your face. When we take things into our own hands, it has a habit of turning that way. But realise one thing; GOD KNOWS! He knows what you have been through or are dealing with at this moment. The temptation to react and retaliate is extremely strong, but act like Jesus did to His accusers; He said nothing. That is more powerful than you could ever imagine; because, you are putting God in the driving seat, you are trusting in Him. And He will never let you down.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Don't have a 'Grave clothes', mentality

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" 

                                                                                                            Luke 24:5-6     NKJV

These two verses are so full of power that they cannot just be glanced over quickly. They need devouring and digesting. God has specific plans for you. He hasn't just picked your name out of a hat. He has been nurturing and training you for a long time. It's not been an easy task because, there are rough edges that require fine honing. However, He is getting you ready; He is preparing you for the course. He wants your attention - your focus. He doesn't want the lack of concentration that you may have been giving Him lately. He means business; He's always meant business. He shrugged off the grave clothes when He rose to life and I believe, He is calling all of us to do the same. Get rid of the 'Grave clothes' mentality and start living.

Today, God has plans for you. The time on this earth is getting shorter for everyone and we can either walk around with a 'Grave clothes' mentality or a 'I'm alive' one. The first one will hold you back in all you do; whereas the second one will propel you towards your goal.

As I mentioned, time for us on this earth is getting shorter. Jesus will be returning as soon as the Father directs Him. Now, that could be today, we never know. All the main reason to be ready. Shrug the 'Grave clothes' mentality off. He has a plan and you figure in it. 

The impact Jesus made on this world when He rose again was phenomenal. He's going to make a greater impact when He returns, that's for sure. Make sure you're ready!

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE