Don't forget your belt!

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth."       Ephesians 6:14     NKJV 

Paul had just finished describing how we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against Satan and his demonic forces. He then goes on to discuss wearing the armour of God. Now at this time, he would have been in prison, so seeing Roman soldiers would have given him the creativity to write about armour. I would like us, to take a look at the belt of truth.

Roman soldiers, and indeed many ancient soldiers before them, wore a long tunic under their armour which protected their abdomen. They used a very wide belt to gather up the surplus part of their tunic so that they could operate properly. Hence, girding up the loins - tightening the belt so as not to hinder their action or possibly trip up. The belt held everything together and they were then prepared. The metaphor of tightening one's belt may have come from this time. 

Some people think that the belt is not part of the armour but, it is an essential part. Without the belt around a soldiers waist, the soldiers undergarments would be flapping around and cause him to be distracted in battle. Wearing a belt, keeps everything in place so that, the rest of the armour is a better fit. The soldier is then prepared for battle.

Think about that for a moment. Without the truth girded around your waist, you will never win the spiritual battles that will come your way. It prepares you for strenuous activity. Truth serves as the central point of the battle at hand. If truth is lost, the battle is lost also.

We need to operate in the truth. Jesus is the truth and we need to walk with Him in such a way. (John 14:6) We need to be honourable and if we desire for God to bless us and our work, we need to be 100% truthful in all that we do, think or say. Hence, why we need to put on this belt of truth, daily.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

A Priest's Blessing

"24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

                                                                                                     Numbers 6:24-26    NKJV

The Lord spoke to Moses (v22) and told him to speak with Aaron the priest and let him and his sons know, that this was the way He wanted His people to be blessed. Therefore, it is more commonly known as the Aaronic Blessing. This is a guide for God's people to bless others too, after all, we are all recognised by Jesus, as Kings and Priests to God (Rev 1:6). So we need to place the Lord's name on His people. (v27). We do this to pronounce the favour of God upon them so that God, in turn, may bless them too.

The structure of the blessing is three-fold:

The first part is asking for God's blessing and protection on the people.

The second part is asking the Lord to direct His face towards the person in a gracious manner.

The final part it asks that the Lord's face may focus attention on the worshipper in such a way that the individual, experiences peace, which is Shalom - wholeness in a powerful way and that He delight in His people.

This really is an amazing blessing that we all can use on the people we meet. My wife and I say it to each other daily and it brings a warm feeling to the heart as we experience God in this.

A quotation from The Moody Bible Commentary on this piece of scripture, reads:

'When God's face shines, He looks to invoke benefits, but when He hides His face, He is angry. This peace is a sense of rightness in the relationship with the Lord, coupled with, tangible blessing.'

I encourage you to study this scripture throughly and get so used to it, that you too, use it as a daily blessing to yourself and all you meet. So may:

'The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.'

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Tell Jesus what you want

"What do you want Me to do for you"                                                    Mark 10:51    NKJV

Has Jesus ever asked you this question? It is an amazing question and one, I think, many people would like Jesus to ask them. The type of response from Jesus, was triggered from a determined heart; a heart that knew what was needed to change their life, that once in a lifetime opportunity that was not going to be wasted.

This account is not unlike the woman with the issue of blood who desperately needed to be healed also. Like Bartimaeus, she needed a touch from Jesus, one that would be life-changing. She also, was not going to let the opportunity be wasted.

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, had heard that Jesus was to pass through and was determined to go to where he could find Him. When Jesus was there, Bartimaeus began shouting non-stop, 'Son of David, have mercy on me'. Over and over he shouted this Messianic title until Jesus, hearing it, stopped and called him to come forward. Bartimaeus jumped up leaving his cloak which may have contained alms that he had collected, and went to Jesus. He asked Bartimaeus, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' 

Bartimaeus, was focused:

He knew what he wanted

He believed Jesus could meet his need

He had faith in God

He knew that, whatever he asked, if he believed that he had received it, he would have it

And that in a nutshell, is how we get Jesus' attention. Note, there was no dilly-dallying; no uncertainty and no doubt. He knew what he wanted and he knew Jesus could give it to him.

And that is the difference. We have to be focused. We need to have the determination and we have to believe that we receive. It is having faith in God.

Let me close with the same question that I opened with. Has Jesus ever asked you this question? If He did, would you handle the situation like Bartimaeus did. Your answer to this, will determine if you will have what you need or not.

It really is a simple question to answer.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Be strong in the Lord

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."    

                                                                                                        Ephesians 6:10    NKJV

The devil walks around like a roaring lion and will attack anywhere that is a threat to him. Paul had planted churches in Ephesus and all other regions and they were becoming established. However, whenever a work becomes established and people are flowing in the Holy Spirit, Satan will attempt to block the work. He will try to cause division where the people are at loggerheads over some piece of doctrine, or perhaps, how the church is being run. He loves church splits and uses man's pride to facilitate this behaviour.

Have you noticed how quite a few leaders are in the news just lately. Quite a few have been caught in sex scandals - affairs, homosexuality sexting etc. He will do all he can to expose leaders and bring the work into the public eye. Whether it is sex scandals or the mis-appropriation of church funds, once the non-believing world get to know about this, it hits the headlines of the media and the church is stained with bad publicity.

Paul tells us, to be strong in the Lord. In other words, he is saying we should establish and promote a strong spirit within us because, it will get us through anything. We establish this by, constantly walking with God. Ephesians 4:1 encourages us to, 'walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.' Again, Ephesians 5:1 says, 'Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children.' To stand strong in he Lord, we need to live daily in communication with God.

No one is perfect and this is why we need to be in control of ourselves, seeking God's daily guidance to the letter. Don't forget, the devil is not your friend and if you are forging a way forward in God's Kingdom work, he will try and stop you. If there is any scandal about you to be found, he will find it and reveal it. If there isn't, he will invent something, he is the father of lies; the accuser and the destroyer. This is why it is vital to walk worthy of your calling and to be strong in the Lord and His Holy Spirit.

We should 'Redeem the time because the days are evil.' Ephesians 5:16. We need to seize the opportunities and make the most of them. When chances come our way for improvement, we need to grab hold of them, seek Jesus for His advice and then carry the advice out. The problem is, man can be filled with pride. If they're not watchful, a fall can be inevitable. Therefore, be strong in the Lord and allow Him to take the lead. He's good at that.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Demolish that Stronghold

"4 For the weapons of our warfare, are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience to Christ." 

                                                                                       2 Corinthians 10:4-5    NKJV

Paul speaks a lot about the art of training the mind so that it comes in line with the Word of God. Paul knows very well, that the mind, left to run wild, is the primary for spiritual warfare. What we focus our minds on, has lasting ramifications and can begin to completely rule our lives if we are not careful. Charles F Stanley comments on this as: 

'A thought reaps an action, an action reaps a habit, a habit reaps your character and your character reaps your destiny. Therefore, we must reject anything that does not honour Christ in our thinking'.   Charles F Stanley.

Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, so our own carnally weak weapons will not do. We need weapons that are God-empowered. Their purpose is for pulling down - demolishing strongholds. A stronghold is  anything that opposes God's will. Now here, Paul is referring to the warfare of the mind and against arrogant rebellious ideas and attitudes that act in pride to the true purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The aim is to bring every bad thought into captivity and make it obedient to the Word of God.

Take for instance the thought life. We can feed our mind with all sorts of negative things, found for instance, in unwholesome films, TV, books and magazines and being in the company of people who are ruled by such things. One can easily think of lust here - images that captivate our minds and begin to tempt us to become involved in this type of thing. However, we can't just blame this area. There is also the case of our minds feeding things through our mouths such as, lies, criticism, arguing and judging. Then of course there is pride, envy and jealousy, caused by wanting what other people have and not being able to obtain it.

All of these cause us to have a stronghold that needs to be addressed. Firstly, I know I mention it a lot, but it is important, and that is putting on the armour of God. It is vital that we become dressed in this protection. Then we need to keep watch on what happens within our mind. A thought comes in and like a camera, an image is captured and before you know it, the image turns into a spoken word or action. Therefore, the armour is needed; prayer is essential and a sense of responsibility is required so that you are much more in touch with what is going on in your psyche. 

To overcome this particular stronghold, doesn't happen overnight. It takes practice and dedication. It also takes prayer and a close relationship with Jesus. But, you can do this because God tells you you can Philippians 4:13.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

You are so loved

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."    

                                                                                                          John 15:13    NKJV 

There is probably no greater feeling than realising that you are loved so much, by someone. It lifts your heart; makes you feel good and brings satisfaction and peace of mind. This is one of the reasons why man and woman get married; they love each other so much that, they just want to be together forever. 

There's an old saying that, 'Love makes the world go around.' I'm not sure of the certainty of this but, it really makes a person feel good. However, it takes hard work. We don't just fall in love and life is hunky-dory forever more. It takes work and consideration. A man and a woman, become one when they are wed. This means that they are a team. Now a team will only be successful when each member does it's part. To sit around lazily, whilst a partner does all of the work is not conducive to a good marriage. 

Love can fizzle out at times, especially during arguments, where pots and pans may fly about and words are spoken that are regretted later. It takes hard work to keep a relationship on the straight and narrow, a little give and take is needed. A good place to start is to follow Jesus' example.

In our text above, He speaks about serving; laying down your life for the one you love. He also speaks about being a friend. It is the most amazing thing to realise that Jesus classes us as His friends. He gave up all for each one of us and this is a good example to follow. Relationships can be difficult to maintain at times. They take trust and a willingness to serve and most definitely, being a team player.

If you need help with your relationship, take a look at Jesus. His love is true. He takes no one for granted. He loves, thinks the best of people, spreads peace where there could be war and is one hundred percent reliable. 

Now that is a good place to start.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

 

What is your thorn?

"7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord that it might depart from me."                                                                            2 Corinthians 12:7-8    NKJV

The experience that Paul had in Heaven was an amazing happening, and one in which could well have caused him to boast about it. It's obvious that God allowed a messenger of Satan to come against him, in order to prevent Paul boasting and becoming euphoric.

A thorn in the flesh could be described as an intense, wearying difficulty or affliction. It affected Paul so much that, he pleaded with God three times that He would take it away. However, it remained, and instead of relief, Paul received God's grace - a strengthening process that would take care of all of his weaknesses. It was more than likely a learning curve for Paul, and he accepted it and wrote about how content he was to be weak with God's strength behind him. The Message version of v9 reads, 'I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift.'

This piece of scripture leads us to consider the times that we also plead with God for release from ill-health, trouble and any other such problem. Most of us have something in our life that we wish wasn't there. It may be sickness or lack of finance. It could be seeking that perfect job or the chance to make a business successful. Whatever we try, we may come against a failure of some kind. Have you ever considered that God is allowing this to happen to you because He wants something from you first. This may only be your attention but, it may be something deeper.

Are you open to the fact that you may be doing something in your life that is blocking the way to freedom. You may have a thorn that is not acceptable to God. It may be something that you know about; something that you know you shouldn't be doing, but you still do it; and when you do, you feel bad about it afterwards.

Today, God is offering you His grace. He is not condoning what you do, not at all. However, He is offering you His grace and strength in order to address this and overcome it. His Word tells us, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness' v9. Whose weakness? Yours; He will help you to overcome this thorn that is continually there every day of you life. 

If this is speaking to you right now, why not get before God and share your heart with Him. He knows already, but it is a useful exercise to speak with Him about it all. If you need to, confess your sin and receive His forgiveness. He knows how difficult the thorn is and even though, He may not take it away, He will help you to cope with it. It is a continuing learning curve for you.

Lord, I give this thorn to You and ask for Your help. Please allow Your grace and strength to come upon me, so that I am able to live each day in overcoming victory.

I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE