The Fear of the LORD

"Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?"    

                                                                                                       Psalm 34:11-12     NKJV 

What is the fear of the Lord? David gives us some pointers in this Psalm; it is doing right and practicing total obedience. He feels it is so important and states in v12, 'Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? We need to keep our tongue from speaking evil and our lips from deceit. In fact, we are to depart from evil and do good, seeking peace.'

This is not unlike Proverbs 4:20-27, where Solomon teaches us very much the same. Then, of course, Jesus teaches us about what comes out of our mouths and the state of our hearts. In fact, the New Testament is packed with more teaching on this subject. Therefore, David's teaching is extremely important, 'Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.' 

We need to take notice here. What we speak and think about is assessed. God is the assessor Psalm 34:15. He knows all, hears all and sees all. There is nothing that we can hide from Him. So we need to ensure that we have a good assessment. A critical spirit and/or a gossipy tongue, needs to cease. Swearing and evil speaking, even in jest, should not be a part of a child of God. It is difficult to adhere to, but imperative if we wish for a long life of blessing.

We are not only to live in peace but, we are to seek and pursue it, even when someone has taken your parking space, jumped the queue in the supermarket or borrowed something and never given it back. 

We need to fully understand the fear of the Lord, and live it, each and every day.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Spend some time with your Father

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt His name together."     Psalm 34:1-3  NKJV 

Have you ever just come before the Lord and just praised Him, nothing else? What I mean is, have you ever just sat or knelt and without asking for anything, just praised Him? Have you ever just sat before the Lord without saying a word and just listened for Him to speak to You?

These are difficult things to do. Our natural urge is to speak to God, to praise Him yes, but also to pour out our prayer requests and our pleas for mercy when we have let Him down badly. To just come before Him without any agenda; without saying anything, can be alien to our thinking at times. It takes discipline. Try it and see.

David trained himself in this discipline and he determined to bless and praise the Lord at all times; in fact, praise would always be in his mouth. David trained every part of his body, soul and spirit to be disciplined and submitted to God. This didn't come easy for him. He had many struggles with life; many difficulties with people and many people wanting to harm him. But, he put God first and realised that, without Him, he was nothing.

Think about that statement for a moment, we are nothing without God. We have no future, no protection or certainty in life. It is a minefield out there and there are a few who do not like us, even though we have never done anything to cause this. It's just life. Rather like a computer program that runs continually in the background to make if effective, God works in the background of our lives. He sees what we can't see and hears what we miss. If we allow Him, He is our planner; our manager and our protector. We can not exist without Him (John 15:5).

Therefore, why not take a day off asking God for something and doing all of the talking. Why not set aside a day to just sit and praise Him, listen to Him and relax in His goodness and His peace.  It beats a day by the pool with your favourite drink, in fact, it beats anything you could ever think of. You will be sitting at the feet of your God, your friend and your daddy. Nothing could ever top that. Try it very soon.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

I will get through this

"Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear."    Psalm 27:3     NKJV 

Throughout our lives, many things have and will come against us, threatening us, tempting us and hurting us. We  can't stop this from happening, it's part of life. It is what we do about it that matters.

To be able to survive, we have to go through certain difficulties; corners cannot be cut: 

'Jerry Vines tells the story of a little child watching a moth coming out of its cocoon. He saw the moth struggling against the strands of thread. The child therefore, took some clippers and cut the threads. Immediately, the moth tumbled out but was so weak. This was because a moth's wings only become strong enough for flight through the struggle of getting out of the cocoon.' 

                                                                          Jerry Vines, The Vines Expository Bible

This is true for us too. We need to go through certain things in order to learn and gain experience. God knows that struggles, strengthen us. David knew this too and this is why he could write such a strong statement as, 'Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.'

Whatever you are going through at this time, think, this may be a learning curve and as you work through this, you will be stronger. God is with us all the time, but He allows us to try and find our way through certain things. Yes, we can call upon Him if we need to, and He will be there for us. But He gives us the strength and the wherewithal to face things, clothed in the armour of God knowing that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

You need to read this!

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears."  Psalm 18:6     NKJV 

Have you ever been in a situation that appears very difficult to find a way out? This was where David was at. Saul, with all of his paranoia was after killing him and creating hostility wherever he went. Unless a divine intervention came, he was doomed. It was rather like he was in a trap. He was entangled and in the snare of death. It really was a distressing place for him to be.

David writes, 'In my distress'. This is a place of anxiety, strain, suffering and mental pain. He didn't know what Saul was going to do or what mood he was in from day to day. It must have felt like walking on egg shells. Do you relate to this? Now, he could have written, 'In my distress, I took the matter into my own hands.' He could well have done this. He may have been small in statue, unlike Saul, who appeared to be a giant in comparison. David could have done this. He was a warrior, let us not forget that this was the little guy who took on the giant Goliath and killed him, when the rest of them, Saul included, were cowering in the corner. Yes, David would have been very capable, but also very unwise. This was dangerous territory and doing things on your own, without God's ok, is a recipe for total disaster. David knew this. Therefore, he called on the LORD.

He called on the only one who could help him with this predicament - God. 'In my distress, I called upon the LORD.' Now watch this - David called on God and He heard David from within His temple. David's cry for help came before Him, 'even to His ears.' How many times do we think that God may not have heard our cries for help, so we keep on bombarding Him with our requests. God hears! Now, note this also, David did what was right, he called on God for help instead of trying to sort it out himself. And, therefore, God heard him. When we try to sort it out ourselves, it is as if God thinks, 'well they've got the thing in hand - they think, so I'll just wait and see how it turns out.'

When we act according to God's will, God hears us and is very willing to help (Proverbs 3:5-6). Here, we read that when He heard David's cry for help, 'He bowed the heavens also and came down' v9. He was angry that HIs child - David, and yourself when you call on Him in this way, was in peril. He was angry, the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken v7-9 and, check this out, darkness was under His feet. Darkness is evil and when God's at work, He puts it under His feet. He stamps it out because it has no place in the life of a Child of God.

Think about that; He hears your voice and when you allow Him to, He places the evil darkness where it should be, under His feet. And, by doing this, you also are placing the darkness under your feet, because calling on God is scriptural and it is declaring that you are not going to put up with this any longer. Come on! Put God in the driving seat of your life and allow Him to create in you, a warriors heart, such as David had.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Joy

"You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."                                                           Psalm 16:11    NKJV 

God's intention is for us to serve Him with joy in our hearts and lives - always. Let's face it, there is a lot of misery and upset around. There's also confusion and fear over the imminent removal of Covid restrictions later this month, in the UK. This all leads to agitation and unrest.

David tells us, that in God's presence is fullness of joy. This means blessings and comfort and incredible strength, because to walk in joy means, we walk in strength. This is how God wanted the Israelites to live in the wilderness. Moses told them, 'Because you did not serve the LORD Your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything 48 therefore, you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you' Deuteronomy 28:47-48. All the Israelites did was moan, groan and criticise God, Moses and all they were given. They were never satisfied. Joy was available because they were no longer in bondage, they were free. However, they were stubborn in their ways.

David gives us some sound advice here in Psalm 16:8-9, of how to walk in joy. He says, 

'I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope'

Like David, we also should set the Lord before us. Jesus should always be in first place. When we set Him this way, He is right there with us, guiding our paths and protecting our steps. We can then echo what David says, 'I shall not be moved.'

Allow God to bless you like He desires to; walk in joy each and every day.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Alternative thinking

"But I have trusted in Your mercy." v5.                                  Psalm 13:5-6       NKJV 

If you remember, yesterday's word focused on how David wondered where God was in his situation. Now, here in verse 5, he says one small word; a word that can change everything, 'But'. 'But I have trusted in Your mercy.' This word, gave David an alternative view of his circumstances. By saying it, did it change the situation? No, however his thinking changed.

This little word carries a massive amount of punch with it. Used in the negative, many will say, 'I know what you mean and I agree that I can do it, but...' The 'But' forms a barrier that can prevent a person accepting something and thus, moving forward. Once a person has spoken the word in this manner, it is difficult to get them to change it.

Alternatively, David spoke the positive 'But'. He knew things hadn't changed but, he also knew who he trusted and that was God. Deep down within himself, he knew God had never let him down. He also knew that the devil was tempting him to be negative. He decided to sing; why? Because praise forges a way forward. It creates joy and joy brings strength Nehemiah 8:10. 

Be honest; do you say 'But' a lot? Is it in a positive or a negative manner? If it is the latter, perhaps you need to spend more time in the Word; finding out just how much God can be trusted and how much He can be relied on. When you feel yourself about to say 'But' in the negative manner, stop right there and alter it to the positive. It'll take practice but you know you can do it.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Where is God in all of this?

"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?                                                                                              Psalm 13:1-2    NKJV 

David uses the term 'How long' 4 times to emphasise the point he is making to God. He felt abandoned and forsaken and his thoughts were not wholesome. He felt that God was allowing his enemy to dominate him. When things are not going well for us, it is easy to assume that evil is winning and God is nowhere to be found.

Many times, we forget that God sees things much differently to us:

'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, My ways.' says the LORD. 9 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways; and My thoughts than your thoughts.'     Isaiah 55:8-9

He doesn't work the way we feel that He should. 

'How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?' v1 is the term David  used to emphasise his problem had been going on for a long time. You may be able to relate to this. You may have been waiting for God to act on your behalf for a very long time, but up to now, no breakthrough. You may be ill and longing for healing; you may be on your own and need someone to love you. There is a host of things that you may be praying for, but it doesn't seem to arrive. What about the woman with the issue of blood. Matthew 9:20-22. She had suffered this for twelve years or so and spent all of her money on doctors that got her nowhere, except broke. She didn't give up. That day, when she saw Jesus, she thought, 'if only I may touch the hem of His garment, I shall be healed'. She did and she was. She could easily have felt forgotten and abandoned but she hung on to her faith and the right moment. God may be speaking to you right now about this!

It can seem that, one moment God is here with us and the next, He seems far away. And yet, He says 'I will never leave you or forsake you' Hebrews 13:5. 

David's third 'How Long?' addressed his soul. His thoughts were often in turmoil as he wrestled with this. Our thoughts can so easily be hijacked by the enemy when we are feeling low in spirit. We may feel that we are all alone and that no one, including God, cares at all. But, problems are God's way of allowing us to grow in faith. It breeds experience every time, and this experience is what we can pass on to others who may be in similar situations. 

Bottom line, 'Where is God in all of this?' He is right beside you. His ways may be beyond our understanding but it will always turn out ok.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE