Rest and do not fret

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret - it only causes harm."       Psalm 37:7-8     NKJV 

God wants His people to be at peace - in complete rest. He doesn't wish for us to be fretful about things but, to be patient. People do appear to get away with their schemes and wicked ways but, is it worth getting all steamed up about it all. If we can do something directly about this, then go ahead. However, if we can't there is no use in fretting about it.

There are a lot of plotters about; they's mostly known as con men. It's hard to spot them mostly, so be wise in all you do. They may rip you off but, they'll never be able to rip God off. Whatever has happened, if you leave it to Him, He will avenge. Because God has promised to take care of us, as we put our trust in Him, we can rest in the Lord. 

Resting in the Lord is a particular kind of rest; it s the rest of silence. We do not have to defend ourselves in retaliation. If we refuse to speak back to someone who has done us a wrong, then God will protect us. Remember how Jesus handled things. Often, He remained quiet - silent. If He did, then we need to do the same. 

We need to watch our anger level; when we surrender to this, we handle things badly. Therefore, cease from anger. When we are angry, we allow ourselves to lose a certain amount of control. We are no longer in the driving seat, the devil is and he loves to drive. In anger, words and behaviours get out of hand. When we calm down, we are left with guilt and regret, even shame. Don't allow yourself to get this way.

Check out the last part of verse 8, 'Do not fret - it only causes harm.' It causes harm to the people that we become angry with or who witness our behaviour; and it can cause us harm. Becoming so angry that we become out of control, can force our blood pressure to boil and may even cause a heart attack or a stroke. It is far better to stay out of harms way and be at rest.

Have you found that place of rest that we are discussing? It's not as difficult as it seems. It is giving our all to Jesus - our cares, concerns, troubles, fears and worries, and allowing ourselves to step into the place of security and peace. Literally, it is heaven on earth and it is achievable. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, 'Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Ask yourself, what part of that is difficult to understand? Jesus offered it and we need to accept it. Why punish your soul - your mind, will and emotions, when you have such a great offer?

Let us enter His rest!

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Living Water

"For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light."     Psalm 36:9      NKJV 

Jesus offers us the only real life available - eternal life. But, there is more. This life is meant to give us the most enjoyable form of life ever known to man. It is a fountain of Life. God is the fountain of life, the well-spring of living water - life-giving water. In this, is included salvation, continuing mercy and light John 8:12.

The root meaning of the word fountain is 'Dig' which refers to a source of flowing water. Living water is a natural spring flowing with fresh water, whereas, a man-made cistern was used to capture rainwater which was not as fresh. Metaphorically speaking, the word fountain refers to life that flows with encouraging words - words that carry life, hence, 'For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.'

This was the living water that Jesus referred to when speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well John 4:10. 'Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman was referring to actual water so that she didn't have to keep coming to the well. Jesus offered her a river of living water, which she later spoke about to her villagers. 

Jesus is the provider of living water. This is why He speaks encouraging and life-filled words to us. His words pack power. He is also the light of the world; the light that shines in the darkness, the light that shows us the way. Now, there is a lot of darkness in our world, it is everywhere we go. But, as we walk through our daily lives with Jesus, we light up the way in that darkness. Jesus wants people to see the difference we make.

There is also a lot of pain and sadness wherever we look. People are used and abused and are desperate for someone who can offer them a way out of this pain. In Jesus, we can. We carry words of life. When we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, we take living water to the people we meet - living words. Everyone needs a word of encouragement from time to time, and you and I can provide this.

David said, 'In Your light we see light', and this is the light-giving, living water refreshing fountain that we have to offer whoever will accept it.

Think about it!

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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