Practice what you preach!

"So practice and observe everything they tell you, but do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them."      Matthew 23:3     Amplified Study Bible 

In Jesus' time, most synagogues had a stone seat at the front of the building where men of authority would preach and teach the Law. This was known as Moses' seat. Jesus, listening to the Pharisees teaching, later spoke with His disciples about the Pharisees explaining, that much of their teaching was sound but, they were hypocritical. He discussed the points in which their hypocrisy neutralised the validity of their instruction.

The Pharisees were good at telling people what to do but, not good at carrying out these instructions themselves. This is why He addressed their hypocrisy. Instead of helping to relieve the burden of others, the Pharisees weighed them down with burdens, putting great trips upon them.

Let us think about this for a moment, Can we be like this? Do we live up to what we preach - what we talk about, and then, have a meltdown when things begin to go wrong for us? Basically, are we in control of our situations, or do we forget about what we have read in the bible when something goes against our thinking? It can be anything; one moment we can be flowing in the Holy Spirit and then, crash, something takes our focus and we have a meltdown, say a few unkind words to someone and generally do not live up to what we are preaching.

We are all the same. Some are better at handling things than others but, we all trip up and lose our peace when we take our eyes off Jesus. It is mostly to do with our thought life. Something happens, possibly in a second and it completely takes over. Our thoughts process something and if we are not careful, words come out of our mouths that we didn't intend saying. It could be said that we need to check our hearts Matthew 15:16-20, and this is true. However, our hearts can be full of Jesus one moment and then cursing a situation or someone, the next. We need to get the balance right.

Thankfully, we have a great mentor in Jesus. He will forgive us when we let ourselves down. However, He wishes for us to get the balance right and practice what we preach, otherwise people see hypocrisy in action and it negates our testimony.

If this has spoken to you, believe me, you are not alone. We are all able to act in such a way but it is now, time to deal with this problem. Join me in this prayer:

'Lord Jesus, please help me to get my life right with You. I let myself down so much and therefore, You too. Please help me to be able to cleanse my heart so that, only You, Lord, are on display, not hypocrisy. Lord I ask in Your name. Amen.'

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

How do you react?

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."     Colossians 3:17      NKJV 

Note the words, 'Whatever you do'. This doesn't mean what you do at church or when you're feeling happy about something. No, it means, 'Whatever you do,' period.

Firstly, Paul mentions whatever you do in:

Word

 This will include what you say to others, or generally to yourself. It's what comes out of your mouth that He is discussing. How you speak to others; how you answer them and, how you respond to criticism? When you are under pressure, the kids are screaming, the car won't start and you are late for work. How do you speak? Do you honour Jesus or, do you let rip with a few choice words that seem to fit the occasion. How do you answer that person who always seems to catch you when you are dashing off somewhere or have a thousands things to do on you agenda. Do you answer with the grace of God or, are you abrupt with them. 

What about criticism. There are two types of criticism, firstly there is the type that rips a person apart, picking out all of the things you should have done or did wrong. This can be hard to handle. Secondly, there is constructive criticism. This type encourages and build a person up and shows how perhaps, something could have been presented better. This type is positive and should never be received as someone getting at you.

Deed

This one includes what you do at work, at play, the chores you have to carry out and requests from people. Things can come against our plans at times and when your diary is full and set in concrete, it can really cause you panic if you get anything extra. We should always be flexible. We have to prioritise - what is important and what can be moved to a later date, type of thing. This is an area where many people feel great pressure.

Then there are the times when you have done all you can to please someone and it is never satisfactory. You become unfairly treated and it is hard not to give that person a piece of your mind. But, think, how would Jesus handle it.

What about when you receive a parking ticket. This is never easy. Sometimes, we genuinely forget the time and go over the period only to receive a ticket. How do you handle this? I remember getting a ticket a few years ago. I had purchased a ticket but it must have blown off the dash when I got out of the car. I had the dog with me at the time and, he ate it, There was just a little piece left. I ran after the warden with the small piece of ticket and tried to explain. However, he wouldn't believe me. Would you? Anyway, I gave him a piece of my mind - both barrels. When I returned to the car God said to me, 'Do you feel better? Now go and apologise to the man.' I tried to argue with God but that was no use. Therefore, I chased after him, explained that I was a Christian and should never have spoken to him in this manner. I then asked him to forgive me. He looked at me as if I was loopy, grunted, 'Ok' and then walked off. He may have thought I was insane, but I felt so much better.

We should always do all things in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God. We need to know that God approves of our action - words and deeds. We really must do all things with His reputation in mind and, our testimony to whoever is listening or watching us.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

 

Set your mind on Jesus

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."     Colossians 3:2      NKJV 

Focus on your friend Jesus and on heaven, which is reward. Our mind is working all the time, constantly processing information. What we think about, affects us more than we realise.  Charles F Stanley writes, 'Who you are today is the result of what you have been thinking all these past years.'  The Charles F Stanley Life Principles Bible. 

When we allow our thoughts to run riot, our thinking becomes distorted. We start to play mind games within our head and it is not unusual to have a psychological conversation with someone who has offended us, even when they are nowhere near us. Have you never done this? The conversation can become so heated as we let rip with all of the pent up frustrations that we carry in our hearts.We let them have it with both barrels. This may feel quite satisfying at the time but, that person is not there with us. They know nothing about it at all and after you have said all you needed to say, the problem is still there.

We need to control our thoughts and take them captive. Capture these thoughts and as we have mentioned many times, make them obedient to Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. Forbid them to lead you astray; the root of them are from the evil one and contain lies and intimidations. The devil wants to torment you with these things. Don't let Him. 

We need to focus our thoughts on the things that honour the Lord. It's His goal to change us into the likeness of Jesus. This transformation begins in our minds:

'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.'               Romans 12:1-2    NKJV

Jesus has given us all we need to be able to conquer our mind and make it obedient to Christ. He doesn't want you focusing on such rubbish, He wants each one of us to be transformed into warriors for Him.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Jesus draws crowds. Part two

"Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying." v3-4                                                                                Mark 2:1-12    NKJV

The people heard that Jesus was running a house group in His home and packed the place out. Because of the fact that, Jesus draws crowds, there was no more room left in the place. This did not prevent four men taking a different route into the house. They had arrived carrying a disabled man on his bed. On finding that there was no room, they went up the steps at the side of the house and began ripping up the roof. In those days, each house had stairs at the side of the flat roofed house - ideal for sunbathing or ripping up roofs.

Now, this type of behaviour would put most people off running a house group. No one would want the roof of their house ripping off, but Jesus didn't mind. The men dug through the mud and thatch of the roof and then lowered the disabled man and bed, down to Jesus.

They meant business. Nothing was going to stop them getting to Jesus and this impressed Him. Do we invite people to church to hear a famous preacher or to introduce them to Jesus? There is probably a bit of both in our intentions. The four men knew what the disabled man needed and knew that Jesus could meet this need. Jesus noticed this faith and determination and honoured them. Who is there for you when you are feeling low, depressed or ill? Are you there for others when they feel like this? This is love in action.

Notice that the scribes had not spoken out loud v7-8. However, Jesus perceived in His spirit what they were thinking. We need to be careful here. People don't know what we are thinking but, Jesus does. The mind will often judge, criticise and accuse people. We don't have to voice it. We need to take those thoughts captive 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. Often, we can't stop what comes into our minds but, we don't have to dwell on them.

The outcome to this house group event, was lame legs came to Jesus on a bed and healthy legs walked back home. Jesus draws crowds. He also answers our prayers and responds to our faith. The four men and possibly the disabled one, knew that Jesus could heal him. They demonstrated their faith and Jesus honoured them.Do you believe He can heal you?

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Jesus draws crowds. Part one

"Immediately, many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door, And He preached the word to them." v2    Mark 2:1-12     NKJV 

Jesus drew crowds wherever He went. Here, He was at home and the house was so crowded that people couldn't even get in the door. What is it that drew the crowds to Him? Well, quite simply, they had a need. Some needed healing, some encouragement, many needed loving attention and comfort. But there were others there that had a need - the scribes with their Pharisaical hearts. They had a need. They needed to know about this guy who claimed to be the Son of God. They needed to know who it was who had the audacity to heal someone on the Sabbath, and what was He doing healing people in the first place? Only God could do this. They thought it was unnatural to act in such a way. They were right, because it was supernatural what they had witnessed.

Jesus drew crowds, do you? Do people gather around you because you have something different, because they have a need? If you have made a commitment to Jesus, He is right there with you. People notice this, but perhaps you don't. When people want to spend time with you, you may shrug them off because of embarrassment or because of busy-ness. But, because Jesus lives within you, they feel the need to speak with you. In a way, because of Jesus, we are like magnets; people are drawn to us. You may be in the supermarket or on a bus and all of sudden, someone may start speaking with you and before you know it, they have unloaded a lot of their problems. Don't be surprised if this happens. Jesus draws crowds.

Of course, because of the fact that Jesus lives in you, you may draw bad crowds. We've probably all come up against the person who, no matter what is said about Jesus, they will argue with you. 'What about the starving people in the world, what about cancer and abuse?' You will always have this wherever you go. The fact of the matter is, we have no answers to this so, it is futile trying to defend Jesus, he doesn't need or want it. They probably will not believe you even if you came up with the best answer possible. So stay away from that.

Then of course, there are the persecutions. People may pick us up if we make a stand about a particular thing that conflicts with our faith. They may make a big protest about us. But, if we mention the fact they we are being persecuted for our faith, it goes unanswered or better still, ignored. There is a lot of injustice int this world. But, Jesus draws crowds.

However, our job is to allow the crowds to be drawn to  Jesus. In a way, we don't have to do anything to make this happen, except to be available to Jesus. When we are in this position, the Holy Spirit will guide and direct us, He will also draw people to us. Don't ignore them because of embarrassment or because you are busy. Allow God to use you. After all, Jesus draws crowds.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Bring Me your 'not enough'

"And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.' 18 He said, 'Bring them here to me.'"                                                               Matthew 14:17-18     NKJV 

Do you ever have something important to do but think, 'I have nothing to give?' It can happen to all of us. Life can be full on at times and the stress and the strain can begin to take its toll. These are the times when we need to go to Jesus because, 'without Me, you can do nothing' John 15:5.

This was how the disciples were feeling that day when Jesus, told them to feed the people. There were in total, with men, women and children, roughly about 20000 mouths to feed. All they had was five loaves of bread and two fish. Now if the fish had been whales, it might have been different. However, it wasn't. They were just your run of the mill fish and the five ordinary loaves. Can you imagine how they felt at such a request, 'You've got to be joking, Jesus.' But, no joke, He was serious.

Notice that Jesus told them to bring the food to Him. That was the the formula of that day and remains the same today. Take what you have to Jesus. The second thing Jesus did was to bless it. Without His blessing, things don't really go well. So we take whatever to Him and ask Him to bless it. 

It is like Jesus is saying, 'Bring Me your 'not enough' and I will make it, 'more than enough'. He always acts with abundance John 10:10. 'Not enough', can become, 'more than enough,' when we place it in Jesus' hands and believe He can do whatever we ask, and more.

 Do you get the idea? You may feel like you have nothing to give but, deep inside there is always something you can find and take it to Him. He is the God of more than enough. He offers superabundance, excessive overflowing and extraordinary life. If you are feeling like you have nothing today, change your thinking. In Jesus, you have all you need.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

More on words

"My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings."    

                                                                                                Proverbs 4:20     NKJV 

Most people go through life thinking God never speaks to them. Actually, He is speaking all the time to each of us. He shows us the way, warns us about different things and gently encourages us. However, our minds are usually so full of insignificant things that we miss a lot of what He is saying.

We ask God about something and then we give Him the answer, or we hear a part of it, believe we have heard Him right and then, set off on a journey that He didn't send us on in the first place. Our minds are constantly full of clutter and we are easily distracted or begin to daydream about something or other. When I was at Uni, the lecturer would be waffling on about something and my brain would be far away because I had drifted off into my own little world. All I saw was his lips moving. Then when I had returned to earth, I would be trying to whisper to the person next to me about what I had missed.

We are all like it and it can be a part of us. Sometimes it is nice to drift off into our own private world. However, not at the cost of missing what God wants to tell us. At times, if we could disect our brain to examine what the content was, we would probably see about 75% of what we don't need and 25% of what we do. We can be in church listening to a sermon and yet flying on a plane to our holiday destination instead of listening properly. Have you ever drifted off and the teacher, preacher or lecturer asks you what you think about what he has just said? (I have). Surely, I'm not the only one. What about that book you are reading, you can read the words and not take in any of it because you are focused on something else. Some of us try to read, watch the TV and hold a conversation at the same time. It doesn't work; we need to discipline ourselves.

Steve Furtick comments: 'Ask yourself, what guidance was God trying to give you today that you didn't hear because it was buried by negative noise?'  (Chase the Chatterbox - Steve Furtick)

I believe that God is challenging us all to begin to listen to Him properly. To do this, we need to rid our mind of all of the clutter and turn the TV off, don't answer your mobile and refuse all other distractions. It may mean shutting yourself away for an hour; going for a walk or driving to a scenic place where you can begin to focus on Him. This type of stuff pays dividends, it is discipline. Just look at the contenders in the Olympics recently, they needed to be totally focused and away from distractions. So do you.

Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehowardHi.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE