I know I shouldn't do that but, do it anyway

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." v15                                               Romans 7:1-25   NKJV

It is encouraging to know that Paul suffered from the same struggles we do. Do these thoughts sound familiar, 'I do not understand what I am doing, why did I do that?' Or 'What's wrong with me?' The reason is, there is a war on and we are right in the middle of it. If you have said 'yes' to Jesus, you're on Satan's hit list. We can echo Paul's statement, 'For what I will to do, I do not practice; but what I hate, I do' v15. Paul admits that what he is doing is wrong but, he can't break free from it.

Is there a Christian who does not feel this way? One who does not feel the pain and the shame of their sin. The heart of the problem is that we are still in the flesh. Our old self was crucified with Christ, the flesh was not. Our flesh remains active and will do until we are given a new body in heaven. 

We are totally brand new in Jesus but, we live in a contaminated body. Therefore, in v20 Paul says 'Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.' He is saying that it is not him that is doing it but the sin that lives within him, by the flesh. He does not excuse his sin however but just reminds us of where we are. We live in a body that is contaminated by sin in our flesh, but Jesus can help us as we call on Him and walk with Him. He dwells within us 'He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' 1 John 4:4.

Be encouraged, you are not the only one who struggles with sin. If the apostle Paul struggled with it, you can bet that you will. Just stay in the Spirit of God. You're doing well.

Remember Paul's words and live by them, 'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me'  Galatians 2:20.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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The Breath of life

"He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"  

                                                                                                   John 20:22   NKJV

This is a verse that is not often quoted and consequently, it is missed. However, it is extremely important as we will see. The apostle John noted a deliberate connection between Jesus breathing on the disciples and God breathing on Adam when He created the earth and all that is in it. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being' Genesis 2:7. Then, of course, there was the valley of the dry bones. God said, 'Thus says the Lord God to these bones; "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live"' Ezekiel 37:5. When Jesus breathed on the disciples, they were raw, young people of God who were confused by it all at times. They performed great things, but, with Jesus' coming crucifixion, resurrection and then ascension, they needed more. He breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Many believe that they were born again at this time and this thought, fits well. They received the Spirit as we all do at salvation but, there was more to come, they would be baptised with dynamite - dunamus, and they would be a force to be reckoned with. So are we when we are baptised in His Spirit as discussed in Acts 2.

God told Ezekiel to preach to dead bones. Now, Ezekiel may have felt rather silly doing this, as you can well imagine. Many ministers have preached in similar ways to empty churches, myself included. This is when we see the power of God at work. However, God was telling Ezekiel something very important that we need to understand. He was saying that the preaching of God's word carries power. William Barclay comments, 'The coming of the Holy Spirit is like the wakening of life from the dead.' When God breathed life into creation, it came alive; when God breathed life into His disciples, they came to life and were born again and when He breathed life into us, the same thing happened, we were initially born and then saved - born again.

Therefore, when He comes upon the church, we are re-created for the task He has for us. Without breath, we know that we are dead. We need breath to live and function as we were designed to do. God breathed on the human race, on us all and that was just the beginning of an exciting future. He now offers this life to all who will accept it.

If you have asked Jesus into your life, you are born again. The next thing to pursue, is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as mentioned yesterday. We need the fire of the Spirit to perform all He wants us to perform. It is available to all that ask but it is never forced upon anyone. But it makes sense to live with the fire of God in our bones.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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Be filled with the Spirit

"And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."    Luke 1:41     NKJV 

Mary, following her meeting with the angel Gabriel, went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. As Mary greeted her, Elizabeth felt the babe, who was John the Baptist,  leap in her womb. Both her and the babe were filled with the Holy Spirit and with amazing joy. This gave Elizabeth supernatural knowledge about Mary and her babe and she spoke these words to Mary: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb' v42 - 45.

The Holy Spirit had not only blessed Mary with the Son of God within her but, Elizabeth also was blessed and John the Baptist within her too. She was beside herself with joy fed from the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of God is the One that leads us into the right decisions, on the right road. He fills us with His power and when we are baptised in His Spirit, the power given us can be amazing. Just look in the book of Acts chapter two to get an idea of the fire that He sends upon us, so that we can achieve the work He has given us. Before Pentecost, the disciples needed guidance from Jesus. However, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent, as promised, the Holy Spirit and breathed power into them. They were ignited with fire in their bones and would never be the same.

John 16:13 tells us, 'However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.' 

Don't be misled, some people will tell you that if you are not baptised in the Spirit, you are not saved. This is not true. You are saved the moment you ask Jesus into your life; the Holy Spirit also takes up residence within you. However, for a deeper, more powerful walk with the Lord, we need the fire of the Spirit and this come by the baptism of the Spirit, (this is not to be confused with baptism in water. This is an outward sign of obedience to the world that you belong to Jesus). The baptism of the Spirit comes by prayer, often the laying on of hands, but not always. You can ask for this yourself just like this:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and I ask you in His name for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I believe and receive from You.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Now open up your mouth, start moving your tongue and give voice to what is starting to stir in your heart. It won't be anything you recognize. But do not be afraid; just cooperate with the Holy Spirit. In time, you will start to learn the importance and the power in this type of prayer.

This prayer is taken from DARE to Believe, Chapter 7, "Power From on High," page 147. 

It is an amazing experience, one in which you will be empowered. Don't be frightened of it. It is a blessing.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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Who told you that?

"Who told you that you were naked"     Genesis 3:11     NKJV

Satan amongst a lot of things. is a schemer, a liar and a thief. He will lead you astray by convincing words and pleasurable temptations. He is out to stop the work of God and, he will do all in his power to discredit you, disable you, distract your attention and prevent you going any deeper into your relationship with Jesus. He will also discredit major ministries of God who you may follow or belong to. They are dangerous to his work so, he will find something to point at them, to bring their ministry down with false accusation. Check things out for yourself before he leads you away from where you should be.

Jesus is a leader, Satan is a misleader. He will make things appear real and genuine to you and others, 'You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." v4-5. In other words, he was saying to Eve, 'Who told you that story, God?' He can be very convincing but they are really lies, this is all he knows. Take a look how he tried to hoodwink Jesus in the wilderness. He is crafty, so we have to be be aware and alert to any attack that may come our way, and they are usually suddenly when we are unprepared. This is why we have to be full of God's word, so like Jesus, we can defend ourselves with the words, 'It is written'.

When we are tired or want a day to ourselves, we should be aware. Remember David? Scripture tells us (2 Samuel 11) that in the spring at a time when kings were at war, David was lounging on his rooftop and he noticed Bathsheba bathing. Unable to control his lust, he sent for her and fulfilled this and the rest is history. He was distracted. He should have been about his duties, we cannot take a day off Christianity and expect to survive. If we do, we have to count the cost. We must remain focused on God.

After Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, her and Adam were making coverings to cover their nakedness. They now had the knowledge to realise this. The Lord God was strolling through the garden and shouted, 'Where are you?' Adam replied that they had hidden themselves because they were naked. This time it was God's turn to say, 'Who told you that you were naked?' Who told you that? We know the answer, Satan.

The phrase, 'Where are you?' can be asked of any of us. Where are we in our walk with Jesus? Why aren't we flowing like we used to? It is good to check ourselves over with this, self analysis let's us know how we are doing or where we have gone off the rails. We need to be accountable this way. So may I ask you, 'Where are you in your walk with Jesus?' Are you flowing with Him or, have you been distracted, hurt and beaten up so that you are just managing to keep your head above water? Let us come to Jesus right now for a touch of His love:

Lord Jesus, we come before You now and ask You to reignite Your fire within us once again. We are sorry that we have let You down and ask forgiveness. Please let Your Holy Spirit reign in us powerfully and heal the hurts, the disappointments and the words and lies that have been spoken against us. We ask You now in Jesus’ name. Amen

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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'Whatever Lord, I will do it'

"Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word."   

                                                                                                       Luke 1:38    NKJV 

Mary had just had an encounter with the Angel Gabriel, who told her that she was highly favoured of God and had been chosen to give birth to a child via the Holy Spirit, and she was to name Him Jesus.

Try and imagine what this may have felt like. Not just an angel but, the angel Gabriel coming to visit you and then to declare that you are highly favoured by God Himself and you were going to give birth to a child, called Jesus. It must have been mind-blowing. She was only young, was a virgin and unmarried, although she was betrothed to a man called Joseph.

Mary, after questioning Gabriel about how this could happen as she was a virgin, began to accept what she was being told, especially after Gabriel had told her that 'with God nothing will be impossible.' And this is the bottom line. Everything is possible when God has told you about a part of your life. He cannot lie and will bring it about at some stage.

Note what Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word.' This was a double-barrelled response. Firstly, she told the angel that she totally belonged to God. He was her Lord and she gave Him the first place in her life. Secondly, she said, 'Let it be to me according to Your word.' She was saying whatever Lord, whatever you ask, I will do it because I belong to You. You have the first place in my life. This very much reminds us of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:10 'Your will be done.'

Whenever God calls us out for a special assignment, there is always a cost. We have to give up certain things; family may disagree with what you may be doing and it may drive a wedge between you. Finance may not come on a regular basis such as does with a weekly wage and you may not be very popular. Mary had to face all of this in a very short time. She was unwed, a virgin, now to be told that she would be pregnant would cause a great scandal and she may face death because of accusations of adultery. If not death, she could be an outcast. However, God had more plans. Mary would not suffer scandal as, God had prepared Joseph's heart while he slept, telling him that it was God's will and the baby was from the Holy Spirit and they were wed. God is a great planner.

Mary's words were basically, 'Whatever Lord, I don’t will do it.' That is called commitment. Can you honestly say the the same? Would you be able to say to God, 'Your will be done'. If God were to call you out to do something very important for Him, could He rely on you? Isn't that what giving our lives to Him means? When we ask Him into our hearts, are we not saying, 'Whatever Lord I will do it - Your will be done.' Think about that as you go through your day. If we asked Jesus to come into our life, then He has the first call on it.

Now that really is food for thought!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

'I knew you"

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."                           Jeremiah 1:5    NKJV 

This is the word of Jeremiah's calling, although initially he was reluctant to hear and receive them. However, they are words to us as well. Let's investigate this.

God has a plan for our lives, we are not accidents no matter what people may have said to us in the past. We are God's own children. He formed us in the womb long before we took our first breath. 

The word 'formed' in this context, is a word used of a potter forming a vessel. We are a work art. Never let anybody tell you differently. Psalm 139:13 says, 'For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb.'  Jerry Vines comments on this verse:

 the meaning of 'formed' here literally means that 'You have knitted me.' It means to weave together and pictures DNA in the human embryo.'  The Vines Expository Bible.

This touches on the whole issue of abortion. The question for us is, when does life begin? According to the bible, life begins at conception. This is food for thought in today's controversial issues on abortion.

God tells us, 'I knew you'. He knew you in the womb and has been watching you all your life. He knows you through and through. He knows your strengths and He knows your weaknesses. He knows what you think before you think it and, what you are going to say before you even say it. It is therefore, so important to stay in close relationship with Him so that, you don't rush ahead with your mouth and mess things up.

He knows you and loves you even when you don't like yourself. He cares for you. He knows  all your warts and bad habits and He loves you. He knew you before birth and knows you now. And He wants you, to know Him better than you ever have done.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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Honesty

"And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."                                                                     Mark 11:33    NKJV

The chief priests, scribes and elders, came to Jesus questioning Him. They wanted to know by whose authority He did such things. Jesus' answer was amazing; He asked them a question; was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? This caused them a great dilemma; for if they said from heaven, Jesus would say why didn't you believe him. If from man, it would stir the crowd because they sincerely believed in John Therefore they answered, 'We do not know.' Jesus therefore said, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.' These so-called leaders of the temple, were really hypocrites and Jesus was not going to get entangled in lengthy arguments with untruthful people. It would pay no dividends.

Honesty is a top requirement in the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:25, 'Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour, for we are members of one another.' Honesty can be described as integrity, sincerity, uprightness and trust. It is a quality that we should seek and hold onto. People want to be around honest people, they feel secure this way.

We can be tempted every now and then, to be dishonest; we call it a 'white lie'. Do not be misled, a white lie is a lie, it is an untruth, a fib and we should avoid it at all costs. The white lie is described as:

 'a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone's feelings'.

                                                                                                       The Open Dictionary

An example is when you told your mum, or partner, that her meal was really good when it actually tasted awful. We do this because we don't want to upset the person who has slaved to cook us a nice meal. Another example is when after being invited to a party, we fail to go because we don't really fancy it; yet, we tell the host that we are sorry but something important cropped up. It may save hurting their feelings but, it is lying. There is no such thing as a white lie. Using diplomacy yes, but this must be without lying.

As we can see, it can be so easy to slip into a lie, even when we do not intend to. It is far better to be honest, with tact, than to lie. This takes practice but is far better in the long run.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE