He will stir you up

"As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings taking them up, carrying them on its wings."                               Deuteronomy 32:11     NKJV 

When an eagle's young are ready to fledge and leave the nest, the eagle begins to stir up the nest. It may pull pieces of the nest away so that the eaglet falls through into space. Alternatively, the eagle may just pick up the young and drop them over the side. It sounds barbaric and yet, it is for to the eaglet's advantage. It is ready to leave the nest and needs to exercise it's wings. While the young eagle is descending at a fast rate, the mother swoops down and picks it up on it's wing. It may return them to the nest and go through the whole process again or, take them high into the sky and tilt it's wing until it falls off into space again. The idea of all of this, is to allow the young eagles to realise that they have their own wings and if they use them, they can also fly. Eventually, they get the idea and that may be the end of their relationship as they fly off to start a new life somewhere else.

God may do this to us too when He wants us to move or do a particular thing. He is very aware that we like to stay in our comfort zone, rather like the eaglets in their nest. God doesn't operate with comfort zones, he wants us to be free and readily available for Him to use. Quite a few years ago, my wife and I attended a bible college and there we met a young man who had a powerful story to tell. He had been a young Christian who was searching for a way forward and ended up at the college. After the first year there, God started telling him that He wanted him to work in prisons, taking the gospel to the inmates. He flatly refused this, even though God kept speaking to him about it. He went on a few weeks holiday abroad and on the flight back, unbeknown to him, someone had planted some drugs in his rucksack. As he went through customs, he was stopped and arrested. He ended up in prison and he realised that this was where God wanted him. After a very short time, he was released as it was found that he was totally innocent. The bible college accepted him back for his final two years and he then went to work in a prison where he became a chaplain's assistant.

God will have His way. If you have said yes to Him, He will use you. It may not be as drastic as above, but He will uses your gifting. You see, He wants His people to get into position, so that, when He wants to use them, they are there to do the task in hand. He may close the door on things in your life, such as a job, and take you through another door to carry out a new assignment for Him. 

Yes, you may make mistakes as you live each day but, when you are in His will, He will carry you until you are strong enough to cope by yourself. If God begins to stir you up, just stop and think, what a privilege you have, for the God, who created the heavens and the earth, to want to use you. That is amazing. Stir away Lord.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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Do your work heartily Part 2

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"    

                                                                                          Colossians 3:23     NKJV 

Decorating can be a chore or a blessing. It is all about how you approach it. Take for instance, painting walls and ceilings. This can be a messy job so, we have to get it right. Whether you decide to paint the walls and ceiling with a brush depends on, how big the room is. Trying to paint a massive room with a small brush can be a task, to say the least. Therefore a paint roller is the answer.

In my opinion, there are four different things to watch out for:

Make sure the paint goes on evenly

If the paint isn't applied properly, there will be rough edges. The colour of the paint your are going over will begin to show through. Cracks need to be filled in, as do small holes that have been used for a plug. If this is doesn't take place, the cracks or holes will show through afterwards. An analogy can be formed here. If we try to hide the things that God doesn't want in our lives, pretty soon they will begin to show through. Things that let you down need to be dealt with.

Get paint of the door frame/window panes

It is so easy to get carried away with the painting that we cross over from wall/ceiling, to doorframe or window. I think the professional term is cutting in. This has to be carried out with precision, otherwise, the paint goes everywhere and it looks awful. As Christians, we can so easily become distracted from what we are doing. We try to live up to our calling but allow our minds to wander into other things, such as, the person who wound you up recently, the worries you may have at the time, lustful thoughts etc. It is so easy to become distracted by everyday life, so discipline is required to keep on the right road.

Drips on the floor

One of the downfalls of the amateur decorator is the mess that we can make. Too much paint on the brush or roller, and it becomes a recipe for dripping paint over yourself, your clothes or the floor. If you have been crafty and place a sheet on the floor, you can still get paint on the soles of your shoes, carrying it everywhere you walk. In our Christian walk, we can so easily cause a mess of our testimony. Whether it is a driver who has been tail-gating you, someone who has pushed in the queue before you or a dispute with someone. If we don't handle this right, we can make a complete mess of things, completely putting a stain on what we live for.

Cleaning up

This may be the part that anyone who has completed a heavy dose of decorating may hate. Brushes and rollers need cleaning. You need cleaning and the floor, sheets and whatever else meeds cleaning too. Basically it is clean up time and it can be laborious. The analogy for this is our lives, our walk with Jesus. We need to be honest with ourselves, there are things that we need to clean up in our lives. We are not perfect and we all have our faults. However, we can't just ignore them. They need to be purged from our existence. Sometimes, this means asking for someone you trust, to pray for you. Alternatively, laying it all before Jesus may be the answer. But we must mean business with Him when we do this. He will help if you are willing to give up the part of your life that is dragging you down. If you are not willing, this will remain. To be clean, we must mean business.

When this is sorted, you can begin to do your work heartily for the Lord.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Do your work heartily

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"    

                                                                                          Colossians 3:23     NKJV 

Many people get that, Monday morning blues feeling' following a weekend off. It can be the same following some time off from work, such as a holiday. There seems to be a dread of returning to the norm. However, it is good to have somewhere to go to earn our money, whether employed or self-employed. We need to have an attitude of gratitude because we have this means of employment and, that we are in good health to be able to carry it out.

Today's scripture, encourages us to do our work 'heartily'. In other words, we need to be giving it all we've got. With the mass unemployment about, it is great to be able to work because it provides our needs and enables us to be self sufficient. Also, when we are working heartily, we are demonstrating that we are doing our work for the Lord, not for man, This way, we receive job satisfaction. There is nothing worse than working in an environment where we hate the job and dread going to work each and every day. If this is you, either find something that you like doing, by re-training, or switch your employer. Instead of working for your line manager, work for Jesus. He's a far better boss than anyone around.

It is the same at home. The garden needs attending to, shopping needs doing; and then there is work to do in the house - decorating, putting those shelves up that you've been promising for years, the kitchen needs tiling, the house needs cleaning and to top it all, the dog needs walking. It can all seem like a nightmare when you view it in one 'whole'. What's needed, is a plan spreading the jobs over a set period - bite sized chunks, that are easier to manage. And adding to this, not seeing the jobs as a chore but viewing them 'heartily', and doing the jobs for Jesus. What's more, He will give you the strength and enthusiasm to carry out the work too. 

Therefore, this is your plan. Do your work 'heartily' with your job and when you are at home and there are demanding jobs that require immediate attention; break them down into manageable bite sized chunks so that you can easily do all that you need to do, over a time.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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Today

"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness."   

                                                                                       Lamentations 3:22-23     NKJV 

Every day is a new day - a new start. You may have messed up yesterday but, whatever happened yesterday, if you have asked forgiveness for your part, you have received it 1John 1:9. Therefore, you have a brand new start - a brand new day to live through.

When you think about it, why worry about yesterday. Can it be changed? Can you go back into time and change a few things? Many of us would like to do that but, it's impossible, what we have is today and we need to move on. As long as you have put right your part of yesterday, assuming that you need to obviously, that is all you can do.

You may have had a good day, yesterday and God is pleased, but that was yesterday, today is today. Don't try to be 'Yesterday's man or woman.' You are of today. You can't go back, you can't live in the past, this is today. It is nice and comforting to remember things of course. Most of us have nice memories, But that is all, they can't be changed; they are set in stone to be enjoyed from time to time. We look at photographs and probably think, 'My hair was brown when that was taken, I'm grey now. It was only a few years ago.' That is a part of nice memories, so savour them but don't try to change them or even live in them. Today is your day. This is the day of your salvation 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Today is all you have. You have a past, yes, but that is past. You can look and plan for a future and that can be sensible, but really, all you have is today. Sadly for some, they may not get beyond today and that is how life goes and we cannot change that. Therefore, it makes sense to savour today, live for today and make the very best of it. Enjoy what God has given you, your family, your home and all the things that make life worth living. Enjoy the fact, that you have Jesus as Your Saviour, the One who welcomes you into heaven when your time is right. 

This day, is your day, make the most of it!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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God's message to you today

"The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."        

                                                                                          Zephaniah 3:17    NKJV 

Think prayerfully about this piece of scripture. Try and absorb it and personalise it as you pray. This is the way God feels about you. You may be having a difficult time at present; you may be discouraged, even depressed but don't lose sight of how God thinks about you.

He is in your midst, He is living with you on a daily basis, He is your Saviour. He has saved you from your old life and, even though it may not seem like you been given the victory, you really have. In Jesus, you have a friend. He rejoices over you with gladness, He takes delight in every part of you, in fact, He cannot stop thinking about you, He loves you so much. You are His masterpiece and you are precious in His sight. 

He will quiet you with His love. This means that He will give you total Shalom peace and as you give your burdens to Him, He will calm all of your fears. He will rejoice over you with singing, He will sing joyful songs to your spirit. How wonderful is that. We are used to singing praise and worship to Him, but here He says He will sing to us. Wow.

He has an awesome plan for you; you are not yet what He wants you to be, but you will be. At the moment, He is cheering you on to victory just as He did for Stephen Acts 7:55. When you fix your eyes on Jesus and not on your circumstances, you will see life differently. Instead of having negative thoughts you will have Holy Spirit ones. Think of it this way, when you were first saved, Jesus began painting a portrait of you. It is not finished yet. When it is, it will be perfect. At this moment, you are in development but He is with you, urging you on.

Why not pray this verse over yourself, personalising it and receiving it. Listen to God and you may just hear Him singing to you, as He has promised.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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Do it today!

"Don't put it off, do it now! Don't rest until you do"    

                                                               Proverbs 6:4     New Living Translation 

How many sick beds are full of dying people who wish they had done a particular thing? Probably they wish that they had climbed that mountain, they always spoke about. Perhaps they had said for years that they are going to write a book, or fix a delicate family relationship, but they didn't, and now it is too late.

Many of us are familiar with the phrase 'Yes, I'll do that tomorrow,' but tomorrow comes and it is not done. 'I'll take you to that mountain or to that special place that you like,' but again. it just doesn't happen and people are let down - their feelings hurt. Husbands may say, 'I'll decorate that bedroom next week,' but then something crops up and it doesn't get done. 'We'll come and see you on Saturday, it's been ages,' but it will be ages more because it just doesn't happen.

Is this speaking to you? You may be a daydreamer and dream of something that you would really like to do. You may be a musician or have a talent for writing and you plan to put this into operation. However, somehow it just doesn't seem to happen and your dream goes unanswered, that is until you remember it with regret when you are laying in a hospital bed close to death. Many regrets and even guilt come to life at such times. Don't let that happen to you. Do it today.

When I say, do it today, I mean, do it today, don't just talk about it. There are the 'doers and the dreamers' in life. Make sure that you belong to the first one. Be a doer, James says, 'But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself.' James 1:22. Hearers who don't put the word into action get nowhere, the same as dreamers who say they will but don't. Don't be like this. Do it!

What sort of a legacy are you going to leave your loved ones? Memories and evidence of a person who did what they said they would or, the person who daydreamed about it but never got any further? Think about it

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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You are able to do this!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."    

                                                                                             Philippians 4:13    NKJV

Have you been feeling discontent just lately, so much that your joy bubble, seems to have popped? Don't let discontentment steal your joy. No matter what, you can do this. You can do it no matter what anyone says. So, do not lose your joy. Being discontent chokes every opportunity for joy to live.

When Paul could go no further, he drew his strength from Jesus, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect  in weakness'  2 Corinthians 12:9. Many is the time that it seems that God has not come through for you, but have you considered that He may be waiting for you to do something first? This may be repenting of something or putting things right with someone. It may also be that He is waiting for you to take the first step. We often say, 'Lord, I will do this if you bless me with the finance to live.' What about changing that and going by faith? That really is showing your faith and trust in Him. At times He wants this and as you go forward in faith, He blesses in return. Do you need to take the first step forward? When you do push the door open yourself, you may be surprised how much God responds to this type of faith. He provides and blesses, as he did with Paul.

Sometimes it can feel that you are all alone in your walk with Jesus. You pray but don't appear to get an answer. You faithfully work hard for Him and yet, others around you are getting blessed but, you appear to go without. The thing is, God has not forgotten you; in fact, He wants you to succeed and be blessed and while you are looking around at what other people are doing and witnessing their blessings, you are missing out on what he wants to do with you. He is getting you in place, When nothing appears to be happening in your spiritual life, remember like the buried seed, it is beginning to grow and will soon blossom. Be patient and just enjoy His presence because, pretty soon you may be transported into the fast lane of your ministry.

And then, you will be very busy!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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