God is into recycling

"So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, 'Gather up the fragments that remain so that nothing is lost."                                                            John 6:12     NKJV 

Following the feeding of the five thousand, there were stacks of food left over, and Jesus told the disciples to gather this up so that it wouldn't be wasted. When they did, there were twelve baskets full, enough for the twelve disciples to have, or to be distributed elsewhere. God does not like waste, He is totally into recycling, and that includes us too.

Just think about rubbish day in your area. Most people have a black bin for the rubbish that is no longer required and a green one for the recycling. In this day and age it is good to know that God keeps up with the trends. Take for instance our own, in-body, rubbish day. He urges us to clear out the trash - the things that we carry about with us but, are no good for our welfare. These things drag us down and block blessings and prayers. The things that have potential in our lives, He wants to recycle. He does this as we hand Him the things that need changing. As we do this, He begins to transform us instead of us, conforming to the crowd. '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 12:2.

Let us remember though, on rubbish days, the person emptying the bins, brings them back to us, this includes the black bin, and this gives us the realisation that it is not over, there will be more rubbish to clear out, each and every day. The rubbish clearing time won't be over until we are made complete and perfect Philippians 1:6. Until then, be sure to watch out for more rubbish. Don't sit there unprepared because sin will creep up on us when we least expect it, and will try to destroy all that God has done John 10:10a. Also, recognise, that the green bin - the recycling one, is brought back to us to as well. This means that God gives us a continual opportunity to get things right each day, as we transfer things over, being sold out to Him.

If God is into recycling, then we should be too. It is essential to the quality of our Christian walk. So go green!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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He will stir you up. Final part

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."   

                                                                                             2 Timothy 1:7   NKJV 

In our final part of this small series, let us examine one of he major problems people are faced with when they are stirred up and attempting to pursue their gifting - FEAR. Fear can stop us in our tracks. Take for instance when you are in church and the Lord gives you a word to speak out from the front. Most people hope for the rapture instead of having to go and speak to the church. The thought can be horrifying. Then of course, there are the times when a minister has given a call for prayer and you know you should go forward for this. Your feet feel like they are glued to the floor. This is fear.

Timothy suffered from fear and Paul set out to encourage him by telling him that he had been given a spirit of power, love and a sound mind, not fear. The words, 'sound mind' in the Greek, are known as Sophronismo, which carries the idea of discipline and soberness.  We are encouraged to think well of ourselves, especially from a Christian perspective. There is a need to be courageous, confident and close to Jesus for this to happen. 

You are not alone, Jesus is right beside you. He has given you a calm, self controlled and a well-balanced mind. God is stirring you up but, for you to stir yourself up and be fear-free, you need to think who you are in Jesus. He has faith in you, yes that's right. He wouldn't have called you if He didn't feel you could do what He wants you to do.So, take that on board and encourage yourself in that knowledge. Then accept that the Spirit of God, the dynamite power-packed Spirit of God is dwelling within you. To speak, we have to open our mouths and utter the sound. It is the same thing with your gifts, you have to start carrying it out and the rest will follow.

Whatever your gift is, whether it be, preacher, evangelist or church cleaner, each are of the same importance to God.You may want to study the bible properly, if so, enrol on a course. This is your ministry, at this time and God values it. You may be wanting to do a particular thing but you are not sure that it will be good enough or needed. If God has put something within you, it is important. Stir the feeling up, think good things about yourself and then get on and put it into action. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

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He will stir you up. Part 2

 "Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands".                                                                               2 Timothy 1:6    NKJV

Many people have to be reminded of the gift that dwells within them. We need to remember that God, when He saved us, gave us a certain gifting that is unique to ourselves. Through fear and embarrassment, you may try and sit on this gifting hoping that it will go unnoticed. Well, you need to be reminded that God will not forget. He will not sweep your gift under the table as if it doesn't exist. He called you; He equipped you and He is eager for you to get up and get going.

Let's look at this a little closer. Like the eagle we addressed yesterday, it has to stir up it's young so that they will leave their comfort zone and get on with what they need to get on with. God is no different, He will stir you up until, you are able to stir yourself up in order to carry out His direction. Come on, you know deep inside that God wants to use you somehow or send you somewhere, you can't hide it no longer. He has begun stirring you up and your heart is beating with anticipation. The next thing is for you to stir yourself up.

How do I stir myself up, you may ask? With hard work and dedication is the answer. You need to get in deeper with your friend Jesus and re-kindle and re-ignite your faith, get your spirit overflowing with His Spirit. You cannot be passive about this. You have a gift and God intends  you to use it. It needs to be kept fresh and vibrant. Remember, athletes need to train. They beat their bodies until they are in tip-top shape. You need to do this. As I've said, God is stirring you up to stir yourself up.

Jonah tried to runaway from doing what God wanted him to do. Read the book of Jonah and you will find that, no matter how Jonah protested, God still had His way and Jonah did some preaching. Your gift may not include being a preacher, but it may involve writing poetry, painting, writing a book or working with the young or old. The sky is the limit for God's gifting. The thing is, if you don't obey God, you will be miserable and full of guilt because of your disobedience. 

Let me put it this way, God is calling YOU! Don't try to hide, runaway or try to persuade God to use someone else. Moses tried that and failed. He wants you. Are you going to answer His call to you today?

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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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 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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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 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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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 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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