Endure hardship

"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."  

                                                                                                           2 Timothy 2:8    NKJV

The Christian life is not always easy; we have mountains to climb, problems to negotiate and difficult decisions to make. On top of all of that, we have to deal with the persecution that we suffer from unbelievers. It is never easy. This is why Paul wrote the above statement. We need to be totally committed and disciplined in our relationship with Him, especially when we face trials of all kinds. We are soldiers, we enlisted into the army of the Living God and we serve our Commander - Jesus. Therefore, we must be focused on Him and obedient to His orders, despite the obstacles that we may face. 

Rather like an athlete, we need to press through the pain in order to reach the goal which is glorifying Him. Athletes do not receive a gold medal just for competing, they have to train and work hard so that they can claim this prize. We may feel like giving up at times but, this is never an option for the committed man or woman of God. We press on and get the job done and Jesus gives us the energy to be able to do this.

We should never be entangled with petty arguments and affairs of the world. Our job is too important. Rather, we need to allow people to see how we handle situations and also help them to overcome certain problems; but we should never become too involved that we lose our focus.

What are you struggling with at this time. You may be waiting for an answer from God about a certain thing. Or you may be asking God to bless a certain area of your life. Waiting is never easy and when we have been waiting a long time, this can be a trigger point to throw the towel in and give up. DON'T!. Keep going; keep believing that what you have asked for, God will give the answer. The life of a soldier is committed to fighting, overcoming and keeping the peace. This is the blue print that we need to follow. 

You can do this, you know you can. Remember all of the others who have been in your place and overcame. You will do the same, deep down you know you will; it's just that it is difficult at this time. But things will get better probably sooner than you think. Because, Jesus will never let you down.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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Are you kicking against God's direction?

"It's hard for you to kick against the goads"                                         Acts 9:5     NKJV

Saul, before God changed him, was a terrible persecutor of the Christian church. He was responsible for the death of the first Christian martyr - Stephen and went around finding men, woman and children who were of 'The Way.' This was an early term referring to Christianity and promoted by Jesus, who was the way John 14:6. Saul was a bounty hunter and a very ruthless man to come against.

Saul obtained letters from the high priest to take to the synagogue at Damascus in order to root out believers and bring them bound to Jerusalem. While he was on the Damascus Road he encountered Jesus shining as a bright light that blinded Saul, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Jesus then went on to say, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads,' Two points are raised here. Firstly, when people persecute us, they are also persecuting Jesus. He identifies with us. Anyone who attacks us is attacking Him also, because we are the body of Christ. Don't ever feel that you are on your own; Jesus knows what it feels like too.

Secondly, a goad or prick, was an ox stick with a sharp iron point on the tip. It was used to guide the oxen by pricking them. If the ox rebelled by kicking out, the tip was pushed in deeper until it complied. The more it rebelled, the more it suffered.

Think about this; Jesus guides and directs us. At times there is a need for Jesus to amplify this and we don't like it, in fact, we can rebel. The more we ignore His leading, the more we feel that we are not in step with Him, until we comply. Jesus is not a taskmaster, but He does wish for us to obey His word. We can go no further until we do.

Think about these two points, you are not alone during persecution. Jesus suffers with you and will, help sort it out, if you let Him. Secondly, are you kicking out against what God wants you to do. The more you kick the deeper the prick. It's much better to say yes to Jesus. Saul, who later became Paul, found this out and went on to write the biggest part of the New Testament and brought many to know Jesus. God knows best and wants the best for you.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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What is your weakness?

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength."     

                                                                                                               Isaiah 40:29   NKJV 

Unlike our own, God's power is unlimited. He is all powerful and nothing causes Him a problem or catches Him out. He is always ready and alert. The words 'weak' and 'have no might' in our text today, apply to us all. We all have our weaknesses; the things that let us down constantly. The things that we try to walk away from but, follow us around. Look at our text, 'He gives power to the weak'. That is us and it is a promise. This is why we need to know the Word of God throughly, otherwise we miss these gems. We are weak but God gives us the strength to overcome. When we have no might, He gives us the strength that we need.

'Yes but you don't know what I get up to, I keep on doing the things that I know I shouldn't.' Then join the club, we all do. If you can show me someone who is perfect in everything, then I will be very surprised. We can look at people in church and think, 'I wish I was like them, they never fall'. Then, go and live with them for a week and you'll soon see differently. We all have our weaknesses and, we all mess up. That person who you look up to and may put on a pedestal, has struggles too. There is only one who is perfect and His name is Jesus.

As you read this, you may be thinking that there is no hope for you. Well, there is and His name is Jesus. He is our only hope - the only hope that we need. Having lots of money will not bring hope, you can lose that in a day. Living in an idyllic place in the Caribbean may be very nice but, it will not give you hope and what's more, you will still have your weaknesses. There is only hope in Jesus.

Jesus can help you in your weakness. He can give you the strength you need and even though you may be feeling condemned because you have let Him down again, He never points the finger, and what's more, you are not condemned; only the devil does that Romans 8:1. This doesn't mean that we can continue to deliberately sin each day and expect Him to forgive us. However, it does mean that when we do make the same mistakes, as we confess our sin, He is there to forgive us 1 John 1:9. 

This is grace that He gives us. (see 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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It's time to Praise the Lord

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"                          Psalm 150     NKJV

Work, play, family and friends; shopping, cleaning, football, the pub, overtime and the garden; whatever you are at, it is time to get out of the fast line and praise the Lord. We can never be too busy to do so but we come close. We have very little time to do this. Kids, breakfasts, the school run, this appointment and that interview. Slowdown, it is time to praise the Lord. If you have breath, which I hope you do, spend some time with Him. 'Yes but'. But nothing. We should never allow anything to get in the way of praising God. We owe this to Him for all He has done for each one of us.

If you can play an instrument then play it to God. If you can't, then sing to Him. You say that you can't sing in tune. That's ok, to God it sounds like a sweet melody. Alternatively, fill the house with praise by playing a CD or Christian music from the internet. Then start singing along with it. When we praise, Satan is unable to touch us; in fact, he runs away because it may be music to God's ears, but to him, it sounds like warfare. Praise stops Satan in his tracks. This is why it is so important.

When we praise and worship, like we saw yesterday in Isaiah 6, the foundations of heaven shake with passion, the Seraphim worship Him too and it is a sweet sound and fragrance to God. Praise also make us feel good too. When we are praising God, we are not thinking about the problems that are nagging away at us. There is no place for them when we approach the Throne of God. At the Throne, there is only grace and love. There is no fear at all. There can't be because we are totally in God's presence. The more time we spend in His presence, the fear and the problems of the world seem insignificant, they are redundant, not needed anymore.

Be honest, do you praise God enough, do you worship Him often? I think it is something that we all need to brush up on. The world we live in, is a busy place with stress and struggles around every corner. We can become overwhelmed with the pressures of life if we are not careful. We often say that we need time for ourselves. Why not turn this into a, 'I need to spend some time with Jesus.' It can only do you good.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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The call of Isaiah. Part 2 - A glimpse into heaven

"Here am i. Send me"  

                                                                                                       Isaiah 6:2-8    NKJV 

Isaiah was overcome with the glory of heaven. He observed Seraphim flying around the throne of God, praising and worshiping the Almighty God. Seraphim are described as having two or three pairs of wings who focus on praising and worshiping God V2&3. They are the closest angels of God, who serve Him night and day.

As Isaiah saw this, it was awesome for him and he witnessed the foundations shaking with the power of the Seraphim's voices. The temple was also filled with smoke which is a reference to the glory of God. It was an amazing but fearful sight to see.

Isaiah was so overwhelmed by it all that he cried out, 'Woe is me for I am undone (ruined)' He felt like he was falling apart before the Holy God. He spoke again saying, 'I am a man of unclean lips' v5. He was making the statement that he was inadequate in the presence of God and confessed to being unclean. This touched God's heart and a Seraphim came and touched Isaiah's mouth with a hot coal and told him, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away and your sins purged' v7. Isaiah heard the LORD saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us.' And he replied, 'Here am I! Send me'.

It would have been a painful experience for Isaiah to have the hot coal touch his lips. However, he needed to remember the pain of his old life and calling of his new life in order to carry out the work that God had planned for him.

God is amazing and He will show us things that we never thought was possible. When we open ourselves up to Him - totally, and elect to serve Him wholeheartedly, as Isaiah did here, He will make the way for us to do this. As Isaiah found, it may be painful to do so; nothing in God's Kingdom business is easy and it takes our total effort to fulfil our calling. However, it is worth it.

Has God called you to His work? Is He calling you? It is something that you should not rush into until you are confident that it is God calling you. When you are, it is a journey that has lots of bumps and hassles. However, the rewards that you feel in your heart, are well worth it. 

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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The call of Isaiah

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple"                                    Isaiah 6:1     NKJV 

King Uzziah was not perfect, but he was a good king and had brought Judah close to believing in God again. He had brought hope, something that they needed and Isaiah had a heart for him. Now that he had died, Judah and Isaiah were in turmoil, the hope was disappearing. But when Uzziah had died, Isaiah saw the true God sitting on His throne, high and lifted up in heaven. He was totally in charge. The kingdom of God operates according to His will not, according to outward circumstances. God would bring back hope. 

Uzziah had died and Isaiah had to learn it was God he should rely on, not man. Man can be taken away in an instance. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to help us to see God clearly. Until this death, Isaiah had belonged to God but had not really seen Him. Now it would be different.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy in our lives to see God clearly, to get to know Him deeply. As long as we rely on man, we can never really become close to Jesus because we tend to rely on that other person to bring us through. This doesn't mean that we should not have people in our lives, not at all but, they are only flesh and their support is limited, whereas with Jesus, we can do anything He wants us to. In addition, if they are taken away from us, we become lost with no hope. We need to adjust our vision from the temporal to the eternal.

Isaiah had to learn all of this, as we do as well. Our hope can only be truly filled by having Jesus in our lives. He has the blue print for our lives, knows the way ahead and will bless us on the way.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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Giving to God

"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, 'Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."    

                                                                                                      Luke 21:1-4    NKJV

To the casual observer, it appeared that the widow gave next to nothing compared to the richer men. But to Jesus, she had put in more than all of them. They gave out of their surplus, she gave out of her poverty. The rich people's offering would have made a loud noise as they put it in the receptacle but, the widows two mites would have been heard in heaven and that's what matters.

A mite, also known as a lepton, was a Jewish coin and the smallest used in New Testament times. At that time, it would have been worth about 1/64th of a denarius, the denarius being a day's wage for the common worker. Therefore, it would have paid for six minutes of work, two being twelve minutes; and yet, today, one cannot buy one of these certified ancient coins for less than around $9000 on the internet.

The widow's offering demonstrated her total dependance on God, she gave all that she had. Jesus noticed this demonstration of faith, trust and love towards God and, He notices when we give whether it be a tithe or offering to the church or to another source. Some people are desperate for financial help and, if we can help because of our financial abundance, God is impressed and honours us. Sadly, some may say, "I'm sorry to hear about your financial status, I'll pray that you won't be evicted,'  and then walk away. If we have the resources to help a person who is desperately in need, it is something that we need to consult God with. If we have the funds perhaps He may want us to pay someone's bill, buy them a lunch or give them a gift. After all, it is God's money in the first place; He has the first call on our finances.

Let me ask you, do you tithe? It is something that God takes very seriously. Many people give a tenth of their income or some other figure. Really, whatever you give, is helpful to the kingdom of God or other organisation. We can never out give God, He will always supply back to us. The widow knew this; she knew that she could give all she had and God would honour her. Do you know this?

'Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need'. (Mal. 3:10)

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com 

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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