Wednesday 20 October 2021

Jesus may bring division

"Do not think that I come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."  v34                                                                             Matthew 10:34-39    NKJV


These words from Jesus are very strong and almost carry a contradiction; after all, Jesus says in John 14:27 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.' What then is He saying here? Jesus is showing us that to follow Him is costly. There will undoubtably be division between family and friends; workmates and neighbours. We all have choices, we may choose Jesus but others, decide not to, and this is where the hostility can begin.

Families have suffered separation because of one member becoming a Christian. Couples have separated from their marriage and workers have been and still are, persecuted for their faith. It is  division and can therefore become a warfare situation. David Jeremiah says:
'Christ ultimately came to earth to bring peace, but when people choose to follow Jesus, they will often face division and conflict, even within their own households. To choose loyalty to family over loyalty to Christ disqualifies  a person from being one of His disciples' Luke 14:25-27.

We all have choices and the choice to follow Jesus must be a commitment, nothing short of that. People may try to change the choice that we make by using convincing conversations but we must not be swayed by all of this. Jesus looks for dedication. This is why He said that He did not come to earth to bring peace but a sword. A sword slices things apart; it separates and divides and this is what the Word of God actually does. This doesn't mean that we have to be hostile to unbelievers, definitely not. We are to show them the love of Jesus whenever and wherever we can. Jesus would expect us to love them, forgive them but never argue or fight with them.

Bur we have to bear our cross, and the is what it means. The world around us - friends, family and neighbours etc may be hostile towards us; they may disregard us but this is all about us carrying the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus carried His cross to Calvary where He died a terrible death for each one of us. He had commitment and dedication and He looks for this in each one of us. The price of following Jesus can be costly - Jesus demonstrated this. However, we should never consider giving up or renouncing our faith - never! We belong to the King of kings.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard


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Tuesday 19 October 2021

The lesson in the storm

"And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves. But He was a sleep." v24.                                       Matthew 8:23-27     NKJV 


Storms on the Sea of Galilee are quite common and often very severe. One minute there can be calm, the next it can be tempest level. It was no different here. Jesus and the disciples had climbed into a boat to go to the other side - possibly between an 8 to13 mile long journey. Jesus fell asleep and the tempest struck threatening to capsize the boat.

Wherever Jesus is, the storms of life become calm and it was similar here. The disciples panicked and woke Jesus. He remained calm and spoke to the storm and there was peace. William Barclay says, 'When the storms of life shake our souls, Jesus Christ is there and in His presence the raging of the storm turns to the peace that no storm can ever take away.'

Storms come to us in various types, there are sorrows, doubts, fears, heartaches and many more. However, when these storms hit us, just a call to Jesus helps bring a calming effect. There is a lesson here. Jesus demonstrated that in His humanity, He needed to rest and so do we. Jesus' desire was to sleep regardless of any storm that was around and, His desire is for us to do the same. We are stronger when we have rested and there is rest in the presence of Jesus. The natural thing to do during these storms is to panic and try to find a solution. However, many times one cannot be found and fretting does not help. We need to practice that, handing the crisis over to Jesus is the only answer. Jesus slept through part of the storm, so can we, as difficult as it may sound. Obviously this is easier said than done, but when we cannot do anything about the situation, it is far better to get some rest. Without rest we are of no help to ourselves or anyone.

What are you going through at this time? Can you do anything about it immediately? If not, try and get a little sleep, even catnapping can alleviate stress. Cast it over to Jesus and take a little time out for yourself.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard



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Monday 18 October 2021

Attracting Jesus' attention

"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."               Matthew 8:1-4     NKJV 


This leper, in his sickness and pain, heard that Jesus was about and, with confidence approached Him with his request, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' He said this from his heart, he knew that Jesus was capable of healing him and he had nothing to lose. As a leper should never come close to another person, Jesus could have, and as people expected, should have thrown stones at him to keep him away from them, through fear of infection. However, He did the opposite and stretched out His hand, touched him and said, 'I am willing; be cleansed.'
This was totally contrary to what should have happened and could have caused an uproar from the people. However, Jesus did the right thing and sent him to a priest to have him checked over and receive a certificate of healing.

This piece of scripture shows us three things that attract Jesus' attention:

Confidence  The leper would have been unsure about Jesus' feelings about him approaching. He didn't know if he would have been cast aside because of this disease. However, deep in his heart, he knew that there was something different about Jesus; he felt that he could trust Him and so, went to Him with confidence. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to go boldly to the throne of grace that we may find help in times of need.' And this is what this man did. He went to Jesus in his need. And so should we. Jesus wants us to have this confidence in Him.
Humility  James 4:6 says, 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Again in James 4:10, he say's 'Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.' God will always resist the pompous and arrogant attitude but, will always receive the person who humbles himself before Him. 
Reverence  The leper came to Jesus worshiping Him and this, is how we should approach the King of kings. He loves us and is our friend but, we should never take things for granted with Him. He deserves our respect and we should always be prepared to give Him this.

These are three areas that will get His attention, there are obviously more, but carrying out these three is a good place to start. Be confident in His presence, be humble and treat Him with respect and you will receive His full attention.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard



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Sunday 17 October 2021

Hearing and doing = obedience

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; 25 and the rain descended, the floods came and the wind blew on that house and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock."    
                                                                                               Matthew 7:24-25   NKJV

Jesus spoke about building construction by experience, He was a carpenter and knew all about the necessity for building strong foundations. This was no mere illustration but one in which Jesus would have been aware of. In Palestine at the time, the builder had to think ahead. There were many gullies which in summer were pleasant sandy hollows which the novice would have thought pleasant to live in. However, in winter, the land would have raging torrents of rushing water, and the novice, having built their house on a dried out river bed, would see his house washed away.

Therefore, Jesus emphasised the importance of listening properly to what is being said. If a person doesn't hear the clear instructions in life, then calamities can happen. Many people do not listen properly because of busyness and multi-tasking; and when problems come because of this, they wonder why. Life has to have firm foundations and Jesus offers this. There are so many distractions in the world and getting a 'quick-fix' for them may seem to be the right way to go but, in the end there is a price to pay.

So we have to hear properly and then take action by doing what we have been directed to do. This is how we attain strong foundations. Our lives are able to stand the test when troubles come our way. Whatever may be thrown at us and no matter how hard it may be, we are able to keep standing because our foundation is firm. The bottom line is, if Jesus speaks to us and we do the opposite, then really, we only have ourselves to blame. We should have listened properly and done what He told us to do. Sometimes, we learn the hard way.

We need a strong foundation to rely on and the good news is, Jesus provides this for us. He is an expert in this area. If your world has begun to crash down around you just lately, check your foundation. What have you built on; what have you relied upon? A few adjustments may have to be made to get you re-built and equipped.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
 

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Saturday 16 October 2021

The narrow road can be difficult but, well worth it

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life and there are few who find it."    
                                                          Matthew 7:13-14     The Amplified Study Bible

We always have choices to make in life and we have to live by these choices. Many choose to enter the wide gate where the road is wide and straight and, it looks by far, the easiest choice. Sadly, this is a bad choice. It may look easy and pleasurable but we read, it leads to disaster and loss in the end. Without Jesus, we are lost. The narrow gate, in contrast, leads to life but it comes with a cost because the road is full of potholes and obstacles that can cause great problems.

The majority of people choose the easy route - the wide gate. They may go to church once a week because this is what they have always done. However, there has been no encounter with Jesus in their hearts. In fact, some don't bother with Jesus and still feel He is a baby in the manger, not God. When they speak with a spirit-filled Christian, they feel that the other is 'religious' or even strange, especially when they speak in tongues. They are not willing to accept the way to eternal life through Jesus. They may even find it all offensive.

But the narrow gate is the one to enter but it takes all that we have to stay on it. Jesus never said it would be easy, but will pay dividends in the end - eternal life. This is one of the reasons why we suffer persecution and hatred. Our faith can embarrass people or even challenge them. Many when challenged, refuse to accept it and may become argumentative when we discuss Jesus. This may come from people in the street, at work or even in our own family. But we need to stick with it. A concert pianist didn't just happen, this person studied and practised for many years, giving up much of the outside world to become who they are today. A top athlete is the same. They use discipline to get their body into shape for hours on end. But when they pick up that gold medal, the feeling is awesome and it was well worth the struggle.

You may be struggling because you chose to follow Jesus. So did the early disciples and so do many pastors, evangelists and missionaries today. However, they have one thing in common. They have commitment and this is what it takes to walk along this narrow road.

It may not be easy for you but one day, when you are face to face with Jesus in heaven, you will realise that it was all worth it. Keep on going!
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
 



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Friday 15 October 2021

Do you need to forgive somebody?

"For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and wilful sins], your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses."         
                                                     Matthew 6:14-15    The Amplified Study Bible  

When reading The Lord's Prayer in the Amplified, it reads, 'And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors, [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]  Matthew 6:12. When we pray The Lord's Prayer, as directed by Jesus, we need to realise that He takes this very seriously indeed. In this part of the prayer, we are actually asking God to forgive us our sin and confessing that we will forgive people who have sinned against us. This means forgiving and forgetting!

When other people have hurt and offended us, it is so easy to hang onto this hurt, nurture it and allow our anger and frustration to interfere with our relationship with Jesus. We quite simply are saying, 'Lord, please forgive me as I have forgiven so and so etc. But if we have not forgiven them, God knows and He will not forgive us either. We cannot pray this prayer if we are not willing to forgive and forget what someone else has done to us. It is not possible. Therefore, Jesus gave us verses 14 & 15 above and quite clearly establishes His position on this matter.

When we fail to forgive someone, it can become like a root of bitterness that will begin to build up until, we are riddled with the thought of it all. Every time we see or think about the person, we may avoid them or make it apparent that we do not wish to speak with them. We may also have mental conversations with them when we are alone. How can we fellowship with someone when we feel this way? Furthermore, how can we love them as Jesus clearly tells us to do in John 15:9-17? 

Don't become trapped into saying this prayer if you are holding a grudge against someone. If you can approach them and openly forgive them, do so. However, this is not always possible, especially if the person lives away, or if they believe that they are not guilty of offending you. At times like this, speak to God and tell Him that you forgive them and choose to forget about the matter. Then leave them to Him. Then get on and enjoy your relationship with Jesus.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
 


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Thursday 14 October 2021

When you have done all you can, keep standing

"Therefore, put on the complete armour of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger] and having done everything [that the crisis demands] to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].     
                                                                   Ephesians 6:13.  The Amplified Study Bible

Everyday problems are rooted in the schemes of Satan. He will do all he can to prevent us from going deeper into God and, what's more, he is totally against us putting on God's armour. Why? because he knows how powerful it is, and this is why he tries to convince us that we don't really need it. Verse 13 tells us to stand, in other words to stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God's armour. Did you get that?

We are at war and the enemy are not human but, principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of the age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Note that last bit - in the heavenly places. Satan will use people to cause us problems, even though they are from the church. It is not the person that gives us the trouble though, but the force that is behind them. We nearly always get this wrong and instead of using the armour to drive the spirit away, we focus on the person and the problem remains.

Our minds can be like the old teleprinter from the 60's/70's. This was an electromechanical device that was used for sending and receiving messages in typed form, rather like we receive emails today. However, the teleprinter was quite a noisy contraption and quite slow too. Whereas an email is quick and silent, the teleprinter messages, when there were several in a room, could make it hard to think because of the noise. Our minds can be this way at times. We can have stuff going through our minds that appear to demand instant attention, or are detrimental or worrying. This can cause stress and anxiety and the slow wearing down of our energy. Add this to the fact that people are giving us a bad time; our minds are playing games with us, such as feeding us fear and also everything appears to be going wrong and we are on the road to burn out. 

Quite frankly, it is an attack. The enemy knows our weaknesses and will sneak in the back door to cause us problems. Be aware of this; pray and utilise the armour. Then when you have done all you can to stand, keep on standing. If you feel you can't stand, then remember what Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' So there you have it.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard

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