It is your turn

"Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'                                          Mark 1:14-15    NKJV  

John was no more on the streets, his mission was near its end, he was in prison. He had fulfilled his mission and now, it was the time for Jesus to take over. This is the way it is, a person's ministry starts and then ceases when their mission is complete. From thereon, it is time for new blood to take over. It has always been this way; there was John the Baptist, then Jesus. Peter, John, James, Paul and the others then followed, the difference being here, Jesus was within them, guiding and blessing. Eventually, it is our turn. God always has a plan and will have until He comes to claim us.

Let us concentrate on ourselves You may be a believer or you may not. If you are a spirit-filled believer, God may be calling you to do great things for Him, like the others did. It may be full-on, such as a preacher, pastor or evangelist in a full time position. It may not be; your calling may be to tell your family, friends and work mates about Jesus, Why is this? Because it is your turn. You have the opportunity to serve God each and every day, just by being Jesus to the people you meet. If you are not a believer, you have the opportunity now - it is your turn. Don't take this opportunity lightly. The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is near. Do not miss out; we have to spend eternity somewhere and surely you would prefer to spend it in heaven, the alternative is total separation from God and from all who belong to Him - eternally. 

Eternity is a long time, in fact timeless. Jesus told us here that we should repent and believe in Him. You believe it when you hear on the TV that a new series is coming soon, why then, don't you believe when Jesus says, 'I am coming soon - believe'. 

Today is your turn, you have two opportunities:

(1) If you are a believer, it is your turn to serve Jesus anyway He wishes. Will you say yes?

(2) If you are not a believer, it is your turn to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Will you?

To accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, having your sins forgiven, say this prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to accept You as my Lord and Saviour right now. Please forgive my sins and come and live in my heart - forever. Please fill me with You Holy Spirit. I give You my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

If you said this prayer, your time is fulfilled, you belong to Jesus. Serve Him, walk with Him and love Him. He will never let you down. That's a promise.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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In the Wilderness

"Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him"                                                                            Mark 1:12-13.  NKJV

The wilderness can be described as a dry, desolate and uncultivated region where little vegetation grows. It is burning hot during the day, especially around noontime, and freezing at night. In Jesus' day, it was roamed by wild animals such as, bears, leopards, jackals, dangerous snakes and spiders. Not a nice place to be on your own.

However, let us first get this right, Jesus was not alone; the Holy Spirit had compelled or driven Him there by a strong wind. He also had angels there to minister to Him continually. Israel had been in the wilderness for forty years, Jesus was there for forty days but, I am convinced that Jesus had the worse deal. He was isolated from civilisation, among the wild beasts and tempted by Satan. The word forty, is used in scripture as a considerable time and it was also considered as a testing time. In comparison, the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed and rebelled against God during their forty years. Jesus' forty days were victorious, demonstrating the power of God over the devil, when led by the Holy Spirit.

How difficult the must have been for Jesus; let us not forget, He was in His humanity. Just the fact that angels ministered to Him gives us the answer. It would have been very hard going, this is the reason for the angels, who would have given Him sustenance and encouragement.

There are times in our Christian walk that we, have wilderness experiences, where we feel so dry and weak. It can seem like everything is being piled upon us and, no one seems to care or take notice. You may be feeling this way at the moment. Be encouraged, this can happen to us all, you have done nothing wrong. There may be things akin to wild beasts around you, threatening to attack. They may be in the form of temptation, or bills that need to be paid but very little in the bank to pay them with. You may have family issues where words have been spoken that have hurt; you may have been ignored by your family or left out of something that you used to belong to. The pain or the humiliation may be so great at this time that you feel like you can't take anymore. But you can, for the same reason that Jesus overcome His wilderness experience. He was not alone, neither are you. You also have your own personal angels around you Psalm 91:11-13. You have the Holy Spirit to guide you and help; and you have your friend Jesus who knows what it feels like to be in your position.

Call on Him now, He will be so happy to help you Psalm 91:14-16.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

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Determination, Conviction, Confession and Restoration. (2)

"Do not be afraid; only believe" v36                               Mark 5:21-24 & 35-43   NKJV

We saw yesterday how the woman with the issue of blood, handled her situation. Today, let's check out how Jairus did. Jairus' twelve year old daughter was very ill, in fact, close to death. He went to Jesus with a determination, fell at His feet and begged Him to come and lay hands on her that she may be healed and live. He confessed all of his heart to Jesus and Jesus could see the determination and faith within him. So He followed Jairus to his home.

On the way, Jesus was distracted by a woman who had been ill for twelve years. There was total havoc around Jesus as the woman was healed. Jesus spent a long time with her, talking to her about her faith and generally showing her His compassion. Jairus just stood there, waiting. What was he thinking at the time? Did he come under conviction because of his feelings towards this woman for distracting Jesus? To add to his tension, a crowd came from his home and informed him that his daughter had died; there was no need to bother Jesus any longer. Jairus' emotions must have been all over the place at this time; wouldn't yours have been in the same position? He had asked Jesus to come but, this woman had delayed Him, now it was too late. Conviction was just around the corner.Jesus heard this negative statement and said to Jairus 'Do not be afraid; only believe' v36. Jesus gave this broken man a Word of Life. Jairus said nothing and continued to his house with Jesus following; and this twelve year old little girl, was restored.

Note the reception that they received at Jairus' house. It was pandemonium, with people wailing and weeping aloud. This was sent to rob Jairus of his faith, but his determination remained; his trust in Jesus was still within his heart. Notice also, that Jesus would not allow the doubters to enter the room where she lay. There's some lessons to be learned here:

(1) Remain determined and keep your confession alive.

(2) Do not become affected by distraction  - Jesus knows what He is doing!

(3) Do not be tempted to have a bad attitude to people who may interrupt your time with Jesus.

(4) Hang on to your faith

(5) Do not allow doubters to rob you of your faith

You can trust Jesus with everything!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

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Determination, Conviction, Confession and Restoration

"Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace"  

                                                                                                          Luke 8:43-48    NKJV 

A desperate woman with an appalling medical condition went up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His cloak. This woman had suffered an issue of blood for twelve years; had sought the help of physicians who did her no good at all, but still took their large fees. She was bankrupt, desperate and weak because of the illness. She was also, ceremonially unclean which affected her ability to worship at the temple or to have contact with people. Her physical condition led to financial, spiritual and social problems. In people's eyes, she was a reject. In Jesus' eyes, she was magnificent.

However, there was a characteristic within her that stood out, she had determination. She was determined to see Jesus and touch His cloak. She knew in her heart that if she did this, she would be healed. This was her faith and nothing would prevent her from doing what she had determined to do. 

In the midst of the crowds, she came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of His cloak. Immediately, Jesus knew that someone had touched Him. 'Who touched me'? Jesus knew she had wanted to do this but, He wanted her to admit to this. Reluctantly, after Jesus' enquiry, she decided that she must own up. There were three things that happened within her. She came under:

CONVICTION She came trembling to Jesus and fell at His feet pouring out her heart. Then:

CONFESSION She declared to Him in the presence of all the people, the reason she had done this. She took the risk that the people could force her away because of her being 'unclean', but after twelve years of suffering, she was past caring. She told Jesus how she had been instantly healed and, although scared of the situation she was now in, how elated she felt that her faith in Him had proven right. She then received:

RESTORATION The woman was made well and Jesus actually told her, that it was her faith that had done it. She had done what Jesus wanted her to do - bore witness to God and glorified Him. He then told her to go in peace - perfect peace, Shalom, Shalom.

Perhaps you are in a similar situation to the woman. Notice Jesus' compassion. He has it for you as well. Follow this woman's lead; she had a determination, no matter what, that Jesus could heal her and she went for it. As she did this, Jesus used her to come under conviction and then, confess to the people, that she trusted Jesus and that she had been healed. She was then restored. If this is for you, go ahead and seek your healing, right now!

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Watch that you don't have a great fall! (2)

 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does God require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"    

                                                                                      Micah 6:8    NKJV Spirit Filled Bible

As we saw yesterday, there are some that think they are ok with God and have nothing to fear. They believe and that's all that matters. This is not the case however. Take a look at James 2:19:

'You believe that there is a God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble.'

Intellectual assent to a creed is not saving faith. One has to ask Jesus into their heart, submitting their whole life to Him. This as we know is salvation. It is the only way to Heaven. People may say, 'Yes, but I live a good life; I never hurt anyone'. 'I give to charity and I go to church every Sunday'. The thing is, it is not enough. It is all or nothing. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.'

God offers grace to the person who will accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. Grace is God's unmerited favour and undeserved blessing. It is His mercy offered to us - His people, who go to Him to be saved. Mercy means God's unfailing love, His kindness and tenderness, in fact, as we have discussed before, Hesed. Hesed is a Hebrew word, sometimes referred to as Chesed, a silent 'C'. It means God's faithfulness towards us. The full meaning can be found in the Strongs Concordance 2617.

We need to adopt the phrase, 'I do not earn God's favour and grace, Jesus earned this for me by dying on the cross, in my place. He paid the price for my sin' When we accept this, and ask Jesus into our lives, we will be saved and have no fear of falling. He holds us steady as a rock.

Our text today, is almost a blue print of three commands that the ancient rabbis found after careful study: (1) To do (Act) justly, (2) To love mercy and (3) To walk humbly with your God. This can all be explained as:

(1) REMAIN HONEST IN ALL YOU DO

(2) CHERISH COMPASSIONATE FAITHFULNESS

(3) COMMIT YOURSELF TO LIVE IN SUBMISSION TO GOD

If we can honour these commands, we are certain of living safe with Jesus and of sharing eternal life with Him, one day when we are promoted to be with Him, as He has promised. 

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Watch that you don't have a great fall!

"Therefore let the one who thinks he stands firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation]."                                    1 Corinthians 10:12     Amplified Study Bible

Yesterday, we fleetingly looked at this verse together with v13, dealing with temptation. Today, let us take a closer look at verse 12 and the consequences it holds for the person who believes that they are able to conquer sin - alone.

We've probably all met the person who repeatedly says, 'I have never sinned'. An unbelievable statement, but some really believe this. I remember someone who was adamant about this, even to the point of defending her belief in an angry manner. She has died now and I often wonder how she got on when she came face to face with Jesus. It is a dangerous thing to deny that sin has never dwelt within you. 1 John 1:10 clearly tells us, 'If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.' Romans 3:23 states, 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' It is a dangerous statement to suggest that we have never sinned.

There are other people who believe that they are standing firm in their belief in Jesus and, this is ok. However, if they become too overconfident about this, they may feel that sin could never overtake them and again, this is an unwise place to be in. We are all subject to sin and temptation can take over us at any time. This is why Peter says, 'Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.' 1 Peter 5:8. Why would Peter have said this if we didn't have to worry about sin attacking us? 

Peter goes on in verse 9 to say, 'Resist him, steadfast in the faith'. Steadfast means firmly loyal, constant and immovable. Hence, 'Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord'. 1 Corinthians 15:58.

The devil is very sneaky, he has the ability to creep into any situation and cause havoc. He has characteristics rather like a snake and has a deadly tongue, lies in wait ready to attack, crawls into situations and then strikes and bites. Just be very careful. He is not your friend and he will trip you up if you give him half a chance. 

As long as we keep our eyes on the King of kings - Jesus Christ, we will have the victory and He will take us by the hand and ensure that we take the safer path. To go without Him, is very unwise.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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There's a way out; keep digging!

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."    

                                                                                               1 Corinthians 10:13    NKJV 

From time to time in our walk with Jesus, the road becomes very difficult indeed, with temptation and spiritual attack coming from all directions. This is common to all Christians because God will test us to assess how we are doing and whether we are ready to move to the next level He has planned for us. These times come when we are least expecting them. God tests us and the devil attacks us, the difference being, God will help us to overcome the trials He puts our way, the devil won't. He will keep on with the attack until we are tempted to surrender. Never consider that.

It can seem that we are at the bottom of a mine and as soon as we try to climb out, something happens and we slide back down again. Do you know what I mean? You feel trapped with no way out. However, there is a way out, we just have to begin digging to find it. 

The Moody Bible Commentary, discussing this verse, puts it like this:

'Note that the escape is not the complete removal of the test, but is the ability to endure it.'

God wants us to have endurance so that we can remain steadfast no matter what is thrown at us. We will have 'wilderness experiences' where we feel dry and the temptation to do wrong is so strong. We will fall to this as well and then feel terribly guilty because of it. We will also suffer spiritual attack, sometimes so strong that we feel like giving up. However, Jesus will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and when we are, will provide the way of escape.

We will have days when we feel like throwing the towel in and shout, 'I can't do this, the road is too difficult.' You may have felt this way every now and again, probably even now. When this happens, start digging. You are in a mine so pick up your spiritual spade and dig away by prayer and more prayer. In fact, if you can, sing praises. Remember Paul and Silas in the stocks? They did this and they had a major release. So will you. Praise opens doors and it stops the devil in his tracks. Never underestimate prayer and praise. It's a digging tool.

Jesus wants us to begin to stand on our own but, is always around when we need Him. But remember, 'let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall' 1 Corinthians 10:12. Don't become too over-confident that you leave Jesus out all together. Keep praying, praising and digging placing Jesus as your guide.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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