The Pearl

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."  Matthew 13:45-46   NKJV

This parable shows us the deepness of Jesus' love for each one of us. In ancient times, merchants would go out to find great pearls and when they did, they would have to surrender these to the owner of the property and then try to barter for them. Occasionally, they would be so passionate about a particular pearl, that they would not disclose it but would try to buy the property. If they were successful, the pearl would obviously belong to them. Some of the pearls that were found were immaculate and were instantly recognisable as precious in the right market. Therefore, it wouldn't be unusual for a merchant to sell all he had in order to gain ownership of this wonderful jewel.

Consider this if you would; Jesus acted in the same manner for each one of us. He didn't have to but, love for each one of us, caused Him to give up all He had to buy us, in other words, to redeem us from our sin. To Jesus, we are priceless and precious and He couldn't bear to see us suffer the price of our sin. Therefore, He gave up everything and chose us - His pearls.

 Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body.

The oyster or mussel slowly secretes layers of aragonite and conchiolin, materials that also make up its shell. This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusc from it.
When pearls are cultured commercially an irritant is manually inserted into a mollusc to promote the production of mother-of-pearl.
Nacre can form naturally around almost any irritant that gets inside the shell, creating some very unique and precious pearls.
Other bivalve molluscs and gastropods can produce pearls, but these aren't made of nacre.    Copyright The Natural History Museum

This is interesting. An irritant can attack an oyster that would destroy it. Therefore, pearls are made to encase the irritant from such attack. Just think for a moment, The Holy Spirit protects us from attack or irritant. Rather like the pearl which protects the oyster, so the Holy Spirit protects us. He places His love all the way around us, encasing us with His power. It's also interesting to note that the irritant that the pearl encases, turns into a precious jewel, and so do we.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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New beginnings (3)

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation"                      Psalm 51:12    NKJV 

You may have been in a situation where you feel lost, lonely and as if you cannot feel God in your life at all. If you are a believer, as we have discussed, it is impossible to lose your salvation. However, when you have been involved in sin, it can feel like you have. Sin has the ability to block your path to God. It can feel like God is a million miles away from you and there is no way back to Him. There is, and it is called repentance.

If you can, think back to the time when you first became a Christian and the overwhelming feeling of joy that you felt because of receiving His salvation. Nothing else mattered; it was like living in a heavenly place with Jesus. He had first place your life and the joy you felt was amazing. It was like a honeymoon period, but rather like a newly wed couple, reality kicks in and normality begins to settle.

However, from thereon, most believers incorporate Jesus into their everyday lives, walking in faith with Him. You may well have done this, but pressures of life can be overwhelming at times and, although you have a commitment to Jesus, stress can take over and sin can overtake your thinking. Whatever the sin is; sin is sin and, it can block your way to God so much that you feel that God is nowhere to be seen - you are on your own. Those wonderful feelings that you first had when you were first saved, seem to have disappeared.

Basically, you need to be re-energised and the only way you can do this, is to call on God, repent and ask Him to fill you once again with His Spirit. You see, the results of forgiveness produce a clean heart, a renewed spirit, a restored relationship with Jesus and a joyful experience of God's salvation. In other words, it brings contentment into your soul.

Allow the strength of God's joy to once again envelop you by calling out to Him and asking for His help right now. You are not alone, many believers, all over the world undergo these times. He understands and cares and that is all that matters.

Lord Jesus, please restore to me the joy of Your salvation so that, people will be able to see that I belong to You. Forgive me Lord and help me to walk in the fullness of Your Spirit once more. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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New beginnings (2)

"And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."                          Psalm 51:10-11   NKJV

We all need a top up with the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. Personally, I feel this is a daily requirement as the days we live in are difficult. We need to be filled to abundance each day so that we are able to cope with whatever we may come up against. This is why David mentions it in Psalm 23:5. He was aware that we needed an abundance of this. Also Psalm 92:10 reads, 'I have been anointed with fresh oil.' This describes a fresh infilling.

Daily life is hard work at times. We never know what we are going to encounter. Some days it can feel that there are traps around all over the place and it can be so easy to fall foul of them and let God down. When we do, we may feel that God has cast us away from His presence. But remember, He hasn't because he has promised that He will never leave us Hebrews 13:5. However, we can feel like He has and if we allow it, our thought life can be all over the place. 

If we allow him to, the enemy can pour lies upon us. He will try and convince us that we have really messed up this time and if we are in a negative frame of mood, we can begin to believe it, allowing depression to take over. He will invite us to throw 'pity parties' and when we go down this road we spread discouragement instead of good cheer wherever we go.

The devil will prevent you, if he can, from ever having or enjoying a new beginning. He is the joy killer; he is a thief and a destroyer and he will endeavour to trip you up, cause you heartache and trouble and get you to believe that God is no longer interested in you - at all. Do not believe this trash. It is garbage and the only thing that happens to garbage is that we throw it out into the  rubbish bin where it is collected and taken to a dump, where it belongs. Stop allowing such trash to contaminate your walk with God. This is a new year, therefore we have a new beginning with God. Allow Him to guide you along each road; allow Him to guide you to turn left or right; allow Him to be your point of reference in all you do.

He hasn't left you and He never will. He has not taken His Holy Spirit from you either, that is a lie. He is committed to you; you are so special to Him, read the book He wrote for all of us and notice that you know the ending - we win! So keep on keeping on.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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New beginnings (1)

"Create in me a clean heart, O God"                                       Psalm 51:10    NKJV 

Today is a new day of a new year and this can mean, a new start or a new beginning for a lot of people. As you know, every year lot's of people make New Year Resolutions only to break them within hours. As a Christian, you can do the same. You want to be Christ like as you know that you should be. However, saying it and living up to it are two different things. It is easy to state that you will live for God from this day on, but it is so difficult to carry this out and many fail.

Following David's adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent act of having her husband killed, he had to deal with Nathan the Prophet who laid all of this before him. David was so ashamed of his behaviour and went through a process of mourning and repenting. This Psalm really showed his heart and how he felt about the situation.

Firstly, he asked God to create in him a clean heart. Notice this, David didn't just decide that from now on he would pull his socks up and get his life back together. He knew this would be impossible for him to do, alone. Therefore, he asked God to help him, 'Create in me'. Changes such as this require the help of the Holy Spirit and, David knew this. He therefore asked God to create in him the cleanest of hearts so that he could begin again. 

Confession leads to forgiveness and one of the results is a clean heart. When you ask Him, God allows the Holy Spirit to wash you clean; in fact, to clean you up and make you presentable to Him. He takes what is wrong in your life and makes it right. Now this is impossible from your perspective. You can have good intentions but, unless you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you, it will never happen. 

Maybe, you have been struggling in this area. You may have let God down big time and you may have told Him a hundred times that you are sorry. Relax, He has forgiven you, He did this the first time you asked. However, for you to be constant in your walk with Him, you need Him to do some creative work within you and, He may start with your heart. Don't forget, the heart stores good and bad things and whatever the state of it is, causes you to speak it out (Matthew 12:35). This is why you need the Holy Spirit to create in you a clean heart.

Tomorrow, we will explore this Psalm further.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Are there changes to be made?

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."     Hebrews 13:8    NKJV 

The Amplified Bible puts it this way, Jesus is: 'Eternally changeless - always the same.' Jesus is the only one that does not need to change. He is forever the same, always there, always loving  and ever faithful. We are not the same, we need help. If we want to grow, we need to change.

No-one likes change, it threatens our comfort zone. When a new boss is on the agenda, we think, 'Oh no, what is going to happen, I was just enjoying my job.' However, having staff that enjoy their job is not conducive to a healthy production. Employers need to be on the ball because the competition is so great, therefore there needs to be change in order to survive.

Change brings loss and this loss can be quite costly. Death and divorce are the highest contenders for pain due to loss and change; but there are others, such as moving house where there are loss of friends and family, school mates. The list is endless. However, We have to avoid being set in our ways, we may feel it is safer this way, after all, there is little risk in doing this. But look at the potential that you are depriving yourself and others from. You have a gift like no one else and, God wants you to use it. Change is healthy - scary yes, but it is needed because it is essential to our lives and existence. Change though, can be very difficult and also painful but, as I have already said, if you want to grow, changes must be made. 

It is New Year's Eve and people throughout the world make resolutions which they intend to carry out. About 90% of these forget about them within 24 hours, the 10% may be successful in carrying them out. However, the percentage is very low. Instead of New Year's resolutions, why not try praying, firstly that God will show you the changes that you need to make and, secondly give you the ability to carry them out. When we are serous with God, He will be the same with us. He is committed to us and wants us to succeed in all we do. You know there are some changes that you need to make - you know, don't you? Therefore, get a pen and a note book and write down the changes that you feel you need to make. Then pray about them and allow God to speak to you about them,. There may be more and, then again, there may be less than you have listed.

Once you have done this, pray about these changes each day and make notes in your book with regards to your success or failure. What has worked for you and what hasn't? If you stick to this, pretty soon you will be on the way to getting things right.

Happy New Year

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Don't disqualify yourself - believe!

"while we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."    

                                                                                            2 Corinthians 4:18   NKJV

Faith tells us to look at things that are not seen, this is what faith is all about. If it is raining outside, we don't pray that it will rain, it already is doing. However, if we are having a drought, that is the time to pray for rain and, believe that we have received it before it happens Mark 11:22-24.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' This is basically telling you the same. Faith is receiving something before it comes to you. Jesus did it all the time and His word shows you to do the same. However, it is so easy to disqualify yourself. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, 'Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.' 

You have to watch the doubt. It will squash your faith every time. Mark 11:23 says, 'For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.' There it is in a nutshell, Jesus' words not to doubt. When you do this, you can say goodbye to what you have asked for - believing - in prayer.

Be careful though, just because you have the faith and ask believing, with no doubt in your heart, this does not mean that you will have what you ask for straightaway. Jesus didn't say that. He said that you will have whatever you ask for but there was no promise of when this would take place. And, this is where people begin to doubt. Initially, you can be all fired up believing in prayer. However, after a little while of waiting, it is like the devil whispers in your ear, 'it will never come, give up.' If you have shared what you have asked for with someone, their faith may not be as strong as yours, and so, they can easily say, 'I think you may have this wrong, you know.' Again, doubt enters in. Remember Jesus' words to Jairus, 'Do not be afraid, only believe'  Matthew 5:36.

You are called to walk by faith but, you have to exercise patience and stand firm throughout the ordeal of waiting. The word to Habakkuk was, Though it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry.' 2:3.

If you believe that God is answering your prayer of faith, don't give up and disqualify yourself. Keep believing. It will come.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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The Importance of Joy

 "The thief does no come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."    John 10:10   NKJV

How does your joy get stolen? The devil is no fool; he knows what he is doing; he knows how to disarm you and will use this to disable every plan that he can. He knows that if you keep your joy, you will be strong and equipped for battle (Nehemiah 8:10), therefore he has to steal it away before you gain the victory.

Think about this. How many times do you determine to be victorious and joyful, only to fall at the first hurdle. You cannot just click your fingers to become joyful; it would be great if there was a button that you could press to discharge this joy. James writes, 'Count it all joy when you fall into various trials' James 1:2. Therefore, this shows us that you have to assume this joy, it is not necessarily there in the first place. It is how you view the things that come against you.  Tony Evans writes:

'What you focus on governs how you feel. The reason why many of us stay grieved for so long, is because we stay focused on what is wrong. Rather than finding our chief joy in the Lord, we turn on the TV to escape. We enter into illegitimate relationships to escape. We get involved with drugs or alcohol to escape. If your focus is properly situated on the Lord however, He will give you His joy; and His joy will give you strength.'

                                                                                    The Tony Evans' Bible commentary

Joy contains an intense, ecstatic happiness. It makes you feel wonderful; you cannot fail to praise God when you feel this way. You take great pleasure in praising Him, therefore, you are filled with the strength to achieve your goals. The joy of the Lord, is the joy that springs up in your heart because of your relationship with God. It is a God-given gladness found only when you're walking in unity with Him. Remember, when your goal is to know more about the Lord, the by-product is joy.

What James tells you in James Chapter one, is not easy to accomplish; but if you can manage it, it gives you the ability to cope and get through each problem that you face. When you think about it, it is another opportunity to praise God. Whatever is happening to you at this moment, remember, He is still on the throne. Jesus' joy shone through as recorded in Hebrews 12:2. The joy that was set before Him, made Him endure the cross, despising the shame and He did it all for you. You may say, 'Yes, but He was God'. That is true, but He was in His humanity at the time. He still hurt and He still bled and he still died. The same Spirit who was with Him, is the same Spirit that is in you. Being joyful is not easy to accomplish all the time but, if it provides you with God's strength, it is well worth reaching out for it.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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