There's a breakthrough coming!

"Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king of Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold." v17                                                       2 Samuel 5:17-25  NKJV 

David was anointed King of Israel but, this was not to the Philistine's liking; so they decided to go and search for him. There is an important point to remember here; you can never please everyone, someone will always be dissatisfied; so make up your mind to please God and Him only.

David went to his stronghold. What was this? It is quite likely that it was the familiar mountain stronghold in the desert of Judah. This was where David had defended himself against Saul (2 Samuel 23:14). However, the stronghold may have been the Lord Himself. David knew that God was his stronghold and shepherd and that he could be depended on. Whatever it was, it was the place where David inquired of the Lord, asking Him what to do. The Lord told him, 'Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.' And he did - God gave him a breakthrough so, David called that place Baal Perazim - Master of Breakthroughs.

The Philistines attacked once again and true to form, David inquired of the Lord v23. But this time, God gave him a different strategy. They were to circle around them in front of the Mulberry trees and when they heard the sound of marching from the top of the trees, they were to attack. They did and the victory was theirs.

We should always inquire of the Lord. It is foolishness to go into something blind. Pray, seek the Lord because he knows the way. God is a victorious God and He wants to give you the victory. He will give you commands that may sound very strange but, obey Him. He caused an army to become confused here by noises in the tree tops. As they listened, bewildered, David attacked and won. 

David had a breakthrough and there is a breakthrough coming to you today. Get to know God better, spend time with Him, inquire of Him and listen and obey. In fact, go into your stronghold - the place you use exclusively for God. If you want this breakthrough, it will only come through your obedience. So put it into action!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Is Jesus on the throne of your life?

"Yet I have set My King on My Holy hill of Zion" v6               Psalm 2   NKJV 

David was asking rhetorical questions when he penned this Psalm and, would have been astonished at what God said to him.

God's anger was burning, after all He had done for His people they still rebelled against Him. He provided for them, guided them, kept them alive and then, sent a Saviour - Jesus Christ, to bring forgiveness and eternal life. However, they didn't want Jesus the Messiah - the Anointed One, they wanted a king who would fight their battles for them and sit on an earthly throne.

It's the same today, many people clam up at the name of Jesus. Mentioning His name is a real conversation stopper and they can't wait to get away from you because, you are an embarrassment. But really, it is not embarrassment at all; it is conviction whether they realise it or not. They come under conviction as we begin to speak about Jesus and they will go to great lengths to prevent you continuing the conversation. People have lost their jobs, their homes and even their lives for speaking about Jesus. It is still happening in the world today in certain countries. (Check the internet). But whether it is accepted or not, Jesus is still on the Throne; His Father placed Him there. 

The thing is, is He on the throne of your life? Is He your Saviour, your friend and your shepherd? He will be returning to this world one day - it may even be today, no one knows except the Father. If you know Him, He will gather you up to Himself and you will be safe. To those who don't know Him, will come terrible judgements and death. He has given us all adequate warning of this - read the book.

Some may laugh at the person standing on the street preaching about Jesus; he may even be arrested or moved on by the police for doing so. However, that person is giving out Words of Life to those who will listen - a chance to have Jesus on the throne of their lives. These are not empty words, they carry life. Please ensure you are on Jesus' Holy hill (v6) when He returns, otherwise you will be left behind.

'Lord Jesus, I surrender to You. Please come into my life, live in my heart and forgive my sins. I am sorry Lord. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and be my Lord and Saviour. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen'

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Stand up and Fight

For this reason take up the full armour of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take up your stand."                                                   

                                                                                      Ephesians 6:13    CSB

Things may come at you fast and furious. Trials from God have a hope attached to them - a way through. Spiritual attacks don't! They are aggressive and have the ability to grind you down until all you want to do is give up. Don't do this, keep standing.

Ephesians 6:10 tells us to 'be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.' How do we do this? By putting on the armour of God, - v11-18. You will then be equipped. Note what Tony Evans says:

'Standing firm in the armour of God, doesn't stop the spiritual warfare raging. It stops it from defeating you.' Tony Evans Study bible

You see our battle is not against flesh and blood. The people who wrestle against us are real; the problems are real but, they are not the root problem - the devil is. So, we need to fight the spiritual with the spiritual; and we do this by putting on the armour of God.

Notice the word, 'resist', in our text above. We go forward in God's strength - in His power - in His armour and we resist every negative thing that comes our way. We are soldiers; soldiers get shot at but, they also shoot back. We shoot back with God's Word. It should be so rooted within us that, no matter what is said, no matter what is done against us, we resist and continue to stand.

Have you got that? Bottom line is, the devil doesn't like you, he never has and he never will. So he will use people to hurt you and wind you up. He will take your money, your health and whatever else he can. Don't let him - resist:

'Resist him firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.'  1 Peter 5:9

'Resist the devil and he will flee from you'  James 4:7

Get to the point where God's Word flows naturally from within you!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Be careful what you say

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."   

                                                                                         Proverbs 18:21  CSB 

Tony Evans writes a very important statement here:

'What the tongue says reflects the heart. So when our words towards another person are bitter, it's because our hearts are bitter. What comes out of our mouth represents the overflow of our hearts.'          The Tony Evans Study Bible, Holman Publishing

Matthew gives another strong scripture, 'For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.'  Matthew 12:37.

We have to be careful what we confess. When we are not in control, all sorts of negativity can be spoken. We tend to speak before we've processed what we're going to say. Other people shoot from the hip letting rip with choice words that are like daggers to the heart. Make no mistake, we will have to give an account one day, for all the wrong words we have spoken; therefore, get it right now!

It's not only the bitter words that we speak but also the everyday ones. These are the words that just flow from the tongue and, may include unwholesome comments. We can be so used to them that they have taken up residence within us. Here's a sample of them:

'I nearly died of fright'. 'These shoes are killing me'. 'I can't stand that person'. 

'I'll never be able to do this'. 'I've had enough, I'd be better off dead'

These are only a few of the phrases that may come out of our mouths. The thing is, they carry power; they are not just idle words, they carry a curse, a threat and whatever else. 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit.'

This is an important principle to remember. We must be in control of our mouths. Better still, we need God to clean up our hearts because, this is where it all begins.

In simple terms, what you confess, you will get. So choose your words wisely. It may be helpful to think before you speak. This is why James wrote, 'Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger'  James 1:19. It's a good principle to live by.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Live now, pay later

"The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is a slave to the lender."  

                                                                                           Proverbs 22:7   CSB

This is such a contentious area - should we borrow money or have a no debt policy. We should always live within our means; an excessive loan can become a form of bondage to some people.

Unless we are fortunate to be able to buy a house outright, without having to get a mortgage, then we will need to approach the bank. This is a massive chunk of money and for many, will be the largest amount of money they will ever have to take on.

Therefore, the title of today's reading - 'Live now, pay later', becomes a positive issue in our lives because, when the mortgage is paid off, we will owe no more. We have lived through this period and now the payback is, freedom from the debt. The negative part of 'Live now, pay later', is that it is so easy to allow our credit cards to do the taking, 'We'll buy this today and pay it off when the bill comes in at the end of the month.' This is fine to do this; however, many don't and when the bill comes in, only pay the small amount leaving a balance carried over. This soon mounts up and the credit card becomes a large part of life and before too long, the credit card limit is breeched.

We should always avoid excessive debt and this can be done by living within our means. Once a person is in debt, the lender begins to have the power over them and the borrower becomes the slave. 

If you are in debt then do something about it. It can't be hidden away, things will only become worse if you try this. There are many debt counsellors around but perhaps the starting point should be to approach the lender, explaining the situation. They will listen and attempt to negotiate a sensible repayment plan. If you don't do this, things will just become worse.

Talk to Jesus about this but, I am sure He will favour approaching the lender with an honest approach. Jesus will help you but, don't expect Him to pay it. He can and He might but it's unlikely because, it is a learning curve for you. He will though, be with you every inch of the way.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Trials

"Consider it a great joy, my brothers and my sisters, whenever you experience various trials 3 Because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance."    

                                                                                          James 1:2-5   CSB 

Let us dig a little deeper into these verses to gain more understanding. 'Trials', are divinely ordained difficulties that God can choose to put us through. He does this so that we can learn and become more mature. He is our coach and, coach's put sports people through the mill in order for them to become better players. God wants the same result from us and will stop at nothing to perform this.

Note in verse 2 that, James writes the word, 'whenever'. He didn't say, 'if' because He was more certain that the trial would happen rather than not at all. God sends trials our way - physical, emotional, relational and financial. He expects us to be joyful while we go through them because this makes us more like Jesus by handling and overcoming the trials.

There are many examples in the bible, of people going through trials; Jesus was most definitely one as He went through so many ordeals. God sometimes, may go to extremities to make us willing. Check out Jonah for one. He chose not to obey God and evangelise Nineveh. Instead, he caught a ship going the opposite way and this was caught in a major storm, where Jonah was thrown overboard with charges that he was a jinx. He then ended up being swallowed by a whale. We cannot out manoeuvre God, so don't try.

God wants us to endure the trials having a great sense of joy about us.Remember, joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). A hearty time of laughter can be so rewarding to us when things are not so good. It is the main ingredient required in trials - joy and laughter promote peace and happiness.

Think about this, If there appears to be no route through the trial, then praise God and allow the joy to begin. Learn to laugh at yourself through all of the negativity and, before too long, you will have come through the trial. The test will be completed and you will be rewarded.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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My Grace is Sufficient for you. Part 2

"My grace is sufficient for you, (My loving kindness and mercy are more than enough - always available - regardless of the situation) for My power is being perfected (and is completed and shows itself most effectively) in (your) weakness."   

                                                                                     2 Corinthians 12:9   Amplified 

Let us build upon our reading from yesterday. Things come upon us and it is difficult to find a way through. Let's look at our Amplified text:

MORE THAN ENOUGH

Jesus' loving kindness and mercy are more than enough. He has the ability to meet every need you are going through at this time. You may think, 'this is impossible', but God works in the realm of the impossible, nothing can or will, stop Him once you have called on Him for help. He will be there and what He will bring you is, more than enough to deal with the problem.

ALWAYS AVAILABLE

What is more, He is always available - always there whatever time of day or night that you need Him. He loves you and is committed to helping you get through bad things. Call on Him and He will hear you and act accordingly Psalm 18:6.

REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION

No matter what is happening in your life today - regardless of the situation, He is able to resolve things for you. When you're weak, He is strong. He is able where you are unable. He 'can do' where you 'can't do'. Do you get the picture?

You may have been climbing the walls with worry and fear because of what has happened. Straightaway, you have made a mistake. God doesn't want you to worry or fear, it only leads to panic. Yes, it is understandable but, we must stick to the rules - God's Word Luke 8:50/ Matthew 6:25-34.

He will come and pour His strength and power on your situation - the one which is making you weak

. What you can't do, He can and will, if you call on Him and give Him free rein to work.

Just relax - the King of kings is sorting out your situation!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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