There's no need to smash the door down

"He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. 8 'I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it.'"                                                                                     Revelation 3:7-8  NKJV 

God opens door but, He shuts them too. Some things are only for a season, whereas, others are a more permanent feature. Has he opened a door for you and you are frightened to go through it? Or has He closed a door - tightly and, you are confused and wondering what to do. Be at peace, Jesus knows what He is doing and He will reveal all to you in good time.

Is God calling you to His ministry and you are struggling with, 'I can do that but, who will pay me, how will we manage?' Again, be at peace, if He has called you, then He will sustain you, you will not be in want Psalm 23:1 and Philippians 4:19.

Are you in a stable job but feel the temptation to better yourself with another job - possibly promotion but again, you are frightened to make a move? Then there are the additional's such as, 'Should I re-train and go to Uni, or what about starting my own business?' Each one of these opportunities may be realistic but, are they for you? Has God opened the door or is it just your inner-self looking for a change in your life? Sometimes, we try to smash a door down to go through it but, ask yourself, if you have to do this, or pry the door open , is it for you or are you about to make a major mistake?

Mostly when God has opened a door for us, we have an inner sense of excitement. It may be scary but, that's normal. If the door tends not to open as wide as you thought it would, with problem after problem blocking the way, perhaps you need to consider that God may be telling you a firm 'No'. But if the door is opening wide and things appear to fall into place, perhaps it's the right move for you. It will be a little scary as I mentioned and, you never fully know if it is right to do; this is where our faith comes in, but there is a sense of excitement and peace about it all that may be a guidance.

If you feel like this, why not go through the door - prayerfully, asking for God's guidance and favour. However, if you have a bad feeling about it all, avoid it, for the moment at least, because the time may not be right.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Forgiveness

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."    Mark 11:25-26   NKJV  

'I'll forgive them, but I won't forget it.' This statement can be heard in most places that we go. People may have been hurt or ripped off and are angry. Other people may say, 'I'll never forgive her - ever!' 

The is most common, where people flatly refuse to comply with God's wishes. Verse 26 tells us that if we don't forgive what people have done to us, neither will God forgive us. It seems quite hard teaching when we consider it, especially when we play the video back in our mind. Re-living it just makes it worse and when we speak to others and they don't share our opinions, it can make things worse because they are not allowing us to vent our feelings and show us they are not on our side.

Actually, these people are better for us than the one's who will take our side and feed our hostility. People who refuse to become involved in speaking harshly about another person and do not share our anger, can help us to see things from another perspective, and this can be of great help. The thing is, we have a choice; if we refuse to forgive, then God will not forgive us our trespasses. This is risky.

This does not only focus on us forgiving other people though; we need to forgive ourselves. Time and time again, we become involved in something and need to repent. Quite often, even though God has forgiven us, we are left with a feeling of guilt. People may tell us that it is condemnation which comes from the devil. This is true, but not always. How many times do we hurt our spouse, children or someone else with wounding words? Afterwards, we may say that we sorry to God and to them for this and ask forgiveness. Even though they forgive us, we still feel awful and often keep repeating that we are sorry. This is not conviction because we have repented. It is guilt and this is why there may be times when we need to forgive ourselves and undo the chains that are holding us captive. Our own guilt can keep us a prisoner if we're not careful.

Be sure to forgive people when you have been wronged; but also, forgive yourself when you have wronged God or someone else. It is so important!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Are you part of God's plan?

"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved"   V13  

                                                                                    Romans 10:13-17   NKJV  

As we study this plan that God laid down, we can see that there are two parts that can be expounded. Let's look at the first part which is from the non-believers perspective:

Part 1 Looking at the text from v14-15, we can see clearly that Paul considers four questions that I have paraphrased:

1 How can you call on someone you haven't believed in? To believe in someone, they must be trustworthy and hold your attention. They need to be uppermost in your mind and all you do figures around them. But if you don't believe in them, it will be difficult for it to happen.

2 How can we believe in someone who you have not heard about? If you haven't heard about someone, then it can be incredibly difficult to believe in them. To believe and trust in someone, you have to know them.

3 How can you hear unless someone tells you? It usually requires someone to explain about Jesus to other people in order for them to understand. Even then, the Holy Spirit has to open their minds and hearts in order to respond.

4 Who will go and tell people this news? Isaiah 6:8-9 says, 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me,' and He said, 'Go and tell this people'.

There are four questions written down in v14-15. Please read them for further clarification. People need the Gospel but, unless someone tells them, they may never know about Jesus. Points 1 and 2 here say it all; many people don't know about Jesus. Can you help here? Are you willing to go out on the streets and hand out tracts and speak to them? Or perhaps tell your neighbours, friends or family? Let's look at the next part which is for believers:

Part 2 It's a surprising fact that many professing Christians haven't a full knowledge of Jesus or, have no particular relationship with Him. Many avoid going too deep; by this I mean, having a relationship with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and operating in His gifts and displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Some have little understanding of these important parts of our walk. Many are happy to go to church each week and that is all. Keith Green used to say, 'Going to church each week doesn't make you a Christian, anymore than going to MacDonalds makes you a hamburger.' 

God wants more of you, in fact, everything. He gave you everything and continues to do this on an hourly basis Be part of His plan - learn, study, pray, listen to Him and then, share Jesus with those around you. How will they know unless you tell them?

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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According to the Power Within

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us"   Ephesians 3:20   NKJV

This is one powerful verse, one in which we need to live by each day. Whatever we ask or think, God is able to do and even more. This is our God, the One who created the world and everything in it. The one who parted the Red Sea and the River Jordan to allow the Israelites to cross safely. The God who shut the lion's mouth's when Daniel was imprisoned there and, the one who joined the three young men in the fiery furnace. The one who opens blind eyes, raises the dead and walks on water. And the God who offers us eternal life through Jesus Christ. He can do more than your wildest dreams, in fact, you could never outdream Him.

David Guzik adds to this:

You can ask for every good thing you have ever experienced – God can do above that.

You can think of or imagine things beyond your experience – God can do above that. You can imagine good things that are beyond your ability to name – God can do above that.
According to the power that works in us: God is able to do this in our life now, not beginning with heaven. This power… works in us now.

The things Paul prayed for in the previous verses (spiritual strength, the indwelling Jesus, experiential knowledge of God’s love, and the fullness of God) belong to us as children of God. However, they must be received by believing prayer and can be furthered in the lives of others by our prayers for them.'    Enduring Word. -  David Guzik

According to the power that works within us. Tony Evans comments further: 

'God's power works in accordance with a believer's Spiritual strength, intimacy and capacity.' 

There must be a connection between us and the Holy Spirit. When we or the church are in sync with Jesus, there is a connection that is always overflowing - gushing out the power of God. But we must make that connection by being in connection with Him. This gives us that Spiritual strength, intimacy and capacity. We need the connection to watch the TV, start a car engine or charge your 'phone, in the same way, you need a connection to the Holy Spirit to receive His power.

When we live in such a way, we can walk in confidence that God's power is in us and that lives will be changed as we meet them; people will be healed and demons will flee. 

So get connected to the Holy Spirit and do God's business.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Thank you Your Majesty

Words fail us at this very sad time. It is hard to come to terms with this loss because, we have all known her, all of our lives. We grew up and she was there, she was always there for us. Now, we have the memories; but what lovely memories they are of a Queen who loved us and was always there, through thick and thin and always had that beautiful smile that we will all remember. 

Now, as Christians, we know that she is with Jesus in Heaven, Her Saviour who she loved dearly and always spoke of Him whenever she could. We know that He will take care of her and she is at peace. It is now her time to relax; she has earned it.

So thank you, Your Royal Highness for being our Queen. Now we need to allow her son, King Charles III to take over and lead us and she did.

God save the King

Carnally minded v Spiritually minded

"For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." v5   

                                                                                    Romans 8:5-8   NKJv

Casey Treat, the American evangelist says,' When your mind agrees with your spirit, you're Spiritually minded. But when it agrees with your flesh, you're Carnally minded.' This is how we can carry out a self assessment each day. Whenever we allow ourselves to view or become involved with things that we know we shouldn't, we are being carnally minded - we are walking in the flesh. Romans 8:11 says, 'But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.'

We are called to be Spirit-led but, it is incredibly difficult a lot of the time. We meet obstacles and some of them are very tempting. If we're not careful, we can easily be led astray. This is why we need to be on the ball - alert and ready to meet what lies ahead. Bob Gass, discussing Paul's claims about Romans 7:24, says, 'Isn't it time you stopped carrying the past around on your back - and on your mind? Refuse to let old memories negotiate a deal with you. Bury them and do it today. Don't let them take up residence inside your head'      Copyright 2007 Bob Gass

It's time to move on but, you will never do it until you get the upper hand in your walk with Jesus. You'll never be perfect until you are safely with Jesus in heaven, but you can make a healthy start. Therefore, whenever you begin to step off the track, repent immediately, not afterwards. You know the things that Jesus wants you to give up; He will not stop until you do. As hard as it may be, decide to give them to Jesus. It will be difficult that is true, but remember you are either Spiritually minded or Carnally minded; the choice is yours.

If you want a wholesome, healthy walk with Jesus, the things of the flesh need to go. Every time you operate in them, the conviction will become heavier. Don't live like this any longer; you may think. 'Well, others do.' That may be so but, God is dealing with you here, not other people. So bury the past together with all the fleshy things involving you and move forward. From thereon, be sure to be aware that they will keep trying to return, so be watchful.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Anger and Jealousy

"Then Saul was very angry and the saying displeased him; and he said, 'They have ascribed to David ten thousands and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom.' 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward."   

                                                                                     1 Samuel 18:8-9  NKJV 

Saul was fuming and insanely jealous of David since his victory over Goliath. David was well respected by the people and as he returned from the victory, the women were singing and dancing as they saw Saul but, they obviously favoured David as the words of their song described. The anointing was on David and was quickly disappearing from Saul, and it showed.

If we are not careful, we can all fall to jealousy. We like to be respected and thrive on being recognised for the things that we do. This is natural, until we make it more important than what it should be. Jesus is our Saviour and Lord; He is the ultimate and will have no others over Him. We can't afford to become puffed up.

Saul was angry and jealous. He resented David outshining him; his insecurity showed through - big time. Wherever we go, we will find competition - people trying to outshine each other to prove they are better. But, we don't have to take part in the competition. David was in no way trying to compete with Saul. He loved and respected him and, if Saul had realised this instead of becoming all wound up about things, it may have been a different story.

As mentioned, we will always have someone who wants to outshine us. They receive all the 'Well done's' where we receive nothing, but that's ok. Some people do this intentionally, others don't realise they're doing it. But whatever, don't rise to the bait. The devil may whisper, 'They are better than you - your job is at risk.' Or, 'Your marriage is at risk, in fact it's over.' Don't listen, just take the thought captive as described in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. Don't allow yourself to become angry or jealous. Rise above it. It's all lies from the evil one. If he can take your mind off what is important, he will do. This is why when Jairus was told his daughter had died, Jesus said to him, 'Do not be afraid, only believe' Mark 5:36; while the people were saying,  'Why trouble the teacher?'

Anger, Jealousy and Insecurity are not healthy to a man or woman of God

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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