If Jesus hadn't have turned up

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living"                                  Psalm 27:13   NKJV  

Many translations do not include the first part of this verse which is written in italics. Words and phrases in italics indicate expressions in the original language which require clarification by additional English words. This practice was done throughout the history of The King James Bible, and is a useful addition in understanding what the author was actually saying, rather like a paraphrase. Here, the actual meaning of the verse is more understandable and gives an insight into what David was feeling when he wrote it.

The Amplified Bible says, 'What would have become of me? This is an excellent place to start this discussion. Where would you have been if Jesus hadn't have turned up at the right time in your life? For myself, I may well have remained with facial paralysis. I had had it so long that the doctors treating me felt it was permanent and could become worse. Jesus, who I didn't know at the time, turned up and healed me. That was 42 years ago. If He hadn't have turned up, I would have lost heart.

What about you? Where would you have been if He hadn't have turned up in your life? What would have become of you? Think back to that time (if there was one) when you desperately needed help. Perhaps you may have called on Him and He helped you; but if you hadn't have called on Him, what would have happened to you? 

Think back to the time when you were at your lowest. You may have lost everything, or it felt that way. You may have been lonely, lost and practically penniless, without a decent friend in the world. And then, the friend to beat all friends - Jesus, turned up. How grateful we need to be to Him, how thankful for what He has done. You may have been ill but, now you're well. You may have been lonely but now, you're secure. You may have had nothing but now, you have everything - Jesus. This is worth a shout of praise; a loud 'Thank you Jesus'.

A man alone and in pain, on a cruel cross, surrounded by taunting people did all of this for you. He died, rose again and sought you out. What would have become of you, if He hadn't?

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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The devil will try to take you out

But, when I looked for good, evil came to me; and when I waited for light, then darkness came."   Job 30:26.  NKJV

When you first become a Christian, the devil's not really interested in you. You're young in the faith with bags of excitement and you're bubbling with energy and enthusiasm but, to the devil you know little and you're no particular threat.

However, as time goes on and you become more experienced in study and the Word of God, he begins to notice that you could be a problem. He sees you starting prayer meetings, going to church and laying hands on people who become well or saved and, 'Ping', you have become a major problem and he calls an emergency meeting with his demons to consider what can be done to stop you. There is an interesting piece of scripture in Job 1:6-12:

6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and [e]Satan also came among them. 7And the Lord said to [f]Satan, “From where do you come?”
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
8Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you [g]considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and [h]shuns evil?”
9So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?  10Have You not [i]made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  11But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse[j] You to Your face!”
12And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your [k]power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Warren W Wiersbe comments on this: 'Job had expected to enjoy a long and comfortable life and peaceful death, but now that had all changed. He looked for good but God sent evil; he looked for Light, but God sent darkness. Instead of comfort and peace he experienced constant turmoil within.'

As our text shows, we pray and expect good things to come but, sometimes evil comes instead. When we expect to go into the Light of God, we feel ourselves enshrouded in darkness. Note here, that Satan meets up with God periodically and discusses you. God will allow Satan to buffet us occasionally but, He has overall control and will only allow him to carry out certain things, hoping that we will stand up to the attack.

Be encouraged, the devil will only try to hurt you when you are doing God's will. And God is with you all the way. Yes, you will have good and bad days but, it's being ready for them that counts and standing tall in God's Armour, knowing God is with you and will help you through whatever comes your way.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Rotten and Decayed

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."       Ephesians 4:29   NKJV

The word 'Corrupt' here is a Greek term meaning Rotten and Decayed. It is used here by Paul to describe the decaying body of an animal or rotting meat. David Jeremiah says, 'Such conversation is deadly enough among unbelievers and should never be heard among God's people.' Therefore, rotten and decayed words should never be spoken by us; if we have such decay within us that promotes this kind of speech, then we need to spend more time with Our Father in repentance.

Many people have had such words spoken to them over the years. This may have been through angry parents who may have said such things as, 'You're useless, a complete waste of space.' Many have suffered this emotional abuse which may also have been from a partner. Many marriages and relationships suffer this type of behaviour and the sufferer carries many scars and open wounds. This may have happened to you.

Alternatively, you may have spoken to someone unkindly - full of rotten decay. If this is the case, repent and attempt to put it right by asking forgiveness from God and the person/s if at all possible. Don't forget, as we speak, we are also the listener (v29). We hear what we say and it can have an effect on us too. This may be in the way of guilt for speaking this way.

Whether you have been the recipient of bad words, or have spoken out such words, it has had an effect on all concerned. The one who has received such words may be full of bitterness and anger. The one who has spoken things out, may be full of guilt and remorse. These feelings need attention because they are floating to the surface now and then. So give it to God, right now.

'Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive me for the words that I have spoken to people in a rotten and decayed manner. I am truly sorry Lord and repent and receive Your forgiveness now.

Lord Jesus, I have been hurt by the rotten and decayed words of people over the years but, I choose this day to forgive them. Please forgive me for the bitterness and anger I have felt about them. I repent of this. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, forgive yourself for everything and allow the chains to fall off them and yourself.

You know this makes sense.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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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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