You have received Christ

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving"                                                     Colossians 2:6-7  NKJV

Tall oaks are rooted very firmly in the ground so that they can stand against the storms of nature. Likewise, we believers should be firmly rooted in Jesus, with knowledge and experience. So get into the Word.

Tony Evans comments: 'The Christian life should continue as it started - with faith in the gospel message'. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

Let us focus on our text above. You and I have received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Nothing can stand in the way of this fact. It's something we need to remember every time that doubt tries to attack us or problems surround us and it's difficult to find a way through. We have received Jesus; He is with us always!

As we read our bibles, pray and worship Him daily, we begin to walk in Him - He is beside us. However, there is a need to be rooted and built up in Him. This happens as we commit everything to Him. Trouble may attack us but, because we are rooted in Him firmly, we are able to stand against the storms of life. As we do, Jesus edifies us (builds us up) by gently whispering to us, 'Do not be afraid, only just believe' Mark 5:36. 

When we stand rooted in Jesus, we become established - we come into existence and are set up to stand in the armour of God, ready to come up against whatever we may face. As our relationship grows with Jesus, we abound in His love and His direction. We realise that He is 100% for us - we have His protection whatever may happen. If we were to die today, we know we would be with Him, face to face - instantly! He has paved the way the way for us and, this is where thankfulness comes into operation.

Where else could you receive such assurance of love and certainty for your future? Jesus is the manager of the greatest Life Assurance policy. You could never find better. And you have received this, in Jesus!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Who Am I?

"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt"                                                                  Exodus 3:10-14   NKJV 

This must have been a startling moment in Moses' life. First he hears a voice speaking to him from a burning bush; and then the voice tells him that he must go to Pharaoh and rescue all of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt.

Moses replied, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? (v11). He then asks God who he should say sent him on this task. God replied, 'I AM WHO I AM'. And He continued, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you' v14.

We can learn a lot from this scripture. God is the great I AM. Just as He told Moses, He says to us also: 'I AM WHO I AM.' He is literally telling us:

'I AM HE who feeds you, heals you and looks after you. Whatever you need - I AM ABLE. I AM your Shalom, Shalom - Perfect Peace (Isaiah 26:3)

Like Moses said in verse 11, 'Who am I?' You can declare with God at your side, 'I don't think I am, but I know I am.' There is a major difference here; you're speaking with a voice of faith. Of course, you will possibly hear another inner voice that says you can't. But this is the word of doubt. Ignore it because if God says you can, then you can!

The dialogue may go something like this:

You say, 'Who am I to go? God says, 'Yes, but I will go with you.'

Expand this further to fit in with your life:

'I will never be able to do that.' 'Yes you will be able because I AM with you.'

'I'll never be able to do that job or go to Uni.'  'You can do this, because I AM with you.'

For every doubting word that you are about to say, quickly change it into a positive as shown above. Basically, you may be saying, 'I can't do that' but God counteracts with, 'Yes you can.' Grow your faith in this way. You may be tempted to say, 'Who am I?' Answer this by declaring, 'I am a child of the Living God. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Philippians 4:13.

Who am I? - I am God's child.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

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Record of Wrongs

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs."   

                                                                                   1 Corinthians 13:4-5  CSB 

Love keeps no record of wrongs. In other words, it doesn't go around pointing the finger at other people's faults. It doesn't criticise or judge people.

Charles Spurgeon said:

'It never proclaims the errors of others. It refuses to see faults unless, it may kindly help in their removal. It stands in the presence of a fault with a finger on its lips. It does not attempt to make a catalogue of provocations,'

Let's be honest here, we have all done this. Some of us have a library of wrongs about some people. We gossip about others whether we know if there is any truth in what we say or not. But if it is true what we say, we shouldn't be saying it anyway. It's almost like we are waiting for someone to be caught out in a sin and punished or look bad in other people's eyes. Some people even have an attitude towards God for allowing them to go through hurtful situations.

Ask yourself, where is the love in all of this? Sometimes we can read scripture, shout Amen to it and then, go out and do the opposite. Thank goodness God doesn't operate in this way. He doesn't keep a record of our wrongs once we have repented. He wipes them away (Colossians 2:13-15). Therefore, shouldn't we do the same? What right have we to criticise, gossip and keep a record of people's wrongdoing?

It appears to me that we should be so grateful to Jesus for forgiving our wrongdoings and ask forgiveness if we have been involved in thinking bad about others. If we don't, we will have to give an account to Him one day for all the criticism and record keeping we have done.

Now that doesn't bear thinking about. So, if this has convicted you, ask Jesus to forgive you right now and, avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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A Repair Job

"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolation of many generations."   Isaiah 61:4    NKJV 

Many Christians today feel left by the wayside. What they had hoped and prayed for has not happened and they're beginning to feel like it never will. If you firmly believe that God has spoken to you about your future - then don't give up on it! Abraham could have given up when God told him that Sarah would have a child. They were both very old and it was ridiculous to think this could happen. However, Abraham didn't waver at the promise through unbelief. He was fully convinced that what God had promised, He would fulfil Romans 4:17-22.

Stay in faith, even though you may be treated unfairly at work, home or in the church. Perhaps you didn't get that promotion; well that may be because God has something better in mind for you. You may be in a difficult relationship and your face may not fit in some quarters. Don't give up!

Consider that maybe, God wants to do a repair job on you, after all, He is a master builder. He can take the old and turn it into new, but you have to be willing because, He will not force you. It is worth considering that you may be trying to make it happen yourself. You can't do this, anymore than a 100 year old Abraham, couldn't make a 90 year old Sarah pregnant. You can't do it but, God can.

Write down what God actually told you. Don't add things, just write fact. It is doubtful that God gave you a time-frame when this promise would be birthed. So, pray what He actually told you and tell Him that you are prepared to wait - in faith. Waiting is difficult but, waiting in faith is harder because all of the doubts, and if you've told anyone, all of their negative comments, will try to convince you that you have it wrong. 

Abraham was fully convinced even though he would have been subject to be laughed at. But what about Noah building a boat on dry land, far from the sea? People thought he was crazy but boy, were they in for a shock Genesis 6 & 7.

Just place yourself before Jesus and allow Him to do a repair job - hurts from the past, present and doubts about the future. Allow Him to raise you up with encouragement, then He might feel that you're ready.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Don't Run on Empty

"be filled with the Spirit"                                Ephesians 5:18b    NKJV 

It is impossible to run on empty for long. Sooner or later, your going to run out of energy. Take a car for instance, if it gets low on fuel or the charge runs out, the car will soon stop because it no longer has the substance to carry on. Take this analogy and personalise it. Are you running very close to empty? Have you been doing so much that you have neglected to 'fill up' on the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well: 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.' John 4:13-14

In this analogy, Jesus told the woman, that whoever drank this water would thirst again, but He could offer 'Living Water'. The water He was referring to was the Holy Spirit. Whoever is without Him, will need to rely on their own energy to get through each day. But with the Holy Spirit, they would be like a fountain of fresh, living water gushing out, leading to life in abundance. 

Are you baptised in the Holy Spirit? Look at the difference this makes in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the others, with power. In fact, it was like a fire which spread to the whole of the crowd in Jerusalem. Peter, who had cowardly denied Jesus just a few weeks earlier, now stood and preached a sermon where at least 3000 souls came to Jesus. The place was in pandemonium, with people speaking in other languages and wondering what was happening. This is the difference the Holy Spirit makes in a person's life - dynamite power!

If you've never had this happen to you, here's your opportunity:

Dear Lord, please baptise me in Your Holy Spirit, enabling me to speak in tongues and have the fire of God within me, so that I never run on empty again. In Jesus' name. Amen'

Speaking in tongues will come with practice; the main thing is, you will now be power-packed and have the ability to change lives. You'll make mistakes, of course you will, because you're not perfect - yet. However, if you stay close to Jesus, people will notice this fact.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Open yourself to Jesus

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything You find in me that makes You sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."  

                                                                                Psalm 139:23-24   Living Bible 

It is necessary, regularly, to allow God to carry out an assessment of yourself and feed it back to you. He knows everything about you. You may feel that you know everything about yourself, but you're wrong. There are things within you that may be hidden away, things from the past or the present. Some, you may know about, others you don't. But God knows it all and wants you to get things right and ready for a blessing.

King David was sold out for God, he lived for Him. Yes, he made some bad mistakes but, he opened himself up to his Father and allowed Him to point out anything that made Him sad or caused Him offence. David then put it right.

Notice how he asked God to test his thoughts and anxieties. As we saw from yesterday's reading, our thoughts, if not controlled, can lead us astray. This is an excellent way to get to know about yourself - ask God and allow Him to tell you. However, if you ask Him to carry out an assessment on you, as these scriptures infer, you must be willing to act on what God says, otherwise nothing will change. If you want change in your life, then you must be prepared to pay the price.

God will help you, that is a certainty. Check out David's prayer in Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV:

'Show me Your ways O LORD; teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day'

Notice two points here; firstly, David knew if he opened himself up to God, he could rely on Him to help. Secondly, David knew that things didn't always happen at once; sometimes there was a waiting period.

So if you are prepared for this assessment, so is Jesus. He will show you what needs to change and, will help you achieve it. However, be prepared, it may take some time, so be patient.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Be in control of your thoughts

".. bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."  

                                                                               2 Corinthians 10:3-6  NKJV

It is imperative that we are in control of our thoughts. The devil wars against us and, this area is one of his main lines of attack. If he can get you thinking about the wrong type of things, he's happy.

In this day of incredible technology, temptation is unlimited. Porn is readily available 24/7 and the temptation can be so great that some, may find they are unable to avoid it because it has become an addiction. On most media platforms, we receive invitations to join sex groups. The offer of sexual activity is available if a person wants this.

Gambling sites tempt a person to become rich in a moment. They may offer teasing free go's so that the temptation to continue becomes greater. Many people fall into this trap ending up with large debts that they are unable to pay. Our children may be subjected to suicide sites, as highlighted in the news recently. What can be more evil that tempting a young person to end their lives?

Once a seed is sown into our thought life, it can be very difficult to avoid it. It can nag away until the temptation becomes so great, that sin is activated. Adultery is a big temptation. There appears to be a low level of values in our society today with feelings such as, 'It's ok, let's have some fun'. But the devil is a liar and the fun can soon turn into heartache, once found out.

Extreme discipline needs to be a part of our lives. This is why the Apostle Paul gave us this scripture. Read the four verses above and you'll see his remedy into dealing with our thoughts. We know when a bad thought enters our mind - we know it is temptation. Therefore, this is the time to put an end to it by calling upon Jesus and giving Him the thoughts so that He can help. This is taking the thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

This is serious business and one in which we need to be on guard. The devil is sly and crafty and, if you're not careful, he can trick you into falling for it. Don't even give him the chance!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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