Get the joy back in your life

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 2Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!
3Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
4Seek the Lord and His strength;Seek His face evermore! 5Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
6O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!"

                                                                                           Psalm 105:1-6   NKJV

When men and women meet for the first time and then, discover that they want to be together - always; love is hatched. In fact, this is all they talk about, they are so happy and elated that they want everyone to know about it. This is usually the same when someone accepts Jesus as their lord. They read the bible endlessly, go to church and speak about Jesus at every opportunity. For the first six months or so, Jesus is all they think about; it's like a honeymoon period. We often think that this would be nice to live this way forever, but the Busy-ness of life takes over and we tend to cool down somewhat. Mind you, it doesn't have to be this way; we can still keep that fire - that wonderful feeling going in our lives. 

Let's look at some of these verses:

Verse 1  Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name'. Being thankful about all He has and will do for us, is a great way to start the day. There is so much He blesses us with; just stop for a moment and think about this. We are so fortunate to have Him in our life - the King of kings is our friend. That is amazing in itself. However, we need to call on Him to let Him know how grateful we are. He's always ready to listen.

Verse 2  'Talk of all His wondrous works'. Romans 10:17 says, 'Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.' Therefore, talk about what Jesus has done in your life, at every opportunity. Many may not respond but, they may remember later when they think things through. You have sown a seed.

Verse 6  Remember His marvellous which He has done'. There will be times when you feel downhearted - it goes with the territory. These are the times when remembering all He has done for you personally, can lift your spirits. What about the time when you had nothing and couldn't pay a bill? He turned up didn't He and made things good. What about when you had problems at work? You had sleepless nights worrying about this but, he turned up and it was like nothing was wrong at all.

You may have other experiences that you can fall back on; remember them because, as you do He strengthens you v4. To get and keep that initial joy you first had is down to you. Jesus hasn't changed so it must be you. Determine to get back into this intimacy with Jesus once again. You know that you want to!   

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

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God has your back

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called to His purpose."                                  Romans 8:28   NKJV 

Tony Evans says, 'The promise of Romans 8:28 is conditional. If believers are not loving God and progressively being conformed to the image of Christ, they will not see things working together for good.'                         The Tony Evans Study Bible. Holman Publishing CSB

Through life, we can have many disappointments, hardships and sufferings. We can be wrongly treated and basically walked all over at times. But, as we allow God to have the first place in our lives, He is able to fulfil His good purpose. Even if things don't appear to change, His promise is faithful towards us. He always has a plan.

His purpose, as mentioned in this text, is a Greek word called prothesis and this means 'Deliberate plan.' As I mentioned, He always has a plan but, each believer was called to this 'deliberate plan' which He endorsed from the beginning. Even before you were born or before anyone had heard of you, God knew you and formed a plan just for you. You were His purpose and He has a purpose for you in this world.

Remember the account in Daniel where Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were thrown into the hot oven for being disobedient? When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the oven, he saw four figures. 'Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' They answered and said to the king, 'True O king'. 25 Look!' he answered, 'I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God' Daniel 3:24-25.

Then there was the account of Daniel being thrown into the lions den (Daniel 6). When questioned by Darius the next morning, Daniel said, 'My God sent His angel and shut the lion's mouth so that they have not hurt me'  Daniel 6:22.

These are great examples of God working things together for good. Things may seem alarming but God, has your back - if He has the first place in your life. He will always bring things together for us but, rather like Daniel and his friends who had to go through these ordeals, He may not change things but, He will see you through it.

So, whatever you face today, know that God is with you; He has your back and He will work things for good because you are special to Him.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Attitude

"But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him"  v30    Luke 15:28-30  Christian Standard Bible 

The Prodigal, as we saw yesterday, has returned home, broken and crushed and full of repentance, and his father has thrown a party to celebrate this fact. However, his brother is not happy about this, 'this son of yours'.

When a person returns to Jesus after falling away for a time, not everyone is happy and greets them with open arms. If this is you, you may have noticed this. Some begrudge the fact that a person has been away from the fold and then returns. The people, who have an attitude, feel they shouldn't be welcomed back but, if they are, they should not receive a pat on the back for it.

This is how the older brother felt. He was angry that a party had been thrown for him and the fattened calf slaughtered. Everyone seemed delighted but, not him, not only was he angry but, he began speaking from his child ego, refusing to go into the house where the celebrations were taking place. No matter how much the father tried, he refused to enjoy the party and he began complaining, criticising and judging and then feeling sorry for himself. One can see his point to a degree, after all, he had remained fathful and hardworking while his brother took half of the inheritance and blasted it on wild living; yet, now he was being treated like a king. One can almost hear him saying, 'It's not fair.'

He had a heart problem - it was full of pride and now hate and, his attitude matched this. He had no compassion, sympathy or love for his brother. Note the father's comments in verse 32; he matches the language of the older son, 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found' (CSB). The older son had referred to his brother as , 'this son of yours' v30. The father was reminding him that this was his brother and he needed compassion and forgiveness.

And it is the same for us. People in the church may offend us; they may hurt and anger us but, we need to get our attitude right because they are our brother or sister. We all make mistakes and we all need forgiveness for making them. Our remit is to love and uphold a brother or sister who may be in the wrong, or may have taken a wrong turn but then returned to the fold.

Let us remember that, this is what Jesus did for each of us. So, keep checking your attitude!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Return to Your Father

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  21And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son."  V20 of  Luke 15:11-32   NKJV

Jesus told a parable about a father and his two sons. One was stable in his ways, dedicated to helping out on the farm, while the other son had itchy feet. He longed to see what the world had to offer in the cities. He therefore, asked his father for his share of the inheritance that he and his brother were entitled to. His father complied and set off on his new adventure.

However, when he had squandered all of his money living life in the fast lane, with his newly found friends, he was nothing but a pauper. He found a job feeding pigs, a livestock hated by the Jews, and he recognised that the pigs ate better than he did. He finally decided to go back home to his father and repent. His father had been hoping for his return and looked for him everyday. When he saw him in the distance, he ran to him, kissed and hugged him and welcomed him home. The Prodigal hardly had the chance to repent, he was so loved v20-24. This describes beautifully, how our Father - God Himself, searches for us when we are far a way from Him. He longs for your return and will welcome you with open arms and blessing.

You may not have have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, or you may have known Him and walked away just like the Prodigal did. The lure of worldly things can be so tempting but when the chips are down, no one wants to know, you're basically on your own. The Prodigal found this out. While his money lasted, he was a 'Splendid chap', but when it had all gone, he became 'Billy no- mates',

You may be like this; you've tried everything the world has to offer and found out that it is not what you thought it would be like. You may be down on your luck with not a friend in the world. Someone, you loved dearly may have broken your heart and you feel shattered. But deep down, something is drawing you; you may have a desire to visit a church but you are sure that they won't accept you. Let me just say that, whatever you have done, Jesus Christ will accept you and give you a brand new start. He has been waiting and looking for you. Why not come to Him now!

'Lord Jesus, I feel so lonely and depressed. Will you help me please? I feel all alone with no future but, I have a hope in You. I have burdens and fears that weigh me down but, deep down I know You can help me. Please come into my life and forgive my sins and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give myself to You now. Amen

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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Watch your Reactions

"Repay no one evil for evil"  v17 of Romans 12:14-17   NKJV

This can also be known as 'Tit for Tat’ repaying eye for an eye. Back in Babylonian times, one of the kings brought in The Code of Hammurabi, recognised then as The Lex Talionis, or in other words, The Law of Tit for Tat. Jesus abolished the old law and introduced a non-resentment and non-retaliation code - Love.

Sadly, it still exists in some quarters where people seek revenge for things done to them. But this is not the way Jesus would have us behave. Yes, people hurt us and do all sorts of unkind things to maim us. However, we are called to be like Jesus and refuse to retaliate and allow God room to handle this for us. And He will!

As I've mentioned in the past, when we have asked Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour, we have died to self. Our sins have been forgiven and we belong to Him. Baptism by submersion is symbolic of this. When we go under the water, we are dying to our old life. When we come out of the water again, we are being raised to a new life in Jesus.

Therefore, we are dead to reaction. Dead men don't react. So when we are treated badly, we refuse to act badly in return. One may say that this is rather like being a doormat. However, check Jesus' reactions when in similar circumstances; He was mostly silent to His accusers. This is hard to accept but, we need to adopt this attitude.

I once read a book called The Passion for Souls by a Canadian pastor called Oswald J Smith. It had been written around the 1950's. He had preached a sermon about reactions and had entitled the sermon, 'No Attack - No Defence' and this is something that has remained with me for around 40 years. It is a discipline, one that is learnt over a time - it is rarely instant. We don't retaliate or attack, we just leave it all to Jesus.

Thoughts come into our minds about what someone has said to us or, what they may have done to hurt us. It serves no purpose to focus on this; we need to refuse to think about such things. These thoughts are from the devil, sent to antagonise and intimidate us. They have the ability to keep us immobile. Stop thinking them by replacing your thoughts with wholesome things such as:

'Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ' Philippians 4:8   NKJV

'And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  17And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him'.  Colossians 3:3:15-17  NKJV

Think about good things and refuse to listen to things that will not build you up. But most of all. Watch your Reactions

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Read the Instructions

"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh"       Proverbs 4:20-22   NKJV

Most people today buy something such as, a Smart TV, Watch, Hi Fi unit or even a car and never really pay much attention to the instructions. Life appears to be too busy to face reading a thick instruction manual, that is daunting, so they cut corners. The perils of this is when something fails to work properly, or a button is pressed that shouldn't be, we say it's not working and want to return it to the store. It is not helped when there is no hard copy and the Instruction Manual has to be downloaded. Many people avoid this and get into the same problems.

Our text today encourages us to give attention to God's words, in fact, to listen properly by inclining the ear. Counsellors often use this technique to show that they are listening properly, to what is being said. As we read our bibles and listen to God, we are being instructed. Just like the instructions are important for a piece of equipment, the bible, also is vital to our lives. God's word contains directions that show the way forward. Verse 22 says, 'For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh.' We need instruction in living our lives properly, which may include bringing up our children and teaching them accordingly. A happy, stable marriage and home is the reward of investing in the instructions of the Lord.

What we teach our children today, will be a blue print of how they may teach their children. If we fail to instruct them wisely, they will want to avoid this with their own. Some of us may have got it wrong in the early days of family life because of being overly-religious or not living the life with our children. This may have had a bad effect on them. We do make mistakes but we can learn from them. Therefore it's never too late to change this by confessing our mistakes to them.

A healthy walk with God starts with a healthy relationship with Him. There is no chance of really getting to know Him unless, we meet with Him on a regular basis. This is where our daily quiet time comes in, which includes reading the bible, praying and listening - feeding on His word and getting instruction. This is where the life comes from and, He wants to give it in abundance John 10:10. Don't ignore this or give it second place. He requires the first place in our lives. 

You may have made mistakes in the past but, He can help you repair the damage. All you need to do is ask Him and listen. This way you will get instruction.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Unshakeable Faith

 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  17If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  18But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

                                                                                     Daniel 3:16-18   NKJV

Nebuchadnezzar created a huge golden image, possibly depicting himself, and made a declaration that when a certain sound of music was played from the instruments, everyone would need to bow down and worship this god-like figure. Failure to do so would mean being cast into burning fiery furnaces. There are similarities in the actions of certain dictators of the past. Men who wanted so much power that they would stop at nothing to achieve this status.

Pride is a dangerous thing. It is selfish and conceited and only thinks of itself. It takes glory in no one, except its own self esteem. People such as this, seek their own agenda and praise, wanting what they want and now! They will stop at nothing to fulfil their dream. It's possible that Nebuchadnezzar was wanting to create his own faith. It is thought that he been a sort of believer in the past but, had fallen away. This may have been a way back for him and could bring people to support him much more, instead of rebelling.

When Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego heard about this they were adamant; they would not bow down to anyone except Jehovah. They told the king this, saying their God would be able to deliver them from this violently, hot death. But, it is their words in verse 18 that stand out above all the others: 'But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up'. They were demonstrating, Unshakeable Faith, they would not compromise; whether God rescued them or not, they would still be faithful to Him, they would still worship Him.

This is the sort of faith God looks for in each of us. We may ask Him to heal us but, if He doesn't, we still praise Him. We may walk through many storms and suffer much but, we still give Him the glory. He gave His life for us. How could we ever fail to worship Him? He is the only true God. May we always have Unshakeable Faith, no matter what we may face.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

        

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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