More on Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."   Hebrews 11:1   NKJV

We can never have enough teaching on the subject of faith for, this is what our Christian belief is all about and built upon. Without faith, we are lost and just clinging to whatever comes our way hoping that this is the right thing. In fact, Hebrews 11:6 tells us: 'But without faith it is impossible to please Him.' God expects us to live our whole life on faith. True bible faith is confident obedience to God's Word despite

circumstances and consequences. 

Note the word 'Now" in this verse. It is not about the past or the future but now. We live for this present time. This is the faith we need - Now. This verse talks about the substance and the evidence. The substance is the realisation or assurance of things hoped for; this includes the essence or reality of it all. The meaning of 'hoped for', is a biblical hope. The Greek word for hope is elpis, which means not in the sense of an optimistic outlook or wishful thinking without any foundation, but in the sense of confident expectation based on solid certainty. To make it more clearer, we don't use this hope as 'hopefully' which is a wishful type of thinking - perhaps etc. But the hope faith uses is 'hope-fully. We fully believe and fully hope that what we believe will be done. The evidence is the confidence, the proof of what we have believed for. Faith itself proves that what is unseen is real - hence 'For we walk by faith, not by sight'  2 Corinthians 5:7.

Some believers find it difficult to walk by faith, the concept of believing in something that can't be seen is a problem for them. However, we can't see a lot of things that we use daily for example, take electricity, we can't see this but we trust that the light will go on when we flick the switch. You can't see the electricity but if you were foolish enough to stick your fingers in the holes of the socket, you would instantly realise that it is there. When we switch the light on, we have been conditioned to expect that there will be light. Do you get the idea? This is how our faith works. We have to condition ourselves to walk in faith; it doesn't just happen. Oral Roberts used to say, 'Capture this truth: doubt and do without, with faith believe and receive.' Keith Moore says, 'Doubt asks questions, faith makes declarations.'  How do you think David overcame the massive Goliath. It was by faith. He made up his mind, he visualised his victory and he spoke to the situation - Goliath. And God did the rest. Jesus tells us in Mark 11: 22-24 to have faith and speak to the 'mountain'.

We need to exercise our faith, speak it, believe it and receive it. We are in a battle down here. Faith is essential, without it, it's impossible to please God. So get your sword sharpened, read, believe and accept the rule book and flow in your faith.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Whatever you do. Part 2

"And 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 3:17    NKJV 

Today, we continue with our study on 'Whatever you do'. Tony Evans says, 'Doing something in the name of Jesus, is like authorising a contract with His signature.' This is the authority of Jesus. We need to make sure that He approves our actions and we do this, by walking in the Spirit on a daily basis. We need to be doing all things with His reputation in mind. Remember, as I said yesterday, to most unbelievers, we are the bible to them. We should only seek to do the things that Jesus would do, in His name.

GIVING THANKS  This is an area that can be so neglected. We can pray, then receive the answer and then run off without thanking God. We should always give Him thanks and praise in whatever circumstances - good or bad. He may not answer our prayer at all. Then again, He may answer in a way we didn't want or even expect. But He is still the King of kings and Lord of our lives, and whether or not the answer comes, we should always thank Him - not for bad things that may be happening to us, but, just for who He is. Ask yourself the question; do I thank Him that He is in control and knows what is best for me and my family?

TO GOD THE FATHER  As we know, God created us; He breathed life into Adam as his still body lay there. I like what Mark Hankins says, 'He gave Adam mouth to mouth resuscitation'. He also gave us life and did the same for us. He not only created us but, He provides for us, loves us, protects us and makes everything possible for us through our Saviour Jesus Christ. We have life here on earth and when our time comes, we have life forever with Him. He has given us freedom, He has accepted us where the world may not have done. We are adopted into the family of God - co-heirs with Jesus. Whatever we needed to survive, He has given us. Is it too much to ask to give Him back all of ourselves - everything?

Have you ever wondered what it will be like in heaven? Will we work? I can't see us just sitting around on grass praising Him all the time. There will be that, but, I think we will be busy. Will the planets be part of our inheritance and will some of us live there? Will we live on a new earth or new heaven? And what will Jesus be like when we finally meet Him face to face? We have lots of questions that one day, will be answered. Until then, we can only imagine to a degree. 

One things for sure, whatever we do now for Him, He will honour us when we see Him. This is why it is so important that, whatever we do now, we do it in the name of Jesus. We are investing in Jesus and we are investing in our future with Him. Don't you long to hear those words from Him, 'Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'  Matthew 25:34. We have so much to thank Him for and so much to look forward to as well. So whatever you do, do it all for Jesus.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

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Whatever you do. Part 1

"And 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 3:17    NKJV 

This verse leads us to live our lives for Jesus, only seeking to do what Jesus would do and therefore, bring glory to His name. Let us break this verse down and examine it:

WHATEVER YOU DO  Whatever means whatever. Therefore, whatever we do we need to do for Jesus. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't really want to do: (1) Clearing up the garden after the dog have done their ablutions. This is not a very nice thing to have to do but, it is important and it should be done without grumbling and blaming the dog. (2) The dog needs walking for exercise and to be able to do his business elsewhere. At times it is inconvenient to do this, especially when it is foul weather. Again, it comes under the category of 'whatever'. (3) What about decorating, cleaning the car and cutting the grass.? They are all 'whatever's' and may be high on the grumbling list but, still need doing. (4) Then there is the necessity in going to school or work when you don't feel like it and the homework or reports to write in your own time because  your job's paperwork is ridiculously plentiful. There are many more 'whatever's', perhaps you can think of them in your life. They still have to be done but, the way Jesus would do them; that is doing them without complaint and thus, bringing glory to His Father.

WORD OR DEED  This requires doing things according to God's Word; living the Word and by this bringing glory to the name of Jesus. Everything that we say must bring glory to Him so therefore, we discard foul words, no matter how tempted we are sometimes to use them when things go wrong. Let's remember, that we are the bible to unbelievers. They're unlikely to read one even if they have a copy. But, they do view how we handle situations. So what do they see when they observe us. Do we bring glory to Jesus?

DO ALL IN THE NAME OF JESUS  We should never compromise God's Word, no matter how much we feel we need to. Watering down His Word should not be in our remit. Standing up for Jesus can be costly, especially in this day of societal rights and wrongs. In many areas, one has to watch what we say or face a discrimination charge. Whatever the bible says on a certain subject is the truth and, we should stand with this. The Word of God cannot  be changed to fit into someone's ideas of how we should live. We are men and women of God and need to own this label. So, whatever we do, we need to do in Jesus' name, whatever the cost. You may never have had to make a stand for Jesus. The days ahead are showing that, you are going to have to make the choice on this. The strikers are making their stand for their rights to be met; how much more do we, as Children of God, need to make our stand for our Christian beliefs. We have rights and we need to make them stick. Our society needs to know that Team Jesus is a powerful force to reckon with. We don't cower away; we stand for Jesus!

Tomorrow we will look further at more of this verse.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Why Lord; why is this happening?

"But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say 'You are my God.' 15 'My times are in Your hand."                                                              Psalm 31:14-15.  NKJV  

How many times have you and I been in situations where we cry out: 'Why Lord, why is this happening?' Many times I know. At times, situations appear so difficult; so hard and distressing that, we just can't see a way through. All we feel is sheer frustration. 

David felt this way. You can hear his heart as you read through this Psalm. Just to read what he says in verse 4: Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me.'  And then verses 9-10: 'Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; my eyes waste away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body! 10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.' This is just a short testimony of what David was going through. However, he still found a way to praise and thank God, even though he was in grief and heartache. He knew that throughout trials, God would provide a refuge - a stability in a broken world. And this is why he could declare: 'But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say 'You are my God. My times are in Your hand.'

And you can do the same because, Jesus knows how you feel. He knows the pressures and the heartache. He knows that you give more to people than what they give you back. He knows; He understands. Even though you can't understand what is happening at the moment; why you have to cry out, Why Lord?' He is right beside you and will not move away and as you begin to realise the full meaning of our text today, He will give you the strength to travel through this time.

This is the time when, perhaps you need to consider strongly, the thought of surrender. Hear me properly, I'm not saying give up - not at all. What I am saying is, when you've tried everything you know; prayed every pray that is possible and gone without food and sleep because of this, perhaps it is time to prayerfully pray today's text from your heart and totally surrender to your friend Jesus. In other words, 'My times are in Your hand'.

One thing is for sure, God will bring you through this time - safely. He will use His staff to pull you out of the net you are in - the hole that is so deep, and He will take your hand and lead you back to safety and comfort (Psalm 23:4b). 

Just trust Him, He will come and give you rest.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Control your thoughts

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."               Philippians 4:9   NKJV 

Paul had just written to the Philippians to instruct them how to control their thoughts. It may be helpful to back up to v8 and read it prayer-fully. He was encouraging them, and now us, to meditate on good and praiseworthy things. In other words, to be in control of our thoughts.

What controls your thought life? What you think about on a regular basis is what will control your life, and what you will become. Hence, if you think about Jesus and a wholesome life with Him, you are more likely to be like Him than if, you think about unwholesome things. Your thoughts can rule your life.

Some patterns of thought, lead people away from the truth and, hold you in captivity. This is why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ'. When unwholesome thoughts pop into our minds, instead of being tempted to entertain them, we need to take hold of them and refuse to allow them residence. We do this by immediately surrendering them to Jesus.

We are merely human beings and at times, bad thoughts appear reasonable thoughts, and we think about them and as we allow this to happen regularly; we become addicted to them, looking forward to being seduced by the very content of them, whatever they may be. We have to overcome whatever unwholesome thought pops into our heads.

Tony Evans gives an interesting comment here:

If addictive behaviour is present in a person's life, that behaviour is not the stronghold but merely its fruit. Strongholds can only be demolished by the knowledge of God - that is by truth. John 8:32 says, 'The truth will set you free.' When your relationship to the Living Word connects to the Written Word, 'You really will be free' John 8:36. If you're not taking every thought captive to obey Christ and are, instead succumbing to a stronghold, it's because you either don't know the truth or, aren't making use of the truth you know.'       The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

? What would change in your life if you captured your unwholesome thoughts? Do you want to capture your unwholesome thoughts or hang on to them?

Give these two questions your attention.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Given back his self-respect

"And he answered Him, saying, 'My name is Legion; for we are many.' 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country v 9-10"               

                                                                                        Mark 5:1-20   NKJV 

This man had lost everything, his family, friends, respect you name it. He had ended up totally depressed and possibly mentally deluded. He claimed his name was Legion, but this was the many demons possessing him. Possibly in earlier life, he had been harassed by Roman soldiers and may even have lost his family through this. He knew what a Legion meant - six thousand soldiers and therefore, because of his demonic state and delusion, he may have felt that this same amount of demons were in him and controlling his life. It's possible that this amount may have taken up residence. We just don't know. What we do know, is that he went around naked, crying out and cutting himself with stones. He was a risk to himself and other people so, they bound him in shackles and chains. However, the demonic force within him, just broke these, they were too strong to hold him.

It's interesting that when he saw Jesus, he ran up to Him and worshiped Him and called Him Jesus, Son of the Most High God. This proves that Satan recognises when Jesus is around. He can see and hear Jesus but, he can't read His mind - what He intends to do, unless Jesus reveals it to him. And there is no evidence that Satan can read our minds either. He only knows what we are going to do when he hears us speak. There's a lesson here to be careful what we say because, he is listening.

The evil spirits begged Him to send them into a 2000 herd of pigs. He did this and the large herd ran off a cliff and were killed in the sea below. This caused the villagers to be angry because, they had lost their livelihood and they begged Him to leave. Before He did, they also noticed that the man was dressed, in his right mind and very much at peace. Jesus looked at this man as he asked Jesus if he could go with Him but Jesus told him to go home, find his friends, tell them about what had happened to him and concentrate on this. 

He did this and, this social outcast, this terribly demon-possessed man who had nothing, was built up and made new. Jesus had given him back his self-respect; He had given him back his life and a commission too. Sooner than take him with Him, out of the country, Jesus gave him a job to do. He lived on the edge of the Decapolis. He therefore had ten cities to visit and tell the people all that Jesus had done for him. His evangelism career began.

And Jesus wants to build you back up again. He knows how you have suffered in life. Why not come to Him now and ask Him into your life or rededicate yourself:

'Lord Jesus, my life has been hard up to now. I need You Jesus, I surrender to You. Would You come and live in my life. Please forgive my sins and fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me. I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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How is your faith?

"Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"    Mark 4:35-41   NKJV 

The disciples had been with Jesus for some time by now and yet, they still lacked faith. They had witnessed Jesus performing great healings and changing people's lives and they had been astounded by it all but, they failed big time on what could be classed as a test.

Jesus had asked them to take Him over to the other side of the lake (v35), and they obeyed, However, as they were going on their short journey, a great windstorm arose, threatening to sink the boat. Jesus was asleep in the stern so didn't respond to their frightened screams for help. Why didn't He respond? He must have heard them crying out and also felt the raging sea and waves washing over the boat? But He slept. Many believe that He was testing their faith - how they would handle this trauma; after-all, they had witnessed great faith being carried out with Jesus, they had heard His words. Don't forget that Romans 10:17 says: 'Faith comes by hearing and hearing, by the word of God.' And no doubt they would have heard many faith-filled words spoken by Jesus. Therefore, He tested them to see how their faith was growing. And He could see that it was not great.

It's not enough to learn a lesson or be able to teach it, we need to be able to put it into practice and, this is why God allows people to be tested; and this is what He was doing with these fishermen who He dearly loved. The problem was, they had lost what little faith they had and, given into fear and fear will always rob us of the truth. Bob Gass used to say that F.E.A.R is False Evidence Appearing Real. Yes the waves were very real and there was nothing false about them. However, this fear blinded them to the truth - that they were not acting by faith. Their unbelief caused them to be fearful and, fear is the opposite to faith; it caused them to believe that Jesus didn't really care about what was happening to them. They were in the chains of fear.

Jesus, today, asks you the same question when you begin to doubt: 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?' Be honest, do you need to improve in this area? What holds you back from doing this? Do you believe what you read in your bible or does it just get forgotten because of the many things that crowd your mind? Perhaps you need to think and pray this area through so that Jesus can minister to you. What you are reading and hearing now should generate faith within you? Does it? It's the word of God. If faith isn't happening for you, then please speak to the creator of faith - Jesus. Bless you.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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