Put it into God's hands

'Then he took his staff in his hand and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's bag.."   1 Samuel 17:40   NKJV

Picture the scene that was being displayed this day. This giant of a warrior - Goliath, who stood nine feet, nine inches tall, was marching around the camp on the lookout for anyone who would like to fight him.This was in order to decide who would rule the area. On the other hand, David who was possibly 5 feet shorter than Goliath, was getting ready to go into combat with him. Was he crazy? Yes, he was crazy for God - his life, and he was crazy enough to fight for the justice of the land.

Surely, this was a non-starter for Goliath, he could have blown him over with one puff of his breath. But there is one thing he had failed to realise, this little chap called David was anointed and he was going in the strength and power of the Almighty God. Goliath had enough armour on to fight an army, let alone a youth. But he was going to find out that you can't take God on and win; foolish men have tried and foolish men have died. 

However, David's choice of weapon was questionable - five smooth stones for his sling and of course his staff which he could hit his opponent with, that is if Goliath hadn't snapped it in half by then. Goliath taunted him, but David cried, 'You come to me with a sword, with a spear and a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'  v45. David trusted whom he served and in this situation, he knew God would be with him. It only took one smooth stone to knock down Goliath, therefore he had four left. Why had he chosen five? Did he consider that it may not work. Never, he knew it would but David, was prepared just as any soldier is. It is good training to be well-prepared.

Whatever we have, even it is not much, placed in God's hand it can prosper. You may be facing a great challenge at this time and may be wondering how can you achieve this. Well, on your own that may be difficult but, placed in Jesus' hand it will be a success. You may feel that you are not qualified for what you believe God is asking you to do. That may be so; however, consider Peter and the disciples. Most of them were fishermen with no qualifications but they turned the world upside down and back again. Never underestimate the power of God. He can do great things and, with His anointing you can too.

Is God doing a work in you today? Or are you struggling with finances or other things. Give it all to God - put it in His hands and trust Him.

What is your battle today and what have you got to fight it with? David had a stone, what have you got to offer God? David was an expert with a sling, what are you good at, that you can place in God's hand? It's worth considering.

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

 

More on your new nature Part 2

"If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them"                                                         Ephesians 4:28-29  NLT 

Paul uses some strong teaching here so that his listeners get the point. Firstly, he wasn't saying that most people are thieves, not at all. Or was he? Let's check this out. You are more than likely not a thief but, what about the times you leave work early and don't book it in? What about the time you take off throughout the day and keep quiet about it? You may say, 'Well, I'm in work early and I don't get paid for that" But, that surely, is your own decision, no one has asked you to do this. 'Yes, but I take work home with me, there's always paperwork and the odd 'phone call to make.' That's ok, if you have an arrangement to have time off in lieu. (TOIL Time owed to you). However, if you haven't this arrangement, do you think you should be doing this? After all, you have a contract with your employer which sets down your working arrangements.

Also, what about stationery you get from your work place - Paper, pens etc. These may only be small items but are you stealing them if you take them home and use them for your own use? It is the same with the self-employed. Are you totally honest with your tax return and expenses? What about your quotations to people, are they honest?

This all seems like splitting hairs, but, as Christians we should be setting a good example; remember, the eyes of the world are on you ready to criticise, make a judgement or accuse you if they can. The devil is not your friend and if he can catch you out, he will do.

What is your language like when you're at work or with unbelievers out and about?. Do you get dragged into their way of thinking and talking or, do you keep the flag flying for Jesus? Paul instructs us here to, encourage people. In the world today, there is so much despondency - prices on most things are increasing but our pay doesn't always meet these increases and people find themselves struggling to make ends meet. This all adds to fear and frustration and the way we hear about this, is through their words. What people say in the negative can have a depressing effect on some people. We may not be able to change a person's predicament but, we can try and encourage people and bless them any way we can. The words of the world can be like a dagger to the heart but, the Word of God is a sword that can cut through any despondency and frustration and lift people up when they need it. 

Do you know anyone you can bless or encourage today?

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

More on your new nature

"So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbours the truth, for we are all part of the same body. 26 And don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry. 27 For anger gives a foothold to the devil." Ephesians 4:25 - 27   NLT

Let us take a closer look at living in our new nature. David Jeremiah writes: 'A Christian's uniqueness in the world should be apparent in his or her morality, mood, money, mouth and manners. To avoid sinning in the heat of anger, God's people should not nurse, rehearse, discuss or project their anger onto others. Instead, they should control their anger and deal with it quickly to prevent the enemy from gaining any ground in their hearts.'                      The Jeremiah Bible, David Jeremiah Ephesians 4:25-28

Just because we are now coming from the position of a new nature, this does not exclude us from being susceptible to the devil. In fact, we will be moreso, because we have recognised that we are someone in Christ and people we meet, may want a piece of what we have. The anger issue is a biggie, Once we submit to losing it completely, we are well on the way to upset anyone in our sight. It starts so small; someone may have said or done something to wind us up. Instead of forgiving them or totally ignoring it, we retain it and then we start focussing on it until we are seething with anger. At this point, we can still free ourselves from this but we need to call on Jesus to help with this. Call on anyone else and they may add more fuel to the situation.

Remember, once we allow ourselves to get into this state we are practically out of control and the devil begins to take over. Verse 27 here, tells us, 'For anger gives a foothold to the devil.' Now you've heard me say many times that, 'once you allow the devil into the backseat of your car, pretty soon he is going to want to drive.' And this is so true, once we invite the devil in - because this is what we are doing by acting in this way - once we let him in, he will take over and once this happens we will have some big trouble.

Therefore, let us watch what comes out of our mouth - no foul words or course jokes, no lying to anyone, not even small ones such as 'white lies.' There is no such thing, they are all lies and we need to stop it now. Watch the anger and remember, 'with a short fuse you're gonna lose.'  (Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard)

We'll  look at a little more tomorrow. God Bless

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

Put on your new nature

"Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy." Ephesians 4:22 - 24. NLT

We need to have the attitude, 'It is no longer I. Someone else is in charge of me, and His name is Jesus.'  We need to 'restrain and re-train' ourselves. Restraining from our old way of thinking and doing things, and re-training ourselves to be more like Jesus in all we say and do. In other words, re-training ourselves to walk God's way. This is how we renew our minds.

Doing this, we have not only changed our minds but, we have changed our citizenship; we belong to a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). So our old way of life should no longer have control over us. We belong to Jesus. Warren W Wiersbe says, 'We have been raised from the dead - so why wear grave clothes.' I like that phrase, once we were dead in our sins but, now, we have been raised from the dead of our past life and have received eternal life in Jesus Christ.

However, this is not the end; we still have to keep a watch over our mind. Sin is all around us with, temptation around every corner. Demons will try to entice us to fall to their level. They will make it easy for us to take part in sinful situations, if we are not careful. We need to remember that we do not belong in our past nature, we belong in the new one, the one that Jesus rules and, He is only a step away. All we have to do is call to Him for help and, He will be there to rescue us. However, He does expect us to make a stand for ourself. After all, the Spirit of God dwells within us in power and, while we are walking the walk with Jesus, we are a powerful duo. All we need to do is confront evil in the name of Jesus and command the devil to leave our presence. We resist him and he must leave (James 4:7). 

So therefore, keep a check on your thoughts and attitudes and keep them in obedience to Jesus. Read the Word of God; pray and pray some more and make sure you are clad in the armour of God. You need it.

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

God is pleased with you

"The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy."   

                                                                       Psalm 147:11  NKJV 

It is hard to believe that with all of the rules and regulations of following Jesus, that He loves us so deeply. Firstly, they are not rules and regulations, they are the directions and guidelines of God, written in the blood of Jesus, for our well-being: 

All scripture is  inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and, teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.' 

                                   2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

Secondly, God doesn't only direct us, He gives us His love on a daily basis. This love is directed to all of His people but, often He directs His love on a personal basis to us. And this is the purpose of this devotional today. I believe God wants you to realise that, He is so pleased with all you do for Him on a daily basis. Oftentimes, we do things for people and many times we receive no thanks. But God doesn't work that way, He is grateful for all you do in secret - the things you do for people when no one else can see. He sees this and His word for you today is, 'Thank you'.

Some of you have been doing something for someone and because of this, you have given them the will to live. You have visited them; prayed with them and just been there as a friend. They are so blessed because of this and grateful that you give them your time. God is grateful too and He will bless you because of it.

Some of you have gone that extra mile for people, putting their needs before your own. No one else may have noticed but, God has noticed and He wants to say, 'Thank you My child.'

There have been so many times when you wished you had someone to hold your hand, speak soft words of comfort and generally love you. Do you know something? He has been right there with you sitting by your side and giving you the strength to go a further mile.

You may be feeling rather sad today, even a little depressed but God says to you, 'Put your hope in Me, I'll pull you through' (Psalm 42:5. paraphrased.  

Just read and sing this song:

Jesus loves me, this I know, as He loved so long ago,

taking children on His knee, saying, 'Let them come to Me

                                   Anna Bartlett Warner

Today, you are that child, let Him love you and build you up.

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

Under Construction

"For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God"  

                                                                       Hebrews 3:4   NKJV 

You are still under construction - a work in progress. You may have been a Christian for many years but, you are not there yet and, you have much more to learn until that moment when you will be perfect Philippians 1:6.

God created and built all things and that, includes you but, He hasn't finished yet. How do we know this? Because we keep letting Him down - bad thoughts, critising, judging, unsavoury talk and anger, just to name a few. However the wonderful thing is, God knows all of this and realises that we are still in the constructing process. So, does this give us licence to sin? No, it doesn't but it shows us that God pours much grace upon us and forgiveness is included as we repent. If He didn't, we would be history. This is the wonderful thing about God; He knows we can't be perfect, no matter how hard we try. But He knows that one day we will be.

Be honest, have you let God down this week? You may have and what's more you feel bad about it. This is actually good because this means that the Holy Spirit is convicting you and you recognise this. If you were not being convicted or didn't recognise this, the Holy Spirit would not be a part of you. All the things that happen in this world - the atrocities, the murders, stabbings, rape and whatever else, are usually carried out by people who for one reason or another have a grudge against someone or, just want to take what another person has, even if it is a life. It is pure evil and selfishness. They don't worry that they have taken someone's life and left a family brokenhearted. Mostly they don't care and ignore any conviction for their actions. The label they receive from prosecution makes them feel big and tough and this makes them feel good.

This is the difference between someone who is convicted and someone who isn't. When we are saved and belong to Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God will always convict us of sin. He dwells within us and when we let Him down, we have a heaviness in our spirit and it won't go away until we seek God and repent. If the person who has caused the death or hurt on someone responds to the conviction and repents,  they too will be forgiven but, obviously, will still have to pay the penalty of the law of the land.

When you think about it, we know we have a long way to go but, it is encouraging that until we enter heaven, God has made it possible that we, even though we are still under construction, to be forgiven and blessed. Thank you Jesus.

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

  

 

  

 

  

 

'I can'

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'       Philippians 4:13   NKJV

It may seem a strange title for a bible study but, 'I can' is true. You can do this because God says you can, because He gives you the strength to do things. Just look around at the things in our world that people have done, from the great to the smallest of achievements. God sows an idea into someone's mind and from thereon, it is down to the person to carry this out. Many do and achieve great things, others don't, they just talk about it. Don't be one of them.

Two very small words, 'I can' make all the difference. Bob Gass said some time ago: 'How many times does something look impossible because you think it is?' And, this is true, an idea is planted within us and it appears a great project to be involved in. But for some, it soon becomes a problem because the idea appears too great - too impossible and so, it is left to rot. People have had brilliant ideas for books, for songs and even for career or starting a business but, fear has stopped them because they think, 'I can't.'

Perhaps you may be in this circle. You may have had a particular idea and put it into practice, only to find it has failed before it even took off. You should never give up at the first hurdle. Albert Einstein said, 'Failure is success in progress.' We keep on trying. Yes, it may have failed initially but we never give up, we keep on trying until we find the right way. Thomas Edison said, 'I have not failed 10000 times - I've successfully found 10000 ways that will not work.'

Can you see the difference here? Edison and Einstein turned the failure around and looked on it as progress - a way they had found that something wouldn't work. They then went on to gain success by not giving up. They were 'I can' people. God is an 'I can' God. He knew He could create the world and everything in it, Jesus knew He could go the the cross and die in our place. And, since then many other great men and women of God have achieved great things for Him, but notice - 'in His name.'

Today's text tells us that we can do all things - yes 'all' things but watch this, 'through Christ who strengthens me.' Remember, 'Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it' Psalm 127:1. Perhaps you may have started something in the past and it has failed. Consider this; did you try to build it in your own strength instead of in God? If you did, then repent and get back to the drawing board and achieve great success in Jesus. Because 'You can.' 

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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2