Smile your way through trials

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."      James 1:2   NLT 

Charlie Chaplin, the great film star, was also a composer of music and penned quite a few classics over his life time. One of them, along with Geoffrey Parsons and John Turner went like this:

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through for you

if you just smile

When we put these words together with the above text, there is a connection - joy. James doesn't say if trouble comes your way but, when it does. The point here is not to pretend to be happy when we face pain but to have a positive outlook (Consider it an opportunity for great joy), because of what troubles can produce in our lives. James tells us to turn our problems into a time of learning because, tough times can teach us perseverance.

Warren W Wiersbe writes: 'Outlook determines outcome and attitude determines action.' It is how we receive such troubles in our life. We can either have a crisis and fall into great fear or, face the trouble and determine our way forward. There is always a way out, Jesus will ensure there is. It just takes a bit of finding.

Ask yourself, what is the point of getting into a complete state, losing your peace and consequently, getting yourself into such a panic that you can't even hear God? I know it is difficult, I've been there many times and not always took the positive route. It is how we view the situation; it can either consume you or you consume it and the only way you will be able to consume it is with the Joy of the Lord, because this is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Troubles, if we allow them, can completely disarm us. Obviously, it depends on the severity of them but, all of them are not what we were expecting. Sometimes we can change the situation, sometimes we can't. We just have to take the rough with the smooth. But there really is a way through them, especially when we face them with the joy and strength of the Lord.

Therefore today, whatever you are facing, seek God's help, look at the outlook and determine that the outcome will be positive no matter what. Get your attitude in line with with God's power and forge a way forward in victory and triumph.This is what people do in their Daily Walk with Jesus.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Pay attention

"My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. 21 Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body."   Proverbs 4:20-22   NLT

One of my biggest faults at school was not listening to what the teacher was saying. I would drift off into my own world, oblivious to what was going on around me. Often, the teacher would notice this and ask me what I thought about what he was saying. I would splutter out a load of garbage and it was obvious that I had not been listening. I really had to work hard to catch up. This followed me into University, and many are the times that I would have to ask a friend what the tutor had been saying about some topic or other. My attention span was zilch and to a degree still is.

Many of us are like this; we are not all diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), but we have so much going on in our heads that it is hard to focus. How many times have you been in church and haven't a clue what the preacher was talking about? This is something that we need to keep in check. Another area is reading, we can read a chapter and not have a clue what we have just read and, therefore, have to regress to the beginning again. 

Solomon, in these three verses above, encourages us to pay attention to what is being said and, this includes reading. He tells us that we need to listen carefully and not lose sight or fail to hear, what is being said. The words need to penetrate our hearts because they are life to us and healing to our whole body. In other words, they are full of wisdom and wisdom will lead us on to better things - a job, university place and whatever else. 

When we read the bible, we need to realise that the words we are reading are holy, powerful and bring life and healing to us. They are the Word of the Lord and  do we need to hear those. This is why reading our bible is paramount to whatever else we may read or do. If we don't read it and contain it in our hearts, we will miss out on what God is saying to us. He has the answer to what you are worrying about. He has the answer to what happened to your dream and why certain things have happened to you. The Word of God is our food and we need to eat it every day and not only that, we need to study it, so that we get a good picture of what is happening. Buy yourself a decent copy of the bible, one which is understandable but accurate as well. 

Ask God to help you concentrate, I have to and it works. Push yourself to grasp hold of what is being said, get a decent bible commentary to help explain the passage and learn to always pay attention whenever someone is speaking to you or, if you are reading something, especially your bible.

You haven't got ADD, you just need to discipline your whole mind and allow God to penetrate every inch of your life.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

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You'll never be forgiven now

"But if we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."    I John 1:9   NLT 

How many times have you heard the statement that God won't forgive you now. This is a lie that the devil uses to completely disarm us in our tracks. We are human and, even though we belong to Jesus we continue to sin and will do until we are taken into heaven. However, the devil will try to convince us that we are wrong. It's almost like he tells us that there are small sins and big ones. We can just about get away with the small ones but, the big ones, No way Hosea. No, sin is sin.

The devil is a liar, always has been and always will be and a very convincing one too. He has the ability - if we allow him to - to make us feel so guilty and condemned that we fear that is it, we really have blown it this time. But we need to remember that, John was writing to believers when he penned this scripture. He was showing us, that, when we accepted Jesus we were forgiven for all of our sins there and then, and His death made the provision that when we sin - because we will do - He will forgive us as we confess it to Him.

There is no need to keep on asking Jesus to forgive us for something, He heard the first time and forgave us but, the lie that the devil spreads, makes it feel like we need to keep on saying we are sorry and seeking His forgiveness. When you think about this, we are assuming that God hasn't forgiven us and we should never feel that Jesus has denied us this. It's almost like saying His Word is a lie, and you know it isn't. Sometimes, we feel like the 'big sins' in our lives will still be with us when we die and go to heaven. Again, this is a lie. We are children of God and Jesus washed us in His blood. We are still open to commit sin and this is why we should always seek His forgiveness each day. 

The message for us today is that, we belong to Jesus, we are not yet perfect - far from it - but Jesus set you and I free. Therefore, when you commit sin, seek God straightaway and ask forgiveness and you will receive it. Remember this scripture; keep it in your heart and use it whenever you fall. You are forgiven

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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The Back-Seat Driver

"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach."   Matthew 23:2-3   NLT 

Here, Jesus was describing the Pharisees and declared that they were interpreters of the law of Moses. Therefore, He told His disciples to practice and do what they say but not to follow their example because, many of them were hypocrites and taught one thing but didn't live up to it themselves. They were a judgmental people and often insisted that man-made rules were equal with God's rules.

When you look through the Gospels you will see them condemning this and judging that and putting burdens upon people. Religion when it is used in this way, causes many problems and wars, throughout our world. Sadly, there are some Christians that put burdens upon their fellow believers, saying that their behaviour or dress is not in line with the Word of God or whatever.

In my early walk with Jesus, these type of people used to make me feel inferior because I was young and had little experience. Initially, this caused me a problem but I worked out that, when I mature, people like this will tell me I am too old. I decided not to try and people-please from thereon and concentrate on pleasing God. A far better plan.

We come up against all sorts of people and as long as they are honouring God, that is all we should be concerned about. Some people believe that they know everything and this can be difficult, especially when you are running a bible group. If you are not careful, they can take over. This reminds me of the old saying I've mentioned several times: 'If you let Satan into the back seat of your car, pretty soon he is going to want to drive.'

This leads me to back-seat drivers. We've probably all had to suffer this from time to time. You give someone a lift and very soon, they begin giving you instructions of where to park, what gear to drive in, watch your speed and you can't park there. You need wisdom and grace to deal with these people. I've often thought of stopping, telling them to get out and driving off. But that is not what Jesus would do, is it? 

The back-seat driver is just as difficult to deal with as the person who puts you down in church or tries to take over the teaching. Again, grace is called for and a zip on your mouth. It's true, we will never find a perfect person, I'm nowhere near that. Hey, watch it, neither are you. Joking aside, We have to practice what we preach. Our role model is Jesus, everything we do, should represent Jesus; not easy I know but, achievable. The Pharisees had the law of Moses but many didn't live it. We have God's Word and we are called to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ and, that means, putting up with back-seat drivers and people who know everything. Amen?

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Don't let your sin return and grow again

"When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.' So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits, more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there."  Matthew 12:43-45   NLT

I was cutting my lawns  recently, when I suddenly thought, 'This grass is going to grow again.' This led my mind to wander off into a daydream about why do we do things like cutting the grass or having our hair cut - it only grows again. (I have these silly daydreams). I then went on to ridiculously think about going to bed and getting up again, washing clothes only to get them dirty again. I suddenly recognised that I wasn't far off being a copy of Ecclesiastes and decided to refrain from this negative way of thinking and looked for a positive side of thinking about similar things.

I looked at the above verse and pondered it. We may ask for deliverance from a certain sin in our life, just for an example let's say it is pornography. As we are prayed for, we receive that wonderful feeling of release and we are able to get on with our day to day walk with Jesus. However, somewhere down the line, we begin to be dragged back into our old habits and find that we begin this process again. Why is this?

Paul mentions in Galatians 2:20: 'My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.' We need to die to self and live for Jesus. Notice what Jesus said in verse 44 above. He said that the evil spirit returns to the person it was cast out of and finds it swept clean and empty, so it goes and brings more evil spirits. What had happened? The person had been delivered - swept clean but the person failed to be filled with the power of God, the filling of he Holy Spirit. If the evil spirit had seen this, it would have fled, not wanting to deal with this kind of power.

Therefore, my thoughts became more of a precursor to what God was saying. We must be filled daily with God's Holy Spirit and we must ensure that we put on the Armour of God. A soldier does not go into battle without a weapon and neither should we. It is a recipe for disaster. With the Holy Spirit inside of you, you have a hedge of protection around you, if you stray into enemy territory, there will be a gap in this hedge that Satan can come through, and that's when your problems begin.

Ensure that you die to self and are always filled with the Holy Spirit on your Daily Walk with Jesus.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Do you want success?

"Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed"   Proverbs  16:3   NLT 

Over the years, many people have read this verse and literally believed that if they commit anything to God it will come to fruition; and when it hasn't they have become despondent. Why has this happened to them? Because they have not read the verse properly. Let's look at this:

The word 'Commit', means to: put in charge or entrust. Therefore, when we commit our plans, actions or intentions to God, we are actually putting Him in control of the whole deal. Tony Evans comments: 'It means your will is in submission to His. When that happens, you're inviting His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.' 

When we commit to the LORD, we are trusting in Him to show us the way. Our plans are not always in line with what God wants for us. So, it makes sense to give it all to God and have the satisfaction that He is guiding our future. Just think about it for a moment. You may be planning to borrow a huge amount of money to go into business with someone or, start your own business. If you do this without consulting with God, it is likely to go horribly wrong, leaving you in debt for many years. It makes sense to commit it to the One who will never let you down - God. He knows the way forward - He sees ahead.

You may be considering something at the moment - a new job, move house, emigrate etc. etc. If this is you, have you committed it to God, have you sought His guidance? If not, let me encourage you to do so. Many Christians have committed themselves to a certain project and have not committed it to God first. Their projects have crumbled and they have had to pay the penalty of leaving God out. Life is not a game of chance; there may be many business people who have chanced their luck in investing in a particualr venture, and it has paid off. However, there are many who have not been so successful. Don't take chances. God gives us the chances in life, not Lady Luck, whoever she may be.

God is telling you to be cautious in what you do. Walk in His steps not your own and you will only be able to do this by committing everything to Him.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Are you a pessimist or an optimist?

"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."              

                                                                Philippians 4:12   NLT

The pessimist is never content, never satisfied. He or she looks at what's on offer and finds faults. They have a tendency to be negative about most things and mostly see doom and gloom. The optimist usually expects a favourable outcome from what they see. When they are tempted to be discontent, they overcome this with their positivity and see the bigger picture. The pessimist has a half-empty glass, the optimist, a half-full one. Which are you?

Paul was an optimist, he had everything and he had lived with nothing. He knew that whatever God wanted him to have, He would provide it for him. He was therefore content in all he had and did. When Paul was on his evangelistic journeys, if he needed money, he would receive what was given to him by his supporters or he would work as a tentmaker. He was never idle. If he needed it and it wasn't there, he would go and earn it. The secret for Paul was that, he drew on Christ's power for strength and supply.

What about you? Are you satisfied with what you have or, are you constantly longing for something better, rather like the 'Keeping up with the Jones'' syndrome? Some people go through life never being satisfied with anything. Lots of people have a glass that's half-full, they go out and work for what they want. If they see something special, perhaps they will save for it until they have enough. They know what they want and go for it. The half-empty crowd look at what they have and what they want and become depressed because they feel they will never be able to own this, go there or whatever they would like. They have a negative answer for any solution to better themselves and they plod along in despair. This can lead to envy, jealously and covetousness.

There is a kind of excitement in walking in faith with Jesus. He knows what we need, He also knows what we would like. With Jesus, our glass can always be half-full because, we know that He cares and wants the best for us. Therefore, we have to learn to be grateful and content with all we have. Paul learned the secret of living in every situation so, why not give it a try yourself.

God is not tight, in fact, He is very generous; He will bless us many times over but we need to be content in all that we have.

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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