Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Thursday 7 September 2023

What you see is not always what you get

"So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

Sometimes, we can look at something, form an opinion and walk away believing that what you've just seen is set in stone. We can believe that something is happening when it isn't, so, when we go looking it is as we think it is. We see what isn't there because we think it is there and happening. To a degree, we are acting on faith, but, this is the wrong side of faith - we see what we believe we want to see.

The opposite side of this verse - the way Paul meant it to be, is similar but, it is the truth. Here, what we see may be trouble and heartache but, when we look through the eyes of Spiritual faith, we can see the deeper meaning. To give an example, we can't see heaven and our eternal home but, we know it's there, we believe it and we know without doubt, that we will one day see it in reality. When a person receives healing for a particular ailment, we may not always see that healing accomplished but, we believe and see the healing through our eyes of faith.

Warren W Wiersbe writes: 'How can you look at things that are invisible? By faith, when you read the Word of God. We have never seem Christ or heaven, yet we know they are real because the Word of God tells us so. The Wiersbe Study Bible, Warren W Wiersbe

Tony Evans writes: 'If your tribulations seem long and heavy, you're looking at the wrong thing. To put it another way, if all you see is what you see, then you do not see all there is to be seen. Paul is not saying we must close our eyes to the reality of our suffering; he's saying we need to open our eyes by faith to unseen realities that will last forever.'

Watch this - if you can believe what you feel is happening in your life, e.g. you suspect that someone is doing things behind your back then, you can certainly believe what Paul is saying here. As Christians, we are faith people - everything is by faith. Therefore, when we pray for an issue, we may not see any improvement straightaway, but we continue to look through the eyes of faith as if that issue is being resolved: 'Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen' Hebrews 11:1. There is a certainty in the Christian way, but our thoughts and suspicions may have no real substance. Do you get that.

So pick up the shield of faith and start living this way from now on. You may look around and only see devastation, but when you look through the eyes of faith, you can see victory. And this is the way God wants you to be in your Daily Life with Jesus.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.

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Wednesday 6 September 2023

Why did Jesus write on the ground?

"But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear." John 8:6. NKJV

What did Jesus write on the ground? This question has been debated in bible studies, sermons and bible colleges for years. But do we really know the answer to the reason why? Some have said that because of Jesus' humanity, He was struggling with the answer. Jesus was never stuck for an answer, so that is wrong. Others have said He was ignoring them but, that doesn't seem feasible. They were there with the woman so, why would He ignore them? Allow me to quote from The Moody Bible Commentary:

'What Jesus wrote is not identified. More important is that Jesus stooped down and wrote with His finger (v6) and that He wrote twice (8). God came down at Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:11, 20) and wrote the Ten Commandments twice with His finger (Ex 31:18, 34:1, Dt 9:10). Jesus, by writing twice with His finger, was revealing symbolically that He was here fulfilling the same role God the Father fulfilled for Israel as the giver of the law (Jn 1:1, 5:18, 8:58, 20:28). Then they began to leave (v9) beginning with older ones, the one's whose conscience weighed on them longer.' (The Faculty of Moody Bible Institute)

Finally we have an authoritative answer to this question. Jesus was fulfilling what His Father had done all those years before. Note the phrase: 'wrote with His finger.' Now check out Exodus 31:18: 'And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.'

Jesus was not stuck for an answer, not at all; He was demonstrating that He and the Father are one - what the Father does, so does He. He was not hesitating for wisdom to speak the answer to them. The Jewish law said that the accusers cast the first stone in such a situation (Deut 17:7), and let us not forget, that both adulterers be stoned as well. They knew they were manipulating scripture and this convicted them so much, that they all left the scene.

We serve a loyal and just God and he will not allow us to be falsely accused. He will intervene, but in His own way and time scale. In this example, He had to be quick as the woman was about to be killed. But where time is of no great importance, He will bring His own solution to your problems. But don't worry, He will sort it for you.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.

Tuesday 5 September 2023

God wants you happy and loved

"The end of a thing is better than its beginning." Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV

You may not have had a good beginning in life, but you can be assured, you will have a much better ending. Jesus will see to that. We may have questions about our life, such as: 'Why did this happen to me?' Questions such as these are very difficult to answer and if we're not careful, we can end up thinking things that never happened.

Max Lucardo in his notes to Romans 12:2 says:

We only have a fragment. Life's mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgement on life's storms until we know the whole story.'

The Lucardo Encouraging Word Bible. (2020) Thomas Nelson

It is so easy to get things wrong. An earlier marriage, may well have fizzled out and you are suffering the aftermath of it all. But, how long has it been since this happened? If it is a while, why are you still torturing yourself over it? It was the past; you are living in the 'now' and there is life out there and if you want a piece of it, you must make an effort to grab a hold of it. This is a choice that you have to make. A choice to remain as you are or, take the plunge and grab that new life.

Many people today have lived through a broken relationship and it hurts, especially if you are the wounded party. Parts of you will have made vows to yourself that you will never be treated like that again. Inner vows can be binding and can control your life causing you to trust no-one , including a new, potential partner. Therefore, whenever things become a little heated or you feel that a person is getting too close to you, you can recoil away and if you do this on a regular basis, you may lose that potential partner.

Let me ask you this, 'Do you trust God? If your answer is 'Yes,' then can't you trust Him to send someone into your life that will love you and take care of you? If your answer is no, then you need to seek God much more so that He can bring a deeper healing to your heart and mind. We only have one crack at life on this earth, if you want to live alone, that is your choice, be blessed by it. However, if you want someone in your life, then try to drop your guard and realise that, not all people are out to hurt you. Maybe there is someone God has for you; why not ask Him to show you.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.

Monday 4 September 2023

Try a little kindness

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

The country singer, Glen Campbell had a big hit with this song: 'Try a Little Kindness' back in the 60's/70's. Written by a fellow Christian, Bobby Austin, Glen Campbell was always enthusiastic about sharing his faith, especially after recovering from an addiction himself, to booze. The chorus line, basically says it all:

'You've got to try a little kindness yes, show a little kindness

Just shine your light for everyone to see and if you try a little kindness

Then you'll overlook the blindness Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets'

Not everyone is easy to get on with. Everyone is different. Just because a person is a Christian, doesn't mean they are perfect. Many have rough edges, rather like you and I have. However, we can overcome a lot of attitude with being kind to whom we meet with. It costs nothing and, in many ways, may pave the way forward to a lifelong friendship. Kindness can win over many situations. For example, the door knocked on my house the other day and when I opened it there was a man stood there holding a leaflet from the Jehovah Witnesses. He was very polite, not at all pushy as he offered me his leaflet. I told him that myself and my family were Born again, Spirit Filled Christians. I then spoke to him very kindly, explaining what my faith meant to me and , how it differs quite a bit from what the JW's offer. Because I showed him kindness, he relaxed and we had a good conversation for a few moments. He then went on his way with my words hopefully sown.

You see, just because a person is a JW, Mormon or any other religion, we should not ignore them or, be rude in any way. What would Jesus do in this situation? He would show them love and kindness; and this is how people are drawn to Jesus. Of course, if you don't feel you can have a conversation with someone from another faith, then politely excuse yourself. This is not offensive to them at all. After many years of Street Evangelism and the offensive language I received from some people, I now try to be kind to people who want to talk about what they believe.

Kindness should be at the heart of Christians, you never know who turns up at your church. Imagine if you have been unkind to someone and they come in and sit near you. That could be very embarrassing. Also, you never know who you may meet in heaven.

Determine to be kind to all you meet and shine your light for everyone to see. Just think, kindness can be infectious - the more you give out, the more you may receive.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.

Sunday 3 September 2023

There are two paths to walk along

"For the LORD watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction." Psalm 1:6 NLT

God actually delights in His people - and that's you! He just can't get enough of you. This is why He is looking forward to spending eternity with you in heaven. And He longs for you and I to delight in Him also. This doesn't mean going round with a bible all the day and sitting in a church for hours on end. There's nothing wrong with this, but He can enjoy our presence by us having Him on our minds throughout the day and night.

Unbelievers can't understand this and will ridicule us for it. To them, Christianity is just another religion and 'religion causes wars etc.' We should never let this stop us. They have a choice rather like we do. We chose to follow Jesus, they have decided to leave Him out of their lives which, will cost them dearly at some point if they don't change their thinking.

God encourages us to meditate on Him. This is not the kind of meditation where we completely empty our minds of everything. Not at all. Our kind of meditation is fixing our minds on Jesus, thinking about Him and when we read our bibles, thinking deeply about what he is saying to us. As we do this and become more bonded with Him, He turns us into trees of righteousness (Latter part of Isaiah 61:3). We become a planting of the Lord and have a deep root in Jesus which helps us to be solid People of God. We begin to prosper in all we do v3. But be aware, we may prosper but, we still go through hard times just like unbelievers. We are not exempt these times. The difference is, Jesus helps us contend with them. Remember that.

When you are a tree of righteousness, your leaves will never wither, you will bear good fruit even into old age and, you have a special place in God's heart. That's wonderful to think about, the Creator God, holds you in His heart. Amazing. So be encouraged, you have a special place in heaven too for when you are ready and it will be bliss. Sadly, many people will miss out on this. If they choose the second path, scripture says, 'the path of the wicked leads to destruction' v6. Do you know anyone who has chosen this second path? if so, can you help them change their mind before it is too late?

Saturday 2 September 2023

Is your mobile phone so important?

"Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil". Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT

Have you ever noticed how many people are glued to their mobile phone? I was in a hospital waiting room a few days ago, and out of, perhaps forty people there, at least thirty of them were on their phones. It's the same on a bus, a train, doctors surgery, dentist's, supermarket and even walking down the street. I've observed young mothers checking their phones as they take their children to school. Often, they are oblivious to what the child is doing. It's almost like an addiction.

Before mobile phones, I very rarely used a telephone box to make a call, in fact, unless it was urgent, it never entered my head. Now, people are speaking on their phones most of the day. For some people, it is part of the whole of their day and they even shop and cook while speaking on their phone. I'm not saying this is wrong but, could this be distracting them from what they should be doing? Even in church these days, bibles have been swapped for reading the Word that has been downloaded on to their phone. Then if something comes through, they begin checking this out and are distracted.

Notice what Solomon wrote in v27 above: 'Don't get sidetracked.' When you are locked into the habit of using your phone so frequently, you can easily miss what's around. When you are continually playing Solitaire so much (Sorry that's as far as my gaming knowledge goes), God may be wanting you to spend some time with Him. He may want to talk to you and, probably the best way to get hold of you is by texting you. My point here is, whilst you're spending so much time on your phone, He can't get through to you, because, as convenient as it may be to you, He doesn't use mobiles. If mobiles had been invented in Jesus' time, I can't picture Peter telling Jesus, 'Yes I'll do that in a minute Jesus, just let me finish this game.' His priorities were rigid and he could not be sidetracked from them at all, after Jesus had forgiven him.

There's nothing wrong with having a mobile, not at all. But, it is not the most important part of your life, God is; your family is and priorities must be made and stuck to. If you're married, once your commitment to your wife, husband, children and jobs at home are completed, then there is nothing wrong in messing around on your phone. If you have a job, you need to concentrate on this with the mobile taking second place.

Don't let the mobile become an addiction or in first place. Put Jesus there!

Friday 1 September 2023

It will be ok!

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil; for You are with me." Psalm 23:4 NKJV

You will have times when there is fear all around you and, darkness will seem to appear from everywhere. Your mind may begin to play tricks with you putting things into your thoughts that, are not there. You may hear a voice saying, 'You will not survive this.' One minute all was well, the next you were sick. One minute your life was going well, suddenly it is out of sync, all very quickly. You can't think straight and nothing makes sense. What has happened here? You are either undergoing an attack from the evil one, or God is showing you something, a complete revelation.

Look at today's text; God is with you in this dark period. In fact, He is right there beside you. Firstly, you need to analyse just what has happened. If you are genuinely sick, you need to see a doctor. If it is money problems, it can be sorted out and efficiently if you seek the right help. If it is people-problems, then perhaps you need to try and talk it through with whoever it is. If God is speaking directly to you, you need to stop what you are doing and seek His heart. All these issues and others can be addressed quite favourably. Sadly, if you have a terminal illness and you don't receive healing for this, at least if you are a Christian you have eternal life and at the end of your life, you will pass through a door to be with God, instantly. Many people face death without this hope.

Here, in our text, David mentions the valley of the shadow of death. This piece of scripture does not necessarily refer to physical death every time. If a person is walking through the valley to their death, yes, Jesus will be there to escort you, hand in hand to heaven. However, look at the word 'Shadow.' A shadow is a reflection, a dark shape made on a surface when something stands between a light and the surface. You can't really touch or remove the shadow, every time you try, it will move in different ways. Therefore, it may be identified that the 'Shadow of death,' may not be referring to a physical death but a spiritual death or the death or end of a particular thing - such as a ministry that you are involved with at a certain place, or a job you are involved in or where you reside. This is a time when you need God to show you clearly, and He will because, He is right beside you.

The thing is, you need to know that, it will all be ok. God will never let you down. You can't lose with God. Paul says in Philippians 1:21: 'For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.' You can't lose, you know the way you're going whether now or later on. So, just realise that with Jesus all will be ok!

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Thursday 7 September 2023

What you see is not always what you get

Wednesday 6 September 2023

Why did Jesus write on the ground?

Tuesday 5 September 2023

God wants you happy and loved

Monday 4 September 2023

Try a little kindness

Sunday 3 September 2023

There are two paths to walk along

Saturday 2 September 2023

Is your mobile phone so important?

Friday 1 September 2023

It will be ok!

Grace

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

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