Watch the hypocrisy

 "And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, 'God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?'    Acts 23:3-4   NKJV

The term 'whitewashed wall' used here by Paul, meant 'dirty, lying hypocrite.' Quite a strong-term to use against the high priest. However, Paul had not noticed that he was the high priest, possibly because he had been on his travels for so long, or his failing eyesight. One of the popular explanations, was that Paul didn't recognise him because of his behaviour. He didn't live up to the standards of a high priest. In addition to this, it was illegal, according to Jewish law, to abuse an innocent man. Don't forget, at this moment, Paul had not been tried and convicted.

'Whitewashed wall' means to have covered up dirt and cracks on a wall by whitewashing over them. Initially, after application, the wall will look good, but as it dries, the cracks and possibly some of the dirt will come back to the surface. Paul was calling Ananias a hypocrite for commanding other people to do this abusive action knowing full well that it was wrong. Paul was quick to apologise for using this term towards the high priest, but he had made his point. The high priest, who had a reputation for being despicable, had not lived up to his calling, and later on would have to flee for his life because of his known sympathies with Rome. The Jewish guerrillas found him hiding in an aqueduct at Herod's palace and killed him. (The Wiersbe Study Bible)

There are many times that we, as Christians fall into the trap of hypocrisy. If we're not in control, things can come out of our unguarded mouth, or we can do things that we shouldn't. However, we need to guard against having someone notice this behaviour in us. Let us not forget that we are, ambassadors of Jesus Christ. People notice our behaviour and speech and they can be very quick to judge and criticise. 

Sadly, Christians are targeted and persecuted in many areas of life and in this day of political correctness, WOKE and other areas one has to be careful what we say. That doesn't mean that we should be doormats, being walked all over. When we need to stand up to speak for our faith, we should do so. But we should also guard from getting a reputation as a 'Holy Joe', because then, no one will take us seriously.

I never like to end without giving someone the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life, or, re-dedicate their life. If that is you, pray this prayer and please let me know:

contact me, CLICK HERE

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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I've let God down again

"Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness."    

                                                                                    Lamentations 3:22-23   NKJV

Another day unfolds and you are plagued with the way you let God down yesterday. You didn't mean to, it just happened - again. And now you are living with an almighty guilt upon your shoulders. One question, did you ask God to forgive you last night? If your answer to this is, 'Yes', then you are free from this, whatever it was. God has forgiven you. But you say, the guilt is still there, 'He can't have forgiven me totally'. Then stop for a moment, what is our text for today saying? Well, firstly it is saying that we have a God who is full of compassion - He loves us so much and because of this, we are not consumed - eaten up in our sin and written off. Secondly, He is faithful; every single day His faithfulness is immense and His compassions never fail. Thirdly, why should Jesus have gone to the cross and died for our sin if, He is not going to forgive us, or He will only forgive some things? He died for our sins and even though we let Him down most days, He is still faithful to us and forgiving.

Warren W Wiersbe says, 'Unbelief causes us to look at God through our circumstances, and this creates hopelessness; but faith enables us to look at our circumstances through the reality of God, and this gives us hope.'  The Wiersbe Study Bible

When we have let God down - and we will most days, as we confess our sins, we must believe that God has heard this confession and forgiven us. And we must forgive ourselves as well, otherwise we will keep thinking about it and saying, 'I'm sorry' over and over again. Paul mentioned this in Philippians 3:13 when he said, 'Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.' We need to confess our wrongdoings to God and then, forget them because this is what He chooses to do. If we don't, we are literally saying that His Word is not true, that He doesn't forgive.

Our soul is made up of our mind, will and emotions. If we act in a negative way our soul will rubber-stamp this and we will make it official in our lives. Give your soul some positivity and start allowing it to build you up instead of keeping you down on the floor.

I never like to end without giving someone the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life, or, re-dedicate their life. If that is you, pray this prayer and please let me know:

contact me, CLICK HERE

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

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

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Jesus is coming back

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."  John 14:2   NKJV

This is one of the most inspiring verses in the New Testament. It is full of encouragement and, when we read verse 3, we find that Jesus, after preparing a place for us, will return and take us to be where He is - our home in heaven. We don't know what this will be like but, one thing we do know, Jesus will be there and we will be living in a mansion. Until then, He is preparing the place for us..

You see, what a lot of people don't believe is the ‘Coming back for us' bit. Many of these are Christians; they have allowed their minds to be so filled with religiosity, that they find it difficult to comprehend that Jesus Christ is alive today, and one day, He will return. The thing is, will they be ready for this? Will you be ready for this? 

What will that day be like? Will it be flashing lights and thunder like we have never seen before? We just don't know. We are given a picture in Revelation but many people find that book very difficult to understand. Keeping it simple, the Father will tell Jesus that it is time to go, 'Party time!' It will be for some who believe. For people who don't, it will be a nightmare, one in which they will not be a part. We will be gathered up by the angels while the unbelievers will be left behind. We may be at work or in the supermarket and suddenly, we will not be there. All people will see is an empty shopping trolley but we, will have vanished from their sight. It's quite scary because, the people who witness this, will be the ones that will be left behind. Make sure that you are not one of them. 

When Jesus returns, this will be the Rapture - the gathering of His Saints. There will then be seven years of tribulation where the devil and the anti-christ run amok with the unbelievers who remain there. They will suffer terribly but there still may be a chance for them until Jesus returns again with His army, and this will include us. He will finish the devil off and will rule on the earth with us for 1000 years.

There are many explanations of the tribulation, some believe we will have to go through the whole of it ourselves, others we'll suffer half of it. But for me and for many, many others, we will miss the tribulation and while this is all going on, we will be with Jesus, in heaven.

Are you going to be there? If you have made Jesus the Lord of your life - your Saviour, you will be. Make sure you do this, there is a prayer that follows. You can then enjoy living in a mansion.

I never like to end without giving someone the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life, or, re-dedicate their life. If that is you, pray this prayer and please let me know:

contact me, CLICK HERE

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

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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Patience and Persistence in Prayer

"even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." v27  

                                                                                   Matthew 15:21-31   NKJV 

This woman, displayed the true characteristics of an intercessor. She had patience, was persistent and she put the needs of others (her daughter) before her own needs. Jesus does not ignore this type of dedication in prayer. She used the term, 'Lord help me,' which Spurgeon describes as 'a most handy prayer. One in which can be used any time, anywhere and in whatever circumstances.' 

David Guzik, says that Jesus went all the way to Tyre and Sidon (50 miles) just to meet this one Gentile woman's needs. He had no other reason to go there at the time as things were not easy for a Jew to enter that land. Guzik goes on to describe this as remarkable and unexpected love towards this Canaanite woman. Many of Jesus' own countrymen didn't know who Jesus was but, this Gentile woman knew Him.  (Enduring Word David Guzik)

Note how Jesus' disciples showed no compassion for her, they just wanted her out of the way but, although Jesus didn't initially speak to her, He wasn't rude. When He did speak with her, He mentioned that He was sent to the House of Israel to the lost sheep. Many people believe that He was referring not only to the Jews but the whole House of Israel's lost sheep, which would have included her and all the lost sheep, and ourselves. He then went on to say that it was not good to take the children's food and throw it to the little dogs. The Jews referred to Gentiles as 'Dogs' in the derogatory sense. However, Jesus here was referring to household pets which are loved. He was not playing games with her but wanted to draw out her faith.

In reply to Jesus, Warren Wiersbe paraphrases the woman's comments, 'It is true that we Gentiles do not sit at the table as children and eat the bread. But even the pet dogs under the table can eat some of the crumbs.'  The Warren Wiersbe Study Bible 

This statement from the Gentile woman was all Jesus wanted to hear. He knew her genuine spirit and her faith towards Him and her daughter was healed at that moment.

There is a great need to study the bible deeply. Within its pages, there are many things that we find hard to understand, rather like this piece of scripture. One could think that Jesus was being rude to her and uncaring. Quite the opposite in fact; why travel 50 miles to speak with her if He didn't care? Also, He may have sounded harsh with her but, He was never rude and He gave her every opportunity to show how genuine she was towards Him. We really need to display patience and persistence when we pray with Jesus. He doesn't always answer straightaway, as He showed here. But, He does listen, again as showed here so, don't ever think He is ignoring you because, He isn't.

I never like to end without giving someone the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life, or, re-dedicate their life. If that is you, pray this prayer and please let me know:

contact me, CLICK HERE

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

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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Stop trying to be God. Part 3

"You are a hindrance to Me because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but human concerns."    Matthew 16:23   CSB

You can't help feeling sorry for Peter. Let's face it, he meant well and I believe Jesus knew this. But his lack of knowledge and wisdom, let him down. He had been promised promotion by Jesus and he wanted to live up to this. But because of his excitement and readiness to please, he was too hasty. Jesus was not about to deviate from His purpose on earth and he still won't today. Like Peter, if you do wrong, He will rebuke you and you will know it in your spirit too. It's almost like God has left you. He hasn't and, never will as He promised (Hebrews 13:5), but you will feel an emptiness and an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

When I was pastoring, I had a similar experience. A chap who began coming to the church and attending the day centre, where we supplied food, clothing and help to people who were homeless or, down on their luck,  came to me one day and informed me that God, had told him to be my guardian angel and so he would establish himself as my bodyguard. He was ex-army and told everyone that he had been in the SAS. I was taken aback at first but quickly told him that I didn't need a bodyguard. Jesus filled this role for me. However, he was adamant and followed me everywhere. He even tried to taste my coffee one day, I suppose to see if it was poisoned. No matter what I said, he was always around peering around corners to check I was ok. His favourite saying was, 'If anyone tries to hurt you, they will be face down in the lake.' As amusing as this sounded, I had to be firm with him because, He was trying to take on the role of God in my life. It worked for a while but he was still within watching distance.

With regards to Peter, had he become too familiar with Jesus? It is hard to tell; they were together daily and it is just possible that he thought that he also needed to be Jesus' guardian angel.

Unlike Peter, we do not have the physical presence of Jesus around us but, we still have to be careful that we don't take Him for granted. He deserves our respect and honour. He is not a Santa Claus figure who brightens our days with glorious gifts. He is our friend but, He is also God and we need to remember this fact. We have to get this right. 

In closing this study on Peter, ask yourself this question: 'In what way, am I an hindrance to Jesus. Are there times when I am a stumbling block? Do some soul-searching. There may be things that you need to change.

I never like to end without giving someone the opportunity to ask Jesus into their life, or, re-dedicate their life. If that is you, pray this prayer and please let me know:

contact me, CLICK HERE

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

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