Praise opens doors

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."   

                                                                      Psalm 34:1   NKJV 

Praise opens doors; it stops Satan in his tracks and it gets God's attention: 'The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles'  v17. Notice the small word with a big reward 'all.' Jesus is so committed to us that He just longs for us to praise Him - just check out Paul and Silas in a stinking dungeon and locked in stocks (Acts 16;25-34). Instead of moaning about their situation and feeling sorry for themselves, they were praising Jesus and the other prisoners were listening and suddenly, there was a great earthquake and the doors to cells were opened and chains fell off all of them. There are many other examples in the bible of the power of praise.

Let us be honest, when the chips are down and everything around us seems to be going pear-shaped, the last thing we want to do is offer God praise. However, that is the right time to do this. This is why we see in Hebrews: 'Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name' (Hebrews 13:15). Notice the word 'Sacrifice.' At times, it is a complete sacrifice to praise God; every part of us fights this but, as we push through and praise, the release comes and we know God has heard our pleas.

This is why David wrote: "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" our text for today. David uses the word 'continually,' which means that, praise should be a regular part of our walk with God, not just when things are really good and we're flying with joy because of what God has blessed us with, but, when we can't feel Him around and we are scared of what may happen because of just one thing in a long-line of trouble. Who can fix this? God the builder can, so start praising Him.

Just today, your world may feel like it is falling apart because of the many things that are coming your way. Take a little time out and just praise Jesus - not for what is happening to you, but, - for the reason that God can change what is happening to you, because He can. Just let the praise come out of your mouth. It doesn't have to be loud, it may just be a whisper, your choice. It doesn't matter, God will hear you and remember, He can deliver you out of all your troubles.

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'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

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Get a little 'umph'

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?"    2 Corinthians 2:14-16   NKJV 

I saw this sign recently in a local college:

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'TRY' AND  'TRIUMPH' 

IS A LITTLE UMPH

Just think about this for a moment. The only way that you will be triumphant in your walk with Jesus is to gettsome 'umph,' and this means, knowing that God always leads us in triumph in Christ. He is the 'Umph' that we need to make a difference in this world.

The above scripture, is a picture of a Roman Triumph Parade, where the General's sons, would walk in victory behind their father's chariot. The Roman priests would burn incense and, the fragrance would mean life and victory to the soldiers and defeat and death to the conquered enemy who was also in the parade.

Here Paul sees believers carrying forth incense and spreading the fragrance of Jesus Christ wherever they go. To God, we are the fragrance of Jesus. To other believers, we are the fragrance of life; but to unbelievers, we are the fragrance of death. This is why we are often attacked verbally and very occasionally, physically, from unbelievers that we meet. The fragrance of Jesus - the Holy Spirit brings awareness of their sin and they become convicted. Oftentimes, they will defend their lifestyle and refuse to listen. In some countries, as you know, Christians are imprisoned or executed for their faith. Again, the fragrance of Jesus convicts them and they try to stamp it out. But, they can't because, the 'Umph' in triumph is too strong and will not be stamped out.

How about you? Do people notice when you walk around various places. Do they recognise that Jesus lives in you? Put a little 'Umph' in your spirit - the victorious presence of Jesus Christ within you by allowing Jesus to lead you in triumph in Christ and then, notice the difference. You'll never be the same again!

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'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

 

 

Focus your mind on Jesus

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."   Colossians 3:2   NKJV 

What do you think about the most? What is uppermost in your mind? These are important questions and the answers shape how we live our Christian lives. Paul tells us to set our minds on heaven not on the earth, and this is wise counsel. However, with what goes on in our daily lives, it can be impossible to do this all of the time. Or is it impossible? Jesus already told us to:'Seek first the kingdom of God' (Matt 6:33). And in John 14:1 'Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me." Firstly in Matthew 6, Jesus is telling us not to worry about things, as we seek Him first, He shall give us what we need. In John 14, Jesus tells us not to be troubled about anything, just believe in Him. Just from these two verses, we learn that as we look towards Jesus, He is there to take care of us. 

It would be impossible to avoid all of life's problems and, Jesus knows that. What He is telling us here is to place Him firmly in the driving seat of our life. When a problem comes our way, we are not to just sweep it under the carpet pretending it hasn't come. No, take this problem to Jesus because He cares. If it is a care to us, it's a care to Him but, He is the one that can change things (1 Peter 5:7).

So we see that it is possible to set our minds on Jesus, not on the earth. When we realise that we died with Christ, we were dead in Christ and than, raised to a new life in Christ (Symbolic of water Baptism), we understand that our old life is in the past, we now have a new life - even though we are still on this earth - a new life in Jesus and this is why we set our minds on things above because, Jesus is there.

We still have a long way to go though. Sin still tries to rule in our lives and this is why Paul reminds us to 'put off' our unwholesome and unclean habits - (Read v5 - 11). Here Paul mentions the things that trip us up and probably still will until we are safely installed in heaven. The thing is, we know that we belong to Jesus above so, we keep pressing on and saying no to the things that tempt us. We will get some of them right but, there are still the difficult areas that hold us back. 

Jesus chose you and I at the start of the creation. He knows everything about us and still loves us. You see, He looks at the finished product (Phil 1:6). He looks at the perfect you and to Him, it looks nice. So remember this when you next let Him down. Confess your sin, receive forgiveness and keep looking toward heaven.

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'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

 

 

The battle is not yours

"Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's."                             2 Chronicles 20:15   NKJV 

Have you ever been in a situation in which, you just don't know what to do. Things are coming at you right, left and centre and there doesn't seem a way out. What do you think is the best thing to do at these times? Yes, that's right - pray. Jehoshaphat was in this kind of trap, armies were going at him from every direction. He just didn't have the man-power to cope with it all and it was certain disaster. The only thing he could do was pray: 'And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.'  2 Chronicles 20:3-4.

Notice that this great man 'feared' v3. He was human despite his kingly power, but he was sensible enough to know, that without God's help he would lose this battle. He therefore, declared a fast and everyone from around the area joined in prayer. Jehoshaphat prayed: 'O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You' v12.

Basically, what he was saying was, 'You know what to do Lord, and we're counting on You.' Then a man called Jahaziel who was full of the Holy Spirit, came forward and proclaimed: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'  He then followed on with instructions that God had told him.

When you are in a deep hole, stop trying to dig yourself out, you'll only go deeper. Instead, call on God. He has all the answers and, He has a special one for the problem that you're going through at this time. This is the first thing we should do but, mostly it is the last that we put into action. Jehoshaphat was a warrior; he had been in many battles. However, he knew when he was beaten, and so he called on his God and so should you.

It is a natural reaction to try and sort things out ourselves, especially if you're at sea and drowning. The last thing to do would be to involve yourself in lengthy prayer. However, you would have time to shout, 'Jesus, help,' and that would be enough. But for daily issues where you just can't get out of remember, once you have prayed, the battle is not yours, it is God's. Let Him rescue you.

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'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

 

 

Will you allow Jesus to be your friend?

"Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart's desire."   Psalm 37:4   CSB

When you were at school, you may have had a best friend. You went everywhere with this friend and always did things together. The days when you used to knock their door to ask if they were 'coming out to play,' was very sad and lonely if they were not allowed out that day. When they were allowed out, the time together was amazing because you delighted in each other.

This is the type of relationship that Jesus wants to have with you. He is always allowed out 'to play.' He wants to spend as much time with you as you will allow. Watch that last phrase, 'as you will allow.' He desires to be with you 24/7 and this means when you are at work, asleep or have free time on your hands. Sadly, we find it difficult to have Him accompany us to work. Sometimes we don't even think that could be possible; but it is,

Whatever your job is - at home, a work place, driving on the road or whatever, Jesus can accompany you, if you allow Him to.

It is the same when you get involved in your hobbies. He knows all of the birds and where to find them. He can help you paint the most amazing sea or land scapes and, His photography skills are second to none. All it takes is for you to allow Him to be involved in what you are doing. It isn't that He doesn’t want you to be successful in life, He does but, He more than anything, wants to be a part of your every day. He is your best friend.

When He is part of our every day lives as I've mentioned, He will give you your hearts's delight. He will make you that successful work person; He will give you the best ideas for a superb painting, He will also show you the best shots to photograph and tell you what the best settings are. You may think, 'He can't do that,' Oh yes He can, because nothing is impossible for Him.

Do you want to be successful in what you do? Then involve your best friend - Jesus. He can enable you to invent something that can change the world, through one of His ideas. There are many people who make a fortune from inventing something. You could be one of them. But more than anything, He can put a bounce in your step each and everyday by being your friend and accompanying you from here to there. But will you allow Him to be involved in all of your life?

If you are not born again and want to be, here I’ll below is a prayer of salvation:

'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