Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Thursday 7 December 2023

The Benefits of God

"And forget not all His benefits' v2. Psalm 103:1-5 NKJV

One of the many things that we, as humans, forget, is to thank God for all He does for us on a daily basis. This is why, David wrote this; he was reminding us that every day God brings us benefits that bless us. We need to remember this on a daily basis and yet, it seems to slip our minds. If we did this with someone close to us, such as a spouse, they would soon become upset and feel like we are using them as a doormat. So, how does God feel about this? From one point of view, He doesn't judge us for forgetting Him and He doesn't point the finger at us for it. However, He loves us so much that He hurts when we forget to say thank you. It is like taking Him for granted.

Just look at the benefits David mentions in this Psalm:

FORGIVES US. Just think of all the things that we do, each day, that we know are wrong. We know they're wrong because the Holy Spirit convicts us. Yet, we still do them. But when we confess these to God, He forgives. We don't deserve this but, get it anyway and it's called Grace.

HEALS US This is not always physical healing. It can be the healing of our emotions. Many things fill our lives with pain and sometimes, they are unbearable, but He is there to comfort and support us through them all.

REDEEMS US We were heading for destruction because of our sin. But, at the right moment Jesus was there to save us. He paid the price for us at the cross

CROWNS US WITH HIS LOVING MERCY His lovingkindness is always there, especially when the devil is telling tales about us, accusing us of this and that. Jesus puts a crown on our heads and declares us holy.

SATISFIES AND RENEWS Think of those days when we have been walked all over, cheated on and defeated and left to rot. Those days when there is no-one who wants to help us or even care. Days like this, you know who your friends are and, your greatest friend is Jesus. He satisfies your needs and makes you feel completely new.

These are the things we know about but, we are so familiar with them that we tend to take for granted. Possibly it is time to place these uppermost in our mind. They are solid and reliable areas that keep us from sinking and draw us closer to Jesus as we tell Him how grateful we are for all He does.

If you don't know Jesus or have fell away, here is a prayer for you:

'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'

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Wednesday 6 December 2023

Jesus, the Way

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6 NKJV

A lot of people feel this verse is 'splitting hairs'. However, when we read it and understand it properly, we can see the truth that Jesus was conveying. Jesus said, 'I am the way.' And what He said is true. Jesus is the way into heaven. This doesn't mean that He is like a signpost, rather, He is the way to heaven. In other words, He was saying through Him people will get to heaven. Some people of other faiths, have said that this statement is a lie. They maintain that Jesus is only one of the ways into heaven, there are others. In saying this, they are not only contradicting what Jesus said but creating another lie. He is the way and there are no other ways to heaven. Complicating? Not really; understand that Jesus was not saying, 'This is the way' but 'I am the way.' He then goes on to say, 'No one comes to the Father except through Me.' Jesus is the truth, He doesn't lie and, by accepting Him He offers life. As a Christian, there is no other way.

Some may say that people are not really lying about this; it's just that they don't want to offend another faith so, they speak a 'little white lie'. Just what is a 'White lie?' Some use this statement when they don't want to offend people, for example, 'Do you like this dress I bought today?' Now, the dress may look awful but, as we don't want to upset the person, we may say, 'Yes, it's lovely. And we do this in so many other ways too. But really, there are no white lies, they are lies and Jesus said we shouldn't lie.

As Christians, we believe in Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and Saviour and through believing in His death on the cross, we receive forgiveness for our sins. Therefore, the way is open to us (through Jesus) into heaven and life eternal. We should never water this down even if it means offending someone else. We may respect their choice of faith but, if they mention it, we are given the right to tell them what we believe and therefore what is their error. Remember, we are ambassadors for Christ. We are on a commission to bring souls into the kingdom. Jesus told us to go and do this (Mt 28:18-20, Mk 16:15-18).

Yes, members of other faiths may have a similar mission to go and make disciples but, the difference is, there is only one Jesus, one Lord and one Saviour. Jesus is the one we serve and take notice of. There is no other way.

If you don't know Jesus or have fell away, here is a prayer for you:

'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'

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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Tuesday 5 December 2023

The 'What if Syndrome'

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34 NKJV

Do you spend a lot of time worrying about tomorrow? Many people do; it may be Tuesday today but some people become anxious about tomorrow - Wednesday, what they have got to do, how they going to cope with everything. The term, 'What if?' is very much on their minds, so much in fact, that they make themselves upset about it, literally dreading tomorrow coming. May I ask, what is the point. Tomorrow's schedule can be changed before you even get there. As a newly qualified social worker back in the day, I used to suffer from the 'What if Syndrome,' 'What if I have so much to do, I won't be able to cope?' 'I'm in court tomorrow on care proceedings, what if the judge doesn't agree with me?', and on and on. Often, by the time tomorrow came, things had completely changed and there was no need to have worried at all.

Focusing on living for today, is God's remedy for worry. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about it, is not. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference but, plans made with Jesus' direction are productive, trying to plan on our own can be a pressure because we are tending to put our trust in ourselves. It may sound a little crazy to other people but, this is how God wants us to be: 'Commit your actions to the LORD and your plans will succeed' Proverbs 16:3. When we put God in the driving seat, we know He will navigate us in the right direction.

So, are you a worrier? Do you become anxious about things? If so, what can you change by worrying? Jesus said, 'Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Mt 6:27

Someone once said to me, 'If I'm faced with worry, I think to myself, "Can I change this? If so, I'll do something about it. If I can't, what's the point in worrying anyway, it's going to happen whatever." A rather straight to the point way of looking at things but, there is truth in this. We worry and find we can't sleep. The worrying affects us so much that people close to us get impatient with this. Worry and anxiety needs to be re-channelled before it takes over our lives. If not, we can become paranoid believing that the worst will happen. It can affect our mental health dramatically. Therefore, when a worry comes into your head, give it to Jesus and keep on doing this. After you have done it, you may still worry, but with practice, you will see the goodness of the Lord. He won't let you down. Make it a plan in your life that whenever worry comes your way that you will forward it to Jesus, because He cares 1 Peter 5:7.

If you don't know Jesus or have fell away, here is a prayer for you:

'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'

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