Never stop thanking Jesus

"in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  

                                         1 Thessalonians 5:18   NKJV 

God does not provide us with evil things, that is the devil's department. Therefore, we should never thank God for this. However, we should thank Him that He is with us, in this difficult situation. Even this is not easy to do; we have to focus on the fact that God is with us, working towards something in our favour. And He does.

People can falsely accuse us of doing or saying something and, mud can stick. Even though it is not true, some people judge us for this anyway and word gets passed around that we are not one of God's people. Some people believe this because the devil is good at spreading malicious gossip around. And then suddenly, your name can become tarnished. Now, in a situation like this, it would be wrong to thank God for this. You are not a tarnished person so why would you want to thank God that you are. It doesn't make sense. No, we thank God that even though these lies are being spread around about you, God is good and He will bring the truth out of this lie.

We need to remember, that we are dealing with a liar. Jesus calls him the father of lies (John 8:44), and he is very convincing. I've personally been on the end of this several times, and it is not very nice. People's lives or career can be ruined by these false statements. Politicians call it sleaze and it is true. But, let us thank Jesus that, through all of this, He believes in us, loves us and doesn't doubt us for a moment. This is why we can thank Him in these situations. We know that He will bring something good out of all of this. If it happened to Jesus, it will happen to us.

When we know that God is on our side, it gives us the confidence to rejoice, pray and give thanks to Him all the time. People let us down, sometimes intentionally, at other times unintentionally but, Jesus Christ, your friend will never let you down. He is solid as a rock and can be relied on always. Come on, where else could you find anyone like Jesus? It could and will never happen. There is no-one like Him. So in everything give thanks to Jesus - your redeemer!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'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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Cultivate a Prayerful Attitude

"Never stop praying"   1 Thessalonians 5:17   NLT

We need to cultivate a prayerful attitude. How do we do this? Well, let's admit we can't be in lengthy prayer sessions all of the day and, if you work then you cannot jeopardise your job by taking time off to do this. However, having a prayerful attitude can come in very handy when you need to speak to God. In fact, there may be times when you can pray - quietly, while still doing your job. You see, God is with us everywhere; He's with us if we are at work and, He's with us if we're at home. He's also with us in the supermarket but, you would look strange if you got on your knees and started praying. But this is where praying silently can take place. And don't forget, there may be an urgent time when your life or family member are at risk. You wouldn't go through all the process of official prayer, No, you would shout JESUS!

We don't always need to go through the formalities of prayer - getting on your knees. Using your prayerful attitude, you can just speak with Jesus, telling Him what you need, praising Him or whatever else. We should never stop praying but using our prayerful attitude means we don't have to. Basically, it is just talking to Him, you're mindful that he is with you wherever you are, listening to you and watching over you. When we fully realise this, it's hard not to want to speak to Him.

There are times when we feel too busy to pray. There are also times when we just don't want to pray. Everyone is the same. But for these times, Jesus knows what is on your heart; what has hurt you or troubling you. He knows that you don't feel like praying and He will gently restore you back to want to praise Him. Let's face it, when you've met Jesus, it is difficult to ignore Him for long because He is a part of you. Just tell Him how you feel.

Never fall into the habit of not praying though, we are never too busy to avoid speaking with Jesus because, we have the privilege of having a prayerful attitude; in other words we just can't stop ourselves, we just have to speak with Him. He made us this way, God is our Father, we are His children and the love that we have between us will never fail. Even if you walked away and  ended on the bottom of the ocean, He would still have the ability to speak with you. He can't help speaking and listening to us and it makes sense to do the same. After all, it is to our benefit.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'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

Choose to be happy

"Rejoice always"   1 Thessalonians 5:16   NKJV

James told us to, 'Count it all joy, when you fall into various trials' James 1:2. Why? Because it leads us to being patient. Too many of us (me included) have this sense of urgency and therefore tend to lack patience. If we have no patience, we have no joy because we are always dissatisfied with everything that happens to us. So, Paul underpins James statement by teaching us to rejoice always and be happy. 

It is a choice to be happy but it can be hard work at times. When you make the choice that from now on you're going to be happy, you can be sure that things are going to come your way to test this choice. God may test you in this and you can be sure that the devil will tempt you. There's a big difference here. To test us, God will put things in our way to help us reach this goal; to see if we are sure we want this. To tempt us, the devil will do everything to lead us away from such  things. He does not want you to be happy.

A root of being happy is to be grateful for all God has done for you. We should never just take things for granted. We need to thank Him each and everyday for the blessings He brings our way. Being aware of this root of gratitude, helps us to live our lives in enjoyment, no matter what the circumstances. Each and everyday - every moment, we need to exercise the joy that only comes from God. So when you wake up, make the declaration 'I choose to be happy today.' Be careful when you pray this because you are opening the way for demonic darts to come your way. So therefore, ensure you are dressed in God's armour Ephesians 6:10-18. Whenever you make a stand for God, be sure that you have backup.

One way to stir up this desire to be happy is to rejoice in God. Praise opens the way for great things. The devil hates the sound of praise so, do it all the more. This is where the victory lies. When you praise, strongholds collapse; when you praise, God leads you on in victory and when you praise, you are filled with overwhelming joy and this leads to the strength that is needed to fulfil what you set out to do.

So rejoice always.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'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