The schemes of the devil. Part 2

"Catch the foxes for us - the little foxes that ruin the vineyards - for our vineyards are in bloom."               Song of Songs  2:15   CSB 

This is quite a vivid example of how little things can wreck a relationship. There is a need to identify and catch your own personal foxes before it is too late. There are many kinds of problems that can infiltrate a loving relationship and leave it disturbed or in some cases, utterly destroyed. The lovers here, wanted anything that could cause them trouble, removing. And, this is a good place to start with your own relationship(s).

As we saw from yesterday's reading, foxes are very sly and cunning. They creep into situations to catch their prey. This is why people who have chickens, need to make sure that they are secure and safe. Marriage is an institution that the devil loves to attack and destroy if he has the opportunity. Therefore, husbands and wives need to ensure their  behaviour is in line with God's wishes, after-all, He is the one that brought you together in the first place. There should be no secrets because, the devil will take these and dramatise them, adding bits and pieces so that there is something there, which is not. If you watch any soaps on TV, you will see this in action where a partner doesn't tell their spouse about certain things. This is really a recipe for disaster. There should be no secrets between man and wife unless it is for family reasons, such as planning a birthday etc.

Please accept that the devil is real and he doesn't like you. In fact, you are an enemy so, if he can, he will strive to disable and disarm you. Just the fact that he classes you as his enemy, puts you on a higher level than him. He has no part in the Kingdom of God, he will never enjoy eternity. You will and so, he is jealous and will lie about you, falsely accuse you, criticise and gossip about you and if he can. destroy everything that is precious to you. Wise up; make sure that you catch these little foxes, if you don't, they will eat everything you have.

As a bit of a country bumpkin, I love wildlife, especially foxes. But I'm wise enough to realise the damage they can cause if they have the chance. And this is why we should be aware of the little foxes that creep around us, our marriage and family and far beyond that. As we have to be wise with an actual fox, we also need to be wise with the little ones that can really cause us problems. So be careful here.

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 2024 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

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The schemes of the devil

"Put on the full armour of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil."                    

                                          Ephesians 6:11   CSB 

Have you ever considered the fox? It is a small, cunning carnivore who lives near people's dwellings or perhaps farms. It is a master of hunting small game and it often relies on trickery and this is why it is known as being sly. One of its victims is usually rabbits. It creeps into situations, slowly making its way towards its intended prey. When the rabbits realise there is a fox about, many of them scatter. However, there is usually one that remains because curiosity takes over. The fox uses  a strange ritual that is known to many contrymen as 'Charming'. The fox all of a sudden will start chasing its own tail, leaping about as if it is mad. Little by little, the fox is getting closer to the rabbit, who is so interested in this that it doesn't realise the danger it is in until, it's too late and the fox pounces and races off with its prize. The fox has used its skill of distraction.

Now put this into the context of the devil and his schemings. Satan distracts us quite often by taking our minds off Jesus and onto fear. He'll convince us that something is wrong and encourage us to worry and fret about something. This may be our health, our jobs, family problems and a host of other things. He'll keep this up giving us sleepless nights so that we become snappy or edgy with the people we love. If we don't realise what is happening, he will force us into a corner so that we don't know if we're coming or going. Don't allow this! Recognise this for what it is. I agree, not everything is the devil's fault but if something distracts us from our walk with Jesus. You can be sure that he is about somewhere in it.

We need to wise up - all of us. No one is perfect and if we're not carefully focused on Jesus we can be easily distracted. We can be tempted to spend more money than we can afford. Those little plastic cards come in handy when we need something that we haven't the cash for. We can be tempted to drink more alcohol than we intended because we are having a great time out somewhere. We can then make a fool of ourself or get picked up for drinking and driving. We can be tempted to forget that we are in a relationship and fall to the flattery of the opposite sex. And there is so much more that can befall us when we slip to the schemings of the evil one.

Be in control, I'll say it again, be in control. It is so important because, if you're not, you can easily set yourself up for disaster. Just think, wherever you are, there is a fox-like situation around you. So be careful where you tread; be careful and wear your armour all the time and, be sure to walk in the Spirit.

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 2024 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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Don't try to do more than you can handle

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,"     Genesis 1:1   CSB 

Have you ever noticed the way God worked? He did things systematically. He didn't try to do everything at once. He concentrated on one thing or group of similar things before He went on to the next. He could have thrown everything together at once but, I fear that would have been too confusing and after-all He had all the time in the world. His desire was perfection and He gave us a wonderful demonstration of doing things properly instead of rushing things and getting them wrong. God created what was perfect, it was man (Adam and Eve) that ruined it all.

God gave us the template of how to live and work on His earth. There is no profit in dashing here and there trying to do things at top speed or try to multitask. It doesn't provide anything but great mistakes and burnout. Someone once said, 'A man who chases two rabbits, catches neither,' Think about that statement. When startled, rabbits have a tendency to run in all different directions and as this old saying goes, if someone sees two rabbits together, they are going to run away different routes and it will be impossible for the person to try and capture either one, unless he is incredibly agile. In the way that one rabbit is enough to focus on, then it is the same for doing things. We can only give our best when we concentrate on one project.

It's the same with people. It's impossible to try and have a conversation with someone who is with you, and try to carry on a conversation with someone else on the telephone. Neither receive dignity from this and the way is paved for possible mistakes. Read Genesis One and see how God handled the great task of creating the world, the animal kingdom, human beings and a host of other things. Try and take on board His dedication, His peace and His commitment to carrying out this mighty work. Try and re-produce this dedication in the work that you carry out on a daily basis. In my youth, I worked on an industrial assembly line for a short while. It was chaos. There was no time to think let alone talk. It was stressful and many mistakes were made. Imagine your life like this. Sometimes we live in a similar way, trying to spin all the plates, trying to please everyone and ensuring that all that you have is accomplished. Sooner or later, living life like this, something has to give and it is usually your health. 

Make a decision now that, you will still continue to work hard but it will be more structured and stress free and, sensibly planned out. You want the job to be done properly, the person you are working for wants the job done properly and, guess what? God wants it done properly as well. So, re-schedule your life.

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 2024 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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Look through the windscreen, not the rear-view mirror

"Forgetting what is behind  and reaching forward to what is ahead."   

                                                                       Philippians 3:13   CSB

The Israelites wandered around the wilderness for years when their journey should have only taken a short while. Most of the originals didn't make it there but died in the arid desert. Why was this? Because they hung on to the past. Initially, they wanted to go to the Promised Land but, then they realised that they would have to rough it and eat Manna and such like and, not have the 'luxuries' that they had in Egypt. So they complained and moaned and blamed Moses for all of this. They hung on to the past so much that their promised tomorrow never came.

What do we learn from all of this? Stop living in the past; stop being chained to it. When Jesus Christ came into your life, He broke the chains and they fell off. Don't put them back on again. To reach your future, you must forget the past; this way you will get a greater tomorrow. Paul in this 3rd Chapter of Philippians admitted that he had not yet reached the goal of perfection. In fact, he wrote in Ch 1:6 that he was certain that Jesus would make sure he got there as long as he stopped looking back. Think about it, if you were driving your car and instead of looking through the windscreen, kept looking through the rear-view mirror, you wouldn't get very far. In fact, it's doubtful that you would get down the road without an accident. Looking back is no good.

The past was yesterday, it was an hour ago and as soon as you have said something, it is also in the past. This of course is a little extreme but, you get the point I hope. Somebody cut you up on the motorway yesterday and it made you angry. That's feasible but, don't keep on about it today, it was in the past. 

Listen to me, there are things in your past that you are still remembering; the memory keeps cropping up. You may have been bitterly hurt years ago. That is awful but it was years ago - in the past. You need to allow the chains to be broken from it and move on. Your marriage may have crumbled this past year. The pain is very raw. Somehow, you need to stop re-playing the video of the hurt, forgive and start to re-build your life again. Someone won't come along and build it for you; you may have counselling but, the counsellor will not re-build your life again, they will just point you in the right direction. Re-building your life is down to you, together with Jesus.

To stop looking at the past is not easy, but is essential if you want to go forward and only you can make this choice. Jesus is in your future. He is now with you to help you have that future (Jeremiah 29:11.) And what's more, He wants to take hold of your hand and gently take you there. But will you let Him? Do it, you know it makes sense.

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 2024 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