Contentment

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."   Philippians 4:13  NKJV 

This verse can easily be read along with Phil 4:19 'And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.' They go hand in hand. Being content in Christ takes time to settle in our hearts. We can easily take these verses literally, especially v19, that God will give us all we ask Him for. We often miss the word 'need' in this verse. The verse doesn't say 'all you want', rather it says, 'all your need'. There's a big difference here and one in which many people have read it wrong. We can trust that God will supply our need and as we begin to trust Him even more, we can become more content in what He will supply.

In verse 13, we read that 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Again, some people may read this verse wrong. God isn't saying that He will issue you with a blue lycra suit with an 'S' on the front and a pair of red underpants. He could do if He chose to but, it is highly unlikely. Read the verse properly, it says 'through Christ who strengthens.' God does not want you or I flying off around the place doing things that the film stars do. We come from Calvary, not Hollywood. There is only one superman here and that is the God-man, Jesus Christ. We need to stay in the boundaries of which He has called us to be.

Having said all that, God will give us what we need to handle a situation. He will strengthen us for the task and, He will give us the words to say, if we need to. In a way, you could imagine that God has given you a wire that is connected to your ear and back to Jesus' HQ, rather like the spy films. When we don't know what to do, He will tell us and show us the way forward. (Yes, I know that sounds like Hollywood, but I rather like that.)

God will always give us what we need to live our daily lives or to perform a task for Him. 

You know, at times doing things for Jesus can be very exciting. For the last 10 years of my working life, I worked in a hospice, speaking with patients and families. My job was to help them face what was happening to them all. Not easy. I was not allowed to speak about Jesus at all, so I decided to be an 'undercover agent' for God. I would find out if they had a faith and take it from there. If they wanted to speak further, I took this that they had given me permission. I led quite a few people to Jesus during this time - patients and families. God gave me the opportunities and the strength to do it. It was so exciting working this way for Jesus. The secret was in them giving their permission and God did the rest.

God will give you the strength to do all things for Him and will provide what you need. 

And that is what gives us the contentment to carry on.

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

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Put it into practice

"Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."   

                                             Philippians 4:9   NLT 

We saw in verse 8 yesterday that we are to focus, dwell and think about what Paul is teaching. Let's go one further, I believe God wants us to fix our thoughts on what we are being taught. One part of the meaning of 'Fix' is to mend something - put it right. But I believe that the meaning here is to live in it (Dwell). The type of fix that I am pointing to is when we bolt something to a wall; cement a brick in place or hang a new door. These items are usually fixed into position permanently. And this is what God wants us to do with His Word. We fix our thoughts on what is being taught and allow it to take up residence in our spirit and then; we put into practice what we have learned. 

It is no good learning God's Word if we are not going to live it. If we live it, will it not be seen and heard by all we come into contact with? You bet it will. The thing is, it's possible to go to church, enjoy a good sermon and then forget all about it until the following week. This is not really helpful. Paul wrote to the Philippians urging them to put into practice all they had learned and received from him. Paul was in prison. We don't know much about the place he was in - it may well have been squalor but, it didn't reflect in what he wrote. He was praising God, not complaining and believe it or not, God was blessing him as he wrote. He may have been living in a terrible fashion but not a harsh word came out of his mouth. We need to be this way - 'no matter what, we will still praise you Lord'.

Paul continued to put into practice what the Lord Jesus had taught him and, he encouraged the others to do the same, and the majority of them did. He was their mentor and a mentor steers people in the right direction. What they see him do, they, to a degree, should be doing. A mentor is a good example. Our mentor of course is Jesus. However, He uses human mentors to teach and nurture us. This may be a pastor, teacher or home group leader. It may also be a trusted Christian friend. They are a shadow of Jesus to us until we are either ready to fledge the nest or continue because a friendship has been made.

The final authority though is always Jesus of course, no-one can take His place. A mentor is just there to give us a helping hand. What about you? Do you mentor someone? Is this the way God is leading you? The first rule of thumb is to put into practice what you have learned. By doing this, people will see Jesus in you, then the peace of God will be with you. 

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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What do you think about?

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, Whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things."  

                                              Philippians 4:8   CSB

Pauls mentions 8 characteristics that are extremely useful in hanging on to the peace that Jesus gives us. Truth, Honour, Justice, Purity, Loveliness, To be commendable, Moral excellence and praiseworthiness. If we can dwell on these characteristics then, we will stand a very good chance to hang onto the peace that surpasses all understanding.

In everything in life, there are always oppositions. Whether it's sports, Christianity, work issues, relationships or whatever else, something will always come along to rob us of the peace that we have in these areas. One area that I have mentioned before is, our minds - what we hear and how we process things. Remember, opposition tries to destroy the other side of things. It is intent on winning and changing situations around. This is what a football team does. The favourite team are expecting to win but the opposition wants to destroy that intention. This is how the devil works with us, especially with the mind. He will plant lies in our thinking pattern and they seem so true and convincing. The more we dwell on them, the more we believe them and they become rock solid truth to us. Don't allow this. The devil wants to rob you of your peace and, if you take the lie on board, he stands a very good chance of doing this. 'Yes, but it's true. I've thought about it and everything fits together.' Listen, don't even give it a second thought, receive it for what it is - a lie, from the father of lies. He's robbing you of your peace and sanity. Don't let him.

What goes through your mind each day? Is it something you can praise God about? If it is, then praise Him. But, if what you're thinking about is not of a praiseworthy nature, don't touch it with a barge pole. Renounce it and take authority over it sending it to hell where it belongs. If you don't, you will be in deep trouble. Remember, that lie will become the truth in your thinking. So send it to the trash can, delete it from your mind.

A good exercise is to look at the 8 characteristics which Paul makes here. Do your thoughts match up with them? If so, then start a praise service. If they don't press the delete button and then praise God for showing you the truth.

Hang on to that peace that surpasses all understanding because, it will help you through the rocky roads ahead.

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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Total peace

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:7 / Luke 14:22 - 33  CSB 

If there is anything that we need at all times, it is peace. This is why we need to study all about it. Peace has the ability to bring about joy in any miserable situation. It has the ability to lift our spirit. Think about when Jesus walked on the water. The disciples had just witnessed a major miracle - the feeding of the five thousand. This would have been something to see, totally incredible. After this, Jesus encouraged the disciples to go over to the opposite side of the lake. He would meet them later after he had climbed a mountain to pray to His Father. Note that He intended to meet with them again.

After a while of the disciples battling against the strong wind, Jesus walked out to them, on the water. When they saw Him, they thought at first that He was a ghost and they were terrified. Jesus calmed their fears, 'Have courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.' After speaking with the Lord, Peter jumped into the water and started walking towards Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he panicked and sank. But Jesus saved him and they both climbed into the boat and the wind, stopped instantly.

There are a couple of things that I want you to see (1) Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and climbed out of the boat and did the same. However, he became fearful when he saw the thrashing winds and lost his faith, and sank. Many times we have every intention of serving Jesus by faith - totally relying on Him to provide all we may need. However, when our thoughts play around in our brain, we become faith-less because we look at what's around instead of looking to Jesus. Note, Jesus told Peter to 'Come.' Remember, when Jesus has called you, He will take care of everything.

(2) When you truly walk with Jesus, He calms any situation. In the events in Luke we clearly see calm in the middle of chaos. When you are filled with God's peace, you'll know God heard your prayers. Remember, the peace of God surpasses all understanding. We just can't work it out, it is beyond human understanding. God can do anything if He chooses. Nothing can stop Him. Also remember, that His peace will guard your heart and mind - those confusing mind games that we have periodically. Refuse to fall to false information and penetrating accusations about yourself or your family. Through God, you're better than that!

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 

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Don't worry about anything

"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanks giving, present your requests to God"   Philippians 4:6  CSB 

One thing that is common to all people is worry. We can seem to do it as a pastime and if we haven't any worries we can worry about that too. Many is the time that what we worry about never happens anyway. Therefore, we need to break this habit. Let us not forget that Jesus told us not to worry (Matt 6). So when we do worry, we are disobeying Him. The more we worry, the less we pray. But the more you pray, the less you worry. At the first sign of worry, we should recognise that its time to pray.

We have a useful blueprint that Jesus gave  the church in Matthew 6:33-34: 'But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore, don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' We are so familiar with this scripture that it is so easy to pass over it when we're reading God's Word. Never do that. God's Word is life and can be different each time we read it prayerfully. Don't get too familiar that you think you don't need to read this.

Paul writes, 'Don't worry about anything' I've highlighted this word because it is so important. If we allow ourselves, we will do this. We'll worry that we forgot to buy a certain item at the supermarket. The 'phone will ring and if we miss the call, we'll have to ring the person back just in case it is important. We will have a hospital test for something and will try and determine what the nurse's face looks like in case it is serious. Stop worrying. Anything means anything so stop worrying about it. Many is the time that you can't change the thing you are worrying about so, why worry about it.

Instead, decide to pray and petition God. He cares and He is pleased when instead of worrying, we are praying to Him. We're acting in accordance to His will then. We are also seeking first the kingdom of God and not worrying about tomorrow. Why not try saying:

'Thank you Lord that I have some worries because, it is another opportunity to speak with You. So I'm seeking first the kingdom of God, knowing You will help me.' Some may have a problem with this, but I haven't. Every worry we have gives us the opportunity to pray. What's the problem with that. In fact, if we're honest, we don't pray enough, so let's use the opportunities we get.

The word of your Daily Life with Jesus is, 'DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING'

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 

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Watch your attitude

"Let you graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."   Philippians 4:5   CSB 

If you're not careful, the humdrum of everyday life can get you down. Doing the same job 24/7 in robotic fashion, never having enough money to pay bills and buy what you would like. Your home life suffering because of lack of funds and as soon as you've managed to pay it, another one hitting the doormat. Life can be like a never-ending conveyor belt of problems. When you get like this, it can affect your peace. Worries pile in and it's difficult to find a way through all of this.

All of this can lead to being intolerant with people around you - at home, on the road or even at work. If you're a boss or leader of some sort, this can lead you to spread this unhappiness to others, using your position as a lever to downgrade people. You can make mistakes but blame this on others, totally refusing to accept that it was your fault. You should never take your unhappy baggage to work, church or anywhere else. Alternatively, if you've had a bad day, you should leave this baggage at the front door of your home.

Easy to do? Not really, but it is achievable but you need to work on it. Firstly, note what Paul is saying here: 'Let your graciousness (gentleness) be known to everyone. The Lord is near.' First of all, let’s examine the last phrase. Jesus is near you, everyday. He sees, hears, watches and listens to all you say or do. So, you need to remember this. If you moan or complain about things, you are opening the door to the enemy to come in and twist things round, and then, instead of rejoicing you can make a very near God, seem far away.

Do you know what I mean here? Once you upset others, throw a wobbly or let yourself down pretty badly, it is very difficult to feel the presence of God with you. He hasn't left but that precious anointing of the Holy Spirit becomes drained. Then, all you can hear is Satan saying, 'You've blown it now!' It's hard for you to ignore him because, you don't have the enthusiasm to cast him out. So think on this one.

The Holy Spirit is gentle, He puts no pressure on anyone, just love and peace. So spend some time with Him. Get to know Him and allow His presence to envelope you. If you want to be gentle, then He is your source. If you want people to see Jesus in you, He is the one who can anoint you and point you in the right direction. You may blow it at times but don't dwell on it, ask forgiveness, receive it and then move on. You haven't blown it to the point that Jesus will not forgive you. The devil will try to trick you into thinking that. Don't let him. He's a loser - you back the winner, Jesus. Spend time with the Holy Spirit and pretty soon people are going to feel the gentleness from you. Sound good? You bet it does.

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 

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Be full of joy

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. "   Philippians 4:4   CSB

What is the difference between joy and secular happiness? The latter depends on what happens in our life. It is down to circumstance. So if things are going well in our life, we can have a brilliant time and this can lift our spirits, making us feel good about the occasion. However, if things go wrong, we begin to feel down in the dumps, unhappy and we virtually have no life in ourselves; we become deflated. This is an emotional roller coaster experience. Worldly happiness is not the same as Godly happiness. Godly happiness is called joy. Biblical joy has to do with stability and celebration regardless of what the circumstances are on the outside. Therefore, we must choose to rejoice in order to experience the joy God promises us.

Paul thought it so important that he repeated what he had said :"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. " Likewise, King David said in Psalm 118:24 'This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad.' And Paul Wilber wrote and sang:

Let us rejoice and be glad, giving the glory to Him

For the marriage of the Lamb has come

And the bride has made herself ready 

Note, rejoicing is a choice that we have to make. It doesn't come naturally. We have to make the decision that, no matter what happens in our life, we will endeavour to find a way to rejoice. You see, Jesus is still on the throne no matter what may happen in our lives. We don't rejoice and thank Him for things that have gone seriously wrong in our lives. This would be madness. But we do need to find a way through the hurt to be able to offer Him praise. This is how we remain stable in situations. 

Jesus is our rock; therefore, we are built on His foundation. We are firm and secure. He gives us our confidence and promotes joy within. He knows that joy is our strength. He knows that with joy and praise, we can march on to victory. This is why it is so important; in fact, we need to attach joy to our armour that we should be dressed in each day because, the Lord is our strength. 

So if you have been feeling down in the dumps just lately, get your joy back: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. " Get the balance right in your life. Don't be up or down rather like a see-saw. Remain steadfast and joyful.

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