Our Five Senses. - HEARING

"My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to my sayings".  

                                         Proverbs 4:20   NKJV 

Today, we come to our last session of the five senses and this is, 

HEARING

Our hearing is a most wonderful gift, one in which, people with a hearing loss long to be able to enjoy. With good hearing we can hear birds, making their beautiful music and calls as we walk through a wood, along a bank or just sit and listen to the Dawn Chorus on those precious, early summer mornings. We all need to thank God, for the special gift of hearing.

People who suffer a hearing loss, probably only hear a fraction of what someone with healthy hearing can. It can be very frustrating for the person with the loss because they can get the words all muddled up and have to keep asking for someone to repeat what they have said. This can make the other person frustrated at having to keep repeating themselves. This only leads the person with the loss, to close down on people and put themselves in a corner, not entering into conversations for the fear they have of getting it wrong. Hearing aids can help tremendously but not all the time and some people have to have surgery for a Cochlear Implant to help them hear just that little better. Sadly, this is not always successful.

If you have good hearing, try and spare a thought for the one with the hearing loss. They may have had prayer put not received their healing yet. Try and help them to come out of their enforced shell. If they are familiar with British Sign Language, try and learn this yourself so you can at least have something in common with them. The one thing you have is what they long for - good hearing. It can really be a depressing area for these people, lost in a world of their own. People may ignore them because, 'They can't hear me anyway.' Don't ever be like that. Jesus wasn't like that when He met with deaf people. He healed them, loved them and showed them respect. Try and do the same. They're not aliens, they are people who for many reasons have lost their hearing or some were born this way.

Look at our text today, '"My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to my sayings." This is what Jesus would be telling each of us to do and this includes people who are deaf. Just try and imagine what it is like to be this way. Try to imagine what you would like people to do for you if you had a hearing loss and then do it. You can hear the preacher when he preaches, they struggle even though there may be a loop. With hearing aids, a chair scraping can be louder than the worship music and with everybody singing or talking, it can be a hopeless case to make sense of it all. 

You may not be able to change things for these people but, you can pray for them. You can also get alongside them and encourage them. But try not to embarrass them by making them the centre of attention. Gently does it here. 

Hearing loss can happen to any of us, especially as we get older. You may be able to hear well at the moment but, further down the line, this could change and this would leave you in a similar position. Thank God for your hearing, you are so blessed to be able to use this gift. But spare a thought and prayer for those who are suffering.

Well, we've come to the end of our series on the five senses. I hope you benefitted by it.

Let’s pray: Father, today we  hear your voice, taste more of your presence, touch your heart, smell your sweet perfume and see your glory. Speak to us, teach us and help us to get revelation from your word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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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Our Five Senses - TASTE

“Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in in Him.”                                               

                                       Psalm 34:8   NKJV

How is your taste? You’re the salt of the earth. Are you producing life or death with your tongue? Are you praising Jesus or cursing with your tongue? We should decide to taste more of God and to be a good taste to the world. To a degree people can tell who we belong to just by the words that come out of our mouth. If we have tasted Jesus then the only type of words that come out of our mouth should be the ones that build people up (Ephesians 4:29). 

I remember years back when I was doing an essay in a certain bible college. I used our text for today and described it this way:

'If someone has never tasted or seen a Mars bar, we may say that it has soft caramel, creamy malt and is covered in milk chocolate. However, we could describe this to someone forever more but unless they put it in their mouth and taste it, they would never know, if they like it or not.' I then went on to say that Jesus is like this. We can tell people about Him over and over again but, unless they taste Him themselves, they will never know how good He is. I thought this was a good example and, still do. Not the college examiner's, they marked me down. They felt that comparing Jesus with a chocolate bar was very distasteful.

I have since used this description many times in evangelism and many people have identified with it. In fact, 11 prisoners -  the total congregation, when I taught this, stood up and asked Jesus into their lives. It speaks for itself.

When we taste God, we are literally eating His words, 'But you son of man, hear what I say to you, do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you'  Ezekiel 2:8. The Word of God is literally our daily food. Without His word, we are lost and we will starve. We need to study His word daily. This is tasting God. Therefore, when we are with people, the words that come out of our mouths should affect them, they should edify them because they have the power to build them up not, tear them apart. 

Jesus Christ, has a good taste. Every word that He speaks to us in the bible has the power to change our lives for the better. He knows the way forward so He will direct us. He knows when things are dangerous, so He will give us a warning. He knows all we need to know so will show us if we ask Him to.

Jesus Christ has good taste and so do you if you have tasted Him. 

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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Our Five Senses - TOUCH

"Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, 'Peace to you!'  27 Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'  John 20:26-27. NKJV

Thomas was always the one that needed convincing before he would accept things. It wasn't that he doubted everything but, he needed to be sure that what he saw and heard was right. And that is not a bad thing when you think about it.

To touch someone or something, is to feel. So when Thomas touched Jesus' wounds, he was actually feeling them, feeling the pain Jesus suffered which must have given him a deeper insight into what it had cost Him on the cross; and this is why he said to Jesus, 'My Lord and my God' v28.

When Jesus touched people, His power was emitted and people were healed and/or delivered. When we asked Jesus into our lives that time, He touched us as He entered our hearts. In the same manner, we touched Him as well. More than touch though, we actually could feel Jesus within us, we felt so different. When someone has encountered Jesus in their life, they are never the same again, His touch made them feel loved and cared for, protected and joyful. And no matter how much we let Him down each day, as we repent, we receive that wonderful feeling again.

Why not touch others to the glory of God! A gentle hug or a friendly pat shows your love and may just be what that person needed - no words but that touch. Think about it: Let your hands be so busy giving and receiving blessings that you don’t have the room to hold onto grudges. Hug your children, wife, husband. Show them love, the love of Jesus.

Something is happening in our world today that we know nothing about. The world is in pain; it is suffering. Daily people are being killed on our streets or in places of war. In our own strength, we don't have the power to change all of this but, we can pray that God will intervene. You know that God changes things. As we pray, in a way we are touching them, supporting them, wanting to change them and as we do this, God can touch their hearts and change their situations. 

Do you realise that through Jesus, you have the ability to touch situations whether in the flesh or by prayer. You can reach your hand out and heal a situation that is going on around you or in the world. Just little old you can change things. You are significant in God's eyes, stop trying to hide away. You can do this. You are a somebody in Jesus. So start feeling good about yourself. You are a child of the King of kings. Live as such.

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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Our Five Senses (SMELL)

“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

Following on from yesterday, we come to the second sense:

Smell: Nose

The sense of smell mostly brings a joy to our soul rather like, sweet-smelling flowers, freshly baked bread, the freshness of the countryside on a summer's walk. The sense of smell should make us want to give praise to God. Obviously I’m talking in a spiritual way here. Some smells are not so praiseworthy. What kind of smell are you exhaling around? When you are with your family or friends, do you have a good smell - a fragrance, to them?

In all things we need to breathe life, and exhale Jesus to other people. As I have mentioned many times, not all people read a bible or go to church. In fact, many only attend church for weddings, Christenings or funerals. The bible, if a family have one, usually goes unread gathering dust. I remember once in Brighton, we had travelled to a Christian outreach. One night, on the way to the venue we stopped to have a meal. I had my bible with me and the young waitress asked me if I wanted her to put it behind the counter while we ate, I'll never forget, she carried it as if it was going to leap out of her hands and bite her. Prayer also is something unbelievers only consider when things go dreadfully wrong. The rest of the time, the fragrance of God is not around them. This is where we come in.

We have the capability to spread the fragrance of Jesus wherever we go. That sweet smelling aroma of Jesus Christ should be exhaling from us to people. When it is, they can feel this. They may not say anything but they know, there is something about us. We smell differently and it affects them. Some may become annoyed and aggressive towards us; others may want to know more. Remember, many unbelievers have problems just like we do but many don't have any opportunity to talk it through. This is where we can help. Without being forceful, we can begin a conversation with them and they may disclose something that is bothering them. And this may give us the opportunity to pray with them. You never know until you try.

When Jesus walked the earth, wherever He went He drew people to Himself. This may have been people who wanted to follow Him or hurt Him. Whatever, they couldn't resist being with Him. This is the fragrance I am talking about here, the smell of the Holy Spirit falling on whoever is around. And as a Christian, you have this within you. You may not know this or, if you do, you may not want to use it but, the fragrance is still with you because Jesus is with you.

Just imagine what you could achieve for Jesus if you submitted to Him and agreed that anywhere you go you will tell someone what this fragrance is. 

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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Our Five Senses (SIGHT)

"When Elisha's servant got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:13-17. My paraphrase

Over the next few days, let's look at our five senses from a biblical context:

SIGHT.  How is your vision? I’m not talking about your natural vision but your spiritual vision? When you are facing troubles, what can you see? What do you hope for?

In the midst of struggles, we have to climb up the Spiritual Mountain and look above the situation and see what we can learn from it, what we can use to strength our lives.
Look at a perfect example of looking at something the right way: Are you like the servant in verse 15 above 'Oh no, What shall we do? What do you usually see? Are you just seeing trouble, disease, a powerful army against you? Or are you like Elisha in verse 16? 'Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'

Now, let's be honest, if we had been that servant, we would have acted in the same way. It would be natural to do that. But, can I remind you that, we are supernatural people. We belong to Jesus and we don't walk by what we can see. 'For we walk by faith, not by sight' 2 Corinthians 5:7. If we are born again and bible-believing Christians, we believe that God's Word is the truth. Therefore, this verse, although hard for some people to accept, is the truth and it is what Elisha was telling his servant all those years ago. If you and I could see as clearly as that servant did that day, we would be astounded at what we saw. We would see ugly, devouring and mischievous demonic forces all around us, but, we would also see mighty angels assigned to us to serve and protect us as we request. It would be an awesome sight. 

And this is how we are called to live each day. Troubles come and floor us; they mount up until we feel we can't handle all of this. However, as we look into the supernatural with our spiritual sight, we will see all the support we will ever need. Angels all around us waiting for us to call on God so that He can loose them to serve us and work on our behalf. There is no need to fear - anything. Everything, absolutely everything is in God's control - as long as we have put it there by our daily prayers. This is what Peter meant when he showed us: 'Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.' 1 Pet 5:7.

And let us not forget, 'Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.' Rom 10:13.

So, let us get into living in the supernatural, trusting God for every single thing. He is truthful and if He has said it in His Word, He is bound to it; He will not let you down.

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

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Type A and Type B people

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."   Philippians 2:3   NKJV

Are you familiar with the term Type A and Type B people? You should be because you are either one of them or, an individual who fits into both types. Let me explain. According to the Medical News for Today:

Type A and type B are two main personality categories. People with type A

personalities may be ambitious, aggressive, and competitive. People with type B personalities may be laid-back, flexible, and patient. Personality refers to the pattern of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that make each individual who they are.

Personality can affect how people interact with others, their approach to work, and how they respond to stressful events. A person may have a Type A or B personality depending on the key characteristics they display. These traits may impact their work or studies and their interactions with others. They may also affect their health. medical news for today.com

The Type A traits are: competitive, time urgent and impatient/intolerant. They may display hostility and aggression, feel guilt if they relax in spare times, Move, walk and eat rapidly, experts at multitasking, ambitious and much more.

Type B traits are: relaxed, laid back, non-competitive, won't be rushed.

If both of these types meet a mountain in their way, Type A will try to climb it to get by. Type B will relax and wait for help.

Typical Type A behaviour is preparing a simple breakfast. The kettle is switched on, bread put in the toaster, plates on the table and their own toast must be buttered. All of this must be done before the kettle has boiled. They race against this time. If the kettle boils first a feeling of failure hits them and they may become annoyed. Simple tasks like cutting the grass are also monitored by time. They know it should take 45 Minutes to cut it; one minute over and they feel that they're running late. Another example is driving. They know that the journey takes a certain time and they are watching the clock to check certain points. If someone wants to stop for a toilet break, they begin to flap because all of the people they have passed, will be in front of them again and, they will have lost time.  This sums up their lives - full speed ahead. Whereas, Type B just plods along in relax mode and refuses to be rushed. This infuriates Type A and they keep urging them along. 

I must admit that I'm a bit of a Type A and when we are going anywhere, there is a schedule to keep. My wife is Type B and never rushes - at all. In the end, I go and sit in the car to wait. What this achieves I don't know, but it seems to work.

Do you see yourself in these Types? If so, what Type are you? The thing is, you probably can't change who you are but, you can be less demanding on these schedules, (Yes, I'm speaking to myself). Scripture tells us that nothing should be done from selfish ambition or conceit. In other words Type A, there is a need to work round these traits to make it more acceptable to those around. Type B, there is a need to be understanding to Type A and work with them. We're all different and have different ways of doing things. Tolerance and understanding, together with prayer, can be a great solution. One good thing from Type A and B people is, they can help each other. A magnet has two poles, one positive, one negative. The like poles placed together will repel each other. Yet the unlike poles (Positive to negative) will join together and work well. There is a learning curve here for both Type A and B.

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

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Hypocrisy, lies and Disobedience

"So Judah said, 'Bring her out and let her be burned.'" v24  Genesis 38  NKJV 

Judah was one of Joseph's brothers credited with saving him from death and persuading his brothers to sell him into slavery instead. Acting on impulse and lust, Judah married a Canaanite woman called Shua, thus disobeying God's word in Deut 7:3. God had forbidden intermarriage with Canaanites because of their Pagan religious practices. However, this did not deter Judah at all. Shua gave birth to a son called Er. Er finally married a woman named Tamar. However, Er was evil in God's sight, so the Lord ended his life. The custom was for the next son in line to marry the dead brother's wife and have an heir. However, Onan, Judah's second son was given Tamar. However, he didn't want an heir and when he had sex with her, he emitted on to the ground. This displeased God who ended Onan's life too v9-10.

Now the custom was for the next available son, who was Shelah, to take up this role. However, Judah feared losing another son so, he told Tamar to go home to her father until Shelah was old enough to marry. This was a lie; Judah had no intention of this happening and Tamar realised this too

Later, Tamar found out that Judah was going to have his sheep sheared a little way away from where they lived. Tamar changed her widow's clothes and dressed like a harlot with a veil over her face and she waited for Judah by the wayside. When he arrived, having a reputation of being a lady's man, he told her he wanted to have sex with her. In return, he promised her a young goat, but for her own peace of mind, she asked for his signet ring, cord and staff, which she would return later. When this was over, she went back home and dressed as a widow again. Later when Judah sent someone to deliver the goat and claim his belongings, the Woman could not be found. He put this down to just one of those things.

Months later, Judah was told that Tamar was with child and in labour. He screamed out, 'Bring her out and let her be burned.'" v24. But Tamar was very clever and holding up the ring, cord and staff, she said, 'By the man to whom these belong, I am with child - please determine whose these are.' Judah could not back out of this one. He was caught out, hook, line and sinker. He would be the father of twins v27-30.

Just look at the way Judah was acting, going to put to death some girl who had been with a man and yet, he was guilty of adultery too. Not only that, he was guilty of disobedience for marrying a Canaanite woman in the first place.

Listen, we can so easily lose our credibility by taking our eyes off God and doing our own thing. Yes, this was in OT times but, it was still breaking God's laws and it was still irresponsible behaviour, the type of behaviour that sticks to us like glue. Many, many leading Christian men and women have had their ministries ruined by such things. Jesus forgives that's true, but people's memories of such things are very good. Don't be a part of this type of thing. Be careful, where you go, what you say and who you spend time with  - alone. Hypocrisy, disobedience, adultery, fraud, tax evasion etc etc. They all taint our testimony. Be very careful, because there's a schemer on the loose seeking who to devour. Get you armour 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

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