He made them a laughing stock

"Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."  Colossians 2:15  NKJV   

Before you knew Jesus, you had a court order against you. A record of wrongs were poured upon you and, whether they were right or wrong, the accusations were about to make you sink. In other words you were bound in chains, unable to escape and you were declared guilty. However, it is like watching a film the second time around - you know the ending and this tells you that, it will be all right, you are saved.

The reason Jesus hung on that cross was to bring deliverance and freedom to each of us. Roman Law declared that when someone was executed, the sentence was attached to the person's cross (John 19:19). But, with His death, Jesus took our certificates of debt away and nailed them to His cross. (Note the 'His'. He paid the penalty and in doing so, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and the satanic forces and declared us Not Guilty.

He erased the certificate of debt that had been laid upon you and wiped out the handwriting of requirements that you were accused of v14.

You may have made some bad mistakes in the past, especially before you knew Jesus. You still remember them and occasionally they point their fingers at you trying to make you feel guilty. But, through Jesus you were set free from your past, it has been wiped clean and nailed to Jesus' cross and, 'If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed'  John 8:36. Prior to this, in v31-32, Jesus said 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' 

Jesus has made you free, therefore it is up to each of us to accept this and believe what He says. The past has gone, only the devil brings it up so, don't listen to him. Back the winner instead - Jesus.

Only Jesus could have given you freedom; only He cared enough to do so. Don't you think that He deserves our fullest attention and gratitude. No one else in the whole world could ever care as much as He does and they could never offer the love and compassion that He freely gives you each day. Praise and thank Him for this!

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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What is 'Hope?'

"For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."                        Romans 8:24-25  NKJV 

The hope that we are discussing is not one of optimism  or wishful thinking without foundation. It is a confident expectation  based on solid certainty. It is a Greek word called elpis and it is a pure biblical hope that rests on God's promises. This hope is never inferior to faith but is an extension of it. Faith is the present  possession of grace; hope is confidence in grace's future accomplishment. People may say, 'Hopefully I may get this job I applied for.' But this is wishful thinking, they are hoping that the job will be theirs. However, the positive side of this would be 'Hope - fully.' For example, the person who has applied for the job will say, 'I will hope-fully that this job is mine.' This is putting the emphasis on faith and giving God room to work on our behalf.

Our text for today is very similar to 2 Cor 4:18 which reads: 'While we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.' Both these verses encourage us to have a faith and a hope that have a certainty and not a wishful thinking type of hope. They are foundational - built on the rock and not on the term 'possibly.'

With true faith, we live in it and walk in it. Things are subject to change in an instant. Living this way we have a biblical hope not a wishy-washy type. It is the temporary versus the eternal. Hope is a joyful expectation about the future. Real biblical hope combines a radical trust. With this type of hope we have that wonderful feeling that, 'We know' deep down inside of us. It is that feeling, the type that will not go away because it has been placed there by God. 'We know.'

What Paul says in Romans 8:24-25 "but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." Let us unscramble this. There is absolutely no point in hoping for what we see on a continual basis. The world does this but rarely goes further. We may want something and ask God for this but, we haven't received it yet, even though we can still see it. What we want, is the physical part - the part that we cannot see, the fruition of this prayer in our hands. It is almost like beginning to feed our hope on the word of God, that hope will paint a picture on the inside of us - a power picture of God's promise fulfilled in your life. So we persevere until that hope becomes a reality.

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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You are never too old

"They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."  

                                                                      Psalm 92:14  NKJV 

As we stay faithful to God and daily, walk in His path, He in turn will bless us. One thing about God is that there is no age limit. He is ageless and therefore, as we place ourselves under His control, we are the same. Check out Moses, he was shepherding sheep on a lonesome hillside when he was 80 years of age. Can you imagine doing this at that age? And then, God appointed him to go to Pharaoh and persuade him to set free the Israelites from captivity. Eventually, after much hard work, he accomplished this and then carried on working until he was 120. That is some age when you think about it but, not to God.

Psalm 92:10 says, 'But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.' This is the difference. Once God has anointed you in this way. The horn is an emblem of strength and power. In verse 12 it tells us that God causes us to thrive, even in old age and grow like Palm trees. Now a Palm tree flourishes; its roots go down probably about 3 feet and from there they grow horizontally, spreading far and wide from the trunk, in search of water. They can live for a century or more. Cedars of Lebanon are a symbol of endurance, eternal life and immortality. They can grow up to 35 meters in height. Therefore, match yourself with these facts, walking with God, you will qualify for long life and be upright and very useful. You will also be majestic and stable, growing in grace, thriving and bearing fruit. In fact, you will be like living memorials to God.

Note the word 'Still' in verse 14. It doesn't say that you shall bear fruit in old age, but that you will still (continue) to bear fruit. God has no intention for you to retire to sitting on a pew. He has work for you. In you, He has a wealth of knowledge and experience that people, including younger people, need to learn about. Don't write yourself off, God has a place for you and if you're open to Him, He will lead you to this. Scripture tells us that we will 'Flourish.' This means that we will grow well, we will thrive and prosper and be in a period of highest productivity, excellence or influence. Do you want this?

Personalise  Psalm 92:10 and pray this over yourself offering yourself afresh to Jesus and then ask Him what He wants you to do and where. Never allow yourself to feel old and over the hill again. Remember, that Palm tree is still growing and so are you. You are a special person with a special mission to carry out for Jesus. Get excited about it, Jesus is, and never lose that anointing again.

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Are you a snapper?

"A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare."

                                                           Proverbs 15:1  NLT 

This verse comes up over and over again. When this happens, I believe that it is God's way of reminding us that we need to get this area right within us. 

Have you ever noticed that when you are busy people tend to interrupt you. It may be the 'phone or someone calling to have a chat. Somehow, it is like they always pick the busy times. But perhaps you need to ask yourself if this is a description of yourself - 'Busy'. People can be busy doing nothing. If you are the type who likes to get things done instead of leaving it until tomorrow, you may fall into the 'Busy' mode. Ask yourself, who has made you feel this way. Have you got a boss who drives you forward all the time, demanding that the job needs completing. If so, perhaps you need to speak with him or her and let them know that you are doing the best you can do. This may not go down too well but, it is better than getting yourself all wound up with frustration and anger. Martha was like this with her sister Mary. It felt that she was doing all of the work and Mary wasn't, she was spending time with Jesus (Luke 10:40-42.

You may be self-employed or have a job where to a degree you manage your own case load. It is important that you remain in control. Is there any point in getting yourself all wound up and angry? No, there is not, so you need to take the control. You may work from home and have a business to run together with a busy house to take care of. Whatever you do, you need to make some changes because, what you are doing is not working. The way you take control is to, look at all that needs doing - today. Break the workload down into manageable pieces, without making it too hard to handle. You must give yourself time to work with these things. You need to prioritise - what is the most important and so on. If you have appointments and they can be moved easily without problems occurring, then do this. This may give you a little breathing space. Listen, there is no mileage in trying to do everything at once. You will burn yourself out and snapping at someone when they interrupt you, may be a sign that you need to slow down.

Think for a moment, God always has time for you, doesn't He? Yes, He is God but, He gives us all a blue print on how we should handle things, and snapping at people is not one of them. If you are doing this, you need to stop what you are doing and analyse why this is happening. If you can't see why, ask God, He will show you. But one thing is for sure, you know that it is wrong so begin to make some changes today. Write down some of your experiences of the day where you have snapped at someone. Play the video back of this event and ask yourself, 'Why did I do that, what could I have done better?' This kind of thing works but it can only work if you will allow it to. Why not begin right now?

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Accepted by the one who matters most

"to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"  Ephesians 1:6-7  NKJV

Today, all over the world, people are suffering from some type of hangup from their past. It may have started when they they were young and at school - broken marriages and homes, abuse, parenting problems or a host of other things that have followed them all of their life. You may be one of them.

Try and picture the scene below and see if you identify with any of it:

'I've never been accepted really, all of my life I have been a loner, a person who finds it hard to trust other people. When I was young, I was the underdog, the after-thought. I was rubbish at sports and because I was so much of a loner, I was laughed at, and bullied. I never retaliated, just let them hit and hurt me. Some days, my school books were scattered all over the road in the pouring rain. I tried to talk to my mum and dad about it but they weren't really interested. Mum would say that I needed to stand up to them; dad thought I was useless and said I would never come to anything in life. If I cried, I was a baby. I was unloved at home and my dad often said that I was a mistake, he should have been more careful. So I have grown up not knowing how to love people, in fact, I don't even know what love is. I've always felt that I was a disappointment to everyone. Every time that I have tried to speak with people I have always felt they didn't care or didn't want to be around me, so really, I think I have given up trying. There's no point in anything'  

                                  My evidence collated from a life time experience of social work and church ministry

God's heart breaks  at the thought of this happening to His people and is just one of the reasons that Jesus gave His life on the cross to rescue people from a life time of unhappiness. If you can relate to any of the above I want you to know that, even though you may not feel it, you are accepted by the One who matters most - Jesus Christ. The world may not have recognised you at the time but, Jesus did. He has followed you all of your life and has waited for the opportunity to tell you just how much He loves you. At the time, He was longing for you to call out to Him; He would have rescued you in an instant.You may not know Jesus as your Saviour. Then again, you may have been a Christian for some time. Whatever is the case, Jesus doesn't want you going through life feeling like you do. He is reaching out to you right at this moment. He can be trusted with your heart. He will not let you down - ever.. Why don't you find a quiet place where you can just pour your heart out to Him and then afterwards, say the prayer that follows below. You are loved more than I could ever begin to let you know and you are very special. Reach out to Jesus right now!

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Be careful what you promise God

"When you make a vow or a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools [who thoughtlessly mock Him]. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than you should vow and not pay."  Ecclesiastes 5:4-5  Amplified bible

A vow is a solemn promise made to God to perform or to abstain from performing a certain thing. It is a sacred promise that we often take lightly. Many is the time people will try and bargain with God by pleading for something such as money and in return, they will do something special for God. Sadly, if that prayer is answered, the vow may not be fulfilled because they just go off and forget about it. You've probably heard someone say that if God would bless them with a massive Lottery win, they would do such and such for the church or some other venture. We all do it in a small way, 'Please Lord, give me a parking space, I'll do anything you ask if you do.' God may answer this prayer because He cares about your welfare and knows that the parking space is an urgent request. He doesn't need us to bargain with Him at all. He loves us.

Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:1-11 are a good example of making a vow to God and then not fulfilling their promise. They sold some possession and led Peter and the others, to believe that they were going to donate it all to the church. However, they kept a certain amount back for themselves. Peter questioned them about this and discussed how the proceeds had been there's in the first place but, they had led people to believe that they were giving everything. It was a lie, not only to Peter and the others but more importantly to God. They had told God a bare-faced lie and they were both judged for it there and then; they both fell down dead.

Perhaps, you may feel this is quite extreme, and anyway, it wouldn't happen like that in this day and age. Are you sure about that? God is an awesome God and a great friend but, He will not tolerate people who lie. It is deceit and when we act this way, we cannot be trusted. How would you feel if God did this to you? What if He promised to give you a lovely place to live in and instead of the mansion you were hoping for, it turned out to be a ruined down and out, old shed? It's not nice is it,

We need to choose our words wisely. Proverbs 18:20 says, 'A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of His mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled." Therefore, we need to be careful what comes out of our mouths. We need to think first before we speak; once it is out it is too late. Remember, what you confess you will get, it's down to what you say. Promise other people something and not follow through with it, may bring disappointment. A promise to God, needs a lot of thought before you say it because He will hold you to this. It's far better to say to Him, 'I will try Lord, please help me to do this.' Do you get the point?

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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Jonah Part 4

"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry."   Jonah 4:1  NKJV 

Jonah had problems that he had internalised and, when we fail to vent our feelings, they become like a cancer within us and lead us to being hard-hearted and lacking in love and compassion. This showed in the way he felt about other people, especially the Ninevites, whom he felt should be destroyed. When he couldn't have his own way, he wished death upon himself.

Here we find him having a good old whinge to God v1-3. God listens and asks him if he has any right to feel anger. Jonah decides to ignore this and goes outside to sulk and look over at Nineveh with the hope that God might change His mind and destroy the place. He was feeling very sorry for himself and his lack of love and compassion could not be hidden. He was seething. You may not think this but, people can tell when you are angry. It is in your body language.

God had used Jonah mightily, this could not be disputed and, one would have thought that his evangelistic heart would have been on fire because of the success of his preaching. But, not so, he wanted nothing to do with it all and probably deep down, wished he hadn't accepted God's call. Whereas, God's heart melts when people repent from their sinful life, Jonah was totally opposite, he hated the fact that this wicked people would share in God's kingdom.

Are there people in your life that make you feel this way? They have repented and received God's forgiveness but, you still have a few remarks in your Record of Wrongs book. If there is, God doesn't make mistakes so, as you are going to share heaven with these people, perhaps it is a good idea to change your thinking and find some grace.  If not, Jesus' words can come back at you 'Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged'  (Matt 7:1-2). 

God prepared a plant for Jonah so that he had some shade from the burning sun. There's no record that he thanked God for this, only that he was very pleased. Sadly, overnight, a worm completely destroyed the plant and Jonah turned to his child ego with threats of anger and ending his life again. God gave him both barrels saying that he had pity for the plant that had been killed and yet, he had no compassion on the thousands who would die without repentance. It was almost like God was saying, 'You need to get your values right Jonah.' 

How can we be heartless to sinners when we know where we have come from before we were saved? Without compassion we will never make it. What happened to Jonah is unknown. Perhaps he did eventually turn from his hard-heartedness, perhaps he didn't'. We will find out one day. 

Conclusion

The thing that has come through loud and clear to me is, we need to forgive people, we need to stop judging them and we need to show them the love and peace of God. We may be tempted to point the finger at times but remember, when we do, that finger will point back at us. We need to sow love and compassion wherever we may go.

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, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

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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