Push forward

"I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 

                                                         Philippians 3:13-14  NKJV 

Winston Churchill once said, 'Never, never, never, never, give up.' This was his infamous speech at his old college - Eton, where hundreds of students were gathered to hear what this great man was going to say. Apparently, after he had said these six words, he sat down. At first the place was silent as they all tried to understand what he had just said. And then, it hit them and there was shouting and loud applause as they realised that he was saying, 'Press on and never surrender'. And this was the attitude of Paul too and one in which we need to take on board and own.

It is no good looking at the past; it cannot be changed, so there is no point in doing so. We need to forget what is behind. Someone once said, 'For those who speak behind our backs - don't worry! They're behind you for a reason.' Anon. It is so true. You will never stop the back-biters, but they live in the past, you are called to go forward. 

Reaching forward to what lies ahead - the future, is never easy. There are things that will attempt to hold us back. One of these is yourself, and the other one is Satan. You may become fearful about what lies ahead and choose the easier route of your comfort zone. Don't do this because it will not be comfortable for very long, that's for sure. Satan will also trick you, taunt you and do everything to keep you where you are. This is why, you have to Reach forward'. To reach forward we need to strain at times. A weightlifter will not become a threat in his or her sport, until they begin to work towards heavier weights, no matter what it costs. It's a strain and it will be for you as well. But you need to do it.

Progress will never come without effort. Write that down. To progress in something, it takes hard work, exercise, dedication and commitment. But as you succeed, there is a prize. For you it is to hear those words, 'Well done my dear servant; come into My Kingdom.' As you remain faithful and dedicated, you will hear those words one day. Until then, you know the future but, to get there you have to press on towards it. But the one thing that you must avoid at all times, is the temptation to give up. You may have been tempted to do this of late. Don't, it is a big mistake. Once you give up, the devil has won and has you in his clutches. 'Never, never, never, never, give up.' Push forward.

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 do people see in your conduct?

"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together"              Philippians 1:27  NKJV 

Paul encouraged the believers to be unified as they stood, 'side by side, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.' Sadly, this is not always possible within a church because of conflicts and jealousies of who is doing what and why. Bickering between ourselves will never lead to people wanting to be like us. Instead of seeing Jesus, they will see what they can see anywhere else - unrest. So let's change this and quickly!

A big question that we need to ask ourself is, 'What do people see in me?' By our day to day living, people should see something that they yearn for, and that is love and peace. If we claim to be a follower of Jesus, what do our friends see, especially the ones who are unbelievers. Do they see Jesus or, something different? What about neighbours. If a survey were to take place about what neighbours hear and witness, what would be written down about you and me? Then there are our work colleagues; if we tell them that we are a Christian, can they tell? If, we haven't told them, would they see Jesus in us?

These are pretty strong questions with the ability to go right into our private life, but are we private any longer. If we have asked Jesus into our lives, aren't we bound by the commission that He gave us, to tell the world about Him? Matthew 28:16-20. When we are walking in the Spirit of God, then wherever we may go, Jesus should be evident. We don't have to vocalise this, He should be seen in us by our conduct; how we respond to people and how we react in crisis. The best way to do this is, to model our faith to a watching world, despite the opposition we may come up against. As I have said many times, not everyone reads a bible but, they do notice behaviour and therefore, our conduct should be worthy of the gospel of Christ. It should be seen that we belong to Team Jesus.

You may feel that you are not a very good Christian. This is not true, it is a lie from the evil one. If you belong to Jesus, you have been saved and your sins have been washed away. Yes, you may make many mistakes throughout each day but, you are under construction, a work in progress and also, you are just like other Christians too. We all blow it many times over. The difference is, we don't give up. We are knocked down but, we don't stay down, we get up again, pick up our bibles and get back into the thick of it again. This is the difference between us and an unbeliever.

In other words, we stand firm in the Spirit of God and, we walk in unity with fellow Christians, in one accord and together. And you can do 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

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

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Weapons of warfare

"No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the LORD's servants, and their vindication is from Me. This is the LORD's declaration."  Isaiah 54:17. CSB 

Just what are the weapons that God is referring to here. They are not the type of weapons any of us would use in a battle in the military. They are spiritual weapons that the evil one forms against us to try and stop us from forging forward with the Word of God. We can see these in Ephesians 6. Whether we like it or not, we are at war. The devil will go flat out to prevent us succeeding with our Godly mission. So, he uses the principalities, the powers and rulers of this dark age. He will use the spiritual hosts of wickedness that are in the heavenly places. Yes, he has his servants in heavenly places and he will use some people to attack us and make our lives a misery. They may be Christian people, they may not be, but whatever, he will use them. When this happens, we often blame a particular person for what has happened to us but, the real culprit is the devil, the people are just who he uses; and what's more, these people may not even know about it.

The weapons come in the form of flaming arrows that pierce our hearts. They may also come by arguments and criticism. One of the biggest weapon he uses is to infiltrate our thoughts, planting lies that we believe to be true. The thoughts feel so convincing that, marriages can fall apart, families can be destroyed and churches may even split, because of believing the lie.  This is why we need to be wearing - daily - the armour of God (Eph 6:13-18). It is essential that we wear this for survival purposes, without the armour, we are lost. God has provided this armour so, read about in these verses and don't ever forget it.

The reason Paul insists that we put on the armour of God are, 'For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ' 2 Cor 10:4-6. A stronghold, in simple terms, is something that the devil uses to hold us back from success. In the case of thoughts, if believed, these wrong thoughts can cause immense damage and can only be demolished by the knowledge of God, that is the truth. Remember 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.'  John 8:31-32. The truth of Jesus will demolish any stronghold.

It is the same with thoughts. Ask yourself, do the thoughts bring glory to God? If not, there is a good chance that a lie is brewing somewhere or, something needs checking out. We can't afford to treat things lightly, we're on active service.

Remember, the devil knows your history; he knows all about you - your weak areas and your sin pattern. God's armour is crucial to your survival. We need to stand firm in the victory Jesus won. Therefore, as an exercise, please study Ephesian 6:13-18.

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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The Power of God's Word

"It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."  Isaiah 55:11  NKJV

God's word is seed. Like rain and snow accomplish His purposes by watering the land allowing growth to plants and trees, God's word accomplishes what He sends it out for. This word never fails. His words are never wasted, therefore, neither should ours. When you think about it, the average human being speaks far more words than is needed  - some good and some not so good. The not so good words that are spoken from our mouths are never a blessing and we should attempt to stop these at all costs. 

Think about this, when God speaks - when His words proceed from His mouth, they do not return void (empty, useless or without result). No, His words accomplish what He sent them to do. Do ours?

I mentioned in my blog 'Overwhelming power of the ~Holy Spirit' on 3 April, 'The church today needs this power. Sadly many sermons are preached with very little response. to them'. And this is true. We must not, however, forget that God can speak to a person, who then goes away, and over a few days the Holy Spirit speaks to this person and they may respond. God's word will never return void, it will accomplish what it is sent to do. Sadly though, some sermons are not in the power of the Holy Spirit, they are man-inspired and there is no fruit from this. 

Hebrews 4:12 says 'For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' We can have no secrets, no private life. We belong to Jesus lock, stock and barrel, we made that commitment when we gave Him our lives. Therefore, when we speak or even think things that we shouldn't, He knows. We cannot get away with anything, He sees all and knows all and, this is a good thing because, He is keeping us in good shape for heaven. 

I remember seeing John Wimber in Brighton back in the 90's. The place was packed and when he came on stage, he only said four words, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' The place was in uproar. As he stood there, people were all overcome with the Holy Spirit crying out loud, praising God, speaking in tongues, laying on the floor. You name it, they were doing it. Was this from God? You bet it was and it went on for some time. John Wimber had God's word and he spoke it. The Holy Spirit did the rest.

As you walk in the Spirit, ask God to give you these 'power words,' the type that change people's lives and behaviour. If you ask Him, He will do this. Why? Because He wants as many people to hear about Him as possible.

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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Walk in the flesh or in the Spirit - your choice!

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."  Romans 8:1. NKJV 

Have you ever tried to beat your body into submission? What I mean is, trying to make changes in the way you walk in Jesus. Yes, of course, you can easily make many changes but, the deeply rooted ones are impossible to move unless you involve Jesus. Romans 8:11 tells us, 'But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.' Therefore, when we have given our lives to Jesus, we have been born again, we belong to Him who raised us and our body is dead. Dr Tony Evans rubber stamps this: When you try to be better for God by getting more religious, you are kicking that dead body and trying to get it moving. It won't move.' The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

Dead bodies don't react whatever you do, it is dead. However, Jesus raised our body from death and we walk with Him in the Spirit from thereon, as long as our minds are fixed on Him and Spiritual things. Once we accept that our former life is over, we can begin to make some changes with Jesus' help. When your mind agrees with your spirit then you are spiritually minded. But when your mind agrees with your flesh, you are carnally minded v6. The problem is with our mind; we need to take control of it. So if you are having a problem in your walk with Jesus, check your mind - what do you think about and what do you watch on TV or video? Would you speak the way you do if Jesus was sitting beside you? Well, He is so you need to be careful. If your mind is set on the flesh then you will walk accordingly. If it is set on Jesus, you will walk in the Spirit. We have to choose, we can't have it both ways.

The more you try in your own strength to make changes such as discussed above, you will fail. You may go for so long but, you will not be able to maintain it. This is what Paul was saying in Romans 7 'For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I'm doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness - my sinful capacity]. Romans 7:15 Amplified Bible.

We need to ask Jesus to help us kick the flesh out of our mind, so that we can experience the abundant life God has promised, and He is waiting 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

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

Check it out

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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

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

Check it out

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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

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

Check it out

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