The Sunflower Technique

"Therefore, we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life."                           Romans 6:4  CSB 

Sunflowers are enormous flowers that can grow to around 10 foot high and always bring a smile to whoever glances at them. The reason for their name is because they follow the sun. As the sun rises in the east, the Sunflower will turn its great head and point it to the east. When the sun sets in the west, the Sunflower will turn in this direction as well. As the Sunflower produces many seeds, these movements scatter their seed in their search for the sun. Thus they are very productive as they grow.

Think about this for a moment. We came to Jesus and many of us were baptised  in His name. This means as we went under the water, we died to self and was buried. As we rose out of the water, we were raised to a new life in Jesus. So, like the Sunflower follows the S-u-n, we as believers, follow the S-o-n. And as we do this, we in turn scatter seed wherever we go. We throw off new seed which results in new life.

Not that there is a lot of sunshine around at the moment, but when we arise to a new morning, we need to train our thoughts to be on Jesus, even if it is a quick, 'Morning Lord'. He appreciates every effort that we make to involve Him in our everyday lives. You may not feel like doing it, rather like you may not feel like praising on occasions. However, as you do, something happens within us, Jesus becomes elated and this, is translated over to you. You may not even notice it but, it is there.

I don't know about you but, I'm not a good 'pray-er.' I'm more of a talker and are often in conversation with Jesus as I'm walking around. I've often been caught out as I turn a corner and I am talking to someone that the other person can't see. It's not so bad these days with mobile phones and headphones. I was so lost in conversation with Him one day that I didn't realise our dog had run after another dog. I shouted him, well actually I didn't, I shouted at the top of my voice, 'JESUS.' Yes, there were a lot of people around at the time and yes, they did look at me rather strangely. I just smiled and moved on. I wanted to tell them that Jesus was the dog's name but, I thought better of it.

Whatever is your style of worship, prayer or general living with Jesus, try and make use of His wonderful presence. He has a great sense of humour and I know that He would have laughed when I called our dog, 'Jesus.' If you have never witnessed His sense of humour, then dig deeper in your relationship with Him. Look at the S-o-n everyday; follow Him, talk to Him and have a good time with Him. Believe me, He can be great fun and He can brighten up any morning!

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 need the power!

"I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13  CSB

You need the power to be able to succeed. Imagine using your mobile for an urgent call and all of a sudden you hear some pips and the power goes. Your battery is dead. The mobile has lost its ability to function at the level it was designed for. Why? Because it has stayed away from its power source for too long. You have forgotten to charge it up.

This is an illustration of what can happen when we stay away from Jesus. We lose our power. Jesus said: 'you can do nothing without Me.'  John 15:5. Jesus Christ is our source, the only One we need to be able to walk in power and vitality. We can't stay away from Him, not reading the bible and expect to be flowing in His anointing. It doesn't work like that.

Believers often wonder why they are flat. It is because they are trying to run on empty. If we don't stay close to the power source then we go nowhere. Imagine trying to drive a car when the petrol gauge is on empty. Pretty soon, if you don't stop to refill the tank, you will stop, probably in the middle of nowhere. Then who is to blame, it's not God that's for sure. In the section below we read what it means to remain in Christ:

 (1) believing that He is the Son of God (2) Receiving Him as your Lord and Saviour (3) Doing what He says (4) Continuing to believe in the Good News (5) Staying close to Him like a branch attached to the vine.  The Life Application Bible, New Living Translation Version

What about you, are you remaining in the vine, or do you feel that you have been removed or pruned. If you have been cut out then obviously, this is the main reason why there appears to be no fruit in your life or, that you can't feel the joy of Jesus around you. Don't worry, put this right today by repenting for leaving Jesus behind in your day to day activities and only thinking about Him on a Sunday. We've all done this. Ask Jesus to forgive you and you will be joined back to Him.

If you have been cut back, or pruned, this is good because you will begin to produce more fruit. However, don't expect this to happen immediately. There will be a time of waiting for the right season. When this has arrived, you will have the ability to sow and reap a harvest.

Just ensure that you are connected to the power source - Jesus. You cannot not do it alone. Your brain may say that you can but, you will soon see that the going is extremely difficult and you will burn yourself out with practically no results. It's far better to do it Jesus' way!

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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How Marvellous! how Wonderfull!

 "And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"   Isaiah 9:6  NKJV

How fortunate we are to have such a friend as Jesus. He is there when we are sleeping and, He there when we are awake. He never leaves us. A few days ago we were talking about Worry and Anxiety - the pros and cons of it all. It is obvious that Jesus does not want us to worry - at all. The chorus line of this great hymn goes:

'How Marvellous! How Wonderful! And my song shall ever be; How Marvellous! 

How Wonderful! Is my Saviour's love for me.'  Copyright C.H. Gabriel

This chorus says it all. He is Marvellous and He is Wonderful, we could never dispute this fact. Think of those sleepless nights that you have had in the past because you have allowed fear to get you into its grip. Your tormented steps as you have taken through those busy days at work or play. At times you may have been climbing the walls because of the worry. This has not helped your anxiety level. Listen, Jesus does not want you like this. It does not portray a Man or Woman of God.

This is why, Jesus reinforced the command that we should not worry. When we disobey, we lose all sense of peace and we are unable to think straight. These are the times when wrong decisions are made; they are the times when we are prone to make mistakes. Verse 2 of this wonderful hymn goes like this: 

'For me it was in the garden

He prayed -"Not My will, but Thine";

He had no tears for His own griefs

But sweat drops of blood for mine'

We need to grasp hold of the fact that Jesus, just cannot get enough of each one of us. He adores us and gave up His life so that, we could be free. Do you really think He would allow bad things to happen to you if you fully trust in Him, by giving Him all of your worries? Why would He tell us not to worry about things? 

'Therefore do not worry saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things, the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all the things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 'Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.'  Mt 6:31-34

So, begin to confess these scriptures, especially Isaiah 9:6. As you confess them in prayer on a regular basis, they will begin to settle into your spirit so that they are in your mind on a regular basis. He is Marvellous! He is Wonderful! And He is yours!

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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Living Sacrifices to God

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 

                                                                        Romans 12:1-2. NKJV

Warren W Wiersbe says: 'If the world controls our thinking we are conformers; if God controls our thinking, we are transformers.' This is so true and runs in parallel with Romans 8:5-8 that we looked at a few days ago. We either walk by the flesh or by the Spirit and the choice is ours. We can become a copy of the world, with its customs and behaviour but, we will only become a cheap imitation. Jesus is no imitation, He is the real deal and wants you this way too.

What we need to do is, allow God to transform our minds so that it is in sync with the Holy Spirit. Obviously, we are then spiritually minded. We can try to do this ourselves but we will struggle from day one. This is why so many of us seem to be flying for God one minute and then, down in the dumps the next. It is the YoYo factor and this rarely gets us anywhere.

We need to surrender to God and this is not easy. As soon as you try, every part of your flesh will rebel in fury. Your flesh wants to carry on doing what it has always been used to; but, when you introduce new ways to get rid of this part of your life and become a new person, the devil goes on full alert. So be ready for this. He is very skilled in trying to persuade you that fleshly behaviour is all right, 'It'll be ok, who is going to know about it, anyway it is only a one-off.' Don't fall for this because, he knows that once you have tried it, you'll want to continue. This is how he catches people out.

Therefore, when we surrender to God, we need to say what Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.' This is the hallmark of total surrender, and it means, (wait for it) studying the Word, memorising it and making it a part of your inner self. It just comes naturally because you have surrendered everything to Jesus. You have become a transformer instead of a conformer. Actually, when you think about it, the first three letters of conformer in 'Con.' So, this says it all. The devil has 'conned' us into thinking that all is well. It isn't but, it will be when you surrender to Him. Are you ready to do this? Then, just tell Him what you need, He will answer 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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Worry and Anxiety

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God - "  Philippians 4:6  NKJV 

We know that we shouldn't do it but, we still do. We worry about this and are anxious about that to the point where we are ready to shout, 'What are we going to do?' We can laugh at this but, God doesn't. He has told us firmly in Matthew 6 that we should not worry and He reaffirms it here. But still we worry.

What is the point of worrying anyway? We have sleepless nights and think about these worries all through the day but, they are still there. If we can do something about them, then go ahead and rectify this. If we can't, there is no point in worrying. Worry is like sitting on an exercise bike with your legs pedalling like crazy. You become tired, out of breath but, you haven't gone anywhere, you are still in the same spot.

The root of our worries is our reluctance to trust in God. We should leave it to Him because there is nothing we can do about it. I remember hearing Ray McCauley preach about this. The church had received a massive bill for something and their funds could not cover this. He said that he refused to worry about it and said to God, 'Lord, this bill is Yours, not mine. You wanted the church to carry out an outreach. Now we can't meet the payment. Lord, I give you this bill because I'm off home and refuse to worry about it.' You may think this was a little course speaking to God like this but, that is what he did and the bill was settled not long after.

Anxiety is a distraction and it disables us and slows down our production. It affects our health and it definitely affects our relationships. Behind closed doors at home, this is the place that we can be 'us' and say it how it is. The thing is, if we have family listening to these complaints, worries and anxieties, it is not very edifying to them. We can be 'us' yes, but we need to ensure that we keep Jesus uppermost in what we say and think.

When we are stressed out by all of this, we can tend to make unwise decisions. Don't do this. Our first point of call is Jesus. He cares and He will help if we get out of the way and let Him. Just remember, being anxious and worried robs us of our joy and when we have lost our strength, then we can easily cave in.

Let us not allow this to happen, Let is bring it to God, the One who knows all the answers. Let us pray for that inner peace to flood through our life. Jesus does not want us to be anxious, worried or fearful. We are a valuable commodity, so let us look up and grab hold of the victory that is available so freely.

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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Where did you come from?

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."  1 Timothy 1:12-14  NKJV 

Paul found mercy and forgiveness even after his intense persecution of the church. Therefore, God surely offers you, I and others salvation. He does this by His grace, which is God's undeserved love, unearned and freely given favour.

So, no matter what we did wrong, if we have repented Jesus has forgiven us and given us a new life 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.'  2 Cor 5:17.

This is amazing news that Jesus counted us faithful, even though we got into all kinds of things. We may have been awful before we met with Jesus but, as we repented, He washed away the sin, the bad bits in our life and declared us His child. That is grace.

Surely this is something to shout about; to sing and praise God. Who else in this world would have been so kind to us, so loving? Many people gave up on us and walked away. Jesus didn't walk away, He walked towards us, this is the difference. Other people were ashamed of our behaviour, Jesus took our shame away. We longed for a new start in life and Jesus met this need when others said, 'No way'. His grace overflowed towards us.

Paul says that he was ignorant of his wrongdoings because of his unbelief. His eyes had not been opened to committing this sin. I agree with this, the things that I was involved in pre-Jesus, I too acted in unbelief. I did at times though, have something within me showing me that it was wrong. And I am sure Paul did too, in fact, all of us.

But now, we have this new life in Jesus. We have a hope for the future. Our insurance stamps have been paid up by Jesus and we can say with confidence that we have a place reserved in heaven when the time comes John 14:1-4. Through Jesus, you and I have a testimony to share with others. It is edifying to share this with fellow Christians but, it is far more worthwhile to share it with unbelievers. Many of them give us the opportunity by asking why we became a Christian. When they do, don't draw back in embarrassment. This may be the only chance they have to find Jesus. It is so important that we take the opportunities. After all, we have Good News to share. Everyone likes good news.

So, have a good day. Spend some time with Jesus and consider with Him what you have just read. And thank and praise 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, 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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What is Jesus like? Part 2

"Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about"  Philippians 4:8  The Living Bible 

With our text from yesterday (1 Cor 13:4-8),  and the text above, we see a picture of Jesus. We ask what He is like, well this is a good reflection of His love and care to us all.

In this piece of scripture, Paul tells us to fix our thoughts upon what is true and right. Well Jesus Himself told us that: 'I am the way, the truth and the life' John 14:6. He only speaks the truth to us and everyone who is near and, what is more, He is the only one that we can truly rely on in this world. Think about that for a moment. Our close friends will let us down no matter how much they tell us they won't. Our spouse, the one that we are in covenant with, will fail us at times. So will our family. We've all been let down at some point throughout our lives but, not by Jesus. Some may say they have but, that's a lie from the devil because He never lets anyone down. 

He is pure and lovely and He helps us to be this way as we walk with Him. The problem comes when we lose our way, going off on our own. However, like a true Shepherd, He will always seek us out. He wants to impart these qualities upon us too, so that we stand out in a crowd, drawing people to us wherever we are. He has changed so many lives throughout our world and, He isn't finished yet. And what's more, He has commissioned you to be part of His workforce - Team Jesus. What a privilege, to be chosen by the King of kings to bring people into His kingdom! 

There is so much evil and sadness in our world. We only have to glance at the news to see how it is escalating. Young children stabbing people, rapes, abuse, wars and people who are living through hell-type situations. Prayer is one of the answers for this because it changes things. We may not see how it does but we should never give up on it. 1 These 5:16 sys that we should pray without ceasing. So don't stop, keep pressing in.

How wonderful Jesus is; how lovely and gracious. It's difficult to explain the pain that people are suffering throughout the world but, know one thing, Jesus is in control, it may not seem like it at times, but never doubt that He is. Just be grateful for that and thankful for what He has given you. What is Jesus like? He is truth, He is Light, He is God; He is your King but He is your friend, the One that saved you, loves you and holds you in His arms when you need this. He will never let you down. Now this is something to praise Him for, isn't it?

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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