If God says it - do it!

"And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him." Genesis 7:5  NKJV 

It was a tall order for Noah to accept - build an ark in the middle of dry land, filling it with a certain number of animals, humans and creepy crawlies. This was God's command to Noah and there is no mention that Noah challenged this before God. Scripture just tells us that he did all that the LORD commanded him. 

It is difficult to imagine how we would feel if God were to tell one of us to do something as bizarre as this. Wouldn't you question it? Wouldn't you feel that you may have got it wrong? One thing is for sure, Noah must have had a rock solid relationship with God, one in which he knew for certain that it was God talking to him.

Noah began the work and you can just imagine the comments he would have received from neighbours, friends and anyone passing. 'He's building a boat in the middle of nowhere, it's massive and he said there is to be a great flood coming. It hasn't rained for donkey's years and there is no water around. He must be going crazy.' You can just imagine what people said to him and about him when they went home. Nevertheless, Noah was adamant, if God had said it, that settled it, he was going to do it.'

It is said that it took many years to build this project but, we don't really know. For certain, it would have been a very long time. We must remember, Noah would not have had the tools that the modern world has - no power, lathe or similar tools. There was also no B&Q around so he was on his own. But amongst all of the flak he received, the sweat and hard work, he finally completed the task and he carried out God's orders of filling it. Then the rain came and boy, did it rain. It flooded the whole world and everything that was not in the boat, was lost.

We know for sure that Noah was a courageous man, a firm favourite in God's eyes, one that He could rely on. Where does that leave us? How do you react when God tells you to do something for Him? What about if He asked you to go to some far away, war torn country to help the people there have the opportunity of Jesus? I know that many would accept this command. However, many others would struggle with it. At times like this, we do need to count the cost but, then again, what about the early disciples - trawler men, they didn't hesitate; they followed Him. Yes some of them may have kept their jobs going for a short time but, they still followed Jesus when He told them to, so their businesses would have suffered, hence their livelihood.

'And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.' Could this be you saying the same thing? There is lots to debate in a predicament such as this. But uppermost, we must remember that Jesus didn't hold back when His Father told Him to die on the cross for our salvation. He just did it without debate. Maybe this is something that we need to think about.

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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Stick to the rules

"But you must continue in the things that you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them."  2 Timothy 3:14. NKJV

When my kids were young, whatever we bought them in way of toys, I obviously helped them put the thing together. This may have been a bike, a game such as Mouse Trap, Lego, you name it. I flatly refused to look at the rules (instructions), that was for wimps I thought. I didn't need them because, I was pretty cool at sorting things out like this. Many is the time when, several hours later, I would still be trying to work it all out and I would blame the makers for not giving us enough tools. My young son, much to my dismay, was usually the one to pick up the instructions, get it sorted in his head and finish the job in no time at all.

Sadly, I am still a little like this. If we have bought flat packs for the house or some other technical item, I am usually the one who takes the lead - again without the rules. This infuriates my wife who will take the rules from the pack and give me instructions which usually, I tend not to follow until, that is, I reach a dead end. It's a 'Man thing' I think and one in which I really must avoid. Many is the time when I have fitted the door of a cupboard on the back instead of the front. This is when, my wife takes over the instructions and I have to obey, at peril. You may not be like this, but for most of the men, you shouldn't tell lies, you'll only have to repent.

Let us not forget that scripture tells us: 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."  Proverbs 3:5-6. You may think that this does not concern building toys or putting up cupboards, but, it does. We belong to Jesus and He wants us to depend on this. The scripture tells us to 'seek His will in all we do, and He will then show you which path to take'. It is not splitting hairs, we either believe in God for all things or we don't. Jesus is interested in all we do and doesn't want us becoming frustrated with things. Don't forget, He was a carpenter, who better to seek help with cupboard building and DIY than Him?

I know God is saying to me, 'Yes, Grahame, read the instructions and seek My help from now on.' Ok, I surrender to this but, I feel that I am not the only one who needs to take notice of this. Ask yourself, 'If DIY and putting things together is not my thing, wouldn't it be better to seek God's help?' You know it would and it will help avoid souring the air with your spouse. Get it right and follow the instructions 

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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A Butterfly Child

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away and see, the new has come."  2 Corinthians 5:17   CSB 

A butterfly starts life as an ugly, wrinkly, slimy caterpillar. Some may like them, some may not. However, as nature progresses, the caterpillar creates a cocoon like effect and gradually evolves into a butterfly. At this stage, the butterfly is still in the cocoon and needs to break out. As it does so, its wings become stronger because of this process, and this gives the butterfly the power to fly. If it didn't try to break out or, if a person slit the cocoon in half to reveal the butterfly, it would not be able to fly. It needs the strength of breaking out to give power to its wings.

In the similar way, God has given us strength and brought us out of our cocoon or shell and daily gives us the strength to begin life has a new creation. If you like, we are like a 'Butterfly Child' as we go flitting from here to there. We are beautiful in God's eyes because, He is beautiful and, as we become more like Jesus, we become breathtakingly attractive to a lost soul. What they see in us, when we live in such a way, is an image of Jesus and some begin to want this themselves.

A butterfly flits from bush to plant and very rarely remains in one position for too long. Now, this is like being an evangelist; they go from town to town, church to church, never staying in the one place. If you are called to be an evangelist then, this will be life for you. However, if you are called initially to be a pew-filler then this is your bag at this time. You need to be trained before you go out to do great things. One can't run before they walk. There is a process for all of us to work through. When you are ready, God will show you what He has in store for you. But you won't discover this by flitting from one church to the other trying to find better things. You need maturity and stability initially.

When we see a butterfly in all its glory, most of us are captivated by it, especially if you are a keen photographer or artist, and as I mentioned earlier, a lot of people are drawn to it. When you live as a spiritual butterfly it is very similar. People just want to know you and, even though they may not know why. It just happens. Sadly others may despise you.

If you look at yourself as a caterpillar - wrinkly, ugly and of no use to anyone, you need to change this and the best way is to stay close to Jesus. Allow Him to build you up; to encourage you and ignite your self-worth. I tell you now, if you feel this way, you are believing the lies of the devil. You may not believe it but, you are a butterfly in the making. You just need to believe this, accept it and decide that you are going to begin to live in such a way.

You are a beautiful butterfly created and, Jesus wants to bring you out into the world full of strength. 

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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Don't allow anger to take hold of you

"Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don't give the devil an opportunity."  Ephesians 4:26-27  CSB

'A man said, "My wife and I promised that we would never go to bed angry. We haven't slept together in seven years."  Dr Tony Evans

You may laugh at this but there is an element of truth here; we should never go to bed angry. Many married couples do. They have an argument and stop talking to each other; they get into bed still not talking. After a short while, one of them may have calmed down and place their toe on the spouse's foot. No response. They may prod their spouse gently in the back, again, no response. One is ready to apologise, the other isn't, and so they eventually go to sleep still not talking. The next day, they wake up - still not talking and, if they don't sort this out, it will carry on through the day. 

What is happening here? If this has happened to you and your spouse, you have given the devil an opportunity to pull you apart v27. Satan will grab hold of anything that will bring disunity to people. He prowls around ready for action (1 Peter 5:7) and as soon as he has the opportunity, he strikes. 

I often say, 'If you allow the devil into the back seat of your car, pretty soon he is going to want to drive' (KCM). As I've said, he will take every opportunity. You may say, 'I didn't give him any opportunity.' Oh yes you did, as soon as you took your anger to bed and ended the day without speaking to each other, the devil got out of the back seat and started to drive. The truth of the matter is, you shouldn't have allowed to let the devil get into the back seat in the first place; you shouldn't have given him permission to come and ransack your marriage. Learn the lesson.

Becoming angry is something that we are all capable of doing. The things around us can cause frustration and, if you have a short fuse, you may fall into the trap. Recognise it for what it is. We all know the warning signs; we may find some people intolerable and they have the ability to wind us up. Let them be; God loves them even if you don't. Count to ten instead. Remember, once you become angry, unless you are careful, you can become out of control. Foul words can be spoken - words that carry a poison dart. Once they are fired you can't take them back and the damage is done. Just be daddy cool and be in control of yourself. It makes sense. 

Have a great day!

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

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

 

Addiction

"You are truly My disciples if you keep obeying My teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."   John 6:31-32. NLT

The spiritual forces that sway our life are rooted in either truth or deceit. Truth leads to freedom where deceit leads to bondage and death. Denial to the fact that we have an addiction problem, keeps us in slavery to this addiction and it is difficult to see that there is any other hope of life. Belief in Jesus can help us to break free from this captivity and give us the freedom to kick out the lie that is keeping us chained.

Many Christians are prisoners of spiritual warfare. The enemy chains them to this addiction and convinces them that there is no escape. There is, and His name is Jesus. The devil has convinced people to own the label 'Addict.' This may be to drugs, sex, pornography, alcohol dependency, gambling, food or whatever else. They feel trapped with no way out. But, God can make a way where there seems to be no way!

Jesus is the truth that sets people free (John 8:36). Jesus gives the person who is in captivity, the ability to break loose from their addiction. Take a look at our text today; Jesus said, 'if you keep obeying My teachings'.  We  need to believe and accept this word. It couldn't be any plainer than this, could it? However, it is not easy to put this into practice. Anyone who has ever tried to stop smoking knows how difficult this is. Many stop for a week or two, but the craving gets too much for them and they think, 'I'll just have one cigarette - that's all.' It doesn't work like that. it is all or nothing. If one keeps going back to the addiction they are still hooked.

I've worked with people who have a drug dependency and many of them have yearned to be free but failed miserably. Only one act can free a person and that is a commitment to Jesus. If a person KEEPS obeying His teachings, they will be set free. It is the truth because, Jesus never lies, it's the devil who does that. He will convince a person that there is no hope that they can ever be free. This is forever. No, no, no. Only Jesus' Word are forever. The devil is temporary and his days are limited. Because of this, he wants to take as many people with him as he can. Don't be one of them

You can be free from the torment of addiction. We probably all have certain things that we know we shouldn't do, but we still do so. Is this an addiction? If you can't live without it, yes it is. Your addiction may be small in comparison but, it is still holding you in captivity. Therefore, pray for those who are - in their minds - hopelessly trapped and while you're doing this, bring your addiction to Jesus as well - repent and receive His forgiveness and be set free. Don't be subjected to chains any longer!

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 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

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

Check it out

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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 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2