Placing Jesus first

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness"  Matthew 6:33. NKJV

I bow my knee before Your throne

I know my life is not my own

I offer up this song of praise

To bring You pleasure Lord

I seek the giver not the gift

My heart's desire is to lift 

You high above all earthly kings

To bring You pleasure Lord

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, Glory to the King

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, Glory to the king

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Bonnie J Deuschle

I Bow My Knee lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing

I first heard this beautiful song back in the early 90's. From the moment I heard it, I liked it and played it in worship sessions fairly regularly. The message says it all. Note the words, 'I seek the giver not the gift'. How often we put the gift first without seeking Jesus first. Without Him, we can and have nothing and yet we are prone to say, 'give us more Lord.' 

Let's be honest, a lot of our prayer life can be made up of seeking God for something instead of just, bowing the knee before His throne. Do we know that our life is not our own anymore, we gave it to Jesus that day and, Jesus received it. All the more why we should come to Him humbly. He is extremely generous, of course He is but, He longs for us to just go to him, with no hidden agenda and rest in His arms a while. He longs for us to bring Him pleasure.

A question: is your heart's desire to lift Jesus up high above earthly kings and anything else? There is no one who is as perfect or as powerful as Jesus Christ. All the more why we sing Hallelujah, glory to our king.

God gave each one of us, loved ones to keep us company, family to make us happy, a home, possibly a career in fact, a host of things. Let us focus on this for a while and then approach the Throne of Grace and seek the giver with no thought of the gift. There is no need to speak if you don't want to, just listen and spend time in His presence, giving you whatever you need.

You will be blessed, that's for sure.

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

What you didn't realise you had

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" 

                                                                           Matthew 13:44  NKJV

There was a man called William Randolph Hearst, who was a great publisher. Reading about a painting, he became greatly interested. He became desperate to own this painting so, he sent people all over the place to try and locate it but alas, they couldn't find it anywhere. A year later, one of Hearst's employees came to him very excited telling him that the painting had been found. Hearst, excited himself, asked where it had been found. His employee told him, 'It was in your basement. You owned it all the time.' Mr Hearst had never read the ledger that had a record of everything he owned. He had not understood the wealth that he already possessed.  Data sourced from a Tony Evans illustration

Many believers live their lives never realising all of the blessing that is available to them in Jesus. Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:20-21:

'Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen' 

Rather like William Randolph Hearst, many of us can't comprehend what Jesus has for us, each and every day. The blessings are within us but, sadly we don't reach out and accept them. Note Paul said, 'according to the power that works within us'. Like the painting that was already in Hearst's possession, the kingdom of heaven is within us and, all we have to do is accept it. How do we do this? By living our life totally sold out to God. This means living in such a way that, whatever comes our way, we know that Jesus is in control and that He so much wants to bless our every day. It also means, putting others first when you don't really feel like it and praying for those that you don't really like. These are sacrifices and when we make sacrifices to God, He responds. We don't have to light fires to sacrifice to God any longer; but living for Him and doing things that you would rather not do for people. It is then, Jesus who lights the fire - the fire of blessing for us.

Therefore, realise today what you have within you, there is no need to go looking anywhere else for blessing, it is right inside of you. You are rich, you are healthy, you are blessed and you are loved. What more do you need?

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

It's that attitude again

"Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity."  

                                                                               Romans 12:2  Philips New Testament

It all comes down to attitude. We've discussed time and again but, we still have a long way to go. The longer we live, the more we will discover that life is 10% of what happens to us and, 90% of how we respond to it. So what does this tell us? Well, it shows me that our reactions are way out of sync to how Jesus wants us to live. Think about a recent event in your life that didn't go the way you expected it to. Perhaps you were doing a job and you expected to finish it at a certain time when all of sudden, something came along to change this and the job took much longer than you had anticipated. It may have been a flat tyre, running out of petrol; whatever it was, it was a pain. How did you react? 

I'll give you and example. I was cutting our front lawn the other day and I went too close to a tree root and it completely bent the blade of my mower. I had nearly finished the job, was hot and bothered and this had to happen. However, I surprised myself, instead of giving the mower a good old slap, I quietly went and got my tool box, turned the mower over and removed the bent blade and with the help of a few tools, straightened the blade in around ten minutes. I was so pleased. On another occasion, I may have given the mower a slap and a good talking to, but this time, I overcome my attitude.

The conclusion to something happening will always be determined by our emotion. It is the attitude we have when we approach a problem that determines this outcome. It is changing the way we think - thinking God's way that brings this about. It begins with us seeing things differently. We can either think our way into victory or defeat, joy or sorrow or life or death. In other words be in control the way God has taught you, don't look at a half glass situation, look at a full glass. It all comes down into changing our focus.

Difficult? You bet it is but achievable? Yes, very much so. It comes down to our choices and then to our determination to carry this out. The world may react violently to situations but, you don't have to. Our text above advises us to not allow the world to squeeze us into its own mould. Instead, submit to God and let Him re-mould your mind - the art of thinking differently. It's almost like a basic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy lesson. We have a SITUATION, an EMOTION and a CONCLUSION. The situation obviously speaks for itself - it is what you are facing. The emotion is how you react to it all and the conclusion is how it all turned out because of this. It is the emotion part that needs some attention - what you feel and think, your reactions etc. The secret is to change this reaction into a positive one so that the conclusion is far better.

It's not easy, things never are but, with God, they are achievable because nothing is impossible with Him. Therefore, start putting into action your re-moulded thoughts towards what you face. 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 

Check it out

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

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to take your medicine

"My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh."  Proverbs 4:20-22   NKJV

Time and time again, we are reminded to read the word daily. The book of Joshua tells us in Ch1 verse 8 to, 'meditate in it day and night,' Why? Because it will make you prosperous and give you good success. The same can be said for Psalm 1:2 where we read, 'But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night.' Bob Gass described this as 'Percolating over the word.

You can always tell someone who reads their bible often because, the bible is well used, in fact it may be battered and torn in places with more of their own words added and highlighting all over every page. It's nice to walk to church with a nice, gleaming leather bible but a bible that is well used carries a mine of information. It is like a treasure chest. I could actually preach by just opening my oldest bible, because over the years I have added key information. And this is helpful for learning and researching.

The Word of God is like medicine to our soul. Being made up of Mind, Will and Emotions, one can easily understand why this is so important. If we are ill, to refrain from taking our medication, can be detrimental to our health. To fail to read our bible, which is our food and medicine, is leaving ourselves unprojected. What we put in our reserve tank helps us to have the necessary ammunition to defend ourselves against the enemy rather like Jesus did in the wilderness when He was faced with the temptations the devil threw at Him.

Do you mark your bible? To highlight a scripture can help us easily find it but better still, can reinforce the impact of the scripture. Also to write short comments in the border can further enhance the meaning. There used to be a saying a few years ago that said: ‘When a bible’s well used, the devil’s not amused.’ There is no spiritual relevance to this at all; it was just a saying. It does though drive home how helpful and important it is to be equipped with the Word of God.

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

Stirring up the nest

"As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings"  Deuteronomy 32:11  NKJV 

The Golden Eagle is an amazing bird, up to 34 inch in length with a wing span of around 7 foot. In flight it is like a mini aircraft as it soars in the sky as if it has all the time in the world. It builds its nest high on a cliff side and usually, the female lays around 3 eggs; 1 brood between February - June.  Its nest is made out of a massive pile of sticks with wool and greenery for warmth. When it is time for the eaglets to leave the nest, the mother does a most strange thing. She starts pulling away parts of the nest and then picks one of her young up and throws it over the side of the nest. The startled eaglet, falls at a great pace. But before it smashes to the ground, the mother swoops down, picks up the babe on her wing and then carries it on its wing, depositing it back in the nest. She will do this several times until the young bird realises it has wings and can fly. When it does, it leaves her and makes its way on a new adventure. The other couple of eaglets have been watching this in terror, but there is more to come. The mother, again pulls away a considerable amount of the nest and the same thing happens with the second eaglet. Eventually it's the terrified remaining eaglet. But this time, the mother pulls the whole nest away and the eaglet falls through. Again the mother swoops down catching it on her wing. But this time, there is no nest so, she flicks her wing and the poor eaglet enters a nose dive again. This is repeated until the eaglet comes to its senses and flies off to freedom.

Imagine if God started pulling your floorboards away in your house. You would get the feeling of terror like the eaglets had. Thankfully, God doesn't do this. However, if He believes that you are ready to train for service, He will do all He can to make this very obvious. You may try to ignore the signs but, He won't give up until you make a decision - Yes or No. He won't bully you into it but, He will give you opportunities to consider. He may call you straight into ministry - it happens and you train on the job. It may not be church-based, He may want you working with people with addictions, with homeless on the streets or some other area. He may give you a secular job but place you as an undercover agent in a hospital, hospice or care home. This happened to me. I came out of main field social work to work in a hospice. They had a strict code of no set religion - it was multi-faith and this could only be applied by a chaplain. However, God wanted different and set me in place to tell people about Jesus, whenever this was appropriate and requested. I had many successes there and it was the highlight of my career before I retired.

God will never force you to give your livelihood up for Him. He will give you the opportunities and if you take them, He will bless this. Therefore, if at this time, you feel like the Lord is pulling pieces of your life apart, consider if He is calling you to serve Him. Over the past 45 years, I have been a soldier, pastor and a social worker. I never thought I would do any of this but, God as a way of leading you into various positions if you are willing. Are you willing? 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

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