A Joy Explosion

"Count it all joy when you fall into various trials"  James 1:2  NKJV

When you are connected to the power source - Jesus, you can walk out in joy which is the strength you need to get through the situation. Under pressure, you get to meet the real you. Impossible? Not at all, if Jesus Christ is within you, nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). 

Believers are to consider their trials with all (not some) joy. Trials are those unpredictable encounters that we fall into. The testing of our faith is designed to reveal the quality of our faith and, to produce stamina in order to overcome the situation. The way the situation or circumstance is handled is another opportunity to bring glory to God. And therefore, we can echo the words of Craig W Hagin who said: 'No matter what, I am still happy because God is on the throne and He has things in control. 

Note that James said, 'When you fall into various trials' not 'if'. Trials will come our way. God wants us joyful - full of His strength, so that we can approach them this way. So, He permits certain trials so that we may grow in maturity, thus being more like Jesus. However, we should never pretend to be happy when we face pain, but have, a positive outlook such as considering it all joy. Why? Because it is another opportunity to let people see Jesus in you.

Let us be honest here though, it is never easy to be this way. We don't rejoice and scream out in ecstasy because another trial has come our way. We would be rather odd to do so. But, we can program ourselves to take God's advice so that we can meet the trial face to face without moaning and groaning because yet again something else has gone wrong. We need (and I'm speaking to myself as well) to be on guard and alert that the devil is out there plotting an attack on us and God may allow this to test how we handle things. It is essential that He does this because: 'If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?' Jeremiah 12:5. The idea is to pass the trial and get on the horse and ride with God.

So condition yourself to have a joy explosion whenever things come your way that are designed to wind you up, tear you down or floor you. Jump on that horse with God and ride the storm

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 Source of the blessing

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation shadow of turning."  James 1:17  NKJV 

You purchase a new bible and you love it. It is covered in beautiful leather, has an index on the edge of the pages and is packed with so much information. You go into church holding the bible in such a way that people may notice it and ask where you got it from. It is just what you have wanted all of your Christian life. The bible may be inlaid with real gold inner pages, have diamonds sewn into the border of each page. People may look at it with envy in their hearts but, the thing is, it is not God. He may be spoken of throughout the pages and the word may speak to you, however, it is only a conduit carrying God's word to you. God is not in this bible, never has been and never will be. The bible is there to instruct, teach and bless the reader. It is a source to Jesus.

It is the same with a preacher. He may have the ability to grab your attention and preach like you have never heard before. You may be mesmerised by his or her knowledge but, they are not God; they are carrying the word from God - the source. They should never be placed on a pedestal. Many have been and many have fallen off in disgrace because they have tried to take the glory from God.

The bible, the preacher and even that very catchy and amazing worship song is only a conduit. The source begins in heaven and reaches you in this way. The bible contains God's word, not God Himself and, no matter how nice a new leather bible looks and smells, it is only a container from the source in heaven - Jesus Himself. Without these things, God still exists and always will do. In fact, a nice leather bible is no better than a battered old paperback version because, it still contains the same - the word of God.

Everything we have and, will have in the future comes from God. He is our source and loves to pour blessing upon us as we walk obediently with Him. Think back on all He has given you since you first believed. Some of you had nothing, now, you are blessed beyond measure. As David says in Psalm 23:5-6 'You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over (Abundance John 10:10) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD, Forever'

God is our source of blessing and excitement; never forget 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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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