Give Him what you have!

"Jesus said to them, “Fill the water-pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  8And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it".  John 2:7-8  NKJV

Jesus was at a wedding with His mother; the disciples also tagged along. A little way through the ceremony, they ran out of wine and Mary, automatically looked at Jesus because, she knew He could take care of this situation. 'Whatever He says to you, do it!' she told the staff. Jesus told them to fill the large pots of stone with water and serve this to the guests. A miracle happened, the water became wine.

Jesus words to the servants could well have said, 'Give Me what you've got and I'll give you back what you need.' Even though Jesus wasn't ready to reveal His identity yet, He wanted to please His mother and, you know what? He wants to please you too. But there is a strategy. To get out, you must put in. No deposit - No return. If you don't put money in your bank, you will have nothing to fall back on when you need cash.

In the famous Christmas Carol: In the Bleak Mid Winter, we find the words, 'What can I give Him - give my heart.' This is the rule of obedience but, in giving Him your heart, it also means giving Him the rest:

(1) Your life

(2) Your time

(3) Your hobbies

(4) Your family

(5) Your job

(6) Your money

And this is just for starters. Some people are fine with the first 5 on the list but, No 6 is a difficult one to handle. Jesus wants all of what we have. He is not trying to make money out of us. There is none of 'Give Me your money and I'll send you a blessing.' You may hear this on certain preaching channels on TV. But you will not, hear this from God. The reason He wants you to give Him your money is to demonstrate your obedience and reliance upon Him. He can give you more than you could ever need in a second. But He wants your everything, to know that you trust Him.

Most people tithe but many don't but, it is up to you, the individual. Jesus will not bludgeon you to tithe. However, it is spiritually healthy to do so. You can't out give God, the more you give, the more He will pour back to you. He is faithful and there is nothing to be scared about when you give. Don't be under pressure with this; God will show you and you will know if He wants you to bless someone financially or start tithing in your church etc. But, remember the words above: 'Give Me what you've got and I'll give you back what you need.' To put this into action will be the highway to blessing.

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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You're a candidate for a miracle

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success".  

                                                                              Joshua 1:8  NKJV

Many people think prosperity and success is having power, prosperous contacts and a relentless desire to get ahead. But God taught Joshua a better strategy: (1) Be strong and courageous because the days to come will not be easy. Therefore, prepare for this. (2) Obey God's law and 

(3) Constantly read and study the book of instruction - the bible. So to be prosperous and successful, follow God's Word to Joshua. By the world's standards, you may not be successful but in God's eyes, you will be and, He is the one that matters.

Sticking to this strategy is a recipe for success. As Hazel Howard says, 'It doesn't say God will do it for us. It is down to us, we determine our future.' I heard a preacher once say, by doing this, 'You are a candidate for a miracle.' We need to think, meditate and speak the Word, nothing else. Keep the Word in your mouth. 

When you think about it, we can do most things when we have someone behind us. There are times when we have to go somewhere important. Just the thought of it makes us feel uneasy. However, if someone volunteers to go with us, we feel much better and accomplish it well. Whatever we do and wherever we have to go, we have someone who will be there with us, and His name is Jesus. God tells us in v9 'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go'. Note, this is not advice, it is a command. We do well if we live by this.

There is no substitute for obedience, consistency, discipline and perseverance. It is the secret to to prosperity in its entirety. Miracles do happen and often when you least expect them. We have to position ourselves properly. Where God is, there is success therefore, stick close to Him. Allow Him to teach you things that you never knew. He has the answer for that thing you are struggling with so, why struggle, give it to Jesus. Learn more and more about Jesus on a daily basis. He has a lot to offer each one of us and, He is generous, believe me.

So, get into the Word. Forget the newspaper that will just depress you. Grab your bible and get edified with the strength of Jesus Christ.

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

Persistence

"But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?”  

300 years before Nehemiah's time, the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered and the people carried away as captives. The land was re-populated by other captives from the Assyrian

population some of these intermarried with the few Israelites who remained. These were called Samaritans. When the Jewish people eventually returned home, they refused to have anything to do with these unclean people. They were a hated breed.

Now Sanballat, was governor of Samaria and he expected to be governor of the land which contained Jerusalem. But Nehemiah's arrival put paid to that. Nehemiah became governor of Jerusalem and positioned himself to re-build the city wall that the Babylonians had smashed down years ago.

Sanballat brought discouragement and intimidation to Nehemiah's work and taunted him with questions such as recorded above. Check these questions out and match them against what Satan may say to any of us who are doing a work for God. (Possible answers below) They were arrows designed to maim and cause them to stop the work as the wall would only fall down again. However, Nehemiah was having none of it and committed the work to God. Nehemiah and his men 'had a mind to work.' v6. Nothing was going to make them quit.

You may be trying to achieve something for God but are coming against obstacles, therefore. Don't Give up, success begins at the beginning and continues with consistent action. (1) Refuse to accept the devil's lies. You are not feeble, you are able (Phil 4:13). (2) God is the restorer. He has given you the task and He will ensure you are equipped. (3) The devil will try to mock your acts of service. Don't listen to him. (4) You will finish what God has set before you. You will see it happen - just believe. (5) God can turn the rubble of a building site into building blocks for a palace. Again, just believe.

Listen, the devil's plan is to make you feel so useless that you will lose interest and go else where. Stay where you are and get the job done. Speak importunity to yourself; speak faith to yourself, speak persistence to yourself and speak the words, 'I can do this!' Because you can.

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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God's Word Seals the Deal!

“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills
shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”  Isaiah 55:12-13   NKJV

In this piece of scripture, Isaiah describes the wonderful day when the Messiah returns. 'You shall go out with joy and be led with peace.' And we certainly will if we are here to witness this glorious event. If not, we will be safe and sound with Jesus anyway. Isaiah gives a wonderful picture of nature celebrating and praising - imagine the mountains and the hills breaking forth into song and the trees of the field clapping and praising God. We shall be clothed in strength as we join in the Post Exilic Return, Messianic and Eschatological excitement of the world to come. It will be breathtaking to say the least. No wonder he says that we shall go out with joy! 

But that is for the future, which of course, could happen anytime, even now. Until then, it's not over yet. Times may have been difficult of late for many people - the weather and the constant rain and flooding; the economy bringing about financial worries and then to top it all, a change of government and whatever this may bring us. But think, you have made it this far and Jesus will help you get even further if you allow Him to. Let's just look at a few topics here:

Joy To possess this, one must have determination and be proactive. Things do not usually come and land at our feet, we have to get up and grab things and make it ours. For this we need the joy of the Lord which gives us the strength to exist.

Peace  Realise that God is with you in this, whatever it is. He knows the way through and will give you the courage and the willpower to overcome. Peace will yet again flow!

Praise  This breaks down doors and releases chains and barriers that have kept you penned in.

Grab hold of it and start praising Jesus.

Thankfulness  This melts God's heart.

There is another verse that was written prior to this piece off scripture:

'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void,
but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it'.

                                                                                                   Isaiah 55:11

God's Word is backed by faith and full of power. If God has said it, it will happen. If He hasn't said it, it won't. Therefore, listen carefully to what God is telling you. Don't improvise or add to it, just take it as it is because, God's Word seals the deal. Read it again; it is God's Word that comes out of His mouth (not yours) It will accomplish what He pleases (not what pleases you) and it shall prosper in the thing for which He sent it (He sent, not you).

Sorry if this sounds strict but, God's word is strict and He wants it delivering properly. So there you have it. There's a time in the future that will affect us all but, until then, there are things that we need to do. Amen?

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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Soar like the eagle

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles."   Isaiah 40:31  NKJV

In times of great stress, our coping mechanism may fail to work or cooperate with our needs. Minor problems can appear like giant ones and, whatever we do, nothing seems to work. Where our coping skills were once in good working order, they may now have departed and life can take on a major problem. Whatever you do, don't confess that you are at your wits end or, you may receive this. Remember, what we confess we can receive. So be careful what you say.

When life is like this, we need to rise above the worry and anxiety, but how? One way is to look at this scripture in the 40th Chapter of Isaiah and read v29-31:

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,
31But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint".

It is almost as if it is saying:

'I am receiving power to overcome, the Lord is increasing my strength.' If you then read and own the following words, 'Power to the weak' and 'Strength to those who don't have it.' You're on your way to receiving this. Then call out to God that He may affirm it.

You may need to be patient and wait on the Lord but, He will renew your strength. To 'Wait' for the Lord entails confident expectation and active hope. So mount up with wings like eagles, run and don't be weary, walk and not faint. In fact, reach new heights in Jesus.

Check out the eagle - to mount is to ascend. An eagle does not flap, it soars. When trouble comes it waits for the breeze and lifts off with hardly any effort. It will soar graciously. We flap - the eagle soars. There is a big difference. In comparison to the human, the eagle has a lot to teach us. If a predator comes near, it just flies higher - higher sometimes than what any other bird will risk. The eagle avoids the hassle. The eagle can be a dangerous bird, many other birds risk getting torn to pieces by trying to attack it. However, nothing seems to trouble it. There is a great lesson to learn here. We would be far better ignoring some of the things that attempt to trouble us and concentrate on the things that really matter.

Like the eagle, rise above all of your worries, fears and hassles.

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

God will take care of you

“So don't be anxious about tomorrow, God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time."                                                Matthew 6:34  The Living Bible 

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells His disciples not to worry about their life, what they will eat, drink or wear. Many feel this is a command, others feel that it is wise advice. If it is a command, then we are guilty of disobedience if we worry. If it is only advice, then it makes sense to carry it out. On looking through the scriptures, I would say that it is a command because this ties in with Jesus' comments on faith issues e.g. 'Do not be afraid - only believe" Luke 8:50. Throughout the gospels, there is further evidence of this. But just the statement, 'Do not be afraid', is linked to worry and fear. Therefore, let us agree that Jesus commands us not to worry.

Anxiety, fear or dread all relate to worry. You can spend about 90% of your time worrying that something will happen and it rarely does. Probably around 10% of worries happen. This is a small percentage for a lot of worry and sleepless nights. If you belong to Jesus, why do you put yourself through such things? Haven't you enough on your plate without adding to it? It doesn't bring blessing to your day, does it?

Worry robs you of your effectiveness and joy. If you lose your joy, then you lose your strength Nehemiah 8:10. Answer this question, do you really believe that Jesus will take care of things for you? If you don't believe He will do what He says, you will have no peace. Let's look at a few scriptures, 1 Peter 5:7 says 'casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.' Psalm 55:22 'Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you', and Proverbs 16:3 'Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established'. The word 'Commit' means to roll, so this a a brilliant example of rolling your burdens over to the Lord.

Do you acknowledge Jesus as your provider? Your answer has everything to do with your anxiety level. Don't get me wrong Jesus still expects you to work and provide for you family, wherever possible, but He doesn't want you fretting about how you will manage rising energy costs or whatever. Inflation may be rising but, there is no inflation in God's Kingdom, of which you belong.

Rise above this and throw every care on Him and then, leave them there! Live for today

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

This is only the beginning

"Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay side every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  

                                                                             Hebrews 12:1-2   NKJV

I watched a film last night - 'Bonhoeffer - Agent of Grace'. This featured a German pastor during WWII, who lived away from Germany but felt the call to go back there:

'Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential; his 1937 book The Cost of Discipleship is described as a modern classic. Living in America, he felt the call to return to Germany even though it could cost him his life. Those close to him advised him not to return to Germany, but a doctor insisted that he must due to his religious beliefs. Despite the possibility of persecution by the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer did return to Germany and preached of the Jews and against Hitler and his Nazi agenda, causing a great stir.'  Sourced from Wikipedia

It is a great film and pushes home the importance of having Jesus in your life and making a stand for Him. One thing that struck me was Bonhoeffer's words towards the end of the film. An SS officer told Him, 'This is the end'. Bonhoeffer's reply was 'No it is not,' meaning this is only the beginning. 

Things come to an end in this life and it maybe life itself. However, for the Christian, it is only the beginning. We have heaven to look forward to where we will meet Jesus, face to face; and where we will live eternally - no more death or sickness. This also encourages us here on earth that, if a door closes God is sure to open another door. Never be frightened of things coming to an end because, it is only the beginning of something that may be even better to what we have left. Jesus can be trusted; He will never close a door, leaving us out in the cold. No, when He closes a door, He goes with us and takes us personally through the new one. He can be trusted.

So have the attitude that this is not the end, it is only the beginning!

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