Let your light shine

"Let your light so shine before men that they may may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."     Matthew 5:16   NKJV

The commentary of this verse from bibleref.com says: 'Jesus has described His disciples as first the salt of the earth and then as the light of the world (Matthew 5:13–15). Salt is meant to be salty and becomes worthless if it loses that quality. Light is meant to be seen by those in the darkness. It has no value if covered up and hidden.' 

Note the latter part of this comment, 'It has no value if covered up and hidden.' It is Jesus' desire that we shine for Him wherever we may go, and that is a fair comment. However, it is never easy to carry this out. We come up against many problems that rob us of the desire to shine for Jesus. And once, the light is covered up there's no value.

You may have been frustrated over the time you have been a believer, because the more you try, the harder it becomes. What you want to do, you can end up doing the opposite and your endeavours to let Jesus be seen in you hits the dust again. If this is you, then join our club, we are all like this. We are full of good intentions but there always appears to be something or someone that trips us up. It can be so frustrating that many have thought about giving up their faith 'It's impossible to accomplish, I might as well be like I was; at least I was happy that way.' Were you really happy? Would you like to go back to Egypt - the time before you were saved? See what Hebrews 10 has to say about this:

'For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 37“For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. 38Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” 39But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul'.

We do not draw back; we will never surrender. Jesus Christ is our Saviour and He stopped at nothing to save us but, we need to learn a few things yet. Things take time. You are a work in progress and you may make lots of mistakes but, that doesn't mean you should throw the towel in. It is another lesson to learn.

Let's look at Thomas Edison. He spent ages endeavouring to create the electric light bulb. One quotation says: In response to a question about his mishaps, Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work'. Whether this quotation is correct or not, it demonstrates that Edison had a problem but, refused to give up until he shone. And this is what we need to do. We may not be shining continually just yet but, we will not give up. we have tried ways that do not work but we will get there. Keep running!

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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Beware of False Teaching

"For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, 

4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables."   

                                                                    2 Timothy 4:3-4   NKJV 

Today I want to bring to your notice the term Hyper Grace Teaching. You may have heard of it as it is widely used by several world famous preachers with massive churches:

'The term hyper-grace has been used to describe a new wave of teaching that emphasises the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin. Hyper-grace teachers maintain that all sin, past, present, and future, has already been forgiven, so there is no need for a believer to ever confess it. Hyper-grace teaching says that, when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people. The conclusion of hyper-grace teaching is that we are not bound by Jesus’ teaching, even as we are not under the Law; that believers are not responsible for their sin; and that anyone who disagrees is a pharisaical legalist. In short, hyper-grace teachers “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 1:4) and flirt with antinomianism.

Jesus’ words to the seven churches in the book of Revelation strongly contradict the idea that Christians never need to repent. To the church at Ephesus, Jesus said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:4). Jesus rebukes five of the seven churches and demands repentance from them (Revelation 2:4, 6, 20; 3:3, 15–19). Far from believers being unaccountable for their sin, they must answer to Jesus for their disobedience (see also 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Preachers of hyper-grace doctrine discount the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments as irrelevant to New Testament believers. They even teach that Jesus’ words spoken before His resurrection are part of the Old Covenant and no longer applicable to born-again believers'. 

GotQuestions.org 

Regarding our text, William Barclay makes a comment before hyper Grace teaching had become popular: 'Any teacher, to this day, whose teaching tends to make men think less of of sin is a menace to Christianity and a menace to mankind.'               The Letters to Timothy by William Barclay

Again, the well-known bible teacher RT Kendall also calls this type of preaching Hyper Grace Teaching and writes: 'At the heart of hyper grace teaching is the belief that there is no need to confess your sins - no place of repentance is in order in the Christian life; all sins are already forgiven and washed away by Jesus' blood at the cross'

When you consider the state of our world today, it is not difficult to realise that Satan is at the heart of the pain and heartache. He even twists scripture to read as he wants it to read and if we are not wise and alert, we can easily fall into the trap of this false teaching. I am making no judgement here but purely pointing out the facts. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 cannot say it anymore clearly. The preachers that are bringing this new wave of teaching, are very successful and popular people. They have massive churches but just ask yourself, 'What is this doing to the church today?' I have had a couple of people who I have known for sometime, talking to me about how wonderful this teaching is. They told me- 'There is no need to repent and confess your sins and there is also no need to pray The Lord's Prayer anymore; we're already forgiven.'

Can you see how easy it is for the devil to convince people about this teaching? When you are in conversation with fellow believers, listen carefully to what is said, also listen to what the preacher is saying as well. I say this, not to make you paranoid - far from it. I say it because, as a teacher myself, I feel I have a duty to speak the truth to you.

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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Have you forgiven that person?

"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."                                  Matthew 6:15  NKJV

There are people reading this today who have held a grudge against someone for ages - maybe years. Ask yourself, ''Isn't it about time that I forgave ..............?' When we live our lives

 in such a way, we are holding ourselves back. The person you are holding the grudge against probably doesn't even know what they have done to you and, are getting on with their lives. Alternatively, they may know and don't care but, that is there problem not yours. As long as you forgive them and release them from the grip that they have over you, that is ok. God will deal with them.

When we fail to forgive others, it is forever on our minds and it leads to bitterness because at the time we couldn't change things and, we definitely can't change it today. This person may have left the country. They may have died; if so, it is impossible to let them off the hook, isn't it? No, it's not. If they're not around any longer, you can still say to God that you wholeheartedly forgive them and then leave it with Him. What you are doing is setting yourself free from the pain and bitterness that has been rotting inside of you for possibly years.

Bitterness, is a strong emotion and if you allow it the space, it will fester and cause you lots of problems. You will never be free from it unless, you release it by forgiveness. The only place bitterness can live, is in your memory. The only power it can have over you, is the power that you give it. Did you get that? You have the power and ability to put it to rest by stop feeding it all the time. If you don't, it will rob you of every blessing that God wants to give you. You will continue to wallow in the mud of unforgiveness, sinking further and further until you are swallowed up. What will you say if when you die, you stand before Jesus and He asks you about this - because He will? His word is clear, 'neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' That is a dangerous place to be!

The Lord's Prayer says in v10 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.' The main thing that Jesus did for each of us was, to die in our place and take our sins upon Himself. How then, can we ever keep hold of sin, our's or anyone else's? 

Probably it is time for all of us to look within ourselves and decide whether we need to forgive someone and set them free - even though they may not know of this - and set ourselves free from the burden of it all. It makes sense, don't you think? You will then be doing God's will - His will, will be done on earth.

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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Waiting and hoping

"Wait on the LORD; be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the LORD."  Psalm 27:14   NKJV 

Waiting must be one of the hardest things to do, whether you are a believer or unbeliever. It can seem an eternity to wait for somethings. For the Christian, this is where, many people lose their faith and give up. It can be like climbing up a mountain pass wondering if you will ever make it. Inside, you want to call it a day and give up. However, deep down inside you, there is something that keeps you going, because just around the next corner, you may have achieved your goal.

This is where we have to rely on our faith. James Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China said of Matthew 6:33 :If we can only wait right up to the time, God cannot lie, God cannot forget. He is pledged to supply all our needs.' Hudson Taylor, was a great man of faith. When he went on a mission, he would take with him the small amounts of cash that had been gifted to him and, from thereon he would trust God entirely for all he needed - clothes, food, somewhere to stay etc. He sometimes had to wait a long time for God to give him what he needed but, he never gave up and even though God made him wait to the last moment, he always received from the Lord what he had asked. Was he ever tempted to doubt God's Word? Of course he was, after all, he was human just as we are. The difference was, he knew God would supply; he was convinced and nothing would persuade him differently.

We should never consider giving up when we are sure God has promised us something. The thing is, knowing that you are in God's will. If not, you may wait a long time. We need to always acknowledge God for directions for our life (Prov 3:5-6). He is the one who knows best and it can be foolhardy to just grab a verse out of the bible and claim it as yours. God's Word is true but is it for you? This is a little anecdote you can write in your bible - no expense charged. Yes all of God's Word contains the truth but, we need to be wise. Many have just taken a verse from the bible, sold up everything and gone out on a mission only to find they were wrong and it failed. So check these things out with God first of all. If He doesn't give you an answer, do nothing until He does.

If you know that you are in God's will, then you still need to be wise, taking each step little by little until you have the fuller picture. You may have to wait for this, you may not, it may be quickly delivered. 

What about you? Do you feel God stoking the fire within your belly? If so, take it easy and ask God for confirmation of this. He will show you. Don't ask too many people for their opinion, or you may get overwhelmed by all of the confused comments. Seek someone you trust and ask God to speak through them, to you. Believe me, you will know when it's God because the stoking of the fire will become hotter.

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 will give you victory. Part 2

"Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.   2 Chronicles 20:15  NKJV

Now we begin to see the rewards of prayer. As you remember, Jehoshaphat and his people had committed themselves to prayer and fasting - something that we all find tedious at times. The rewards though, far outweigh the effort that you make. Here in the middle of their prayer, Jahaziel had a Word from God and spoke it out, and what a mighty Word it was too v15. 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s'. God is faithful and He can be relied on to bring help just when it is needed. God also gave them a strategy to gain the victory of the pending battle: 'Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” v16-17. 

We must remember that God's strategies are far more superior to ours. We can go running ahead thinking we have the answer and end up with egg on our face. Here Jehoshaphat could not stand under the power of God, and he bowed before Him and all of Judah did the same, all worshipping God. Thus is where our 3rd key enters the equation:

PRAISE  This stops Satan in his tracks. He can't stand this because he knows that when people fast, pray and then begin to praise, that he is defeated. Jehoshaphat had his anointed strategy and he put it into practice. The Levites stood up in praise and the next morning they prepared to march into battle. Jehoshaphat, totally fired up said, 'Believe in the LORD Your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets and you shall prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying "Praise the LORD, His mercy endures forever.' Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Weir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.'V20-22.

The Valley of Battle became the valley of Blessing, and this is what God will do for you and I when we follow the correct procedures - Fast, Prayer and Praise. There is no need to fight when you put God in charge of your battles. All you need to do is position yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord v17. Incidentally, if you remember the other day we were looking at the definition of the word 'Salvation, and saw that in the Greek it was known as Soteria, which offers us, among many things, rescue and deliverance. And this is the salvation that Jehoshaphat received that day. The spoils of this battle, took 3 days to clear up because there was so much v25. Thus, God took charge of their major problem; gave them the strategy, fought for them, rescued them and then gave them a mighty blessing of the dead people's belongings, which would have amounted to a great sum of money.

God is good, He will not leave you alone as long as you consult with Him, listen clearly to His strategy and then obediently follow His Word. He wants to give you the victory!

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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God will give you victory. Part 1

"And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah".    2 Chronicles 20:3   NKJV

Jehoshaphat was taken by surprise when he heard that a great multitude were coming against them, to crush Jehoshaphat, his army and all of their land, and claim Judah for themselves. Jehoshaphat was understandably afraid but this was because the surprise had showed that he was unprepared and there was very little time to prepare themselves. He may have been fearful of what was about to happen but, the fear did not paralyse him. It was positive fear, yes he was afraid but more than that, he knew God would be able to help them - he feared the Lord. He knew what to do and that was to seek the Lord. Things take us by surprise at times, they come so quickly, without much warning and it is difficult, at the time, to know what to do. This is why we need to be alert for such times; remember the devil prowls around like a roaring lion 1 Peter 5:8. 

After seeking the Lord, Jehoshaphat put into operation, (1) Fasting, (2) Prayer and (3) Praise.

FASTING  He proclaimed a fast on the land of Judah. The people gathered together to ask help from the Lord. Fasting was one of the keys to releasing the deliverance in times of peril, and still is today. This was a proclaimed fast in which the whole nation participated. 

'We must understand, that fasting is not a tool by which we can manipulate God to accomplish something. Fasting is simply an outward indication of an inward sincerity - evidence of the urgency we feel when praying for special needs'. The Spirit Filled Life Bible 

PRAYER  It is important that you notice in verse 3 that, Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the Lord and then encouraged the people to do the same. Whenever we are in a problem, no matter how difficult it may be, we should always stop for a moment to call on God. Remember, without Him we are nothing but, with Him, we are victorious. So Jehoshaphat prayed:

'O LORD God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no-one is able to withstand you?'  Try and read the rest of Jehoshaphat's prayer verse 7 - 11. In verse 12, we read: 'O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.' In other words, 'we are powerless Lord; we're scared of what may happen. We don't know what to do, but You do and, we are counting on You.' We must have prayed similar prayers when we are lying in bed unable to sleep because of worries.

Listen, we serve the one and only true God and He is able to solve any problem, rescue us from any calamity and change whatever situation we find ourselves in. Jehoshaphat had 3 keys to success, Fasting, Praying and Praise. We'll look at the last key tomorrow but, until then, concentrate on the first two keys, fasting and praying. What are you facing at this time? Are you able to say a verse 12 prayer and believe it? Admit it, you don't know what to do at the moment. You may have some ideas but, will they work? It is far better to surrender them to God because He does know what to do.

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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Predestination

"having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will"   Ephesians 1:5   NKJV

Predestination is fuelled with conflict to many people. There appears to be the attitude that God chose whom He wanted in His kingdom, before we were ever born. Therefore, if you wasn't chosen, it doesn't matter what you do, you will not get to heaven. When you think about it, that sounds rather selfish and makes people think, 'Well, if I'm not one of God's chosen, then I'm going to have a ball before I die.' There are people who believe this and could explain why there is so much much anger and hurt in our world today. There are the favourites and the rejects. This is so untrue.

'Predestination does not suggest a fatalism that excludes some while including others, but assures an appointed plan and guaranteed destiny for all the redeemed.' Spirit Filled.

Doctor David Jeremiah comments on this further:

'Predestination means to mark out the boundaries beforehand. In this context it simply means that God the Father chose His people for a purpose and determined that His purpose would be there adoption, as sons and daughters. In giving them all the corresponding rights and privileges - including free and unlimited access to the Father - He has assigned them the same status as Jesus Eph 4:6, Acts 13:48, Rom 8:29, Gal 3:26)'. 

                                                                             The Jeremiah Study Bible, David Jeremiah

Jesus is the one who brought us through those bad times and kept us from losing our mind or even our life. Whether we've got it together or not, we can still go to Him at any time because He chose us, rather like the the Prodigal Son. He has chosen us and called us holy. In other words, God saw our entire lives from beginning to end, and He was still convinced to adopt us into His own family by bringing us Himself, through Jesus Christ.

If you have been affected by someone explaining the wrong version of predestination, either get some prayer or go to Jesus and ask Him to set you free, knowing that He can and will. John 8:31-32. Initially, salvation was only for the Jews but, something wonderful happened when Jesus Came to earth. We are covered with His grace 'And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten' of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14.

Be assured, if Jesus lives in your heart, then you are saved. There is nothing to worry 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