Your table is prepared

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil"                                           Psalm 23:6

To get the full picture of this piece of scripture, it may be a good idea to read the whole Psalm.

This Psalm demonstrates King David's total trust in God. Pastoral in content, reflecting a peaceful confidence in his Father. Written in two metaphors, it describes Jesus as the Shepherd v1-4 and God as the host v5-6.

When we put our trust in God, He will do everything possible to provide, protect and bless us through the darkest of our days. It's good to know that He never leaves us, He is always there v4. As we walk through our dark days with Him, we arrive safely at the other side (1) either a Godly solution to the problem we are in or (2) our arrival in heaven when our life is over. In both cases, we win. At the end of whatever journey we take, God provides a table, which illustrates abundance, satisfaction and everlasting love. No enemy can ever take this away from us.

Whatever we are going through, we should never give up. I know it may sound easier said than done. But at times like this, we have to exercise our faith and remember scriptures such as Philippians 4:13 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Please note the highlight here. Without Jesus we go nowhere successfully. Don't listen to the devil's lies. Until you reach this holy table, keep walking on. It is there that you will find God's rewards.

Bob Gass said, 'God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be wonderful.' And this is true. Of the two kinds of oil God uses for anointing - the Priestly anointing oil and the Oriental perfumed oil, this oil in Psalm 23 is the latter. This act shows favour and excellent hospitality. God's provision never runs dry. This is why David could write, 'My cup runs over.' When God gives, He gives wholeheartedly. He never cheats on the cheese; He gives abundantly. Probably you have witnessed this in your own life or, you're still waiting. Get ready for when it comes, it will be amazing.

Just think, when you're at God's table - metaphorically speaking, no enemy can touch you, they can only watch and gloat. This is why, in Jesus, we are winners. Remember, Paul said that 'we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us' (Rom 8:37). 

So rest in God's word for today. You are special

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

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The Breath of God

"And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit"                                    John 20:22   NKJV

The disciples had locked themselves in the upper room because of fear that, they too, would be arrested and dealt with the same as Jesus; when all of a sudden, Jesus turned up. Closed doors were not a barrier to Him. He gave them His peace and then told them that He was about to send them out. Therefore, they needed the Holy Spirit.

Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit. Perhaps John, in the writing of this gospel, was remembering the creation outlined in Genesis 2:7: 'And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.'

And then of course in Ezekiel 37:9-10 and the example of The Valley of Dry Bones God said

'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, say to the breath, "Thus say the LORD God, 'Come from the four winds, O breath and breathe on these slain, that they may live.' 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

The wakening of life from the dead; in fact, it would be more apt to say 'Awakening. Some scholars and believers, feel that Jesus was anticipating Pentecost and the dynamite power that would hit the whole city. Others believe in the immediate sense, where they would receive the Holy Spirit right there and then. The Old Testament creation began with the breath of God. Now the New Testament creation begins with the breath of God the Son.

It is more likely that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on them in preparation to what they and others would receive at Pentecost (Acts 2). Dunamis power would descend on them at Pentecost and, this would have a powerful impact rather like dynamite, where the whole city would be turned upside down. However, we cannot deny that Jesus was giving them a lot of responsibility and they would need the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in order to carry this out proficiently. And this would be prior to Pentecost.

Whatever was really happening that day when Jesus appeared to His disciples, on top of their grieving for Jesus following His death, they were now faced with the fact that He had said, He would rise again, and it had happened. And they were truly overwhelmed and probably mixed up about it all. With the days that were leading up to Pentecost, they had to cope with their feelings about this, and then the fact that Jesus would ascend to heaven very soon and, all of this was going to happen before Pentecost.

This brings to our attention that, whatever you may be facing at this time, Jesus is around you; the Holy Spirit is in you and giving you the power to be able to approach whatever mountain or hurdle that may be in your way. With Jesus, you are a winner, a victorious person of God. Never forget this wonderful news.

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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Use your prayer language

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit."                          Jude 20   NKJV 

Do you use your prayer language? This means, praying in your own language as prompted by the Spirit. This may be with groaning which cannot be uttered (Rom 8:26) as directed by the Holy Spirit. It may also be praying in tongues, unknown or known to the pray-er. Think about it for a moment. The devil hasn't a clue what we're praying and this can catch him by surprise. We pray by faith in the Spirit. and thus, we build ourselves up. 

Praying in the Spirit is (1) for personal edification and (2) for public exhortation. Speaking in tongues is an indication of the Holy Spirit's presence within the person. For personal edification, speaking in tongues brings us closer to God and seals us with Jesus. As said, it is a personal time with Jesus and can be a time of incredible blessing, especially when there is no-one around. Speaking in tongues edifies the person using this language. Whereas, speaking in tongues in public worship only edifies believers when it is interpreted, so, the worshipper is to pray for the interpretation but, if it is withheld, the person should keep silent unless there is someone who functions in the gift of interpretation who is present (1 Cor 14.5, 28).

Regarding the (1) Personal Edification. Some people spend a lot of time on their own speaking to God in their prayer language (tongues). Some people frown on the use of tongues and it has been a major conflict in churches where there is no freedom in the Spirit. However, one cannot get away from the fact of what it says in the bible. It is part of our worship both personal and publicly. Although, the latter is not used very often in some churches. Whether this is embarrassment or a church rule, one has to decide.

None of this is a problem. If you don't speak in tongues yourself, ask God for this gift. Once you receive it, you may feel that you are speaking Gobbledygook, but don't worry, keep practicing and don't be put off. There is power in speaking in tongues, especially when you consider that Satan hasn't a clue what you are saying. This is why he will try to block you by saying it is not of God and all other accusatory terms that he can throw at you. Take no notice and do it. You will be personally edified and blessed. Make it an everyday occurrence.

The Holy Spirit will never lead you astray. His purpose is always to point you to Jesus. See what it says in John 16:13:

"However, when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

Therefore, get close to Him, trust Him and realise that He is 100% committed to you and to Jesus. Remember the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three separate persons in one = the Trinity'

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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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

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

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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

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

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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 

Check it out

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 

Check it out