Lies

"But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."   Matthew 4:4 ( of 1-11). NKJV

 The devil is a liar; everything that comes out of His mouth is evil and aimed to trip us up, and turn us away from God or become involved in the deepest forms of sin. Here, we see Jesus who has spent 40 days in the desert without food. He would possibly have drunk water in order to keep His vital organs in shape but, by the time the devil came along, He would have been famished.

Satan came along and hit Jesus in His weak spot - hunger. 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.' The devil will always find our weak spots and hit us with them when we are least expecting it. Here he knew Jesus was hungry so fired a temptation at Him. Notice how the devil says, 'If You are the Sion of God' This was an attempt to place doubt in Jesus' mind. Think of the lies Satan spreads around all over the world. Remember, he tricked Eve in the Garden that day and caused the sin of the world to enter into God's peace. (Gen 3). 

Check out how Jesus handled this. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Jesus used a Rhema Word. The Logos word was the message of Scripture but Jesus used it as the spoken word. Let's look at this:

The word used in our text is the Greek word Rhema which is the spoken word. Therefore, Logos is the message (John 1:1) Rhema is the spoken word - the communication of the message. Jesus spoke the Rhema word to Satan '“It is written" and this was too powerful for Satan to do anything other than depart from Him.

This is why it is so important to know the scriptures; we have to be equipped and using this spoken word, together with the Armour of God, we are a source to be reckoned with. We can't give out what is not put in. No deposit - No return. So remember that the devil tells convincing lies; he tempts us and spreads malicious gossip around to try and discredit us. We should always be careful about the lies that we are tempted to speak out. Some people call them 'Little white lies.' There is nothing little about gossip, it is spread around and received by people as the truth. Put an end to it whenever you hear this from someone. They may not like it but, really, you are giving them the word of God. Stamp gossip, lies and temptations out.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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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Daily Benefits

"Blessed be the LORD, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation"           

                                                                        Psalm 68:19. NKJV

In most other bibles, the word ‘benefits’ is replaced with the word ‘burdens’. However if God is carrying our burdens, it just has to be a benefit.

Allow me to ask you a personal question; are you on benefits? This can be a stigma in certain areas, where people may frown on 'the one's who have never worked a day in their life.'  People who say such as this, really haven't looked at the bigger picture. Some people may be so disabled that they just cannot hold down a job properly. Physical disabilities are obvious to anyone who looks at them but, some people have hidden disabilities, such as a mental health disorder or complex and their minds prevent them from working. This is where government benefits help meet their needs. Yes, some may pull flankers here, but, that is not for us to judge them.

When you consider it, as Christians, we all receive benefits and these are daily. In God, we have a Father who takes care of us, every day. At the moment, the government provide benefits to people on long term sickness or out of work. These benefits are means-tested, so that the benefit doesn't get out of hand. The benefit God gives us is not means-tested; what He gives us, we keep and that can be any amount. He's never tight with us. And these are the type of benefits I would prefer to have. God knows my needs and He meets them

You may trust God this way but, it can be difficult at times. Car expence for one can drain us - petrol, diesel, electric charges, road tax, insurance, service and mot. Have you noticed how these can all come at once? This can run alongside of other bills; gas and electric bills expected to rise in a few days. This can all get on top of us if we're not careful. This is where God comes in.

If we trust Jesus, He will not let us down. Have you ever considered giving a tithe to where God is leading you? After all, it is God's money in the first place as, He provided it for you. No one should ever force you to tithe a part of your money - usually about a tenth. The way I look at it, God gives to me and my family, the least I can do is try and help others who are in need. From my experience, I have found that you can never out-give God. The more you give out, the more He gives us back. Over the years God has proved this to us time and again. In the early days of our marriage, with young kids, it was difficult, even though we were both working but, God never let us down and I believe it is because we always gave a tithe no matter how short of cash we were at the time.

I am not writing this to give you a complex or a burden if you don't tithe. That choice is yours. What I do say is, life with God can be throughly exciting when you take Him at His word and give Him your all. This is the time that you see how wonderful He is. God will never let you down.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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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It's the Message, not the Messenger!

"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.  7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase".                                      1 Corinthians 3:5-7    NKJV

In many churches today, people have their own favourite speaker. Some may say, 'I don't like it when he/she preaches, I prefer....? Or they may add to this by saying, 'He or she are boring or too entertaining, we don't come to church to be entertained but to learn God's Word.' Some may take a day off church because of this.

The Corinthian Church was similar and was divided into four factions with four prominent leaders. (1) there were Paul's followers (2) The second group were attracted to Apollos possibly by his eloquent speaking abilities. (3) The third group identified with Cephas (Peter). This group were mainly from a Jewish background. (4) The fourth group identified itself with Christ; this group may on the surface have been seen as 'Godly' but that statement was questionable. One can read Paul's comments about all of this in 1 Cor 1:10-18.

The church must avoid division. This type of thing has split many good churches all over the world. One particular leader feels that they are better than the others and gathers the people away and there is a split. We must avoid this type of thing. One of the problems is that, we can be tempted to have our favourites. This is not God's will. As Paul comments, some plant, others water but it is Jesus who gives the increase. He is the gatherer. However, a divided church is only interested in itself.

People need stability; they want the truth and they also need someone who is reliable. At the end of the day, Jesus is the only one who is reliable but, if a leader is walking closely in the Holy Spirit, he or she can come close.

It is the message that God gives us that is important, not the messenger. No matter who is preaching, if they are giving the Word of God, it will reach the hearts of people. They will respond to this. I heard a beautiful Christian song some years ago 'I seek the giver, not the gift.' It made such an impact on me that I still remember it today. Many times we want to impress God and people with the gift that God has given us. However, we would be far better to seek the giver, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the one that makes things work and holds them together. If we model ourselves on Him, our gifts will run smoothly and make an impact wherever we go.

So, remember it is the Message not the Messenger and we need to seek the giver, not the gift. Write this down in your bible and live it each day of your life.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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 are who you are

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect".   Romans 12:2   NLT

Stop trying to copy other people; you are unique. John Mason says: 'You were born an original, don't die a copy.' There is a need to discover your gift and when you do, if you haven't done already, don't rush ahead of God to put this into action. Wait for His directions because, at this time, you may not be ready. Take Joseph's example in Genesis 37. God had given this 17 year old young man, the gift of dreams and interpretation. However, he wasn't ready to walk in this gift as he found out when he told his brothers and his father, Jacob, about one of his dreams. In his arrogant manner he intimated that he would be the main man and they would have to bow down to him. Not the sort of thing they wanted to hear, especially when they already knew that he was his father's favourite son, and could do no wrong in his eyes. He tried to be a somebody when at that time, he was a nobody. He had a lot to learn and early life for Joseph was hard and he ended up being sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. He had a few years to develop his faith and learn by his mistakes.

God gave Joseph the gift of dreams but, he had to wait for the right time to use this. In a similar way, God has given you something that no-one else has; something no-one else can do. He has made you different. In fact, it is like God threw away the mould when He created you, there is nobody who is the same as you are. And what is more, He is moulding you into shape - transforming you and renewing your mind (Rom 12:2). 

Don't be a copy cat. The world has more than enough of those type of people. Again I say, you are unique; receive this fact and discover who you are and discover your gift/s. When you have, put them into God's hands and watch Him develop your calling.

Bibleref.com writes: 

'Paul tells us to abandon the chase for pleasure, possessions, and status—to stop living like everyone else. Instead, he urges us to be transformed from the inside out. Specifically, he writes that we must be changed in how we think, to have our minds renewed so that we can begin to understand God's will for our lives'. 

So there you have it, you are who you are and when you place yourself into God's hands and ask Him to show you the way and develop you, you will be who He says you are. So be patient and wait for Him to work. Don't worry about your age. Moses was 80 yrs old when God called Him to bring the Israelite's out of Egypt. God knows what He's doing. Just trust Him.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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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What are you building on?

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

                                                   Matthew 7:24-27   NKJV

Jesus told this parable about two men who built a house. One was wise and built his house on rock. The other man, was foolish and built his on the sand: 

(1)  The two men had built a house

(2)  Both these men had heard the words of Jesus

(3)  Both of them encountered a violent storm

They were both familiar with the word of God but one acted in a wise way, the other in a rather foolish manner. Wisdom is the ability to apply spiritual truth to life. Foolishness is the inability and unwillingness to apply this. The wise man had taken notice of God's word and built his house on rock, whereas the foolish man built on sand. Let us remember that, Jesus is the Rock any other decision is sand. The trials of life expose what foundation we have built on.

So, this parable points out the importance of having a relationship with Jesus, and only doing what He directs us to do. It is hard work to do this and we fail many times to get it right but, it is the right way to go. Trying to cut corners and acting without thinking is the way to disaster. It may seem ok to make our own decisions but, we risk the chance of things going wrong and this can be costly.

Proverbs 3:5-6 explains this well: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.'

Probably, most of us know this Proverb off by heart, but, do we take notice of it. This can be a major error in our Christian walk. We know the scriptures and we nod our heads in agreement and straightaway, go off and forget all about the word. Don't let us get too complacent and smug.  We may have been a Christian for many years but that doesn't mean that we know it all. The bible is our route planner, and Jesus our compass, we need them both, all the time. I will say it again 'The trials of life expose what foundation we have built on'.

So let's get this right. Just saying😎

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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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Grace ( Final part )

"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise"                               Jeremiah 17:14   NKJV

Today, let us look at this final part of the Grace of the Lord and examine the Hebrew word Rapha. Grace includes healing and Rapha can be explained as the work of a doctor or physician. Now God fits this criteria as He is quoted as saying 'For I am the LORD who heals you.'  Exodus 15:26. If we back up to the beginning of the verse, we read 'If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians - ' We can see that healing may be conditional on our behaviour towards God. Firstly, God asks us to listen to His Word. Secondly, He asks us to do what is right in His sight. While sin and disobedience are not always the direct cause of sickness, man's fall into sin is the underlying and original cause of all disease. Therefore, there is a need to walk in God's will.

Rapha can be explained as being restored to normal; the way God created you to be. So, if we pray for healing and nothing happens, does this mean that there is sin in our lives? I don't think so. One could say, 'What about all those who are healed and those who aren't. Is there some kind of class distinction going on here? Again, I don't think so. In 1980, I was healed of facial paralysis prior to becoming a Christian, this was almost instantaneously. However, back in 2000, I had to undergo major surgery for bowel problems. I had prayed constantly for healing but, it never came. Why? I don't know; there is no answer to this. Does God just heal people who have behaved themselves? Definitely not, before I was a Christian I was quite wild and yet I was healed. There are numerous Christian people who are still battling with sickness and yet, they receive no release from this and yet many serve God faithfully. This is something that will be explained to us when we meet with Jesus.

So does this mean that we just give up and accept our sickness, absolutely not. We continue to stand and remain open for Jesus to heal us. When I was ill back in 2000, as I mentioned, God didn't heal me of the physical side of things. I still had the ordeal of surgery and changes in my life from thereon. But, He healed me of the emotional damage it had caused me, together with the fear. Now I lead a normal life, I have flashbacks, of course I do. But I am well. God may not heal what we have asked Him to heal. He looks at the bigger picture and knows what is better for you.

Some people, including leading Christian teachers, believe that God doesn't heal today. This is false teaching and built on a total lack of understanding of what the bible tells us. He does heal but, we must remember, He knows what is best for us. After all, we gave Him our life so, we trust Him, yes?

You may be depressed and frustrated at not being able to live like you once did. But, please believe me, Jesus is right there with you. Will He heal you? I think He has if you asked Him but, the healing may have been for your soul - your mind, will and emotions. The rest may follow. One thing I say to you, NEVER, EVER GIVE UP. Keep praying; keep believing and keep on praising Jesus, just like Jeremiah did. He was depressed and worried but he could still praise God. You do the same.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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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Grace (2)

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."    Hebrews 4:14-16   NKJV

Today, let's look at another area of grace - 'Mercy.' The Greek word for Mercy is Eleos which means an outward demonstration of pity and a sympathy that expresses itself in helping a person in need, instead of just walking by. Eleos is often used with the Greek word Charis. A similar idea is expressed by the Hebrew word Chesed often known as Hesed. This means lovingkindness and goodness. This demonstrates the loyal love that God freely showed the Israelites. The ultimate expression of God's mercy is His voluntary offering of His Son, Jesus, for our sins, even though there was a time that we never knew Him or bothered with Him.

Therefore, He now encourages us to approach His Throne of Grace. 

Jesus has passed through the heavens and has first-hand knowledge of life. He knows it can be an endurance at times. He endured it all. He was tempted in every way possible - anything that you can think of and yet, He never fell to the temptation; He never sinned. So therefore, He knows how it all feels; He knows what we have to put up with and the struggles we have from time to time, and He sympathises with us. He knows how difficult it can be. So therefore, in verse 16 He invites us to 'Come' to His Throne of Grace. In fact, if you check out Hebrews 10:22,  the word 'come' means to 'Draw near.' We have His permission to do this. He is the great High Priest. In earlier days, the only person who could enter into the Most Holy of Holies, was the high priest. But, our High Priest, Jesus, tells us to come - to draw near and 'boldly'. The word Boldly means to be fearless; have courage and confidence and this is what Jesus says we should do, come boldly, with courage, confidence and fearlessness to His Throne of Grace.

How does this make you feel? How do you feel about coming boldly to Jesus' throne so that you can obtain the part of grace that offers mercy. He offers you mercy and grace as you go to Him. You may have blown it big time - we all do every now and again. The thing is, Jesus knows all about this. He was tempted to be angry and speak aggressive words. He was tempted to have fantasies about sex. He was tempted to steal, kill, destroy people's lives. He was tempted to gossip, judge, stab people in the back and He was tempted by the devil when He was in the wilderness. And yet, He never sinned. He never fell to the temptation. He used His Father's Words - The Word of God to combat every type of sin and temptation that came His way.

This is why, you can rely on Jesus. This is why you can trust Him because He knows how it feels, He's been there but refused to sin. This is why you have an open door to approach His throne so that He can offer you grace and mercy and bless you.

Do you need to approach the Throne of Grace?

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

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