You are under construction

 2Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

                                          1 John 3:2-3   CSB

Do you realise that you will be transformed into the likeness of Christ? It's happening now, little by little transformation is beginning to take shape. When 

this transformation is completed; we're not sure when that will be, but one thing is for sure, we will 

be like Jesus. It's a joint effort between us and Jesus; when we're serious about being like Him 

and, begin this process, God will meet us halfway v3.

At this time, we are under construction - a work in progress but, according to Philippians 1:6 we read: 

'I am sure of this, that He who started a good work 

in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.' At the moment, your progress at 

being like Jesus is rather hit and miss. Have you noticed that, one day you can be flying high praising Jesus and then next, it seems like you are lifeless. 

It can seem like you are like a human YoYo, one moment up and the next down. There doesn't appear to be a satisfactory point where you are stable. We are all like this.

But we don't have to stay down. Life events can knock us to the floor, robbing us of all the joy that 

we had. We feel like we're running on empty. This is not the time to give up, not at all. It's the time to look up into Jesus' face who will always say, 'You can do this, Buddy. Just take My hand.' And as we do, we get that second wind.

When Moses was standing at the burning bush, 

God spoke to him and said, 'Do not come closer,' 

He said, 'Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.' Exodus 3:5. In contrast, the Armour of God says, 'and your feet sandalled with readiness for the gospel of peace.' Ephesians 6:15. This is where the Armour is more understandable. Moses was 

wearing grubby old sandals standing on holy ground, so as he removed them, he came into the holy presence of God. Likewise, as you put on the sandals with the readiness for the gospel of peace, you are more capable of standing on holy ground, and because of this, you can make much more progress. 

God wants us holy: '15But as the one who called 

you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.'  1 Peter 1:15-16 CSB. Therefore, don't become frustrated with your efforts to please God. Instead, receive the holiness that He is offering to you. You can do this!

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

Lord Jesus, I have sinned 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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Determination to see Jesus

 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.”  Luke 19:1-10. CSB

Jesus was passing through Jericho, and as usual, the crowds were lining the streets to see Him. Zacchaeus  though, was a very small man so he had to plan ahead. He had a strong determination to see Jesus so, when he heard that He was on His way, he ran ahead and climbed a Sycamore tree. These trees are sturdy with very low limbs making it easy to climb. Having done this, he had a good viewing point.

When Jesus stood below his tree, He stopped and called out to Zacchaeus, asking him to come down because He needed to stay at his house v5. This points to the fact that He may have known this Chief Tax Collector because He spoke to him by name. It worked; much to the onlookers disgust. He quickly climbed down the tree and stood before Jesus. This angered the crowd even more because they wanted to know why Jesus associated Himself with a Tax Collector, a sinner.

Before Jesus could say anything to him, Zacchaeus said he would give half of his possessions to the poor and pay back people he had exploited four times as much. I believe that Zacchaeus had come under conviction standing before Jesus, and had a major sense of guilt. He didn't have to do this; Jesus had said nothing at this point. What Jesus did say after Zacchaeus' comments was, 'Today salvation has come to this house - for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.' v9. 

The Apologetics Study Bible comes to the defence of a twisted version of v10. that is going around. In defence of the following comments 'The Church of Christ, Scientist understands the mission of Jesus to be that of a sage, teaching humans that matter is evil and all sickness is illusory. According to this verse, the mission of Jesus is to seek and save those who are lost.'    

                                      The Apologetics Study Bible, CSB, Luke 19:10  Holman Publishers

The truth is, Zacchaeus was not saved because he promised to do good works. He was saved because he responded by faith to Christ's gracious word to him. Having trusted Jesus, he then gave evidence of his faith by promising to make restitution to those he had wronged. Salvation cannot be purchased. It is a free gift from Jesus as we ask Him to be our Lord and Saviour.

One thing that jumps out of today's scripture is, Zaccaeus' determination and faith. We don't know if he knew Jesus before this event, we can assume he did. If he didn't, he had a strong faith and trust in Jesus to allow Him and His disciples to enter his house. When we have this type of determination to get our lives sorted out, Jesus helps us to do this. It may not be easy as, there are things that we need to cast away because of new life. But it is well worth it

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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There is a hell

"16For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

18 Anyone who believes in Him, is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God."                                            John 3:16-18   CSB

Just lately, I have been thinking about hell and what it signifies for people who will not accept Jesus as their Lord. I also thought that, teaching and preaching of hell is something that is rarely preached within our churches. As I meditated on this, I felt God telling me to write about this subject, something that preachers appear to neglect talking about probably because they don't want to risk upsetting people. As I prepared for this, I felt led to look at Andrew Womacks's web page and was amazed to read that, he too, had felt this from God. He writes:

    'As I prayed about this, the Lord reminded me that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Then He asked me, “When is the last time you taught from Scripture about hell?” I realized I had never taught a whole message on hell. I certainly believe it exists and have mentioned it, but I have never taught on hell'.   Copyright Andrew Womack Ministries

Therefore, I took this as confirmation, so here goes:

Many people don't want to consider that there is a hell. They are happy to just concentrate on Jesus and, ignore the perils of someone going to hell because they rejected Jesus. But there is a hell and fear, prevents people from talking about it. Obviously, it is not a nice subject to talk about and, can stop a conversation at once. They may think, 'It will never happen anyway.'But it will and could be closer than we think. John 3:36 tells us: 'The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.'

So let's get this right, All those who ask Jesus into their life, receive eternal life, not in the future, but it begins whenever they are born again. The one's who reject the Son, receive the wrath of God now and when they die and stand before Jesus, if they have still rejected Him, they will go to hell - because they were condemned when they received the wrath of God. The warning was given to them and the results of their rejecting the Son are now delivered.

Ephesians 4:9-10 says: 'But what does "He ascended" mean except He also descended to the lower parts of the earth. 10 The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens to fill all things.'

When Jesus was crucified, He went down to hell for three days and on resurrection day, He defeated the evil over sin and death and was resurrected into glory. Jesus Christ won the battle and now the devil has to strive and prowl around doing what he can do with limited power. He knows his days are short. One day, when everyone is standing before Jesus on that last day, the devil and his demons, along with hell itself, will be thrown into the lake of fire. Please read this next bit very carefully. All those who do not believe in Jesus will be cast into the lake of fire also. There is a hell; the devil has tricked you into thinking that there isn't. This is because he is a liar and wants you to share his fate. Please take this seriously. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'  John 14:6. CSB

The Father's in heaven; Jesus is in heaven and they want you to be with them also. Accept Jesus today before it is too late. There is a prayer below.

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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Let go

18“Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. 19Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.    Isaiah 43:18-19   CSB

There is a true story about some animal specialists who were in some jungle searching for a 

rare type of monkey. They set up a table and on it placed several, slim-necked metal jars full of delicious nuts and seed. And then they waited, and waited. Eventually some monkey's came along and two of them fitted the profile of what they were searching for. The monkey's jumped onto the table, sniffed at the jars and then, plunged their arms into the jars, grabbing a fistful of this lovely, smelling food. The problem for them, was that because their fist was full of these nuts, they couldn't get their hands back out and, the jars were fastened to the table. They were reluctant to let go of the nuts and therefore, they were caught. They refused to Let go.  

                                                                     (Sourced from some Wild life Magazine)

When we have been hurt and upset by some life event such as marital breakdown, bereavement

bankruptcy, loss of a wonderful job through no fault of your own - it is very difficult to be able to process it and move on. Some people can but not many. When we don't let go, we are trapped in that same old place with the painful memories and struggles. The pain seems enormous and that it will never go away. But it will, but it takes time and determination.

Think of it this way, God is doing a new thing. It takes God and yourself to make this work. God can help remove the pain but if you continue to hang on to it, it won't work. God wants you to do your bit and, this is where it may become difficult for you. It may seem impossible but, God can make it possible and it starts with you, slowly getting to the place where you can release the past and try and pay no attention to it. You'll never be able to forget it; it will forever be a sore spot in your life. However, God has some really good ointment that He can rub on it - The Holy Spirit.

God says 'Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it?' In other words, 'There is life out there' You may not be able to see it now, but you will, it is coming. He wants you to conceive it in your heart, no matter what. When you can do this, you are on the way to being able to leave the past behind and move on. I must say though, during your particular loss, you have some good memories. Therefore, take them with you, they are food for yourself when you need it. The painful ones is what you must leave behind. If not, you will be like those monkeys unable to move because they refuse to Let go.

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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Jesus - my Refuge

"I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvellous works. 2  I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."  

                                                                                       Psalm 9:1-2  NKJV

We should never be half-hearted in our praise towards God; He is never that way with us. He gives us all He has got, and He deserves the same from us - our whole heart. How would we feel if God acted in a half-hearted manner towards us? Let's be honest, some days we can't be bothered to spare more than a few moments - if that, with Him. He gave His whole heart for each one of us on the cross, so surely, He deserves our whole heart.

Here, the Psalmist says it all, 'I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High'. He is so worthy of this. It speaks of being thankful for everything He has done and will do, in the future. In fact, our rejoicing in Him includes boasting about what He has done. People will think we are very strange indeed, doing this but, it is all part of spreading the word about Jesus. We have a personal relationship with Him and that is something to boast about. Other people can have this too, if they ask Him into their lives. Boasting includes speaking about Him, singing about Him and echoing the words of David in Psalm 8:1 'O LORD, our LORD, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.'

Jesus is also our safe place to run to - our place of safety and refuge. Believers are often victimised, persecuted and worse. In troubled times, He provides shelter, protection and relief. Even missionaries out in isolated areas throughout the world, receive this safety pact. Yes, it is true that many have died because of their faith but, they died loving what they were doing for Jesus, and as awful as it is, they are now with Jesus receiving their reward. This is the thing about serving Jesus. He died for us and, at times, we must be prepared to do the same because, we have given Him our lives and no longer live for ourself, but for Jesus:

'I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.'   Galatians 2:20

There is nothing the enemy can do to us; we're with Jesus alive here on the earth or, with Him in heaven - our safe place. We have everything to praise Him for.

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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The Results of Covering Up Sin - Why did the child have to die?

David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then Nathan replied to David, “And the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.14However, because you treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”15Then Nathan went home.   2 Samuel 12:13-14   CSB

There is often critical analysis within Christian circles considering certain scriptures. Some theologians and other Christians may find fault in parts of scripture. And then, a Christian Apologist will give what they consider is the right answer in defence. This is how it has been 

with regards to this particular scripture - it was David's sin. So why did the baby have to pay the price. An excellent account can be found as a footnote in The Apologetics Study Bible, 

published by Holman:

'Why did the son born to Bathsheba die since it was David who committed the sin? Behaviour that ignores the Lord's  purposes and precepts always hurt others, including the "innocent; this is one of sin's most terrifying realities. As an example, an inebriated driver rams his car into a church van full of young people on the way to a conference. David's high-handed and sinful behaviour toward Bathsheba and Uriah led to turmoil and great sadness within his own family, including the death of his newborn son'

According to the law of Moses - adultery and murder were punishable by death. However, because of David's deep repentance, God restored him. When you think about it, because of David's position, he could have overridden any execution charge but, 

we know God is greater and He trusted David. Later, David's servants asked him, “Why have you done this? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.” 22He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’23But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can 

I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”

David knew what he had done. He also knew that whatever he did, he could not bring the child back, but, he would see him again, in heaven. And this is the reality of it all. When someone special dies, the Christian  family, know in their hearts that they will one day see them again. And this is comforting to know this.

This account of David, really brings home the cost 

of sin. Just for a short time of pleasure, David had 

to pay the eternal loss of his child. Ask yourself, is it worth risking all you have for a moment of so-called pleasure? 

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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The Results of Covering Up Sin - Part 1

"In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem."    2 Samuel 11:1  + Chapters 11-12. CSB

Notice the statement 'but David remained in Jerusalem.' This was most odd as, at this time of the year (spring) kings and their armies were out in battle. For whatever reason, he decided to stay at home. One could say that he had noticed 

Bathsheba bathing on the roof and he had a great, lusting interest there. This can be backed up by the fact that he sent for her to come to his place, and had sex with her. This resulted in her being pregnant.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. 28But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. This is something that we all need to be careful of. It is so easy to become seduced. From thereon, there was a whole package of lies and deceitfulness going on in David's life. Bathsheba was pregnant and David tried to get her husband to come off the front line and go home so that he would sleep with his wife. But, Uriah wouldn't do this. He felt that he couldn't do such a thing while his fellow soldiers were out fighting. David tried getting him drunk but this didn't work either. Therefore, David had to take drastic action; he had Uriah placed on the most dangerous part of the front line so that, he would be killed. This worked and the cover up began to grow. First David was guilty of adultery, now it was murder too. Both 

of these, under the law of Moses were punishable 

by death.

We can try as much as we want to but, we can never fool God. Everything we say, do and look at is recorded in heaven. Jesus hears and sees everything. But still, we try, at times to cover up the process. It can never work. David's plan, had finally worked - he thought. But God was displeased with what he had done and sent Nathan, who was one of His respected prophets. 

David and Nathan spoke and Nathan told David a parable which he found infuriating and full of unfairness and pain. (12:1-4). David felt the man should die for what he had done. Nathan then used words that pierced David's heart, ''You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul. 8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. 9Why then have you despised the Lord’s command by doing what I considerA evil? You struck down Uriahb the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife — you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword. 10Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hethite to be your own wife.’  2 Samuel 12:7-10

Nathan, went on to let David know that because of this, David would be spared but the child, born in sin, would die, which mortified David but he recognised that it was by his own doing that this would happen. 

We should always be aware of the results of sin. People have lost everything because of it. And notice how the sin escalates into deceit and lies. This action should never be how a son or daughter of the King of kings should live. We are to be holy and honourable as is befitting our role as Children of the King.

Tomorrow, we will look at part two and also ask, Why did the child have to die? Don't miss it!

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