The Happy's Part 7

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "  Matthew 5:9. NKJV

THE HELPERS   Dr David Jeremiah says: 'The word translated "Peacemakers," comes from a verb meaning to 'join together.' It pictures two opposing forces that are now being reconciled (Mt 5:44-45). Peacemakers experience joy and excitement as they help others reconcile with God and one another.'

The peacemaker is a mediator who resolves conflicts between estranged parties. Identifying the truth and addressing the sin, and then constructing a bridge between those who are at odds with one another. It's a difficult ministry as I found out both in my social work career and pastoring a church. However, it is one in which we will be called sons of God because we resemble our Father - our Daddy.

When you are around people who are at loggerheads with each other, do you make a quick getaway to let them get on with it, or do you listen and attempt to bring peace into their situation? 

This will show you whether or not you are a peacemaker or not. Don't worry if you are of the former and make a quick getaway. We are not all called to have the same gifts and ministry. If we were, we would either have too many plumbers and not enough electricians, or we would have a painter and decorator working as a car mechanic. It wouldn't work very well.

So, if you feel that you fit into the mould of the peacemaker, tell God this. He already knows but, He likes you to acknowledge things. Don't be frightened to put yourself forward; if you don't fit the bill, Jesus will soon tell you and lead you into your own ministry. 

The world needs peacemakers; just look at the state of the world at this time. It is chaos because each leader wants to do things their way and won't negotiate. We could be on the brink of WW3 if they don't find a peacemaker to speak wisdom to them. Obviously, this may not be you, but, the world around you needs a peacemaker. Therefore talk to God and seek His wishes for you life. You could be of so much help!

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 Happy's. Part 6

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."   Matthew 5:8   NKJV

THE HOLY   These people have extremely good motives, holy thoughts and a clear conscience. In Christian circles. They are highly thought of because of the lives that they live- with holiness and joy. The Greek word for Pure is cathartic. A cathartic moment cleanses the soul.

Jesus focused much more on the hearts of His listeners, instead of their ability to maintain the rituals of the law. He preached against obeying the law in action only, rather than out of true love for God. In other words, He wanted us all to have heart knowledge and not just head knowledge. 

Senior Pastor Tony Evans comments on this: 

'Purity of heart involves being authentic before God, so come clean with Him about the good, the bad and the ugly, and you'll see Him operating powerfully in your life,'

                                                      (The Tony Evans Study Bible, Matthew 5:8 p1099 footnote)

Tony Evans mentions being authentic and he is spot on with this. However, I believe we need to go one step further and be, transparent, Being transparent, means that people wherever we go will be able to see our heart - where we are coming from and what's on our mind. Jesus has already adopted this for each of us; He can see the 'real us'. 

This is essential if we want to live our lives in purity and holiness. May I offer a challenge to us all?? When we speak to other Christians, whether it be via the pulpit, home group or whatever; we are on our best behaviour, right? We want to do this right so act accordingly. However, what is really happening in your heart at the time you are delivering this to people? If you were transparent, they would see this but, we can choose to hide this away. Now, this is where the challenge kicks in, Prior to you delivering this message, preaching, teaching etc, you may have had an upset with your partner, a family quarrel or an altercation with another motorist. Therefore, you are not at your best, so what you are about to say, may be of an hypocritical manner.  So, why not share this with whoever you are about to speak to. There is nothing wrong with being honest, and let's face it, it happens to us all. There may be others there, who through your testimony receive freedom as they share theirs too. This is called being transparent. As you share this with the people, they may pray for you and then, you will deliver something that could never have come from you earlier. Your purity will flow from your heart into theirs.

Think about 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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The Happy's Part 5

"7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."   Matthew 5:7   NKJV

THE HELPERS   For Christians, mercy is a Spirit-led ability to offer, practical, compassionate and cheerful love towards those who are down on their luck at the time. The merciful (helpers) will obtain and find happiness and reward in being full of mercy towards others.

When you think of it, one only has to glance around the city, town or neighbourhood where you live, and you will find people who need help or someone to just listen to them without judgement. They require mercy but, for some, they have been forgotten in the system and are just a number or name on housing registers and social care. They may be in the system, but, they may be at the bottom of the list. It is rather similar to the man healed at the pool of Bethesda. The water was thought to contain medicinal contents and when  the water was stirred up by an angel, the first in the pool would receive healing. This man had no chance; because of his disability, people always beat him to it. Jesus, who in this scripture, can be classed as the helper. He healed him there and them  John 5:1-15. 

Just around us, there are people who have been disabled from birth; from an accident or even a veteran hurt in battle. There are disabled people who suffer from a bowel complaint and may have a stoma. Again, there may be the people who are suffering a marital breakdown or, are bereaved. There also those who suffer PTSD or are depressed. People need help.

My last comment is difficult because, a lot of people won't accept help; they class it as charity so, we must respect this. But there are many others who will accept help. During our time of running a Day Centre for Homeless People or anyone who needed a friendly ear, new clothes and food, we discovered that there are a lot of hurting people about and, they are not all homeless or drug or alcohol addicted. We just need to look around and be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They may not thank you for the help you give them; they may even rip you off but, God is pleased when you offer to give yourself as a helper to them.

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 Happy's. Part 4

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."

                                                                                     Matthew 5:6   NKJV

The Hungry  These are the people who seek justice and holiness, and most importantly, God in whose presence 'is fullness and joy' Psalm 16:11. Justice, is the quality of being fair in the interest of justice. This requires that every person be treated according to the same standards and with the same respect, regardless of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender or of any other social category. God desires equality and this includes not pointing judging fingers against someone whose sexual preference is different to our own. God loves the trans and gay people of our society; however, it is the act of homosexuality, He finds an abomination (Lev 18:22; 20:13). It most certainly does not mean that we disown them; we welcome them as a friend, if need be, but do not become involved with their way of life. Anyway, how will they get to know Jesus if we avoid gay people. Jesus spent time with all kinds of people. 

Regarding Righteousness, bible ref.com provides and interesting piece of this verse:

'Commentators point to two possible meanings for "righteousness" as used in this verse. First, Jesus could be talking about people who are eager to be declared righteous by God. They want to be made righteous, themselves, and to conform to the will of God. In that way, they are sincerely seeking to be saved. Those who come to trust in Jesus for their forgiveness from sin will receive exactly that from God (Romans 5:17). They will be saved. 

Another view is that Jesus has in mind those who are hungry to see righteousness "win." They long for justice to prevail. They want what is right to overcome what is wrong and evil in the world. These people, too, will be satisfied, because the kingdom of heaven will bring an end to all unrighteousness. Their appetite for righteousness will be completely satisfied.'

At the end of the day, all of us have something about us that Jesus would prefer we didn't have. None of us are perfect, so stop trying to be because you'll never make it. Living our lives for Jesus is the best we can do and, if we let Him down, repent and then accept His forgiveness and move on. Don't listen to the taunts of the evil one telling you that, God will never forgive you now. He is just telling lies. Move on with an ever-increasing desire to continue your thirst for righteousness. This is all Jesus requires of us.

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 Happy's. Part 3

5"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."   Matthew 5:5  NKJV

The word Meek is best understood as "gentleness," or a refusal to take control by brute force or manipulation. Meekness, from a Christian perspective, is about faith. It is about trusting God to win the battle, instead of going to extremes to win the battle on our own. The concept is often referred to as "strength under control," rather than "strength seeking control

This is exactly opposite from the world's common understanding. Most believe the world to be controlled by those strong and ambitious enough to take what they want. They feel the world belongs to the rich, the dominant, and the bold. Jesus flips the coin over and He declares that the true inheritors of the earth are the meek. 

It should be said that true meekness takes courage; we must wrestle with ourselves to trust God's plan and His character. It's hard to be humble and patient when we cannot fully understand how good, will win in the end. It takes every bit of faith you have.

Meekness implies a humble acceptance of one's lowly position before God. By trusting in Him, the meek will inherit the blessings of God's fulfilled promises. Today, the meek may inherit scorn and ridicule from some people, but a day is coming - possibly, not too far away, when they shall inherit the earth as they reign with Jesus.

As Philippians 2:5: says:

5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  7but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

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 Happy's. Part 2

4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall

 be comforted."   Matthew 5:4. NKJV

THE HURTING

From time to time in everyone's life, there will be a time of mourning and loss. This may be the death of someone very dear to us. Or it may be a relationship breakdown or perhaps a child leaving home for the first time, to go to college or university. These can be great times of loss and can take time to negotiate. The person who weeps over the pains of life will be comforted. Jesus will bring comfort and healing into the situation. This is why it is so important to know Him. The Holy Spirit, who is our Comforter, will lead us to joy and peace.

Loss is always a difficult area to negotiate because, with it, come lots of changes. Not many people like change; we get used to comfort zones and kick at anything that may come near to changing things. Sadly it does. It is not always death that causes us great problem, even though it is the No 1 on the Loss and Change scale. We also struggle big time, when our child is leaving home for the first time. This may be to go to further education but, not always. They may leave because, they are now of an age to do so and there is a big world out there to explore. So, when you have brought up a child from birth, it can be a wrench when they leave home. Even birds fledge the nest, it is one of life's normal happenings, but God will comfort you in the lonely times.

One of the great things about Jesus is, He is always around when we want Him. We don't have to get stuck in a telephone line, listening to a voice telling us 'Your call is important to us' and then be forced to listen to music that nobody in their right mind wants to listen to. No way, Hosea. A call to Jesus is instant, His door is always open and He doesn't need a taped message. 

Therefore, if you're hurting today, call to Him and the Holy Spirit will wrap you in His everlasting arms and hold you until you're ready to stand on your own. He understands.

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 Happy's Part 1

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 5:3  NKJV

The world longs for happiness. It tries to find it in, drugs, alcohol, sex and other areas; but none of these offer a permanent state of happiness; they're all temporary. Jesus revealed eight characteristics that run contrary to our current ideas about happiness. However, Jesus' version of happiness describe the inner joy that can only be experienced by those who belong to Him. Those who abide by Jesus' advice her, are blessed. Therefore, over the next week or so, let's look at these characteristics, one by one.

THE POOR IN SPIRIT  These are the humble. They have have destitute hearts and sense that their spiritual needs, need some help. Therefore, they seek after God, as Psalm 34:18 mentions:

18The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. If these people are believers in Jesus, they have an advantage; they know who to cry out to, and when they do, they receive great joy. This is why the scripture says, 'The LORD is near to those - ' God knows His people, when they cry out to Him, He listens and puts a plan together for their help. However, He doesn't ignore unbelievers; likewise, when they have reached rock bottom and call out to God, because there is nothing else they can do, He is there and will rescue them from their problem. 

Notice, the words, 'those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. God knows when they call to Him, that they have a broken heart, but, it is the word contrite that He is more interested in, Contrite means feeling regret and sorrow for their sin. When they feel this way,Jesus knows they mean business and He will invite them to give themselves to Him. If a believer is with them, this is helpful, because they can pray for them. However, if not, God can do the job Himself - this I know by my own testimony.

Whether already saved or searching for something, Jesus loves you and wants to bless you. When we come to Him with a humble heart, He cannot resist showing us His love and forgiveness - and consequently his blessing. Go to Him and find 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

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

Check it out