Be more like Jesus

"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."                 Ephesians 5:1-2   NKJV

Our practical goals are summed up with the word "imitators." Paul uses a commanding tone here: the phrase "be imitators" is an imperative. Paul commands those who follow God to imitate Him. This means striving to do as He would do. Put it this way, as God's children, we are encouraged to be just like Him, rather like children who model themselves on their parents, we too, are encouraged to imitate Jesus in every way. We stand a better chance of being more like Him when we do this.

When we begin to live this way, our whole life changes. Where we once were argumentative, because of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, we are more likely to be diplomatic in risky situations. Rather like our text today explains, we walk in love and carry the aroma of Jesus with us; therefore, we are more likely to handle contentious areas. One way we can change is our attitude in which we approach a problem with other people. This largely determines the outcome. For instance, if someone has deeply upset us and we approach this person with all guns blazing, the outcome is not going to be very Christlike. However, if we approach it in a Christlike manner with no aggression in sight, we are more likely to be able to resolve the matter or, at least, bring about some peaceful resolution.

As you know, being like Jesus is not easy. We may meet many unbelievers during our week and many of them are ok. However, there is always the stubborn or aggressive one, looking for an argument. Sometimes it is better to avoid them but it is not always possible and we have to deal with them in one way or another. The thing is to be like Jesus, not like this person who may be shouting the odds in front of you. As one pastor wrote 'No Attack - No Defence'. We do not need to attack this person or defend ourselves, we need to be just like Jesus.

A good guide to have is to think what would Jesus do or say here, or how would He handle the situation? It can really help but, remember, Jesus didn't always have it easy but the thing is, He never let His Father down. Sadly, we may do this, but we will have Jesus with us and that will be really helpful

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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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Don't let people stop God's work

“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”     Nehemiah  6:3.  NKJV   (of 6:1-3)

Some people will try and stop you from doing what God wants you to do. This may be in an innocent way because they want your attention. However, it may also be that they do not want this work to be completed. Nehemiah's only remaining task was to install the doors (6:1). The last part of a task can be the toughest part of all; he had to persevere. He received some inside information that his enemies were planning to harm him (6:2). Nehemiah was adamant, he would not leave God's work to submit to his enemies requests. You never leave something greater to do something lesser. You must carry out the will of God, despite the odds against you. He knew their intentions and he was determined not to let them have their way no matter how demanding they became.

When you know that you are in God's will, doing what He has given you, don't give in to distractions. There was still a way through the wall because of the gates not being erected yet; his enemies knew that and wanted to prevent the gaps being filled. Your enemies will try and prevent you from carrying out God's work too so be alert to what is around you. We ran a day centre in the church I pastored, and this was open 7 days per week. One of the officials from head office visited one day and asked if I would consider having two services in the evening as some felt their handbags and other valuables may go missing because of the 'Down and Outs' visiting too. I replied to this with, 'Yes, I will consider this if you can show me in the bible where Jesus would have done this'. That was the end of that conversation and I never heard anymore about it.

Some people will always try and find fault in what you do, whether you are in church leadership or it is known that you are a believer. They will watch you to see if they can find something to trip you up and then make a big thing out of it. They did this to Jesus so, they will definitely do it to you as well. You can't stop them so don't go out of your way to try. Just get on with what the Lord has given you to do. 

Think of it this way. The devil doesn't like you - at all. Therefore, he will use people to try and prevent you from doing things for God. If you're in a secular job, some will make your life a misery if they can because of your faith. Don't retaliate, God will do that for you, just silently forgive them and get on with you work. Never let anything prevent you from doing what God has called you to do!

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

Don't think small

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us"   Ephesians 3:20   NKJV

Let us pick the bones out of this verse. Jesus can do much, much more that you or I could ever imagine. More than you could ever ask. He knows more; He is more and He wants you to have more, firstly more of Him and then above all you could ever ask. Extremely in this piece of scripture means to advance to an unusual degree or to the extreme. Abundantly means that He wants you abounding with more than enough; that it may be plentiful and above and beyond.

David Guzik comments:

'Now that is some blessing He has for us, more than we could ever think or dare to ask. Paul then goes on to write, 'according to the power that works in us.' 

This doxology does not only belong to the prayer that precedes it, but also to every glorious privilege and blessing spoken of in the first three chapters. Who is able to bring such things to pass? Only God can do this because He can do far beyond our ability to think or ask.
ii. Paul says that God is able to do above all that we ask or think. The 'we' included Paul and the other apostles and they certainly knew that Jesus could do great things.
· You can ask for every good thing you have ever experienced – God can do above that.
· You can think of or imagine things beyond your experience – God can do above that.

· You can imagine good things that are beyond your ability to name – God can do above that.'

                                                       David Guzik. Enduring Word

Therefore, according to the power that works in us, God is able to do this in our life now, not beginning with heaven. This power works in us now!
i. The things Paul prayed for in the previous verses (spiritual strength, the indwelling Jesus, experiential knowledge of God’s love, and the fullness of God) belong to us as children of God. However, they must be received by believing prayer and can be furthered in the lives of others by our prayers for them.

Oral Roberts said, 'Don't ever think small again'. We have a big God and we can expect big things from Him. However, we must stay in sync with Him and the Holy Spirit. As Jesus told us in John 15:5 'Without Him we can do nothing' 

When we are with friends or relatives, and are offered a piece of cake, we often out of politeness, take the smaller piece. With God, don't be afraid to take the larger piece. He's a big God so, go for the bigger piece. This is what He is saying.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

It will come in due season!

"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."                                        Galatians 6:9   NKJV

When we are waiting for something, it can be awful. We can adopt that feeling that it is never going to happen; and when we do this, there's a chance that it never will. Here, Paul is speaking of doing good to people; what we sow we will reap. This counts for sowing good but, also to sowing bad things. If you are constantly not in blessing, check on what you sow to people.

Paul mentioned the phrase 'Due Season'. This could also be interpreted as the proper time, reaping at harvest time, the right time, appropriate time or in straight forward language, when God is ready. This shows us there is an appropriate seasonal time gap for the purpose of development between sowing and reaping. When we bless people in one way or another you may receive a blessing from God almost straightaway. Then again, it may mean waiting for a very long time. We should never give to God or people solely to receive something back from God. Everything we have is from Him anyway and we should be content with this. However, God does like to bless His children when He sees the good that they are doing.

Paul mentions that we should never grow weary in doing good. God sees everything that we do and misses nothing. Don't allow weariness to take over your life; it can be very easy to concentrate on this and lose heart. 'Don't get into that mode - stay on the road'. (GH). Think of all the good that you do. It may not seem all that much to you, but to God, it is amazing.

You may be waiting for a promise to be fulfilled, something you feel God has said will happen. If it hasn't come yet, or shows no sign of it, don't give in, don't lose heart, grow weary or lose interest. This harvest may be just around the corner, fix your eyes on Jesus and believe.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

Please renew my strength, Lord

"Let the weak say, ‘I am strong"    Joel 3:10.  NKJV

Weakness affects us all. When was the last time you asked God to renew your strength? Quite often I would imagine. It is not like we are a light-weight and forever weak. It's the ongoing desire to please God when things appear to be crashing down around us. Remember the comedy act where a man had many canes around him and on each one, he spun a plate. When he had them all spinning he was pleased but, after a while, he was dashing around trying to keep them all spinning. It was a disaster and in a short time, they all crashed to the floor. This is the way we can be when we try to keep going.

We should never be ashamed to ask God to renew our strength, He knows that we are but mere human beings and become weak without Him. Isaiah says: 'He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.' Isaiah 40:29. 

Weakness can come through overwork and tiredness. However, when it affects our minds, our thoughts can become distorted making it difficult to make good decisions. When the two are placed together, it can cause us to make mistakes and also become quick tempered. We have to be in control of this and God, as always, provides the answer:

'And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  9And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

There has been a lot of speculation over the years about what was this thorn that affected Paul. However, that's all it is - speculation. No one knows what it was but, it affected Paul so much that God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Like Paul, this grace is sufficient for all we need; it gives strength to the weak, the infirm, which includes, old age, weakness, frailty, disease and those weak in body and mind. 

As we have seen, our mind can play tricks on us when we are in a weak state so, it is always best to avoid important decisions until you feel that you are able. As I've mentioned, there is no shame in feeling weak because, when we are God will add His strength to the situation and that, is far better. There are things that we can do quite easily and, there are other things that can be a tad bit difficult. God is there to offer His help and His strength. Don't ever be too proud to ask Him. His grace is always available.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

The Appearance of the Son of Man

"Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."

                                                                  Ezekiel 1:28   NKJV

Even though we need rain to be able to exist, when it is ongoing it can be tedious. Some jobs have to be delayed because they just can be carried out in such conditions; and then. there is the risk of floods which many parts of the world have had these past few months. However, when we see the sign of a rainbow in the sky, we know that God is in charge and taking care of us. It is comforting.

Ezekiel describes it well in our text today. To see the rainbow on a rainy day, we can have the peace and assurance to know that the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord is all around us. This can also be described as the Son of Man as described in Daniel:

'Look', he answered, 'I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God' Daniel 3:25.

The king could not explain this any other way. He had sent three men into the fiery furnace, now there were four and they were all walking around unharmed. In his mind, there was no other explanation.

This was truly a miracle but God doesn't stop there, no matter what the weather; no matter what the problem or no matter what you feel like, there is always a way through the situation. The old song. 'God will make a way where there seems to be no way' really lifts our spirit when we speak or sing it. It is true, there is not a way that is blocked for God. A door may be locked but, He can get in as described in Acts 16 when He set Paul, Silas and the other prisoners free. There may be no money left to buy essential goods or pay desperate bills, but God knows the way. You may be struggling with illness, the doctors may not be able to cure it but, God can because, God can make a way where there seems to be no way.

The appearance of God, by His Holy Spirit, is all around us, all the time. He walks with us, talks to us and watches over us. Take HIs hand and watch how He can change something in the blink of an eye. There is no need to worry or be fearful. He is right there with you.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

You need the Password

"Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King 

of glory shall come in. 8Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. 9Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in. 10Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah".  Psalm 24:7-10  NKJV

It seems like everywhere you go these days and most things you do, they all need a password. This can be very frustrating as I found out yesterday. Having just updated my mobile phone, I carried out the transfer of my apps and data, a simple job the mobile screen told me. And it was, until this morning when I tried to access my online banking, it kept blocking me and refused point blank to give me access. After a few hours of messing around with this, I gave up and knew that I would have to ring the bank and go through all of the; 'Your call is important to us, stay on the line and I will try to connect you.' After what seemed like hours, the problem was solved.

This got me thinking. There is a password into heaven and this is Jesus. Without Him no one will have access. God's Word says: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'

So we need this password - Jesus to be able to gain a place in heaven. However, there are many benefits to having Jesus in your life before you even get to heaven. He leads the way for us (if we allow Him) each and every day. He gives us peace while the rest of the world are frustrated with many issues. I remember a time when I was in a position that appeared hopeless. But I did what was the only thing I could do, I called on Jesus to help me, and He performed a miracle for me and rescued from this problem. If I had not known the password, I would have been sunk.

If you know Jesus, perhaps things are going really well in your life. On the other hand, things may be grim. Without trying to teach you to suck eggs, why don't you call on the name above all names - Jesus. He will help sort things out far better than you know how.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then there is a prayer below which you can pray. Things may not change for you immediately but, you will know the password - Jesus, and that's all you need.

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

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'

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. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.