Abide by the rules

"And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules".     2 Timothy 2:5.  NKJV

In life, we are always confronted by rules and regulations. Rules such as, abiding by the Law, work rules, banking, sport, even setting up a new mobile. We have to stick to the rules or pay the cost. In our text above, we see that if we want to attain the prize, hard work has to take place - practice, discipline, college, university and much more. Note the end of our text 'unless he competes according to the rules", the rules have to be met. It may be frustrating for a football side when they score a goal and the referee disallows it. Whether it is right or wrong, the rules must be abided by.

Jesus Himself always obeyed the rules of His Father, 'for I always do those things that please Him'  John 8:29. If Jesus obeyed His Father in such a way, then it goes to show how much we must obey Jesus and carry out His instructions. If we don't, the person in the street - unbelievers begin to notice that we are hypocrites and destroy everything that we are attempting to portray.

But there are the little things where we let Jesus down. If you work in an office, indulging your self at the stationery cupboard and taking the extra pen, pad or highlighter and taking them home. Splitting hairs? I don't think so; your colleagues may not notice but God does. If He worked there would He take the extra things for His own use? I don't think so.

What about skipping off home early without permission? You may have a job that means that you are mobile and instead of going back to the office, go home instead. 'No one will know'. Oh yes they will - Jesus will. You may have a job with flexible hours. Many people today take their work home with them, especially people with high profile jobs. Those extra working hours at home are usually benefitted by time off in lieu  (TOIL). However, it doesn't give the right to just take this time back without permission. Doesn't your line manager deserve to know?

And then we come to the motoring world. How many of us stick to the speed limit? How many of us have a alcoholic drink and then drive off somewhere? It is serious stuff, these are the things that rob families of their loved ones by car crashes. 

There are many, many more things I could mention, but I'll leave that for another time.

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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New Life - New Chapter

49So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you. 50And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 51So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” 52Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road".  Mark 10:49-52  NKJV

Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, heard that Jesus was passing his way and he was determined to see Him, he needed healing. As Jesus went by, he shouted at the top of his voice, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.' He was so persistent that Jesus stopped and called him over and restored his sight.

Notice if you will, verse 50, 'And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.' He probably only had the clothes he was standing in; why throw away his cloak? Because it defined who he was, he was a beggar and beggars wore such cloaks, it was their begging tool. That day, Bartimaeus decided that it was a new chapter of his life. He was determined to see Jesus and he was determined to be given back his sight. It's called faith.

Father David Sawkoski writes:

'It is even more remarkable to me that he leaves his cloak behind – even before Jesus heals him. He recognizes that the cloak – his loyal and faithful companion – is actually an obstacle to real connection. It has hindered him from receiving and will continue hindering if he doesn’t change his ways. More importantly, a desire so intense and deep is welling up in his heart – so strong that it overflows and overpowers his “settling” for survival. He wants to be well!  He intuits that Jesus can give him more – so much more. No doubt, he also hears the whispers of his cloak – warning him that he is making a fool of himself, gently enticing him to hide himself away once again and return to the safety of self-protection. But desire wins the day. Bartimaeus not only cries out all the louder; he actually casts aside his cloak and runs up to Jesus. He wants to see. Jesus heals him. He begins following Jesus.The Cloak of BartimaeusAbiding In Love and Truthhttps://www.abideinlove.com › ...

Bartimaeus' cloak was the sign of his old life, from henceforth he would be following Jesus, his faith showed him a new life, one where he could see and he was going to use his restored sight for Jesus. He was going to dedicate all he had to Him.

Bartimaeus gave up something that had been precious to him - his cloak. In so doing, he entered into a new chapter, the old gone the new here and now. This was not easy for him to do, he had had this cloak all his life but, no matter how painful it was to cast it aside, he knew that a new life with Jesus would begin.

What about you? Is there something you need to give up for the sake of receiving something better from Jesus. Give it some thought and allow the Holy Spirit to pin-point what needs to change. There is something new out there for 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.

Jesus doesn't want you afraid

"But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.   Matthew 8:26

As Jesus and His disciples crossed the water to reach their next destination; there was a great tempest and it was threatening to sink their boat. They called out to Jesus, who was asleep, and begged Him for help. His words say it all:“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”

Now these words from Jesus, were not only for the disciples but for each one of us as well. Remember, He said something similar to Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, who had come to Jesus because his daughter was dying. Jesus agreed to go with him but, on the way, He was distracted by a woman who was also very sick. Jesus spent time with her while Jairus stood by waiting. Jesus turned to him and said, 'Do not be afraid; only believe.' We know the outcome to these experiences, the boat was safe, the woman was healed and Jairus' daughter was raised from the dead.

But what about us? Let's be honest, we become afraid don't we? Actually it's a normal reaction to scary times. Yet Jesus tells us not to be afraid. Look at all of the great men and women of God throughout the bible. They did mighty things, but there may have been a time when they were afraid. Elijah ran away from the threats of Jezebel. He went into the wilderness and prayed that He would die. That is, until God asked, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' This brought him back to reality.

We are all subject to being afraid. However, as we pray about it we can stand up and face the situation. We may still be afraid but like the others we have seen, let us do it afraid by faith. You may be afraid of something today. Don't ignore it, run away or begin to panic. Face it head on. Call upon Jesus and then in Jesus' name boldly walk on to victory. You can do this. With Jesus, nothing can stop you fulfilling your goal, only yourself. Overcome the fear and do it.

Remember what Paul said in Philippians 4:13 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' You are a member of Team Jesus, don't forget that. Therefore, embrace His love, take His hand and refuse to be in fear any longer

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.

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 

Check it out. Just tap in Grahame Howard books.

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.