We are all one

"And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”                            Acts 10:15. NKJV

Cornelius had a vision where an angel of the Lord spoke to him urging him to send some of his servants to invite Simon Peter to his house to fellowship with him. The Holy Spirit spoke with Peter about this and therefore he accepted the invitation and took some of his brethren with him.

Now prior to this, Peter had also had a vision where he saw all kinds of animals, beasts and birds flying around and a voice spoke to him urging him to rise up and eat v13. Peter protested initially stating that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. The Lord answered, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common' v15. Peter rose and went to see Cornelius who bowed down to him when he saw Peter: 'As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.26But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”  27And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.  28Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

Peter realised that the vision was a sign from heaven that Jews were no longer to call Gentiles unclean. From that point these two groups would be on equal footing before the Father. God was breaking down Peter's prejudices. And so He is for all of us throughout this world.

Racial tensions and hatred have ruled all around the world - white people against black people and the other way around. It is still going on today, even in our churches. But God is calling in Anti-Racist Practice, a term where there is no difference between the races. We are called to live together whatever the colour of the skin. A person's skin may be a different colour but their heart may be full of Jesus and, we need to realise this fact.

Sociologically, some people, in the big cities may have been brought up this way, where the two races never come together. But this is wrong; we are all one; God sees no difference in us at all and rather like the Jews were called to be on equal footing with the Gentiles, so we are called to be equal - black and white together. Let me leave you with a thought: What colour was Jesus' skin? Was He white or did He have a tanned skin. If we can love and adore Jesus, who may not have been white, we can love people who are from another race, whatever colour they are.

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

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Jesus' amazing grace

“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”          

                                                                   John 8:10-11   NKJV

Jesus' amazing kindness and gentleness is demonstrated here as He speaks with this woman. Her accusers had found her committing adultery and dragged her out into the street so they could test Jesus' obedience to the law of Moses. This was extremely unfair because it takes two to commit adultery but there was no sign of the man. Jesus handled it wonderfully saying whoever is without sin, let them throw the first stone v7). The only one. there who qualified for this statement was Jesus. This cleared the place and Jesus then spoke to the woman  “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  

Jesus actually stooped down to her level and then brought her up to His. Amazing grace.

Another example of His grace is in Zechariah 3 where we see Joshua standing before the Angel of the Lord in rags with the accusatory Satan, standing at his side. Now this is not the Joshua who succeeded Moses as many think. This was Joshua the high priest who returned to Jerusalem with the Exiles (Ezra 3:2), whose name was often used as Jeshua but also known as Joshua.

In the third chapter of Zechariah, we see Joshua standing there in filthy rags. Now picture this scene; Joshua would have smelt terrible as he stood before the Angel of the Lord. He would have felt totally degraded and ashamed. But look at how the Lord rebuked Satan and then directed that Joshua be taken away, cleaned up and given fresh clothes to wear and he was then given a new commission to act on.

God can take the most ashamed people of life; the most beaten, abused, downtrodden and misfits and turn them into a work of art - a new person. Probably before you knew Jesus, life had been brutal but Jesus took you and made you His own. He took you in His hands and hugged you better until you felt you belonged  and was loved. It may be that you have very bad memories of the past but, that is what it is -the past. Let it go and allow Jesus to turn you into something great. At the moment, you are a work in progress but gradually, things will get better as the amazing grace of God comes upon you with greater power than you have ever known.

Things are going to get better!

       

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.

Fault-Finding

"Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault."      Mark 7:2  NKJV

Fault-finding, we all do it, let's be honest. Some people find faults in everything, including people. However, they never seem to look within themselves and find the many faults that may well be there. When a person has done a good job, one in which they are pleased with, it destroys their ego if someone comes up and finds a fault in their work. It can be soul-destroying.

Whatever Jesus said or did, the hierarchy of the day would point a finger at Him and say that it was wrong, because He did it on the Sabbath. They would also say He was wrong because He blasphemed God by saying that He was His Father, 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  28And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  29My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  30I and My Father are one.'   John 10:25-30

We may look at someone that we don't even know, perhaps on the TV, and dislike them, finding fault in what they say or how they act, sing or present a programme. Possibly we need to remember that, as we find fault in others, they may be finding fault in us too. When we're in a company of people our body language can give our feelings away, People that we don't particular like can pick up on this so may distance themselves from us. Do you find this?

How are you with people? Are you a people-pleaser; comfortable with people or avoid them as much as possible? The latter may be your lack of confidence, which prevents you opening up to others and possibly hiding away in a corner. You may feel certain people don't like you so, you do the same, preferring your own company. You may also have been put down so much in your life that you feel what's the point.

Fault-finding can cover a multitude of things and if you belong in this category perhaps you should do something about it. Possibly there may be people that you need to forgive. Think about that, some people may have hurt you in the past and there are scars within. If that is the case, forgive them right now. Ask God to reveal to you why you feel prone to fault-finding people and act on His reply. You are a better person than this and God knows this, so do something about this negativity today.

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 Violence of the cross

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force".       Matthew 11:12.  NKJV

This is a verse that has caused much conversation over the years. It is hard to understand the correct meaning of what Jesus meant. The most obvious meaning is that since Jesus established His rule here on earth and people have believed and followed Him spreading His word, non-believers have tried every which way they can to bring it down. But His word is still standing today and no-one can prevent Jesus from getting to the last page of the bible - victory.

Look at all the struggles that Jesus had with the hierarchy of religion of His day. The Pharisees hated Him; the Sadducees hated Him and even some of His own hated Him too. But He had a mission to fulfil and nothing was going to stop Him doing this, not even the cross. He suffered the most awful of deaths to bring us freedom, until HIs mission was over and He cried out, 'It is finished'. Jesus had completed His task.

However, it was not finished for His followers. The apostles and the disciples continued to press on spreading the word against threats of imprisonment, beating or death. But this violence did not stop them. Saul, a respected Pharisee, violently entered believer's home's and had men and women dragged into prison. Some died, many were tortured. But this violent man, Saul was converted on the Damascus Road (Acts 9) and having his name changed to Paul, became a mighty missionary and writer for Jesus. Paul suffered violence in most places he went; he was even stoned and left for dead on one occasion and eventually he ended up in Rome until his execution. 

And this violence and persecution still happens today. There are many countries where Christianity is banned. People are beaten, placed in prisons never to return to their families, and some are executed because of their faith. Speak to anyone who is familiar with the organisation Open Doors and they will tell you what is happening (Note I wrote 'happening' not what has happened. It is still happening even now).

And you and I, have or will suffer persecution because of our faith. Some may be passed over for promotion because of their strong faith. Others may lose their jobs because of it. People speak about people's human rights but it appears to be ignored when it comes down to a person's choice of faith, especially if it is Christian. Surely it is against a person's human rights to allow people to be persecuted for their choices.

None of this will end soon, in fact, persecution will become worse as time goes on but, as CT Studd said, 'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for Him.'

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 wept

"Jesus wept"        John 11:35.  NKJV

Jesus is very compassionate as this verse shows. Here He weeps at the pain Mary and Martha are feeling together with His own pain and grief. To many people, death can be final, once someone dies, they are no more and there is a great loss. However, we know as Christians that death is only the beginning of eternity spent with Jesus and other believers. But death still hurts.

When Jesus finally answered Mary and Martha's call about Lazarus dying, we see His compassion demonstrated:

"Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  34And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept".  John 11:32-35. 

The NKJV seems to put His tone as hostile when it mentions that He groaned in the spirit. However, the interpretation for this is to be deeply moved and troubled. Lazarus was His friend as were Mary and Martha. He felt their suffering deeply and wept, even though He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus to life. This shows that whenever we are sad and grieving, Jesus is right there with us, weeping too. He hates to see us upset. It hurts His heart.

We see Jesus' compassion again as He weeps over Jerusalem:

"As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, 42saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognise the time when God visited you.”  Luke 19:41-44 CSB  

This shows His compassion because, if the inhabitants would have accepted Him nationally they would have known peace. However, they rejected Him and the city was handed over to judgement and this was fulfilled in AD 70.

Do you realise that this same compassion is directed upon you and I and whenever we are hurt and upset, Jesus weeps with us. He cares so much that His compassion knows no end. When we become involved in sin, He doesn't desert us; He knows the temptations that we face and gives us grace to help in times of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). He wants us to be compassionate to people we meet as well. This is a hurting world that we live in and we have the ability to help meet people's hurts in our daily life. Why not say to Jesus that you are willing to do this!

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.

Faith or Fear - your choice!

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him".  Hebrews 11:6. NKJV

Fear is satan's weapon to paralyse you; Faith is God's weapon to mobilise you. We need to memorise this statement because it is so true. Tony Evans writes: 'Do you want to live in a way that pleases God? Then you must operate by faith, even if you must do it alone and go against the accepted norms of the day. You must believe with expectation that God responds when you seek to please Him.' 

2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' 2 Corinthians 4:18 says 'while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. To reinforce this, Hebrews 11:3 says 'By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.'

Therefore, we need to realise that it is impossible to please God without faith. We pray to Him, worship Him but we can't see Him. So we must be operating in faith already because we are in a conversation with someone we believe is there and yet we can't see Him. Do you get that? The unbelievers of our world look at us and believe that we may be crazy, especially if they walk into a church that is totally spirit-filled with people dancing and shouting to God in excitement. This is the type of thing that happened at Pentecost (Acts 2). They were all filled with the Holy Spirit which was like dynamite being placed within them. They were shouting, singing and speaking in strange languages. Many thought that they were drunk (Acts 2:13).

This is the type of thing that happens when we have faith in what can't be seen but we know is there. One day, everyone will see Jesus - face to face, but until then we live by faith knowing that He is a breath away from us. The devil will do everything he can to prevent this. He'll try to convince people that we are crazy, that we have lost the plot. He knows how powerful faith-filled, spirit-filled people are, therefore he will use everything to stop us. Jonathan Edwards, the powerful preacher of the 1734 Great Awakening campaign said, 'When the church is revived, so is the devil'. And it is true, where the people are on fire for God, the devil will attempt to put that fire out by any mean he can.

But we are God's anointed people, faith-filled and ready for action. Therefore, use that faith from this day forth. Go out today in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Why are you still trying to do things on your own?

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing".   John 15:5.  NKJV

The title of today's reading says it all, 'Why are you still trying to do things on your own?' Think about it, you are not independent if you belong to Jesus. In everything, you are dependent on Him. Now, some people will say they are dependent on no-one, which is a person's choice. But, if you profess to be a Christian and still want to be in charge of what you do and don't do, then you are going to be on the road to nowhere. Put it this way, Jesus may ask you to do a certain thing or go somewhere but you, may not like this idea and may think of a better way of doing things. Straightaway you are in a struggle.

Proverbs 3:5-6 puts it this way: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths'.

Note the 'with all your heart' and 'lean not on your own understanding' and finally, 'In all your ways acknowledge Him'. Solomon didn't put these phrases in there to fill space. They are important directives for all who believe in God.

(1)  'with all your heart'  This means you give yourself to Him hook, line and sinker. You do not belong to yourself anymore; you gave up that right when you gave yourself to Jesus. He gives you all of His heart and He expects the same in return. He doesn't belong to you; you belong to Him. There's a big difference here; if He belongs to you then you are in the driving seat. This is not the way it is, Jesus is in the driving seat.

(2)  'lean not on your own understanding'  God has an understanding far greater than you will ever have. He sees the future. He sees the advantages and the pitfalls. He knows what is best for you and what isn't. He knows who will help you and who will lead you astray. You need Him.(3)  'In all your ways acknowledge Him'. When Jesus speaks to you - listen. If you're not good at listening, train yourself to do so. God speaks to people through the bible but also through that soft voice from within, so pay attention or you may miss things. Whatever you think about, whatever you are planning to do or whatever you are anxious about, give it all to Him. He's great at sorting things out when you do this.

Above all remember, there are no Lone Rangers in the Kingdom Of God, not even Jesus because He always consults with His Father. Therefore, do the same, acknowledge Him in all you do or think.

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.