Do you have your favourites?

1My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.                                                  James 2:1  NKJV

Partiality or favouritism can ruin relationships. God is never shows any sign of this to any of us. Let's face it, it would devastate our whole relationship with Him. But many people - possibly ourselves at times, show favouritism to people. It may be in our family, where one gets more attention and favour than the other receives. This is a root for jealousy to give birth. We may also have our favourites within a church circle. I'm not discussing friendship here, this is different. We have best friends, this just comes naturally. But we can and probably do, show love and favour to people who are not so close to us.

What we are saying here, is showing individuals or groups special treatment. This can happen  where someone wants to impress the individual or any onlooker. They receive better treatment that others would ordinarily receive. Take a look at James 2:2-4:

2For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”4have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

It can happen when a person who is living rough on the streets turns up at church. He or she, may be frowned on or given a wide berth because of their clothes, body odour or general appearance. They could be turned away because of this. I know of a pastor who was asked by his superiors to hold two different services - 'one for the people and another for these down and outs'. (Please excuse the derogatory statement). Thankfully, he refused. People may not want someone like this sitting next to them and may take offence. It is a difficult situations but we must honour God and do what Jesus would do.

We should never look down on or judge such people. We don't know what has brought them to this type of lifestyle. Yes, they may have a dodgy background and be a risk. But good leadership should kick in on these situations. One the surface, they should never be turned away.

Just think, we may be turning away an angel who has come to visit us Hebrews 13:1-2.

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 on Grahame Howard books.

Tithes and Offerings

"41Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans."  Mark 12: 41-44   NKJV

This scripture emphasises the fact that Jesus sees all that we give to God by way of, tithes and offerings. He doesn't force anyone to give of their wealth but much teaching on this subject can be observed throughout the bible. Here, Jesus witnessed a poor widowed lady giving all she had at that time. Many had been up to the treasury and given very large sums; some of them made a big thing of it all. This didn't impress Jesus one bit. However, what did impress Him, was this widow. She was willingly to give all of what she had. 

The story of the widow's mite is often used to teach about the importance of generosity and the value of giving, not just the amount given, but also the sacrifice made. It highlights that God sees and values the effort and sacrice of the giver, regardless of their financial status. This lady had given 2 mites, which were very small value Roman coins which were known as a Lepta or Quadran. 

Jesus commented on her sacrifice, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all of those who have given to the treasury. 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.' v43-44.

There is a lesson here, firstly, it doesn't matter what other people may tithe or offer on a Sunday. What matters is the state of your heart and what you feel is right for you. Jesus is grateful. Secondly, Jesus does expect us to offer tithes and offerings to the church. Out of what we earn each month, part of this - usually a tenth, is set aside to offer to God which is recognised as a tithe. An offering is given in a Sunday service which goes to the upkeep of the church. 

You don't have to give, but when we consider what Jesus has done for each of us and that He expects us to give tithes and offerings, we should do all we can to meet this commitment. You cannot out give God. What you give as a tithe, He will bless and bless you in return whether by finance or other ways. We shouldn't expect a return on what we give but should be blessed if we do and this is another opportunity to tithe on this too. You see, all we have belongs to God anyway. You can't take it with you when you die, everything belongs to Him. And this is why we should be so grateful for all He gives to us. Amen? Amen!

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 on Grahame Howard books.

Take it on the chin

"In all this Job did not sin with his lips".      Job 2:10   NKJV

Satan wanted to hack Job down but God wouldn't allow it. He did though, allow Satan to shake Job's foundation but he wasn't allowed to hurt him. Job lost practically everything; his family, property, it was all gone. But notice this in Job 1:22: "In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.' Not a word of blame or complaint came out of Job's mouth. He remained loyal to God.

Satan, with God's approval, once again sought out Job and struck him with painful boils all over his body. The pain was so intense that Job took a potsherd - a fragment of pottery often used by the poor for drinking, and he used the sharp end to scrape off the boils in an attempt to alleviate his suffering. Job's wife had had enough  and encouraged Job to 'curse God and die' 2:9. But Job rebuked her saying:  “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips." 2:11.

God will allow Satan limited action to carry out certain things on us but, as here, He will not allow Satan to go too far. He remains totally in charge as He allows us to be tested. The enemy may attempt to wear us down, but we have an internal source of strength living within us that cannot be defeated. Satan knows that as believers we belong to God. We are saved through His grace and faith in His Son Jesus. Therefore, the enemy will shift his attention and seek to fill our hearts with fear, doubt and discouragement in an effort to tempt is to give up. 

We should never give up. The Lord will not allow the enemy to destroy us, therefore, we must continue to trust God and resist the devil, even when we are weary. (Galatians 6:9)

You may be going through a rough time at the moment. Take on board what you have just read and refuse to surrender, complain or curse your position. No matter what, take it on the chin and praise God

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 on Grahame Howard books.

Shake that viper off

"Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 2And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.  3But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.  4So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”  5But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm."             Acts 28:1-5    NKJV

Paul, had been arrested, and being a Roman citizen, had appealed to Caesar. Therefore, after further trials, he was placed on a ship bound for Rome. On route, there had been a tempest and they were shipwrecked and cast on an island in the Mediterranean called Melita - today known as Malta. Interestingly, the name means 'Refuge'. This at the time was inhabited by 276 native people, (Warren W Wiersbe) who did their best to welcome them and make them comfortable.

The natives kindled a fire because of the rain and the cold. Paul had gathered some sticks for the fire. As he placed these on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and attached itself to Paul's hand. Such snakes are venomous and the natives that witnessed this, expected to see him fall dead. However, Paul just shook it off into the fire and was ok. The natives seeing this felt he was a god because of it. Through this, Paul was able to pray for many of the islanders and they were healed.

Notice this, firstly. if we were to be bitten by a viper or adder as known in the UK, it would be wise to seek medical help for an antidote. Obviously, there was no one there to help Paul and, to tell the truth, he didn't really need this. Paul trusted in God and, no doubt when he shook it off, he knew that he would be well. Secondly, we would more than likely be concerned and many would flap around expecting to die. Paul kept his calm. He trusted Jesus and knew he was important to Him. He walked in faith and expectation.

It is not everyday that this would happen to us but, the principle is the same; whenever we are faced with a dilemma, we need to shake the problem off us. We are children of God and yes, things will come against us. However, we don't have to accept them. We should act in faith - whatever it may be, and take control of the situation in Jesus' name. If something comes against you that you know is not from God, shake that viper off and get on with your day.

Let's be honest, we either believe the Word of God or we don't. We have God's handbook - the bible so, therefore, we should read it, believe it and act on it. And that is God's ideal.

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 on Grahame Howard books.

Your chains fell off

"Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!"                  Acts 16:26.  NLT

When you came to know Jesus that first time, your chains fell off. You didn't take them off and neither did any human force. It was Jesus Christ, your Saviour who did it for you. It may have been recently or, it may have been years ago; they fell off and they have not been fitted back on to you. Jesus doesn't save you and then give up on you. Likewise, He doesn't heal you from a sickness and give it back to you. When those chains fell off, you were made free.

Some people however, tend to take them back again. Take for instance healing. You may have been healed from a severe back condition, so why do you confess, 'My back is killing me.' Number one, it is extremely unlikely that your back is killing you and number two, you may have a few twinges in your back and these may lead you to feel your back condition has returned. At these times, you need to refuse to have any symptoms of this condition because you were healed by the power of Jesus. Don't forget, Jesus set you free, but Satan wants to keep you chained to the past.

When we ask Jesus into our lives, the chains do fall off and the only one who will take them up again is yourself. The thing we must remember is, that when those chains fell off, your life was not deemed to be a well tended rose garden. Weeds would still grow and the garden needed maintaining. It's the same with your Christian life; you were saved but sin would still tempt you and, like everyone else, you would have bad days. You would have money problems, bad jobs, good jobs, no job and bills flying through your door like paper planes. The difference though, you have Jesus to help you in every area. He's interested in your day to day life and wants to take the lead in all you do; and only you can prevent this.

Some people may say, 'We don't do charity, thank you very much.' Well charity is an old English word for love and it means, unselfish, benevolent concern for other persons. So these people are saying that they don't accept love and this is what Jesus is about. He is love. Make sure you don't do this. Accept whatever God sends to you, gratefully and don't be proud about it. Jesus is taking care of 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 on Grahame Howard books.

Give it all to Jesus

 28Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  

                                                                 Matthew 11:28-30  NKJV

Have you been overdoing things just lately? Chances are, that if you are constantly tired and worn out, you may have been doing too much. If this is so, then think about how you can change this to manageable tasks. Your first port of call is to do what Jesus is saying and go to Him for a rest.

Once again, we come upon that word 'Soul'; This is the one that describes what the soul is made up with: Your Mind; Your Will and Your Emotions. I know it is not long since we discussed this. But did you take notice the first time? If not, Jesus wants you to hear it again. The type of rest that Jesus will give you is found in Psalm 23:1-3:

'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters. 3He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.' Just the description of it is peaceful. Just imagine that you are there with Jesus laying down in green pastures beside the still waters. Listen to the sound - nothing, except for the birds calling to each other. It is sheer bliss. Notice in verse 3 how He restores your soul: Your Mind, Your Will and Your Emotions. There is nothing heavy that He places on you, the heavy load has been taken away by Jesus Himself. I think you may hear Him say, 'Do not worry about a thing.'

Think for a moment, you can repeat this procedure whenever you want to, in fact, Jesus would want you to do this instead of getting yourself all wound up in the problems of your personal world. There is no stress with Jesus; there is also no anxiety. When you go to Him, He takes it away and does what He has promised - He gives you rest.

Your personal world is so demanding and occasionally you can't do it all; and what's more, you don't have to. All you need to do is pick up His yoke, which is easy and His burden which is light. He'll do the rest for you. 

Don't let this go over your head, do it whenever you need to. Today may be a good place to start, don't you 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 on Grahame Howard books.

He couldn't love you anymore than He does

13Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  14You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.       John 15:13-15   NKJV

The Father couldn't love you anymore than He does, if He tried. He is sold out to you and, what's more He calls you His friend but, there is a condition Jesus says, 14 'You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.' This is very understandable; we all have rules, regulations and conditions to adhere to. But when you consider that the Son of God, Jesus the King of kings chose you - yes you, to be His friend. How does that make you feel?

Jesus knows our humanity - our weaknesses and this is why He provides us with a way out of our sins, when we commit them. Yes, He knows that we will do this. Therefore, He led John to write: 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.' 1 John 1:8-10. and 

Hebrews 4:15-16 says:

'15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.'  

He provided everything that we need to survive in this world of ours. He died for us and bore our sin upon Himself. He rose to life three days later and provides us with a 'get out of jail' card when we do sin. As I say, He knows that we will continue to sin and provides a way out for us. We cannot make excuses for our sin. He is adamant, He does wish for us not to be sinful, but when we are, He is sympathetic because He knows how difficult it can be with all of the temptations around.

Jesus is our friend. He'll never desert us or give up on us He knows that we are weak but He has faith that we will overcome this. And we will, because our friend will help us.

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 on Grahame Howard books.