How do you become free?

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  35And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  36Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  John 8:31-36.  NKJV

Jesus made a distinction between those who are disciples and those who are 'disciples indeed.' It is a similar thing to say, 'If you continue in My Word, you really are My disciples.' Therefore, you can believe in Jesus but not continue in His Word and so, not function as a true disciple. William MacDonald, author of Believer's Bible Commentary says, 'A disciple is anyone who confesses to be a learner; but a disciple indeed is one who has definitely committed himself to the Lord Jesus Christ'. Therefore, what he is saying a disciple indeed -who is a true believer, has this characteristic, he abides in His Word.

Truth is the absolute standard by which reality is measured. Knowing this truth results in genuine freedom. Hear me properly here - Truth alone doesn't liberate; rather the knowledge of the truth liberates, and then deliverance comes when we know the truth, this is when we abide with Jesus and continue in His Word. When this happens we will experience the truth setting us free from bondage.

To be truly free, we need the Living Word and the Written Word. The Living Word is Jesus who provides this freedom. The Written Word ensures we walk in obedience and the direction of Jesus.

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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

He climbed a tree

"Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  3And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  4So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  5And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”  6So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  7But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;10for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

                                                                            Luke 19:1-10.  NKJV

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a most hated breed of man because of their love of demanding much more money than was necessary. He was also a very short man. As often happens to us all, curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he decided he wanted to see this Jesus. However, because of his size, he wouldn't be able to see over the crowds in front of him. Those who have ever been to a Pop Concert will be familiar with this - people jumping up and down in front of you blocking the view.

Zacchaeus made a very strange decision, he climbed a nearby sycamore tree. Sycamore's have low-limbed branches that make it easy to navigate them safely. This faith act didn't go unnoticed. Jesus saw him and told him to come down quickly as He wanted to stay at his house.

Zacchaeus' curiosity had not been the real reason he wanted to see Jesus. Although he didn't know it, this was a divine appointment - the Holy Spirit had drawn him to Jesus. He just couldn't resist. Also without being asked to, he volunteered to make restitution to all he had robbed in the past. He couldn't help himself; he felt a new man in front of Jesus. Indeed he was, he had received salvation this day, all because he decided to follow his gut and climb a tree.

Things may appear crazy to us at times, but not to Jesus. He can lead us to do the most mind-blowing things, possibly to test our faith - rather like Peter walking on the water, that day. The thing is, we are never too sure that Jesus is calling us to do something, but there can be an excitement in our body, rather like bubbles in your stomach. You can have that urgent desire to do something that you know is out of character. This is what happened that day to Zacchaeus. You can be sure that he never regretted taking this decision because it changed his life. It could yours as well!

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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

Why do I keep messing up?

For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again. But the wicked shall fall by calamity.               Proverbs 24:16.   NKJV

‘I really don’t mean to but I do it anyway.’  This is the statement of many people today, their counsellor, trusted friend or even their pastor. ‘I know it’s wrong and sinful, so why do I keep on doing it? Someone may have said this to you or you may have spoken about it with someone. The thing is, none of us are perfect and no matter how hard we try, we seem to mess up sometimes, read about the apostle Paul’s experience in Romans 7 and you’ll know what I mean.

If you could get inside the minds of people, you would find that most of us are the same. We try our best but our best is never good enough. This doesn’t give you the permission to pack it all in and turn away from God. That would be very immature. You have already read above, the text concerning this but did you read it properly?

God feels you are a righteous person. Is He a liar? Absolutely not; He is the truth. Always has been and always will be. He can be trusted with everything you have. He shows us that a righteous man or woman, which you are, can rise up again seven times. This is the number of perfection. So in God’s eyes, you haven’t messed up, you’ve  just made a mistake.

It is the wicked - the unrighteousness ones, that when they fall, make a calamity. But the devil is the one who speaks the lies because he wants you to be the failure. You see, he can never be a winner - never. He is used to being a loser and wants you to be this as well. Don’t even consider it, YOU ARE A WINNER!

So keep on trying to follow Jesus to the best of you ability, but, don’t beat yourself up when you fall over. Just get back up, dust yourself down and keep going. You are doing well.

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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

What is Jesus like?

"1Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him,There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."                           Isaiah 53:1-3    NKJV

According to this scripture there is no beauty in Jesus; nothing in His appearance to attract anyone. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows who knew what grief was. It was a great sin of Israel's leaders and people that they failed to recognise their Messiah when He came. My theory on this was, they didn't recognise Him because they were looking for some great super-star who would be the greatest King they had ever had. He was, but they failed to see this. He was no super star, He didn't come from Hollywood, Jesus came from Calvary and that is where the major difference was. He had nothing to prove to anyone.

There is though, something about Jesus that draws a person to them. Once you are introduced to Him, you can't forget Him, He attracts you so much. Philippians 4:8 says of Him: 'Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.' 

We need to get our thought life like His and THINK RIGHT. We can control our thinking by thinking God thoughts. We can't think about evil things and Jesus at the same time. One of them has to go (2 Corinthians 10:4-6. When we've learned to master this area, we can begin to see Jesus more clearly as Philippians 4 states above. (1) He is true not false or unreliable, He is genuine. (2) He is noble which really says that He is honourable and morally attractive. (3) He is just - righteous towards God and man. (4) He is pure - He has a high moral character. (5) He is lovely - means He is admirable and agreeable. (6) He is of a good report - a good reputation and trusted. (7) Virtue - this describes Him as of moral excellence. (8) He is praiseworthy - something that needs to be commended.

Just think of that last point 'Something that needs to be commended.' Be honest, wouldn't you like to be considered this. Not in a pompous, pride-filled way but, because you are so close to Jesus that people can see Jesus in you. You walk like Him; you talk like Him and people can't fail to see this. 

What is Jesus like? Everything here that we have covered and much. much more. We could talk about Him until we are actually in eternity and still not be able to cover it all. In a nutshell, aren't you pleased that you belong to Him? Aren't you pleased that one day you will be with Him? Aren't you pleased and grateful that He loves you - dearly?

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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

 

Stop the Finger Pointing

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."    Luke 6:37   NKJV

'He pointed at Jill and she pointed at Jack, and then one day, the finger pointed back - at them!'  

I felt God give me this little ditty as I was preparing to write today's commentary. Let's be honest with ourselves today, we often speak about someone when there is nothing to say. We may not know anything about them so, we may push a few doors to find out what's the news about them. This can be that 'First Appearance Syndrome' we have to know who they are, where they are from and why they're here in your church or Christian circle. 

Initially, you may not like the look of them - why is that? You may have heard a little about them, how successful they were in their last church and now they're here. Are you fearful of them? Are they a threat to your gifting? Are you jealous of them and find their reputation intimidating? Why is that? Is it them or is that you? At least give them a chance to settle in before you make a solid judgement of them. But then again, ask yourself, should you be making a judgement about them?

Search your own heart, what is it that you don't like about them? Is it justified? Is there history between you and this person and they know things about your past that you have hidden from others? If so, are you feeling judged? Why not get into a conversation with them. Perhaps there is something going on that you need to put right with them. On the other hand, you may need to forgive them for something they may have done some time ago, that hurt you. The thing is, they may not even know about this.

We humans beings can be strange people at times, we get suspicious about people or things; we get hurt very quickly and close down on people; we hold grudges and may talk about people behind their backs. We're all the same but, maturity has helped many from dwelling on such things and they've moved on. Perhaps you haven't. 

Let's remind ourselves, love never judges and it doesn't condemn. If it did, none of us would be able to stand before the Lord. Our role model is Jesus, we can't go wrong when we model ourselves on Him and He wants us to get things right within ourselves and with others, and pointing the finger at people is a great place to start. We need to remember that when we judge someone, the judgement falls back on us. Some people we meet may have some rough edges about them and we may not like them for it. But hold on, we too, have some rough edges that they may dislike as well. Therefore, love Jesus and ask Him to fill you with love for the person you are struggling with. After all, we will have to spend eternity with them, so we might as well get it right now. Amen?

'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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

 

The Ability to be Content

"6Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  8And having food and clothing, 

with these we shall be content.  9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition."                                    1 Timothy 6:6-9    NKJV

The ability to have real godliness and at the same time to be satisfied with one's personal circumstances is more than money can buy. On its own, godliness leaves us searching for that special thing which we can never find. But when it is accompanied with contentment, it is a great gain.

It is being at ease where you are thankful for what you have. It's learning to be satisfied with what God has given you, until He gives you more - and He will (Phil 4:11-13). When we have contentment we have inner sufficiency in spite of our external circumstances. If we have a full stomach, clothes on our back and a roof over our head, that is contentment.

It is though, nice to be able to buy new clothes or the latest techie toy in the computer department, but if we can't have these without using a credit card that we know will put us in a debt situation, is it worth it? When we are content with what we have, God has a wonderful habit of suddenly blessing us with something we would like, but don't have the cash to provide it. He's our Father and He loves us. As long as we place Him first in our life and honour Him with our tithes, He will do the rest.

Are you content? Do you worry about it? Bob Gass once wrote:

'The cause of worry is simple, it's the reluctance to trust God to take care of the various situations in your life.'

Think about that statement and let it penetrate your soul. God doesn't want you worrying about anything. He wants you to be content and secure in yourself. He created you to be a winner and, believe me, you will win on many occasions. Just trust Jesus. He is the best friend you could ever have!

'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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard. 

 

A Prayer for those worn out times

"1I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?2My help comes from the Lord,  Who made heaven and earth. 3He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;He shall preserve your soul. 8The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore."    Psalm 121   NKJV

The writer here left a thought in later translator's minds that these first two verses could be pointing to Pagan heresy. This was because it is stated that help comes from the hills, not the Lord. So they punctuated the second part of verse 1 as a question. However, the temple in Jerusalem was regarded as the dwelling place of God. Jerusalem is situated on a mountain and surrounded by other mountains. Hence, when a Jew needed divine guidance, he looked towards the hills - towards God.

In verse 3, the Holy Spirit reveals the eternal security of those who trust in the Lord. Our foot, He will preserve from moving as we stand on the foundation of God. He will keep us - His children from slipping or falling. 

Verse 4 infers that God places a Guardian Angel around us day and night. As we sleep, He watches over us, as He does when we move around, He protects us. Many times we feel worn out, abused and walked all over. It tires us out, but, we have His guarantee that He will keep our going out and our coming in, from this time forth and even forevermore (v8).

Jesus knows when we're tired out and misused. But He loves us to tell Him this. Do you ever think to pray? Or do you just remain silent and press on, stressing yourself out. God wants to hear from you. Why don't you personalise this Psalm and turn it into a prayer for yourself. It may change your whole life.

'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.

If you would like to contact me email grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Copyright 2025 Grahame Howard.