Confidence in what you do

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength".   Philippians 4:13. NKJV

David Guzik writes:

'This refers to Paul’s ability to be content in all things. To achieve this contentment, he needed the strength of Jesus Christ.
i. Unfortunately, many people take this verse out of context and use it to reinforce a “triumphalist” or “super-Christian” mentality, instead of seeing that the strength of Jesus in Paul’s life was evident in his ability to be content when he did suffer need.
ii. We must always also put this precious statement of faith in connection with John 15:5: for without Me you can do nothing. With Jesus we can do all things, without Him we can’t do anything.'   Copyright David Guzik. Enduring Word

Therefore, Paul had learned the secret of contentment. He had mastered being content in whatever situation he found himself in. Therefore, God was able to use him for any purpose. As long as Paul was able to take the first step of faith, Jesus would be there to take him the rest of the way. Now this takes some mastering because we have to use that subject 'Faith', and this is a difficult thing to accept. We can't see a thing and yet, we know it'a there. Note the phrase 'we know.' We know God exists, we know Jesus does as well, so when we're given a task to do, we know it's there, even though we can't see it, and yet, we stumble over doing this.

Perhaps we need to go back to basics. Paul wrote 'For we walk by faith, not by sight'. 2 Corinthians 5:7. Now back up to the last chapter, 4:18 where this says 'While we do not look at the things that 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.'

When we are walking in contentment with Jesus , we can trust Him that, even though we cannot see something, if Jesus says to us in our spirits, that it's there, you can be sure that it is there. This is faith. It is the opposite of fear. People often say the opposite is doubt, but they're wrong. It is fear; and this is why people struggle to take a faith step, they are fearful that it may not happen. If that is the case, it won't. We need to trust Jesus 100% to be a faith person.

So how is your faith? You had the faith to ask Jesus into your life and, even though you can't see Him, you know He is there and you speak to Him and listen to Him. What is that if it isn't faith? You have faith, you just need to have the confidence in what you do. I'm not saying to pray that you will be the next Euro Millions winner at all. What I am saying is, you have been given a portion of faith (Romans 12:3) so use it. Pray for people and pray for things to change. As you pray - believe that you will receive. If you doubt, you will be without.

Bottom line - put your faith into action!

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 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Ready, Steady, Go

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".  Hebrews 12:1-2  NKJV

In this particular piece of scripture, I want us to look at:

Spiritual Readiness - Perseverance in Faith and Moving Forward with God

Let us begin running the race by looking at:

LETTING GO 

This is the point of letting go of the past, as we have seen over the past few days. Hurts, wrongdoings and whatever will always trip us up and take us right back to where a particular bad thing happened to us. This is why it is imperative to LET GO of the situation. All it is doing is festering within and holding us back from moving on with God.

We need to be ready, alert and prepared for action.

STEADY

Another essential is being able to run the race of the Christian life with endurance. There is no chance of doing this when we are forever looking back over our shoulder at our past. All that causes is a weight of heaviness so, throw it off and whatever else may be preventing us from succeeding, trusting God to do the impossible when nothing is possible.

GO

This is stepping out in faith and action, pursuing God wholeheartedly. Being ready to preach the gospel or give an account of our faith, to anyone who asks or questions why we act in such a way 2 Timothy 4:2

Check out verse 2. Can you see it? One of the most important parts of this verse is staring at you: 'looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith'. What this is saying is, 'Jesus started it and He will finish it too'. He didn't lead you into something and then leave you alone. He was there at the beginning - the preparation, and He will be there throughout  and will see it through to the finish. You have no reason to fear that.

Jesus, Himself, started the race and saw it through- birth-crucifixion-death and raised to life. He has been there and carries the scars of it all. There is not a shadow of doubt that He will leave you to stumble around on your own. Just be willing and obedient to what He is asking of you. Be willing to be Ready, Steady and to Go.

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 2026 Grahame Howard. 

Living for Jesus

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God".

                                                                    Romans 12:1-2.  NKJV

Here, the apostle Paul writes about total commitment. It can also be expressed by total surrender. Jesus Christ must come first in our lives. He teaches about presenting our body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service.

Therefore, having the attitude that, if Jesus has died for me, then the least I can do is live for Him. 

The great cricketer and later, missionary CT Studd declared: 'If Jesus Christ be God and died for me then, no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.' Likewise, Issac Watts wrote in his wonderful hymn 'When I survey the wondrous cross': 'Love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my all'.

So in verse 2 of our text we read: 'And do not be conformed to this world'. I rather like Phillips paraphrase which says: 'Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould.' We need to abandon the thought patterns and lifestyles that we have been used to and 'not be conformed to this world.' The word 'world' here can be translated 'age'.

We live in an 'age' where people have created their own version of what we should do, so  we need to think the way God thinks as detailed in the bible. We need to get ourselves into the position of having a (1) Yielded Body (2) A Separated Life and (3) A Transformed Mind. When we are this way, we show that we are fully committed to God; we have done our bit, so He will now do His and we will be renewed and fully transformed.

We can't do this alone. We have proved that. We need Jesus to help us over the hurdles of worldly life, into the realms of spiritual life, and this can begin today.

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 2026 Grahame Howard. 

God has your back!

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert."     Isaiah 43:18-19   NKJV

As we consider our new beginning that God has given us, let us begin by thinking about what had happened to these Israelites. They had spent 70 very hard years as slaves to the Babylonians. It is hard to describe what they went through but, with God's help many of them made it. There must have been times when they thought of how their ancestors managed to cope when they were imprisoned in Egypt. The Israelites were finally rescued with the help of Moses and Aaron and with Pharaoh and the Egyptian army in pursuit, they managed to cross the Red Sea to safety. Through Moses, God performed a miracle and the mighty waters of the sea was drawn back and they were able to cross over dry land. However, the Egyptians perished as they tried to do the same.

Egypt was a similar set up. But the exodus was forgettable compared with what was happening to them in Babylon. God was getting ready to perform a miracle for His people there. Cyrus the Great, the Persian conqueror of Babylon issued a decree in 538 BCE allowing the Jews to return to Judah to rebuild their temple. This ended the Babylonian exile.

God had given a Word through Isaiah letting the Jews know of this which is found in our text today. Note that God was telling the people to forget what had happened to them and focus on the now and the future He had planned for them. He had made a road and a river through the desert and the waste places would be habitable again and there would be an abundance of water. The old was gone and the new was coming.

If we look at this from our own point of view, you may be in a place of torment and feel that nothing is happening to bring you a future. Stop that negative thinking right now! It is doing you no good. God wants you to forget the past and accept that He is doing a new thing in your life. Don't forget that He destroyed the Egyptian army who were pursuing the Israelites who were escaping and, He raised up a new king in Babylon - Cyrus the Great and they were released from their captivity. He can do the same for your situation. He is the same God. He never changes.

God has your back. Others may have let you down. Close friends and family may have walked away from you thinking you were a hopeless case. However, not in God's eyes. And He is about to make you a somebody. Where people scoffed at you, they will be stunned at what He will perform in you and through you. Hang on to that. Your friend Jesus is at work on your behalf.

Think big, think success and think happiness and joy. Your time is at hand! 

Receive it!

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 2026 Grahame Howard. 

  

A New Beginning

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new".             2 Corinthians 5:17    NKJV

Well, here we are - 2026 a New Year to look forward to. In fact, we can view it as a new beginning. Last year has gone, the things that happened are still in our minds but, we can make a difference here. Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us: 'Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.19Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert'. We have a choice to stop remembering the former things. They are in the past. If the things hurt you, shrug them off and look to the future. Yes, it is difficult to shrug off things that have been like a dagger to your heart. But can you do anything about them? If not, consider leaving them where they belong - in the past. You now live in the future.

God is doing a new thing in your life; you have a new start to enjoy. You are a born again man or women. This verse reinforces this fact. It is a reminder of who you are in Christ. However, don't forget that even though you are a brand new person, you still have a lot of old baggage with you; evil thoughts still attack you and lustful looks still are attached to you, despite how many times you have been prayed for to be free. These are the things that we carry with us, but you don't have to be involved in what they might suggest to your thoughts. Cast them away in Jesus name at the time that that they appear and claim the victory.

Isaiah 43 tells us that God is about to do a new thing within us. Now match this up with

Ezekiel 36:25-27 'Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  27I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them". This is a verse full of life and it would be helpful if you prayed this - personally, and claimed it for your own life. This is your future, the future God longs to give to you.

If ever there was a verse for a new beginning, this is it. We all need this cleansing, we need to have our heart of stone taken away and have a heart of flesh to replace it and, we most definitely need the Holy Spirit to settle within us, giving us peace, favour and love.

Do you need this? I most certainly do, so, let us all make this New Beginning a done deal and get on with what God has for us to do and receive.

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 2026 Grahame Howard. 

 

What have you learned this past year Part 2

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,  24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality."

                                                                  Colossians 3:23-25   NKJV

Paul is calling for us to honour our masters - the people we may work for or have to submit to, such as government etc. He encourages us to work for them as if we are serving Jesus Himself. When we do this, we should not do it reluctantly but, with Godly motivation. As we work this way, our earthly boss may notice this and may mention it, However, if he doesn't, Jesus has noticed and really, this is all that matters.

Nothing goes unnoticed with Jesus, people may just accept that we are doing the work that we are paid to do. However, Jesus will know that you are doing the work as if you are doing it for Him. You will then receive the reward of the inheritance from God.

Just think of it as working with a big notice on your back, 'DOING THE JOB FOR JESUS'. If you work for yourself and have a van, you could always put a quotation under for name and description, with this underneath in brackets. This would underpin your intention to serve your customer with excellent service and may be a good reference. I do remember seeing a firm's van once with AGAPE' CLEANING SERVICES written on the side. What a great witness. However, it will only be a great witness if you work as if serving Jesus.

Therefore, what have you learned this past year? Well for a start, we see the need to place Jesus in first place in everything. It is a recipe for success. So if you are at College or Uni, ask Jesus to help you with your studies and essay writing. From past experience, I can assure you that this works very well. If you work for someone then treat it as if you are serving Jesus as previously mentioned, the same as working for yourself. However, always be honourable to the name of Jesus. Course jokes and innuendoes let is down terribly.

Make this your New Years slogan: 

"DOING THE JOB FOR JESUS"

I'll be back on Friday 2nd January 2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL 

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 have you learned this past year? Part 1

"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  13I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".                       Philippians 4:10-13   NKJV

Paul here, is talking about being content in all he has, no matter what state he is in or wherever he may be at the time. He's just grateful for what God has blessed him with. The secret to contentment is knowing that Jesus Christ is your Saviour and, whatever state you may be in or, wherever you may be, He is right there with you. You may be flat broke, Jesus isn't, not at all, and if you trust in Him He will share some of His riches with you too. If you're hungry, He will also meet that need. It is the same for sickness and the feeling of hopelessness. He doesn't want you sick and He doesn't want you broke either. It all comes down to being content with what you have and where you are right now.

Paul, even though he had been hungry and without food at times, was able to say that he was content. He had been in prison with no hope at all, but his trust was in Jesus, no one else. This was his secret. It's easy to think that he was asking for money here when he wrote this; but that was not so. Of course, he wouldn't have turned down a gift if someone gave it to him. But, he was more interested in teaching to his followers the secret of being content. 

This past year, you may have been in financial problems. You may have suffered a great loss and through all of this, you have made it through. Think back to how you felt at the time. It may have been scary because you had no idea of what to do or how to solve the impossible. But Jesus pulled you through. You may not have fully recovered your predicament yet, but you're on the way. As we saw in yesterday's teaching, the disciples were panicking because they thought the boat was going to sink. But remember, Jesus was there with them and He resolved the situation.

Jesus wants us all to be worry free. We accomplish this by being totally sold out to Jesus. This is the place He wants us to be - a place of peace and contentment and we receive this by putting Him in first place in our lives. You may have done this but, when a crisis has come your way, you may have been like the disciples that day in the boat - totally full of panic. What did Jesus say to them? 'Where is your faith?' And, this is what He is saying to you today.

No matter what the future is saying, think big and think Jesus and be content in the knowledge that, your friend Jesus, is right in there with you.

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.