The Grace of God

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  14And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  15This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  16However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.  17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen"     

                                                                         1 Timothy 1:12-17   NKJV

If ever a man received amazing grace from God, it was Saul of Tarsus. He was a very influential Pharisee who took his service in a dedicated manner. Saul had broken the Ten Commandments, speaking of blasphemy, persecution, all in a insolent manner. He had sought to put Christians to death because he felt that this new 'Sect' posed a threat to Judaism. He took delight in carrying out his evil plans and committing insolent, violent and outrageous acts. 

In Acts 9, we read of Saul's conversion on the Damascus Road. He was actually going to serve others with threat of death around this area when suddenly a powerful light shone all around him and he was blinded. Jesus, who by now was at the righthand of God in heaven, asked him why he was 'kicking against the goads'. (My paraphrase) This is a metaphor of an Ox kicking against a spiked stick (Goad) that doesn't wish to obey. Jesus knew that Saul wouldn't give in unless He took action. Therefore, Saul was blinded and was sent, 3 days later, to a disciple called Ananias, who even fearful of Saul's reputation, baptised him in the name of Jesus and Saul's sight was returned. He was also told to take the name of Paul from that day forth. From thereon, Paul's ministry took on another meaning.

It was not what Paul would do for the Lord but, what the Lord would do for him. It was total grace, something that Paul could never get over - Jesus not only saved him but also counted him faithful and so, appointed him to His service. Paul received mercy because he did all of his previous acts in his ignorance and unbelief. He had genuinely felt that he was doing God's work at the time.

Have you ever stopped and thought of your past, all of the things you did which you now know was against God's will. What happened when you met with Jesus, He forgave all of your sin and wrongdoings, they were nailed on His cross. Therefore, from that moment your sin of the past was taken away. Jesus knew this to be true and no doubt you did at the time. But occasionally we are tempted to believe that we are still guilty and under condemnation. This is why Paul and others wrote that your sins are in the past. Cast them aside and leave them there. They are holding you back. Jesus Christ forgave you and took your sin upon Himself. Yes, you will still sin daily because we live in the flesh, we haven't yet received our spiritual bodies. So it's a good ides to ask Jesus to forgive you for the sins that you may have committed daily. They are then forgiven instantly.

You know, God's grace is amazing - Amaing Grace - WE have Jesus walking with us and guarding us on a daily basis. Yes, we will make mistakes, He knows this. But He will forgive you when you confess, all the time. Now that's Grace!

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. 

Jesus wants to give you His peace

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".     John 14:27   NKJV 

When we read through this piece of scripture, we need to realise that, He is not promising that we will never have storms happening in our lives, because we will have, and Jesus knows it. What He promises is when we go through a storm, His peace will be right beside us. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". There is a big difference. Jesus doesn't want us plagued with anxiety. instead He tells us to pray about such things that may come against us. We may be entering a big storm in our lives but remember, Jesus is still on the throne. He won't let you down.

Jesus is not talking about ordinary peace; He is speaking to us about Shalom peace. The kind of peace that is bigger than any peace the world can offer. Note how Paul describes this Hebrew word here" It implies health, happiness and well-being peace. (Is 26:3) This type of peace is described in Hebrew as Shalom, Shalom. This is why, Paul described it this way: 'and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'. 

This is what Jesus was teaching His disciples that day. But this is available to us as well because, it is a Living Word. Anxiety and worry unplugs the faith force from us before we have begun. We can write an essay on the reason why we can't do a particular thing. Allow me to be brutally honest, if you can spend that amount of time thinking about why you can't do this, then why not utilise this time properly, thinking about how, with God's help you can do it. Stop the wasted time. We need to make the best of every second we live through - people need Jesus, they are going to hell if they are not told about Jesus and how He lived and died to save each one of us.

While we sit and discuss and worry about unnecessary things, people are dying, they don't know Jesus. You may have the attitude of 'Well if I don't tell them, somebody else will, so that's all right, isn't it?' Not really, because if they are saving the person you could have saved, others are missing out.

I know I've said it a lot of times but here we go again: dust off you bibles, read it, believe it and pray about it, then keep on doing this. Then put on the Armour of God (Daily) Ephesians 6:12-18, and then as you learn more about Jesus and become clothed in the Spirit, branch out in triumph, full of power and Jesus and tell some people about Jesus. 

You know it makes sense!

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. 

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.