That Special Something More

"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good."                                Psalm 34:8

 To taste something is to sip, savour or possibly to put into the mouth in order try out a new dish. In this verse, it can be defined in a similar manner by describing a first time encounter. Hence, to 'partake of, especially for the first time experience.' Allow me to give an example:

During my pastoral training and often afterwards, I used a special method of describing Jesus to someone, in the street or wherever I was. I would ask them to pretend they had never tasted, eaten or even heard of a Mars bar. I would go on to say how it was full of malt, caramel, fudge and covered in gorgeous, rippling milk chocolate. It was then wrapped in brown and red paper with a picture of the bar on the front and it sat there waiting to be opened and eaten. I would get the person to imagine what it felt like as they began to eat it. Then I would tell them that I could talk about this all of the day but unless they put it in their mouth and tried it, they would never know what it tasted like. And this is how it is when we discuss Jesus with someone. We could tell them how wonderful He is and how He can change their lives; but until they try Him (taste) for themselves, they would never know. 

This evangelistic method, gave me quite a lot of success when I was witnessing on the streets and I used it on a regular basis. However, when I sat an exam and wrote about this, my lecturer marked me down as he felt offended that I had compared Jesus to a chocolate bar. I tried to explain that many people had accepted Jesus because of it but it fell on deaf ears. Understand this, you can never please everyone so stop trying. I carried on using this method of evangelism and it still works. Never let anyone stop you from doing God's work.

Each one of us had to taste Jesus in order to find out what He was like. The world is a counterfeit in comparison to Heaven. Consider it for yourselves; yes it is brilliant to be alive and to be able to enjoy the things of the earth such as, nature, wildlife and all of the beauty around. It's also wonderful to have people love us and we love them; and yet, without Jesus something is always missing. For some people, drugs, booze, sex and crazy living are ok for a time, but it's only a temporary buzz. Some people want more, so they try more drugs, booze, sex and crazy living. Some end up paying a heavy price by losing their lives - all because they were searching for that 'special something more.'

That special something more is called Jesus and He's the greatest 'something more', that we could ever have. Do you know that? You have to taste Him and see that He is the business; He meets the needs; He bridges the gap. Why not taste Him and see.

'Lord Jesus, I need You in my life. Please forgive my sin and come and live in my heart. I've blown it so many times that I don't know where to turn, except to You. I want to taste You and see what You can do in my life. Come and help me Jesus. Amen

If you've said that prayer, you're born again. Tell someone and get the Christian help you need.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Walking in Praise Part 3

"The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them."

                                                                                                                 Psalm 34:7.  NKJV

Charles F Stanley says, 'Who knows how often we have been protected or delivered from harm by an angel assigned to guard us? Who knows how that angel is defending you right now?'

Profound words from Dr Stanley, this can be backed up in Psalm 91:11 where it says:

                  'For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways'

As God's children, we are assigned angels who protect us as we call out to God for help. 'I sought the LORD, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears,'  (Psalm 34:4). We have so much to thank and praise Him for. Don't let life steal your song, joy or peace.Things will come along designed to knock your faith, but keep praising Him, He's worth it.

Top people such as pop stars, film stars and politicians, just to mention a few, have bodyguards who shadow them wherever they go; keeping them safe. As Children of God, we're the elite and have our own personal bodyguard - Jesus Himself. He encamps around us and, whereas the top people have to pay for the services, we get it for free and top service too.

There have been many times in our lives that if Jesus hadn't watched over us and kept us safe, we would have been goners. Picture the scene where Daniel's friends were in the red hot furnace, recorded in Daniel 3:24-25. Three had been cast into the furnace and yet, Nebuchadnezzar had seen four, one was Jesus. And then there was Daniel in the Lon's den. Daniel said to Darius, 'My God sent His angel and shut the lion's mouths, so that they have not hurt me.' (Daniel 6:22). Divine intervention because the angel of the LORD encamped around them. Therefore, consider how you are protected too. As you pray, praise and worship God, He will do this. The closer you are to Jesus, a fuller realisation of this will take root within you.

What is there to fear? Hebrews 13:6 clearly tells us, 'The LORD is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?' Whatever you do and wherever you go, He is right by your side and will never leave you or walk away. Keep blessing and praising Him. 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Walking in Praise Part 2

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (2) My soul shall make its boast in the LORD, the humble shall hear of it and be glad. (3) Oh magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."

                                                                                                                Psalm 34:1-3   NKJV

When we walk in praise - blessing and rejoicing in God - we will have to balance out the good times and the bad times, the better times and the stressful times; when we're sick, moody or depressed, in work or out of work, rich or poor, in a hospital bed or a dentist's chair. There are many things that will try to attack our desire to praise God. This is why James tells us to, 'Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.' (James1:2-3)

How does His praise continually be in our mouth? (Psalm 34:1) Answer = by living 24/7 for Him, studying your bible and enjoying His presence. Start by turning the TV off and reading a Christian book or listening to a Praise CD and fill your life with Him.

Praise is uplifting and makes you feel good; it makes you look radiant. Remember Moses when he had been in God's presence? His face shone. (Exodus 34:29) People see the difference. Also when we're walking with God, deeply, we can't stop talking about Him. Every opportunity we have, we slip Jesus into the conversation. Have you lost that feeling?

When we get to know Him the way He wishes for us, this is all we want do, and it is very important. However, Bill Johnson says, 'There's one thing more important than knowing God and that is God knowing you.' We must remember Jesus' words in Matthew 7:21-23:

'Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My father in Heaven, (22) Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name?' (23) And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'

This is quite a scary passage and we automatically feel, 'Is He talking to me? Will I get to Heaven?' Let me tell you, if you are born again and in Jesus and He in you, which is a Covenant relationship, relax, you're safe. There are people who profess to be Christians and aren't. As Jesus said, 'You will know them by their fruit.' (Matthew 7:15-20)

So get to know Jesus more and more, in fact, better than you ever have, and consequently, allow Him to get to know you. Drop your guard, that brick wall you've built around yourself. You can't hide things from God. He knows everything, so let Him purge away stuff within you that blocks your walk with Him. Do this and you're in for a blessing! 

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Walking in Praise

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (2) My soul shall make its boast in the LORD, the humble shall hear of it and be glad. (3) Oh magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together."

                                                                                                                Psalm 34:1-3   NKJV

If it is not already your practice, praise God throughout the day. Exalt Him when you wake up, when you eat, when you leave the house and when you return. An attitude of worship and trust in the Lord will make an amazing difference in your life. Why not speak in tongues for a time; just let the Holy Spirit use the words that reach deeper into the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:18).

Basically, it is getting into a routine of praising and blessing God before anything else; before you do anything or before you go anywhere. Also, don't forget to ensure that you're dressed in God's Armour (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Train your soul - Mind Will and Emotions, to be synchronised to the Holy Spirit at all times. This includes what we think and learn about and what we take on board. Have a will that says, 'This is the day the LORD has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.' (Psalm 118:24). This is a choice we make - a choice to be so grateful to God for all He's done, that we just want to praise and rejoice in Him.

Don't forget, when we praise and rejoice in God, it stops the devil in his tracks. He doesn't want any part in a worship session. He backs off and flees. Therefore, if you want to keep the devil at bay, do it the right way, get praising Jesus.

Our emotions begin to bubble when we praise God. Just close your eyes and picture a scene in Heaven. God is in the distance - a huge figure clad in glistening white; and before Him angels and saints are praising, bowing, standing up and bowing again. Picture yourself there. The atmosphere is breathtaking, there's no words to describe itl. This is why we need our prayer language. Now realise that, who you've been praising and worshipping, lives in your heart; accompanies you throughout your day - Jesus Himself. We have so much to thank Him for.

As we boast in the Lord, we may be saying, 'Thank you for a new day of my life Lord, thank you for Your constant faithfulness; the care and provision You give me each day.' There is so much we need to be grateful and thankful for. We only scrape the surface most days.

As we begin to get our prayer, praise and study time right, our walk with Jesus will take off in a more powerful way!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Don't Limit God

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" 

                                                                                                     Philippians 4:19  NKJV

You may be down on your luck at this present time. The Coronavirus has destroyed much of what we have taken for granted all of our lives. Now jobs are shaky, some people are being made redundant; losing their houses and just can't seem to make ends meet anymore. People are living on credit but how long will that last? Nothing in life is certain anymore, it is assumed. Well, let me tell you, Jesus Christ is certain, He never changes and He'll never leave us (Hebrews 13:5+8). 

Don't be distracted by world events no matter how awful they are. Jesus is still in charge. As bad as the situation may be at this moment, He has the answer, in fact, He is the answer. Don't limit Him by thinking small - think big! God is not into negative thinking; let's face it you've done enough of that in the past. It's time to remember the victories you've had in the past; those times when everything appeared lost, and then Jesus turned up. He's still the same. He still wants to help, so stop limiting Him. 

A woman went to Elisha desperate for his help. Her husband had died and she was broke and even the creditors were on their way. (2 Kings 4:1-7). Elisha asked her what she had in the house and all she had was a jar of oil. He told her to borrow as many pots and vessels she could get and pour the oil into them until it ran out. It was only a small jar of oil and seemed unbelievable to fill all of the pots, but it did. Elisha then told her to sell the oil and live on the money. Her need was met in a supernatural way.

Moses was struggling with God's command to go to Pharaoh. God said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' (Exodus 4:2). It was his rod. God told him that by this Pharaoh would know that God had sent him.

Jesus fed the Five Thousand with only five loaves and two fish. As they were placed in Jesus' hands and He offered them to God, they had more than enough.

What do you have that you can dedicate to God? It may not seem like much to you, but if you allow God to use it and work through you, mighty things will be accomplished - supernatural supply. Don't limit God and don't be afraid; believe that He wants to bless you. Get the supernatural faith working. Read, pray and own Mark 11:22-24.

It is time to realise just how much Jesus loves you and how much He wants to bless you too. Give Him what you have, no matter how small and watch how He multiplies your seed. It's Harvest Time!

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Chunking? Yes, bite size learning approaches

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”               Luke 10:38-42.  ESV 

Check out the words, 'But Martha was distracted with much serving.' Martha was a servant and everything had to be in place and done according to how she liked it. She had a time-table. In fact, she lived life in the fast lane. When we do this, we open the door to stress and possible sickness as we attempt to compete with the time-table that we have put upon ourselves. When we look at all we have to do, it is so easy to flap and become frustrated because no one else understands the pressure that we are under - actually, the pressure that we have put ourselves under.

Martha was very much like this. She was faithful and loved her sister but she couldn't understand why Mary couldn't see the importance of doing things - NOW! Therefore, she asked Jesus to speak with Mary and encourage her to help. She was not expecting the answer she received from Him, however, He identified her anxiety and the trouble this was causing her and others. Mary would have been very willing to help her sister, but, she had prioritised and put Jesus first, which we all should do.

In the pressure moments of this life, do you become stressed when you have a lot of things to do? The problem is, we often view all of our jobs and tasks in one, as if they all have to be done at the same time. Obviously, without help, this is impossible. It is far better to do some chunking.

Wikipedia says this about chunking:

'Bite-sized learning approaches use what cognitive psychologists call chunking to aid retention. This is a strategy of breaking down information into chunks (bite-sized) pieces so that the brain can easily digest it. ... Chunking uses what we know about our brains memory and exploits it.'

It is a psychological process that helps the brain to be able to cope with certain things that come against us. When we have a lot of chores to do, it can be advantageous to break the jobs down into bite size chunks - manageable doses. This helps the brain to process the work in hand and allot time for the tasks i.e. 'this is the task for today, I'll do the other tomorrow'. Chunking can also allow us break down further, the bite size chunk we have allotted, which helps us have more time for the task in hand. 

When we look at it all, are the tasks that are stressing you out, of so much importance that they all need to be done now? It's very doubtful. It is you that have set the priority, not the tasks. It is looking at your tasks in hand and deciding what is the most important. From thereon, a schedule can be created, but one that is flexible if possible. The difference between setting priorities and chunking is that, with the latter, it helps your cognitive skills to kick in and think it through sensibly. If you're the type of person that is prone to getting stressed out by all you have to do, try chunking out. Break the jobs down into bite size chunks and have a stress-free life as Jesus wants you too.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

Two Worlds

"Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven."

                                                                                                                  Matthew 6:10.  NKJV

Bill Johnson, a very popular American preacher/teacher, prophet and author, says, 'We need to pray God's world into this world.'

You see, there are two worlds - Heaven being one and then Earth. Therefore, as believers of the Lord Jesus, we need to ensure that we're on Christian business, and we do that by living for Jesus in such a way that we bring Heavenly things into play over Earthly things. This is what our text for today is saying.

This is why many people who met Jesus and spoke with Him, didn't fully comprehend what He was saying. Instead of trying to understand, they accused Him of being a false teacher. Jesus had brought the Kingdom of Heaven to the Earth and therefore, God had become flesh as the Son of God: 'The Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us.' (John 1:14). Again in John 1:11, we read, 'He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.' Jesus the Light, shone in the darkness of the earth and the earth didn't comprehend Him.

So if they found it difficult to accept Jesus, you can bet the same thing will happen to you. If they thought Jesus was weird they'll feel the same way about you. But who cares, they've felt that way about me for years. Let's just get on with it.

With the awareness that we're living in two worlds, we get a deeper understanding. We live on the earth but our citizenship is in Heaven. (Philippians 3:20). We're aliens to this world, so no wonder we don't belong here; no wonder people are embarrassed by our faith and become uppity if we mention Jesus. But as long as we know what world we belong to, we need to use the tools that will help us to do the job.

2 Corinthians 5:7 say, 'We walk by faith, not by sight.' We're not moved by what we see or hear that is contrary to God's Word. We see things through God's eyes. 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'. In other words, the things we see are subject to change as we see them through the eyes of faith.

We need to accept that we're different. We may have been born on this earth but when we accepted Jesus, we emigrated to the Heavenly world. We are Kingdom people and as such, we need to pray God's world into this temporary world. We need to pray Heavenly things not earthly; bringing Heavenly things into play in this hostile, earthly world. 

This is the only way things will change.

Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com