God wants to share His heart with you

"Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.21She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: 22“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? 23Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise."  Proverbs 1:20-23  NLT

Every moment of every day, God wants each of us to walk in wisdom. In every situation we find ourselves in, God is telling us to get wisdom on whatever we are faced with. Wisdom is not a living being but, the mind of God revealed. If you want to see wisdom in action, just read your bible and watch Jesus. See how He speaks and acts with individuals; watch how He handles difficult situations. This is how He wants us to be each day.

God offers us the chance to spend time learning about wisdom. He says: ''Come and listen to My counsel. I'll share My heart with you and make you wise' v23. What an amazing offer He gives us - He offers to share His heart with us.' How incredible is that? 

The wise give encouragement, the foolish lack common sense, and we will only be able to give encouragement when God equips us with His knowledge. Wisdom promotes what is right, lack of wisdom promotes the opposite. Whatever God promotes, Satan promotes the opposite. This is why wisdom is so important and God wants to share His heart with you about it.

Just ponder that for a moment. Jesus wants to share His heart with you. The one who created the world and died and was resurrected for each of us, is still offering His love and care. James 1:5 instructs you to ask God for wisdom and receive it. You must not waver in receiving this, rather like a yoyo - one minute up, the next down. You must act and receive it in a solid manner. It is serious stuff, possibly like the difference between heaven and hell and life and death. Don't reject God's offer.

Whatever you are doing to day, try and take some time out and think about all of this.We all mess up at times; we all make the wrong choices. But ask yourself, 'Am I acting in wisdom? Do I seek God's heart before I make a decision, or do I just plunge in and hope for the best? Today God offers you the chance to sit with Him and allow Him to share His heart with you. Are you going to take Him up on His offer?

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

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Don't be enticed

"My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!11They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
12Let’s swallow them alive, like the graveb; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.13Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.14Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”15My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths.
16They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder. 17If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.18But these people set ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed. 19Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life."  Proverbs 1:10-19. NLT

If we're not careful, we can be easily enticed, 'Come and join us' they my say. This is usually ok where people are like-minded e.g. a Christian like yourself. When they are not and you have befriended them, just be careful that you don't get carried away with  their ways of enjoying themselves. For instance, drugs, too much alcohol, and wild parties. It is so easy to be led away when you are not in control. For teens, there is peer pressure and v11 speaks loudly about this, 'Let's hide and kill someone. Just for fun, let's ambush the innocent.' This may account for some of the stabbings and murders on our streets almost everyday. Like ASBO's were a badge of merit, it now seems that stabbing someone has taken its place. Kids are led astray; they want to look good in front of the others, even at the cost of someone's life. Then there are the muggings; robbing people, again on the streets to get hold of what they can to feed their habits. It certainly is a dangerous place to live at times.

Some feel that theft can be a good way of becoming rich; break into a house and take the trimmings, hold someone up on the street to rob them. If you are a teen and reading this, do not let anyone entice you and lead you astray. It's a dangerous walk to take and, you will get found out.
You may not have a lot of money and you may be living from benefit to benefit/pay cheque to pay cheque, struggling every inch of the way. Someone may say, 'I know a way you can earn a little extra money. Why don't you come and join us. There's no harm in it, let's face it, others do it. You won't get caught.' etc. etc.' Don't fall for this. It is a temptation to follow someone else's wrong doing and, you will get caught out in the end. 
Do not listen to the tempting whispers and the false advice about fiddling the taxman, having extra jobs and not declaring what you earn. Do not fall for the offer to push some drugs, or offer sexual favours to make ends meet. Some do it and many are caught and the shame is loud when you read about yourself in the evening news. 
DO NOT BE ENTICED, IT WILL BRING YOU NOTHING BUT HEARTACHE. LET JESUS HELP YOU INSTEAD.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

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Making excuses

"And remember, when you're being tempted, do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted  to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else."   James 1:13  NLT

Temptations come from evil desires from within us, never from God. They start with a bad thought and, as we concentrate on this, it can lead us to action rather like a snowball rolling down a hill gains more snow until it is massive. When we do wrong, it is so easy to blame other people, or the environment that we're in. When we do this, we are making excuses instead of taking the responsibility. We may say: 'It wasn't my fault, I couldn't help it. They made me do it. Anyway, God was tempting me to see if I would do it.'

Wrong! God does not tempt you. Own up to it and stop trying to blame someone else. Be responsible. This reminds me of Eve in the garden. She hadn't listened properly and the devil tricked her (Genesis 3:3-4). Then the excuses began. When God questioned Adam, he had the audacity to say that it was not his fault, 'It was the woman You gave me  who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.' Then when God asked Eve what she had done, she blamed the devil. Excuse after excuse, lie after lie. 

A person who makes excuses is trying to shift the blame from himself, or herself, onto something or someone else. They are refusing to take the responsibility, and this is one of the biggest problems that we have today - blame, blame and more blame, making excuses instead of admitting the truth. When you think about it, Eve was willing to accept Satan's viewpoint instead, of checking it out with God. After all, He was with them right there in the garden. Surely it would have been far easier to walk up to Him and confirm the truth. Adam was weak, he should have taken the responsibility from the start instead, of hiding behind his wife's back. He was the leader, not her. In Christian marriage, does this sound familiar?

Be honest, do you make excuses for things instead of making a stand and declaring your responsibility? Whether we are married or not, the Christian man and woman have to face up to their own particular responsibility; there should be no excuse made unless there is a valid reason for this. God is looking for people who will serve Him well, people who will carry out His mission, a person who doesn't keep looking back. Are you that person?

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Struggles with sin part 2 - dying to self

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20  NLT 

This verse is in conjunction with what we were looking at yesterday and, reminds us that, the whole concept of life with Jesus is to die to self. I read somewhere that Martin Luther had a visitor to his house one night. When he opened the door, the person asked to see Martin Luther. Luther's reply was 'He no longer lives here, he has died. Jesus Christ lives here now.' I have no reference to underpin this statement but, I have heard this repeated so many times that I believe it is the sort of thing Mr Luther would have said.

Dead men don't react. A person can touch a dead body but there is absolutely no reaction at all; they are dead to reaction. Do you get the point here? A body will no longer react no matter how hard you try, and this was Martin Luther's point. He had given his everything to Jesus and He no longer lived. Some may find this quite extreme but as you think about it, he had a good point. Examine this:

(1)  DYING TO SELF  You're dead to reaction. A decision has been made to live for Jesus.

(2)  DEAD TO SELF   You no longer live but Jesus Christ lives through you. You have discovered the art of surrender. There is no more self-centeredness about you at all.

To be able to live in such a way takes discipline. Everything in your old life must be dead. You can't deliberately hang on to certain sins. They must be a thing of the past. This is how Martin Luther could make his statement. However, as we saw from yesterday's study, this is not easy. If the apostle Paul found it difficult to control his flesh, we definitely will struggle. Remember, our flesh is still active and this, is where we struggle with sinful temptations. It is a matter of accepting that we are not perfect - far from it but, we have made a decision to die to self, and live for Jesus.

This is an ongoing struggle, one in which will follow us all the days of our life. But, let us remember that, 'goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.'  Psalm 23;6. Yes struggles may follow us but, Jesus Christ does too and His power is mightier than any struggle. So die to self and live for Jesus!

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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Struggles with sin

"I want to do what is right, but I can't. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don't, I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway."   Romans 7:18-19   NLT

Sound familiar? Of course it does, but not only for you, but all of us. We are all the same, we all want to do great things for God and we may well achieve it, but then, we go and let ourselves down by getting involved in sin. Why is this? Well, when we came to Jesus, we were born again, baptised in water and possibly baptised in the Holy Spirit. In other words, our nature was renewed, but our flesh wasn't; it is still active. Tony Evans gives an interesting description about this:

"When you come to Christ, your identity changes, but your location stays the same. There is now a distinction between who you are and where you live. You are totally redeemed, totally sanctified, totally brand new in Christ, but you live in a body contaminated by flesh, Thus, when we as Christians sin, we are no longer the one's doing it; it is the sin that lives in us (7:20). In saying this, Paul is not excusing our sin. He is reminding us that our true identity is no longer found in our actions, even if we keep sinning. When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me (7:21). Note that it's me. My 'I' has changed from sinner to saint. Therefore, when sin wants me to define myself by what I've done wrong, I remember that God defines me by who I am in Christ"

                                                           The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

Paul recognises that, mostly we are helpless when it comes to resolving our problems in this area. He recognised it himself and this is why he wrote: 'Who will rescue me from this body of death? (7:24). Some days it was like he was walking through quicksand and the harder he struggled, the more he sank. We are so like this; what we don't want to do, we end up doing and it's almost like we have no control over this. Like Paul, we have to recognise that Jesus Christ can and will, rescue us from this. Paul says, 'thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (7:25). 

Therefore, we need to pray regularly each day and, ensure that we are clad in the armour of God. If you take a look at Galatians, there is a great prayer we can use:

'My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me'  (Galatians 2:20  NLT.

So remember in your Daily Life with Jesus, you will struggle with sin but, God is there to rescue you.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

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If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Stumbling blocks

"So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall."   Romans 14:13   NLT 

Stumbling blocks, what are they? They're anything that stops us from living our daily lives with Jesus. They come in many ways, from family squabbles, money issues, troubles with friends or neighbours or church members. There are many ways that we can come to stumble over something.

We may also cause ourselves to stumble by having habits that we hang on to, refusing to give them up. These bad habits, addictions or whatever they are, lead us away from Jesus. The Holy Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean vessel (2 Timothy 2:21). Therefore straightaway, we have a stumbling block and need to clean this up so that the Holy Spirit can re-enter. It's not that He has left but, that He cannot function where there is sin, so He stands aside.

Stumbling blocks may come when we criticise people, believers or unbelievers. We are not called to judge (Matthew 7:1-2) but we do it all the same. We need to be careful here because, when we judge people, we are judged by Jesus. The mouth is a big stumbling block, what comes out of it can make us fall. We can begin to talk negative things to ourselves such as, ‘I'll never be able to do that, I'm useless at anything.' Don't you realise that what you confess, you will receive? 'The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences' Proverbs 18:21.  Dangerous stuff, we must control our mouths and the words that come out of it. The fruit of the mouth spoken in such a way is a stumbling block.

In the same way, we ourselves can be a stumbling block to others. Someone may come up to us with a word they feel they have received from God, and straightaway we can shoot them down by casting negative words upon it. Others may be carrying out God's orders and someone may say, 'You need to be careful here, many have tried something like this and they all failed. Give up the idea.' How would you feel if someone said this to you? The person may have brought you a stumbling block and this has brought with it, confusion. Now listen a minute, the only one who brings confusion is the devil. So, take your plans back to God. Ask Him for confirmation and then, do what He says. You may have it wrong but then again, you may have it right so, it's always best to check it out if you're confused by things.

The conclusion here is, (1) be careful of the stumbling blocks, especially those that are in your own life. Ask God to help you deal with them. (2) Be careful of your own words, watch what you say (3) Don't be a stumbling block to others. Be Holy Spirit focused as you deal with people and be open to what you hear. (4) Listen to others but, check it out with God.

This way, you are sure of the right way to go.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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Shipwrecked. Part 2

"It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island."   Acts 28:11   NLT

Yesterday, we looked at the general view of being shipwrecked. Today, let us take it further and look at shipwreck from a personal view:

BANKRUPTCY  

In this economic time, many businesses have had to close, many because of financial pressures that have led them to become bankrupt. Of course, this may not be through business, just the sheer pressures of mismanagement of money or ever-rising debts, may lead a person to have to file for bankruptcy. This can bring about the feeling of failure upon the victim and may carry a certain stigma. In a way, this can be a shipwreck that brings that sinking feeling.

DIVORCE  

Sadly, many marriages are shipwrecked, ending in painful divorce. Where children are involved, this can have many psychological problems for them. The aftermath of divorce can carry contention for many years and affects the whole family. 

LOSS OF JOB

Losing one's job can be devastating. We all have financial commitments and when a person is shipwrecked in this manner, it can bring about many problems. The employment market, is not all that good and finding a replacement job may take ages, especially if it is a specialist, management job. This shipwreck can bring into play, involvement with our first two points here.

DEATH OF A LOVED ONE

This is probably the most difficult shipwreck of all, one in which there are no replacements to be found. Death affects us all but, we rarely think about it until it comes our way. When it does, it can feel like the end of the world has come - there are no answers.

There are many other avenues that can be described as a shipwreck but the above are probably the most common. None of us want this type of shipwreck, they bring hurt and the pain is incredible. Many can't face it and take their own lives. But this is not the answer for the Christian. It's hard to realise it at the time but, God has a plan to keep you afloat. He knows your pain and He has provided a way forward but, only when your are ready. 

Remember, He has provided that ship that will help you sail again. You will not sink unless, you give in but, don't do that. Instead, take Jesus' hand, trust Him and allow Him to lead you step by step through the shipwreck until you are on solid ground.

You will sail again; there is life out there and it is for you.

Today, Jesus is extending His hand to you, take hold of it and allow Him to carry you until you are ready to move on again.

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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