Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Friday, 30 January 2026

Be careful what you say!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13 NKJV

The secret of Paul's contentment is the strength he receives when he can't go any further.
Sometimes God makes us wait for answers to our prayers before He acts. When Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"He meant that he could do 'all things' which were God's will for him to do - a big difference.
Let me ask, how many times does something look impossible simply because we think it is? What do we see when we look at a problem - fear, negativity, 'it's not going to happen' type of thing? When we think or say such things, we are declaring this. Look at this piece below:
'I cannot," we are often agreeing with circumstances rather than with God's word. The ten spies who reported, "We cannot" were declaring their own fear, which the bible later categorised as a failure of faith. Declaring defeat: Proverbs 6:2 implies that one can be 'snared by the words of your mouth' suggesting that negative declarations can seal a person's defeat. A 'Negative' confession of need: A valid 'negative confession' in the bible is acknowledging one's sinfulness and limitations in light of God's holiness, which opens the door for grace and salvation (e.g. admitting 'I have sinned'). Distinction from 'Positive Confession' :While 'positive confession' (faith-filled words) is encouraged it should not be confused with denying reality. It is about aligning one's words with God's truth, not pretending, but declaring God's capacity over human inability' Anon

2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us: 'For we walk by faith not by sight.' Therefore, if we are to walk in this manner, we are to be positive in our statements that God presents us with. Peter at the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3) didn't speak negatively to the beggar sitting outside the temple. As he begged from them, Peter eyed him up and spoke, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk' v6. And the man did just that. Now if Peter had looked at the man with negative eyes, he would have seen impossibility. However, he took what he had and spoke faith to him and the man was healed. This is the difference.

It was God's will for this to happen and Peter grasped that fact by acting the way he did. And the same can happen to us. We must refrain from considering most things an impossibility. If God as said it, we can do it and that is the bottom line.

Jesus is looking for faith-filled people to speak the Word of God. He directs us to. If we go it alone and just do it without God's direction, chances are nothing will happen. But, when God has said it, we need to get on and speak it out.

Are you ready for this?

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.

Thursday, 29 January 2026

Don't take on too much!

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ".

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV

We must be aware of the risk of taking on too much, whether work or play. We need to be in control of it and, not the other way around. If we don't, we open ourselves up to stress and the many things that this displays. Take a look below:

TRIGGER REACTIONS

STRESS----------------anger explosive anger because of being overwhelmed

'' '' ----------------retaliation desire to get even/revenge

'' '' ----------------bad mouthing destructive, threatening words see Eph 4:29

'' '' ----------------threatening harsh words in interactions with others

'' '' ----------------bitterness allowing things to linger/record of wrongs

All of the above can lead to a bad example of Christianity, bad attitudes can stir up conflict, damage testimony and the ability to serve Jesus. Tony Evans says 'Satan's strategy is to block the knowledge and/or application of God's Word in the thinking believers, so that they can be held hostage by his lies.'

Again Joyce Meyer comments: 'We can continue to fuel our angry emotions with our wrong thoughts, or we can take a stand and, with God's help, refuse to allow the situation to get out of control'.

So let's take a look at this. Stress can attack at any time but, it usually kicks in big time when we have taken on too much work. Each of us need to keep a firm hold on what is expected of us. If it's work, the extra money can be tempting but, not if it is going to have a detrimental effect on our health. There is only so much that any human being can do in one day. To take on any extra can lead to tiredness and eventually to stress. Picture this scene, you take on extra things to do and then, someone else - maybe your spouse/family member/friend, reminds you that you promised to do something for them this weekend. This can cause disappointment for letting someone down. As time goes on, demands on your time can get the better of you and you begin to crack and if you don't do something about this, you can so easily fly off the handle. This sudden surge of anger may help to relieve you of pent up energy but, it does nothing positive for the people who are listening and you are letting down.

Look at the chart above and you can begin to see where you may be going wrong. The answer is, don't take on too much! Learn to prioritise and to say 'No' to people who may want you to do something for them but, it is not on your schedule. Your priorities are God first, and then yourself and your family if you have one. Jesus told us to take one day at a time (Matt 6:34). David told us told us to cast our burdens on Him (Psalm 55:22) and Paul is telling us to take control of our anger (2 Corinthians 10:5).

You know that this makes sense but for some of you, it is going to be difficult to say no and make some changes. However, it will be so much easier with God helping you.

Ask Him for help.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

"There is none like You"

"Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears". 2 Samuel 7:22 NKJV

Lenny LeBlanc wrote this song in the 90's:

And it is true, we could search for ever and find no one like God - Almighty God. This is what King David was saying when he remembered his conquests, especially the greatest which was between him and a 9' 6" giant called Goliath. He was an intimidating warrior who was daring the Israelites to come out and fight him. But no one was brave enough. And then, along came David, small and skinny and nothing like anyone would think could take on a mouse, let alone this giant. But David had killed bear and lion in his young life and he knew, with God on his side, he could accomplish this:

'Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you' 1 Samuel 17:45-46. And he did just that with one smooth stone fired from his sling.

This is why David could declare that there was none like God. Now let's get this right. Many religions have a god and they worship and pray to him and yet, this god is dead or a figment of their imagination. Here, we are referring to Jehovah, Almighty God and He is alive. The Trinity Is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - three persons but all fully God in their own right. And they are all alive.

So as David knew his God, so do we if we have asked Jesus into our Life as Lord and Saviour. Therefore, you and I can adopt the saying with confidence that 'There is none like you'. He is with us every step of our life (don't forget the He is). He is Lord, He is our Saviour and He is our friend. David could confidently declare this.

When you grasp this properly, there is no need to ever be afraid at all. We can declare this to Jesus every day 'There is none like You'. People the world over search for that special something. They think they can find it in drugs, booze, sex and wild living but, that is all a lie and we know who feeds lies to people.

Throughout this day, try and reflect on all of this. 'There is none like you' and He is your friend for eternity. If you involve Him, He is with you whatever you do and wherever you go.

If you don’t know Jesus, you can know that there is none like Him by praying the prayer below.

IIf you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Saviour

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Supper with the King

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil" Psalm 23:6

To get the full picture of this piece of scripture, it may be a good idea to read the whole Psalm.

This Psalm demonstrates King David's total trust in God. Pastoral in content, reflecting a peaceful confidence in his Father. Written in two metaphors, it describes Jesus as the Shepherd v1-4 and God as the host v5-6.

When we put our trust in God, He will do everything possible to provide, protect and bless us through the darkest days of our days. It's good to know that He never leaves us, He is always there v4. As we walk through our dark days with Him, we arrive safely at the other side (1) either a Godly solution to the problem we are in or (2) our arrival in heaven when our life is over. In both cases, we win. At the end of whatever journey we take, God provides a table, which illustrates abundance, satisfaction and everlasting love. No enemy can ever take this away from us.

Whatever we are going through, we should never give up. I know it may sound easier said than done. But at times like this, we have to exercise our faith and remember scriptures such as Philippians 4:13 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Please note the highlight here. Without Jesus we go nowhere successfully. Don't listen to the devil's lies. Until you reach this holy table, keep walking on. It is there that you will find God's rewards.

Bob Gass said, 'God never said the journey would be easy, but He did say the arrival would be wonderful.' And this is true. Of the two kinds of oil God uses for anointing - the Priestly anointing oil and the Oriental perfumed oil, this oil in Psalm 23 is the latter. This act shows favour and excellent hospitality. God's provision never runs dry. This is why David could write, 'My cup runs over.' When Goid gives, He gives wholeheartedly. He never cheats on the cheese; He gives abundantly. Probably you have witnessed this in your own life or, you're still waiting. Get ready for when it comes, it will be amazing.

Just think, when you're at God's table - metaphorically speaking, no enemy can touch you, they can only watch and gloat. This is why, in Jesus, we are winners. Remember, Paul said that 'we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us' (Rom 8:37).

So rest in God's word for today. You are special

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and 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

Monday, 26 January 2026

Are you wet or are you dry?

"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life". Romans 6:3-4 NKJV

Today, our King Charles Spaniel let me know, very vocally, that he wanted to go for a walk. Actually, he does this every day. However, today it was teeming it down with rain. One would only have to 'walk a few steps and you would be saturated, type of rain'. I tried to reason with him but he would have none of it. So, I put on my stay dry puffer jacket and we ventured out into the storm. It was blowing at gale force strength and it was all I could do to remain upright. As I had said, we had only just gone round the corner from my home and we were wet through. Charlie - the dog, didn't care. Me, I'd rather not say but I wasn't all that happy.

When we got home about 30 minutes later, we both looked as if we had been for a swim in the sea, which is not too far away from us. My coat had kept me very dry but my joggers were wringing wet. Charlie added to my being wet by shaking himself dry all over me. I changed my trainers and joggers, and began writing this blog.

All of a sudden, God spoke very clear to me and reminded me of when I was in hospital quite a few years ago. I used to sit in bed and look out at people walking by in heavy rain and, I longed to do that but it was out of the question in my condition. He said:

'When you went through the waters of baptism, you were wet but, so was I because I was with you. When you came up out of the water, you were dry, and so was I. You rose to a new life in Me.' Be grateful for weather, may it be wet or dry. It doesn't matter what; you are alive in Me and that is all that matters'

I suddenly remembered back to my hospital time again. I would have given all I could just to walk round in the heavy rain, with the other people. And I realised how grateful to God I am that I came out of that hospital a healthy person and have been able to do so much ever since. Thank you Jesus.

Have you had a similar experience. Probably things have not been so good lately and you're feeling down in the dumps and fed up with your life. If you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, begin to praise Him even if you don't feel like doing this. This is called a sacrifice of praise. Check it out in Hebrews 13:15. Sometimes we just don't feel like praising God but, as we breakthrough this barrier, we receive God's blessing.

If you're not a Christian, you're not reading this because of a mistake. Consider that Jesus has led you to do this. So let me leave you with a question. 'What have you got to lose by saying the prayer below and asking Jesus into your life? I promise you, it'll be the wisest thing that you have ever done. But, don't take my word for it, try it out yourself.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Sunday, 25 January 2026

Forgive - you'll feel better when you do!

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses". Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV

We are called upon to forgive people when they have wronged us. After-all, Jesus forgave us and we may have let Him down so badly all our life. What is more, He not only forgave us but, He chose not to remember it anymore. Now this is an important lesson to learn.

It doesn't matter if they are believers or unbelievers, we need to forgive them if they abuse us. Why is this, why should they be allowed to hurt us and we not be allowed to take revenge against them or refuse to forgive? It doesn't seem fair. You're right, in the eyes of the world it isn't fair to not take revenge and doubly difficult to offer an apology. To many this is weak. Hey, but we don't belong in this world any longer, we're passing through en-route to heaven. But until then, there are rules that we must keep.

Let us take a look at forgiveness from a believer's concept. Someone offends us in some way. We can rebuke them but they may take no notice, give us a mouthful of abuse and then walk off. At this point, to some believers, it may spark some kind of retaliation against this offender and they may run after this person and take charge of things themselves. Now, this may result in more problems such as the police being called. Just think how that looks when people hear that a 'Christian' was caught fighting in the street. The believer is shamed and God is not very happy. From thereon, you have a bad reputation and it's hard for people to see Jesus in you. It is far better to forgive them and leave the rest to God, He will respond (Romans 12:19) but it may be in a way that you didn't expect.

When we forgive someone, we must be prepared to let it go - forgive and forget. If you don't, it's possible that every now and again, the devil will remind you of what happened and you respond to this as well. Total forgiveness is needed here or otherwise you will start holding grudges against this person.

All in all. forgiveness is the way forward. When we forgive someone it sets them free from what they have done and, it releases us from the burden. We feel freedom. So, do you need to forgive someone today. If you have someone to forgive and, if it is at all possible, why not contact them and apologise for whatever it was. It takes wisdom to do this because some people may have a psychological open wound that has never been healed. So therefore, discuss it with God and ask Him how this can be done.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Saturday, 24 January 2026

Discipline and Correction?

"My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
12For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights". Proverbs 3:11-12 NLT

To learn we must love and accept discipline. But who likes it? Not many, I'm sure, but it is rather unwise to hate or disobey this. We acknowledge the Lord by submitting to His discipline but, we often tend to think of discipline as a means of punishment. It is though, the correct way of training a child and that includes ourselves (don't forget we are children of the Lord).

Discipline is a form of love not anger; and correction is a proof of sonship (Heb12:6-8). Look how a gardener takes loving care pruning grapevines and beautiful bushes but, he leaves the thistles and such.

As much as we think we know everything, God shows us time and again that we don't. At times it feels like God is leading us backwards instead of forward. When this happens, there is always a reason. We don't know everything but, God does, so we must trust Him.

Don't be like The Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He was the younger of two sons and one day, he told his father that he would like his share of the estate before his father died. He agreed to do this and divided this between both his sons. After a day or two, the younger son set off to enjoy a new life. It was wonderful at first and because he had money, he was the centre of attention with everyone he met, partying most nights and having fun that he had never been used to. Sadly, there came a time when his funds ran out and he had to take a job to live. He even ate pig's food because he was so hungry. After a while, he came to his senses and returned to the family home. He was welcomed back by his father but, if he had not left and taken the inheritance, he would have had that to look forward to in the future. A lesson learned.

Peter was no different. Jesus had predicted that Peter would denying Him three times before the cock crowed. Peter denied this could ever happen - he would always be faithful to Jesus. However, as recorded in Luke 22:54-62, he did just that. To save his own skin when Jesus had been arrested, several people had said they had seen him with Jesus but he denied this on three occasions. The last one, Jesus looked around at him as if to say, 'I told you so.' Peter went away in total pieces. Like the Prodigal, Peter knew best and he paid heavily for this. He was full of guilt as he realised that he had thrown his ministry away and deserted the one he loved the most.

We all make mistakes and we all need discipline and correction to avoid making these wrong turns in life. They don't feel good at the time but, we all need them so that we can be a better model of Jesus.

How are you with discipline and correction and also being accountable?

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

Friday, 30 January 2026

Be careful what you say!

Thursday, 29 January 2026

Don't take on too much!

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

"There is none like You"

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Supper with the King

Monday, 26 January 2026

Are you wet or are you dry?

Sunday, 25 January 2026

Forgive - you'll feel better when you do!

Saturday, 24 January 2026

Discipline and Correction?

See as Jesus sees

Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard

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