THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 04 July 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is all about becoming a Christian and the Christian life. Of course, living the Christian life is impossible. Try it and see. Only Jesus Christ can do so. But if we are “in Christ” He is able to do it in us. So the best thing we can do is die to ourselves so that He can live the life in us.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 04 July 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
When I say to people that living the Christian life is impossible, I get asked why? When I tell them I’ve never met anyone who can do it, they look at me as though I was something that had just crawled out from underneath a rock! “If that’s the case, what are you doing?” is their next question. The way they put it implies that I must be either a candidate for, or have just escaped from Tara. When I grin at them and say I can’t do it either, is when they start nodding and looking for a quick way to get away from me. My next comment raises eyebrows. “If I can do it, why would I need Jesus and the Holy Spirit?” For me, this is the most wonderful things about the Lord we serve. Nothing is impossible for God. For Him, the impossible is routine. Every second, every minute, every hour of each and every day, They deal with this sort of thing. “But that’s a miracle!” is what people then say. “Absolutely!” I reply. “That’s their ‘modus operandi’. Those of us who have committed our lives to Jesus Christ and have made Him Lord of our life, need to realise we are in direct contact with the supernatural. We don’t need to go anywhere or do anything heroic, to be in instant contact with Him. We tend to forget this. Years ago when I began the Christian journey, there was a story about a very wealthy man who deposited millions of Rand into the bank account he had opened for a certain young man. He sent the young man a message telling him what he had done. He even gave him the bank account number and PIN details. Needless to say, the young man was thrilled. Then he started to get into serious financial difficulties. He could easily have accessed the account that had been opened in his name. He didn’t! He knew it was there but somehow the significance escaped him. Many years later the young man died apparently penniless. When his estate was being finalised, the executor wondered why he had never accessed his money. In the end he concluded that although he had access to limitless finance, the young man didn’t understand that he could draw on it. The Christian life is very much like that this. We try and try and try to live the way a Christian should. We know how that should be, but we can’t do it. It doesn’t stop us trying. But we don’t seem to get it right. We have the account number and the PIN code but don’t use them. Why? Because we don’t realise we can. Many of us keep on digging ourselves deeper and deeper into sin and depravity. Jesus has done everything necessary for us. We know it, but don’t act on it. We prefer to mess about doing our own thing. Christianity is impossible. Christians can’t do it either. But Jesus can. When are we going to stand aside and let Him? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 TNIV 20 The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it. 21 Place inside the Ark the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. Then put the atonement cover on top of the Ark. 22 I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you My commands for the people of Israel. Exodus 25:20-22 NLT 9 Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, so our land will be filled with His glory. 10 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Psalms 85:9-10 NLT 3 LORD, if You kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But You offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear You. Psalms 130:3-4 NLT 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. 8 He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin. Psalms 130:7-8 NLT 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, Romans 3:23-25 NLT	He ran round in a panic; his heart was filled with fear. He knew that he was dying and death was very near. He didn’t know for certain, what he would have to face, When he appeared before the Lord. Would he be in disgrace? He thought that on an average, his life had been quite good. He hadn’t cheated anyone and did the things he should. But he was agitated. What did his future hold? And all that he could think of was what he had been told! The Lord was very fussy. Unless you made the grade, Your prospects were quite limited and he was sore afraid. He hadn’t liked his parents. He thought that they were odd. He knew he hadn’t honoured them. What would he say to God? There was no point in lying. The Lord would see right through, Anything he mentioned, unless it was all true. He knew that he had pilfered some items from his work. He’d even taken something from the offering in Kirk. But it was not Important and wasn’t very much. He had put it back again so all was square – as such. He wasn’t very faithful. He’d had a brief affair. He hadn’t told a person. In fact he didn’t dare. His wife would take exception and sue for a divorce. Better she knew nothing; and marriage stayed on course. He was not a murderer. His hands were more than clean. People didn’t know about the bad things he had been! So thinking of his average, he thought he had done well, And when he met the Master wouldn’t be consigned to hell. This illustrates the thinking, of many of the men, Whom he’d been introduced to; he’d do it all again!  “What can I do?” he wondered. How can I put things right. He wondered what would happen if he would die that night? The more he thought about it, the worse his thoughts became. I wonder if I call on God and ask, in Jesus Name, To take me to His bosom and give a brand new start. But how to go about it? He couldn’t cleanse his heart. That’s when he started sobbing. My God, I know I’m lost. I haven’t been obedient. I didn’t count the cost. Is there something You can do, to help the likes of me? I cannot face the prospect of dying without Thee! And then he heard a whisper. Will you repent My Son? And ask Me for forgiveness, for all that you have done? The standards I have set for people coming into here, Is absolute perfection every second, year on year! I’m sorry, you don’t make it. It’s just a bit too late. But if you are repentant and want to change your fate, I will be your Saviour! But it is up to you. You are in the driving seat. What are you going to do? Jim Strickland Written 4th July 2012