GOD’S ABIDING LOVE

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 22 July 2012

Hi all,

Today we have a couple of “Jimmets”. The first is about the vine and the second is about keeping ourselves in God’s love. Overall we are looking at integrity. This is today’s meditation

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 22 July 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	GOD’S ABIDING LOVE
Hanging on my wall there are three certificates of which I am rather proud. They are the result of a number of years of tertiary study. They required time and effort on my behalf to obtain. No doubt many of you have similar certificates or diplomas. On occasions I’ve wondered how accurate they really are. I’ve asked myself, “How do I know that the examination was actually written by the person in question?” Much depends on the integrity of the individual and the vigilance of the examining authority. They needed to be sure it was me who sat in the exam room on the date and time. Is it possible that a “professional exam writer” went and wrote the exam on my behalf? In which case, the qualification isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Do such things happen? On occasions, I’ve felt the “expert” found his/her qualification in a lucky packet! Integrity is a very strange “thing”. There was a time when such questions were never asked. People were as good as their word. Not very long ago, agreements were settled with a handshake. No longer. We employ lawyers to examine each clause and the fine print before we agree to any contract. Obviously, the lawyers have profited from this. But what about you and me? As a schoolboy I remember the number of “weighing machines” that were found on just about every street corner in town. For one penny it would “spit out” a piece of paper with your weight on it. One of the later refinements was to select a question on the dial. Then the machine would give you your weight and the answer. The one I remember most was the one that asked, “Where will I find happiness?” The answer was, “Under ‘H’ in the dictionary. I mention this because I’ve found that in the world around us, if I asked the question, “Where will I find integrity?” the answer would be, “Under “I” in the dictionary”. It particularly grieves me, that this is true even among Christians. Our Lord, Jesus Christ and his human half-brother Jude commented on this some 2000 years ago. Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in You”. The very fact that He said this indicates that there was a possibility, large or small, that His followers would not do so. They would be tempted away from Him and lose their connection with Him. They would be “cut off from the vine”; as a result they would perish and die. He added that without Him, we can do nothing. There is a sense in which if we lose our integrity as Christians, we have lost everything. You may well be forgiven, but others will not trust you again. Jude made it clear that we are to keep ourselves in God’s love. By implication this suggests that we are free not to do so. Whether or not this refers to our eternal salvation is not the issue here. What is important is to see that you and I have a responsibility for doing so. He will not do it for us. His love is there and is available for anyone and everyone. But He does not force His love on anyone. If you don’t want it, you can quit or say, “No thanks!” Staying in His love is our responsibility. We must do it. How? The answer is by living a life that follows His lifestyle. Integrity is an example of this. Integrity may perhaps be equated to keeping your word. Better still, it’s a question of keeping His Word. Are we, or does He look at us and say that for us, integrity is only found in the dictionary. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 21 NIV 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 ESV 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV 8 When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. John 15:8-10 NIrV 5 But whoever obeys what Christ says is the kind of person in whom God's love is perfected. That's how we know we are in Christ. 1 John 2:5 GW 12 This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. John 15:12 MSG 8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 NLT 16 So we know that God loves us. We depend on it. God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love shows that he is joined to God. And God is joined to him. 1 John 4:16 NIrV	ABIDE IN THE VINE Those who are abiding in the vine, Their fruit will always be the very best. This is His intention and design, Helps us see how much we have been blessed. The sap is always flowing from the root, And spreading to each branch’s outer tip. To bring it’s juicy richness to the fruit, And luscious flavour to its very pip. There’s no other way for fruit to grow. The sap must rise to bring the nourishment. If you ever interrupt the flow, The fruit will wither, for its life is spent. Abide in Him. United to the vine. You’ll be fruitful, ‘til the end of time. Jim Strickland – 22nd July 2012 KEEP YOURSELF IN GOD’S LOVE Jude said “Keep Yourselves within God’s love; Wait for Christ, eternal life to bring. It is not the task of God above. We’re responsible to do this “thing”. There are some tasks Jesus will not do. They’re for our accountability. God is never going to do for you, That which He’s commanded you and me. Loving others isn’t idleness. It’s involvement, not just standing by. Seeking opportunities to bless, Other folk and never asking “Why?” This was Jesus’ lifestyle to the hilt! It’s no wonder that His blood was spilt. Jim Strickland 22nd July 2012