Time with Jesus - Sunday, 29 July
2012
Hi all,
Today’s Meditation comprises two “Jimmets”. The first is a prayer for the unsaved. The second is a comment on Isaiah 54:17. “No weapon formed against you will prosper. “ There is no doubt that as Christians, we need the assurance that this is true.
Blessings
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Sunday, 29 July 2012
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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These
devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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“JIMMET”
– WEAPONS AND PRAYER
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In the bookcase in our lounge there is a book by
Jack Hayford. Jack has been called one of the most “balanced” teachers on the
Charismatic circuit. I must confess that he has opened our thinking in many
different ways. In particular his teaching on the “unforgiveable sin” helped
us to get rid of a considerable amount of “bad thinking” The title of the
book is “Prayer is Invading the Imposable”. In the light of personal
experience and the words of Jesus, this is a magnificent title. There is no
other way under the sun whereby you and I may achieve things we thought were
impossible.
For those who don’t believe in God, prayer is simply
an exercise in futility; it is merely talking to yourself. They comment that,
if no one is listening, what’s the point in praying? They will concede that a
time of solitude is good for people to unwind. Other than that, why bother?
What we find difficult to understand, is why people
could ever think that way. The evidence of intelligent design is visible everywhere.
To believe that all this came about as a series of random events, is surely
more difficult to believe than in a Creator God. It has been established
conclusively, that even the so called simple cell is so complex it should
hardly be described as “simple” and could not have just evolved! The
components are interconnected in such a complicated way that they depend on
each other to function. How could such a “process” suddenly have taken place
accidentally? They answer this by saying you and I are here. This proves that
the impossible happened randomly. There’s not much logic in this. It’s like
saying something is fact because you can’t find anything anywhere that says
it isn’t. It’s rather like saying my name is Fred because there is no
evidence to say otherwise.
As Christians we see the blindness of such an
attitude. For many years I’ve felt that believing in evolution is a
theological decision. People don’t want to believe in God, so they reach out
in desperation and embrace anything that even remotely suggests that God is
not real. They don’t believe in creation, because they don’t want to believe.
They know very well that if they start to believe in God, their lives will
become subject to Him. It’s easier to stick with evolution than change their
lifestyle.
The first of today’s two “Jimmets”, looks at this
from the point of that such men and women are lost. Eleven of the fourteen
lines describe the attitude of many unbelievers toward a belief in God. No
doubt many of us have heard comments of this nature from the mouths of
sceptics. The concluding line is a very simple prayer for such folk.
The second “Jimmet” looks at Isaiah 54:17. The
statement by the prophet to the People of God is that the world will not be
able to make a weapon that will overcome them. Whether this was intended
solely for the Jewish people of Isaiah’s day, or whether it was also intended
to apply to Christians in our day, is not clear. We can state is that many of
the Old Testament prophets referred primarily to the people of their own day.
But the prophetic word had a double application. First to the people of
Isaiah’s day and later to the body of Christ. For you and me, the Sun of
Righteousness has risen in our hearts and lives. No matter what may happen,
the Lord is with us! Hallelujah!
Jim &
Phyllida Strickland
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5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you
have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Psalms
61:5 ESV
17 But no weapon that is used against you
will succeed. People might bring charges against you. But you will prove that
they are wrong. Those are the things I do for my servants. I make everything
right for them," announces the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17 NIrV
7 For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he
surrounds and defends all who fear Him. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of
those who take refuge in Him! 9 Fear
the LORD, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they
need. 10 Even strong young
lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good
thing.
Psalms
34:7-10 NLT
6 Your boundary lines mark out pleasant
places for me. Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful.
Psalms
16:6 GW
2 "But here is what will happen for
you who have respect for me. The sun that brings life will rise. Its rays
will bring healing to my people. You will go out and leap like calves that
have just been let out of the barn.
Malachi
4:2 NIrV
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but
gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give
us all things?
Romans
8:32 TNIV
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PRAYER FOR THE UNSAVED
How many types of people on
this earth,
Fear the Lord and tremble at
His Name?
There’s only two. One group has
second birth.
The others do not care that
Jesus came.
Why should they if they think
God’s a lie?
A crutch to help those crippled
in the mind.
Raise their hands and, pointing
to the sky,
Ask us if we think that they
are blind?
Show us this Almighty Deity!
Demonstrate to us that He is
real.
If we cannot see Him, He can’t
be.
Neither can we hear Him, smell
or feel,
Anything to prove that He is
there.
“Lord be merciful. We find them
everywhere!”
Jim Strickland
Written 29th July 2012
-oOo-
WEAPONS CANNOT PROSPER
When God is on your side,
there’s naught to fear.
The weapons of the wicked can’t
prevail.
Atom bombs and bullets won’t
come near,
Because the Master’s promise
cannot fail.
No weapon used against us will
succeed;
Even if they drag us off to
court;
None of us will even have to
plead;
All their prosecutions come to
naught!
The Sun of Righteousness will
bring His rays,
To reveal it is a trumped up
charge.
This will happen all our
earthly days,
To all Christians; both the
small and large.
This is the inheritance of
those,
Who, as Saviour; Jesus Christ
they chose!
Jim
Strickland
Written 29th July 2012 |
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