Time with Jesus - Saturday, 31
March 2012
Hi all,
Back
in my Bible School days, one of our favourite choruses was: “Walk, walk in the light, Walk, walk in the
light, Walk, walk in the light, Walking in the light of love”. I’m not too
sure why it was so popular. I think that a major contributing factor was the
desire of the students to break out of the darkness of the apartheid era and
walk in the light with brothers and sisters we had not met. It would be a
further twelve years before it became a reality.
Being
kept in the dark has been one of the weapons of oppression for more years than
any of us realise. The expression, “I didn’t know!” is a very common one. The
German people didn’t know about the Nazi death camps. The People of the Soviet
Union didn’t know what Stalin was busy with. Sadly, the “white people” of South
Africa had almost no idea what was happening in the townships. This was a
deliberate policy of the government of the day. “All that is necessary for the
triumph of evil, is that good men do
nothing! It was true when stated by Edmund Burke (1729-1797) It’s still true some 250 years later.
We
have a similar problem in the church. In most instances, the people are kept
ignorant of the truth of the gospel. Religion continues to be a profitable
business. People are separated into clergy and laity - an unscriptural distinction
that is most convenient. Who can challenge them? The average pew occupant certainly
can not!
The
tragedy is, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to walk with us. He desires us to have
a personal relationship with Him. You can never have a relationship with
someone you don’t know. We may know something about Him. But we don’t know Him.
I may know that the President of the USA is Barrack Obama. But I don’t know
him. His wife and children do!
One
of the beautiful things about light is the way it enables us to see things. We
see very little in the dark. Until recently, wars were only fought during the
day. It’s hard to shoot an enemy you can’t see! That has changed since the development
of night vision glasses and infra-red cameras.
It’s
impossible to walk in the light when it is dark. In John’s Gospel we are told: 9
Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people
can walk safely. They can see because they
have the light of this world. 10
But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light." John
11:9-10 NLT
Today’s
meditation looks at walking in the light of God’s word. In a nutshell,
obedience to Him is to walk according to the instruction of His Word. Let’s do
it instead of talking about it.
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
Right is light
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We see the dark as evil. The good
is always light.
Thieves break in at night time
so they are not in sight.
We find it is much better to
sleep when it is dark.
To slumber through the night time
and get up with the lark!
But there’s another meaning which
we should all prefer.
A warning from the Scripture, which
should serve as a spur,
To stop us all from doing it.
Thereby, we have been warned;
And we will bear the
consequence if ever it is scorned.
Keep away from partnerships
with unbelieving men.
They have a different outlook on
which they will depend.
Their motivation’s money. God’s
Kingdom has no place;
So if you are in partnership,
you’ll surely be disgraced.
If times are getting difficult,
they’ll often up and run.
And you will be deserted to
face what has been done.
It happens regularly. The Christian
is the man,
You find who has been cheated
and carries home the can!
But what is true in business is
also true in life.
Do not ever marry an
unbelieving wife.
Those who do it anyway, cease
following the Lord.
They find that they are walking
on the way that’s wide and broad.
My friends, I make confession,
that it is what I did.
It was a huge disaster costing
many, many quid.
It ended in a sad divorce and I
was left alone;
Having lost my furniture,
possessions and my home.
I went back to the Scripture
and it was underlined.
I’d been disobedient and
thought God wouldn't mind!
I thought I’d lead her to the
Lord, but that objective failed.
And in my desperate anguish it
felt I had been jailed.
So if you’re doing something
you know you shouldn't do.
Ask the Lord to bring His light
and indicate to you,
If what you’ve selected is
darkness or is light.
Make a firm decision, to do good
in His sight.
If it’s of the darkness, please
ask Him show the way,
To cut it off completely, while
it is still your day.
Know that you will have to pay
the cost of consequence.
But if you let Him do it, He’ll
show you what makes sense.
Do your very uttermost to bring
it to the light.
He will make the outcome to be good
and clean and right.
Jim Strickland
Written Saturday 31st March 2012
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