Time with Jesus - Saturday, 21
April 2012
Hi all,
This morning I send you
greetings from Swaziland where we are having a short break with a friend we
have known since 1985. We won’t be home until 27th April and will
enjoy the break!
Comments, and previous
Devotionals can be found on my Blog – http: //jimnphyllida.blogspot.com I’m
still experimenting with an easier way to “blog” them
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Time with Jesus – Saturday, 21 April 2012
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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ENOCH GOES MISSING
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The comment about Enoch in Genesis 5 is one of the most
unusual in the Bible. For convenience the male line from Adam to Enoch is
shown alongside. If you examine the lifespan of these m en you will find that
it is quite possible that Adam knew Enoch. According to the ages given, Adam
lived for 930 years. Presumably this means 930 years after the fall of man.
We will also find that Enoch was born when Adam was 622 years old. If you do
a bit of mathematics you will find that Enoch was taken to be with the Lord
57 years after the death of Adam. You will also find that Adam was the first
in the male line to die after Enoch was born. I’m not sure if this influenced
the Lord to “rapture” Enoch when He did. The mathematics are, however, fascinating.
Have a ‘go’ at compiling the names with their dates!
We are told that Enoch walked with God during Adam’s
lifetime. Have you ever wondered what impression this made on Adam? His
great, great, great, great, grandson had a relationship with God that he (Adam)
had lost! Did it make Adam envious? We don’t know. I think I would be a bit
envious if I was Adam.
I recall a story about Enoch asking Adam why they
had been “thrown out” of the garden. Like most men, he blamed his wife. He
said she had eaten them out of house and home!
We only know of three men who were taken up to
heaven. Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. Elijah was taken there in a fiery
chariot. Enoch was taken by God in a manner not stated.
Was Enoch’s “rapture” a sort of prophetic statement
concerning Jesus? I suspect it was, but won’t fight with you if you don’t
agree.
Is there a significance of these being pre-flood,
post-flood and Christian? We don’t know. What thrills me is the fact that if
you walk with God long enough in sincerity and purity as best as you are
able, the Lord has a reward for you. Sadly, none of us has 300 years to do it
in. Do we have the perseverance to do this? Good question. The best comment
that I can make comes in the form of an old chorus which we sang in the 1960’s.
“Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before”. Perhaps it’s just as
well that we don’t have 300 years still to go. Another 10 or 20 years is
quite sufficient for me.
So, what happened to Enoch? As the poem says, I’m
looking forward to asking him the same question. There are probably dozens of
us who want to do the same.
Jim &
Phyllida Strickland
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24 Enoch walked with God. Then he
couldn't be found, because God took him from this life.
Genesis
5:24 NIrV
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No one knew what happened. He simply
wasn’t there,
They did their best to look for him;
they hunted everywhere
They checked the many places where
he’d been seen to walk.
They wondered who was with him. They’d
often heard them talk!
It really was a mystery. They knew
that he was gone.
They thought that God had taken him;
for answer there was none!
They said that he was talking with
God, The Lord Most High.
Perhaps he was a friend of God Who
thought he shouldn’t die?
And so the Lord had taken him. They
didn’t realise,
That God had walked with Enoch, who
vanished from their eyes.
It seemed that Enoch walked with God
for some three hundred years.
The father of Methuselah, had loved
God, it appears.
They couldn’t walk together unless
they were agreed!
Their friendship was so precious; God
must have done the deed.
Was there a better reason the Lord
took him away?
It’s still a valid question right down
until today.
Was Enoch so remarkable, God thought
that he should see,
The one Whom He decided would die for
you and me?
Of course we can’t be certain and God
knows everything.
But Enoch’s own salvation, by Jesus’
cross He’d bring!
Was he a kind of “first-fruits” to
make all men inspired,
To see there is a great reward for
doing as required,
By Father, Son and Spirit? Christ’s
blood drew Enoch near.
And shows that a relationship will
drive away all fear.
And though we once were enemies, His
Son has made a way,
For us to be a friend of God like
Enoch in his day!
O Lord this is fantastic. One day
we’ll be caught up,
A little bit like Enoch was and all of
us will sup,
With Jesus Christ our Master; and we
can hardly wait,
To go into the heavenlies, where we
will celebrate,
The glory of the Father, the Spirit
and the Son,
Around His banquet table and give
thanks for what He’s done.
I’m sure we will know Enoch. We’ll
spot him instantly.
I’m sure he will then tell us all,
“What God has done for me!”
And as we listen to him as clear as
any bell
He’ll give the explanation that only
he can tell.
And all of us will marvel that our God
of love and grace
Has opened up a way for us to meet Him
face to face.
Jim Strickland – Written 21st April 2012
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3 Can two people walk together without
agreeing on the direction?
Amos 3:3
NLT
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20 God was pleased to bring all things back to himself because of what
Christ has done. That includes all things on earth and in heaven. God made peace through Christ's blood, through his
death on the cross. 21 At one
time you were separated from God. You were enemies in your minds because of
your evil ways. 22 But because
Christ died, God has brought you back to himself. Christ's death has made you
holy in God's sight. So now you don't have any flaw. You are free from
blame.
Colossians
1:20-22 NIrV
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13 But now you have been united with Christ
Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to
Him through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians
2:13 NLT
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10 For since our friendship with God was
restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will
certainly be saved through the life of His Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship
with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans
5:10-11 NLT
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3 This is the life we have seen and heard. We are reporting about it to
you also so that you, too, can have a relationship with us. Our relationship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3
GW
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14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2
Corinthians 13:14 ESV
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Compiled – Saturday,
21 April 2012
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P O Box 1694,
Randpark Ridge, 2156, South Africa
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Page 1 of 1
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14 Conduit
Street, Johannesburg North, 2153, South Africa
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Printed - Friday, 20 April 2012
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Mobile +2782
755 8872
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Jim &
Phyllida Strickland
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Home+2711 462
4061; Neotel+2711 234 5670
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Fax +2786 531
4962
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