Time with Jesus - Monday, 25 June
2012
Hi all,
The Scriptures were primarily
in Praise of God. So today’s meditation is a hymn in Praise to our Lord Jesus
Christ! It’s not new. It was written back in 1985. But it seemed appropriate to
include it this morning.
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
|
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Monday, 25 June 2012
|
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
||||
|
©
|
These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and
copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided
it is for non-commercial Christian purposes
|
©
|
||||
|
INTRODUCTION
|
DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
|
|||||
|
What is it that you particularly like doing? Let’s keep away from
things that may hurt other creatures. e.g. Fishing and hunting. Not that I’m
opposed to these activities. What I mean is, what are you are looking forward
to doing in heaven? There are certain activities we do here and now that we
won’t be doing there. Blood sports and violent sports are likely to be excluded.
It’s not easy to love your opponent in the boxing ring if you are trying to
beat his brains out. I do have an idea for hunters. Give the animal a gun
with which to defend itself.
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favourite things
We are likely to have a few problems with some of our favourite
things. Even Julie Andrews’s song from the Sound of Music becomes problematic.
I suspect there will be kittens in heaven. Confirming it conclusively from
Scripture is another matter! I’m also a bit puzzled about the “warm woollen
mittens” This implies it will be cold up there. That really will surprise me.
So, what will we be doing? Some say it will be what we might call a
24/7 praise and worship meeting. In principle, I suspect there’s a lot of
truth in this. My problem is that if heaven is such a wonderful place, and we
are all constantly in a meeting, why has God made it so beautiful? Also,
what’s the point of having trees which bear fruit every month and have leaves
which heal the nations if no one gets a chance to get to them. It also struck
me as odd to be a part of the bride of Christ and not getting a chance to
spend “time” with him in a personal basis of some sort?
There are no straight forward answers here. An added complication is
that time, as we know it, will not exist. We will be with God, so we will also
be living in the ever present now. Thus 24/7 becomes meaningless. It’s
difficult to imagine timelessness. We are accustomed to things being
sequential. But all sequences are time related. All that we have ever seen of
timelessness is a photograph. Photograms do not move. Movies do; but it’s an
optical illusion we use to give us the impression of motion.
Probably the best conclusion we can come to from all this, is that
praise and worship will be a major feature in heaven. We will also be able to
fellowship with each other and with God. I must say there are a number of
saints who have gone before us that we will be able to meet. For me, meeting
Moses would be special. Likewise, Paul, Habakkuk and John Wesley. I would like
to share a hymn I wrote with his brother Charles. Today’s poem is the hymn in
question. It’s called, In Praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. For me it would be
extra special if we all sang it to Jesus!
Jim and Phyllida Strickland
|
7 "My sword, wake up! Attack my shepherd! Attack
the man who is close to me," announces the LORD who rules over all.
"Strike the shepherd down. Then the sheep will be scattered. And I will
turn my hand against their little ones.
Zechariah 13:7 NIrV
9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human
body.
Colossians
2:9 NLT
19 Long ago You spoke in a vision to Your faithful people. You said, "I have raised up a warrior. I have selected him
from the common people to be king.
Psalms 89:19 NLT
3 "I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and
trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and
stained all my apparel.
Isaiah 63:3 ESV
16 There is no doubt that godliness is a
great mystery. Jesus appeared in a body. The Holy Spirit proved that
he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the
nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in
glory.
1 Timothy 3:16 NIrV
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is
given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be
called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word
of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high,
Hebrews 1:3 ESV
8 But to the Son He says, "Your
throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a sceptre of justice.
Hebrews 1:8 NLT
6 And when He brought His firstborn Son into the world, God said,
"Let all of God's angels worship Him."
Hebrews 1:6 NLT
16 On His robe at His thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
Revelation 19:16 NLT
|
JESUS IS
LORD; Let us rejoice!
JESUS IS
LORD; Lift up your voice;
To JESUS,
let your anthem raise
And
worship Him and give Him praise.
JESUS IS
LORD; Of sea and sky!
JESUS IS
LORD; He's Deity!
The one
whom, by His mighty hand,
Created
everything for man.
JESUS IS
LORD; Yes, He is strong!
JESUS IS
LORD; Of everyone;
For, everything
the eye can see
Was all
created, Lord, by Thee!
JESUS IS
LORD; All praises bring.
JESUS IS
LORD; My God and King;
I'll
praise him while He gives me breath
For He
alone has conquered death!
JESUS IS
LORD; Toward Him press;
JESUS IS
LORD; His Name, all bless!
Let's
magnify our risen Lord;
Salute our
King, the Living Word.
JESUS IS
LORD; All praise His Name!
JESUS IS
LORD; To Earth He came
To win
from Satan our release
And to
become our Prince of Peace.
JESUS IS
LORD; Yes, He achieved!
JESUS IS
LORD; Our sins relieved
And
snatched us from the jaws of Hell.
That's why
His praises, we forth tell!
JESUS IS
LORD; Let us adore;
JESUS IS
LORD; He did restore
To sinful
man what Satan stole.
He set us
free and made us whole!
Jim Strickland Written 1985
|
||||
