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
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Sunday, 22 July 2012
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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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
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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GOD’S
ABIDING LOVE
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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
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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
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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 |
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