Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 25
July 2012
Hi all,
Today’s meditation is in two
parts. The first is Psalm 16 rephrased into rhyme and metre in response to the
First Scripture, The send part is a combination of the remaining Scriptures
into rhyme and metre. The topic become a meditation on the choices we have to
make in life and in our Christian walk.
Blessings
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 25 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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PSALM
16 AND CHOICES
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Most of us dislike change with a passion that is
difficult to comprehend. In Primary School, I was two years with the Boy
Scouts. It was great fun and I would have liked to have continued. Sadly, we
moved from Port Elizabeth to a power station close to Sasolburg. That was the
end of my scouting days. Later, as my son was growing up, I got involved with
the cubs. The things the more senior cubs were doing was very similar to what
I had done in 1953/4. Thus I was in a
position to assist as leader of the Cub Pack. I was able to help them working
from my past knowledge. Then Headquarters decided that the time had come to
change the system completely. It changed from the comfortable system I had
known as a scout in the early 1950’s, to something more complicated.
Certainly it was in the best interests of the youngsters. But for me, the
change was a bit like open heart surgery without anaesthetic! I didn’t like
it one bit. Fortunately it came at the time when my son was too old for the
cubs. So we both left at the same time.
I’ve found over the years that change happens
whether we like it or not. In one respect, I’ve been fortunate enough to be
able to complete things under the previous system, before the change was
forced on me. This was true of my engineering studies. One year after I
qualified, the syllabus changed radically. I doubt if I could have passed the
new syllabus exam.
AS a Christian, I’ve found that change is normal! We
have to change. God never changes and He expects us to change as we progress
along the pathway of life. Paul spoke of this sort of change in his second
letter to the Corinthians. 18 So all
of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the
Lord. And the Lord--who is the
Spirit--makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious
image. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT. There
are times it feels as though we pass through a stage of being changed from being
an ugly caterpillar, into a beautiful butterfly. This illustration speaks so
well of the Christian life. We are in this world as sinners; ugly and
unattractive. Then we meet Jesus Christ. Encountering Him leads to our own death
to self. At least that is what is supposed to happen. Then we pass through
the most traumatic change we could ever imagine. Finally, when life in this
dimension is over, we emerge as the most beautiful butterfly we could picture.
It’s all part of the change process. We go through a phase of being changed
from glory to glory, as we submit to the changes which are necessary for us.
What I particularly like about this process is the
fact that we must change from being an ugly, repulsive caterpillar into that
which God envisions for us. Somehow, in the cocoon of change, we are changed.
Of course, we are the ones who change. But He is the one who makes it
possible. Psalm 16 describes part of this process. I’ve rephrased the Psalm
so that it is in rhyme and metre. The second half of the meditation follows
the Scriptures. We see that we have to make a choice to follow Him. Then we
are taken to a place where we must choose the correct gate in order to walk
on His Holy Highway. What we can expect on the narrow way and the easy way is
spelled out. Finally, we go on to be with Him. We become His beautiful
butterflies!
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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11 You make known to me the path of life; in your
presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.
Psalms 16:11 ESV
8 "Tell the people, 'The
LORD says, "I am offering you a choice. You can choose the way that
leads to life. Or you can choose the way that leads to death.
Jeremiah 21:8 NIrV
23 As
for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to
pray for you. And I will teach you the way that
is good and right.
1 Samuel 12:23 TNIV
6
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6 NLT
19 And
He *said to them, "Follow Me, and I
will make you fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19 NASB
12 There is a way that may seem right to a man. But in the
end it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12 NIrV
13
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is
wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it
are many. 14 For the gate is
narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Matthew 7:13-14 ESV
8 There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one
rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It's for GOD's people
exclusively-- impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get
lost on it.
Isaiah 35:8 MSG
3
"So let us know, let us press on to know the
LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to
us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."
Hosea 6:3 NASB
2 There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If
that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready
for you?
John 14:2 MSG
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Psalm 16 - (God is my refuge)
1) Keep me safe O Lord my God. In You
alone I Hide.
2) You are MY God. Apart from You, can no
good thing abide.
3) All the saints within the land are
glorious within!
In all of them You take delight. For they're set free from sin.
4) Those who follow other gods, their
sorrows shall increase.
Their names are never on Your lips, their sacrifices cease.
5) But Lord, you have assigned to me my
portion and my cup.
6) My boundaries have fallen in a place I
can look up
In praise for my inheritance; Wherein is my delight.
7) I'll praise You, Lord, who counsels me
within my heart at night.
8) Your ways are set before me. You are
at my right hand.
9) My Heart is glad; my body rests; rejoice
my tongue as planned.
10) For You will not abandon me nor leave
me in the grave;
Your Holy one won't see decay; You've caused me to behave,
11) With joy upon the paths of life, on
which You have made known.
The pleasures of eternal life, in which I'm free to roam.
Jim
Strickland
Written 1992
-oOo-
CHOICES
You may be
nine or ninety, A little less or more.
You’ll still be faced with choices
to finalise your score. (Jer
21:8)
A little
bit of evil? Perhaps, a lot of good?
The choice is always up to you, to
do the things you should. (1 Sam
12:23)
Sometimes God
is in it. More often, He is not.
It really doesn’t matter. Your
choice is what you’ve got.
Perhaps
you’ll give to charity? Perhaps you’ll rob a bank?
Whatever you decide to do, there’s
only you to thank!
The Lord
does nothing evil. The devil, nothing right.
And in the last analysis, it’s you
that has the fight.
Temptation’s
always present, to lead you far astray.
But if you follow Jesus, He’ll
surely show the way!
He said if
you will follow Him, He’ll teach you how to fish. (Matt 4:19)
Not for hake or kingklip; It’s not
that sort of dish.
It’s people
you’ll be catching, from every racial group.
It’s not their nationality, or if
they’ve flown the coop.
They may
think what they’re doing, is how they should behave.
But it could lead them in a loop
or right into the grave! (Prov. 14:12)
Through a
gate we enter. The wide one will not do.
We have to find the narrow gate;
it’s found by very few. (Matt 7:13-14)
The wide
gate is the easy way. A life of sin and ease.
A life of sex and drunkenness and
anything you please.
The highway
of God’s Holy Road starts at the narrow gate. (Isaiah
35:8)
You’ll find the way is difficult,
but the reward is great.
Rude or the
rebellious are not allowed thereon.
But if you’re persistent, you’ll
reach the Holy One.
So let us
be obedient, Press on to know the Lord. (Hosea 6:3)
And we are sure that at the end
we’ll have our great reward. (John 14:2)
Jim
Strickland
Written 25 July 2012 |
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