OUR HERITAGE

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 23 September 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is about our heritage; the heritage of those who love God and seek to follow Him. We know very little about the New Jerusalem. He has revealed some of it in the Book of Revelation. How the end times fit together until the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven is still the topic of much discussion. What we can say is that we will be there with all the saints of God from the fall to the present day. We also know that He will be there. That’s what is really important.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 23 September 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	OUR HERITAGE
My mother told a great story about me from way back in 1948. We were living in Durban at the time in the Esau Hotel. It was quite close to the Durban beach. The hotel has probably gone by now. I was about 6 and was taken to a little school fairly close to where we were staying. She said that after my third or fourth day at school, I came home and told her that it was not necessary to go back. I had learned all I needed to know! Of course it was a preposterous thought. But it does have a parallel with today’s Scripture. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.1 Cor. 2:9-10 NLT We can and do laugh at a child who says he knows everything, when he knows nothing. We know that the child is speaking in ignorance but is expressing his perception of knowledge. At the same time, we forget that when it comes to the things of God, we are all just as ignorant. We have our concepts of what is good and beautiful. Most of it is. But when it comes to what God has prepared for His children, it is beyond our limited imagination. I have great sympathy for the prophet Ezekiel at the Kebar river. He had been greatly blessed by God. He experienced a “touch” from God and saw something indescribable. Read Ezekiel chapter 1 and see what the Prophet tries to depict. How do you describe the indescribable? How do you write it down? How do you begin to grasp what you have seen? As I read this chapter, I sense a huge “frustration” in the man. How can such a vision be explained? What do you write in such circumstances? It’s reasonable to assume that his personal knowledge of God was not grossly different from ours. What did he know about God? What do we know about God? A truthful answer would be, “precious little”. We can’t even imagine The God Who “contains” the universe and everything inside it! But Ezekiel sees something. It’s so far beyond his understanding that he can hardly put it in writing. We know that the Bible contains all the information God has chosen to make available to us. How much is that? We have no idea. For example we know that most of an iceberg is under water. We also know that a polished diamond has many facets. How many can we see? We can’t see them all because we can only see the portions facing us. To know more, we would need to be able to handle it to make a thorough examination. It’s impossible for us to “pick up God” The little He has revealed to us tells us something about Him. He is infinite. But what does infinity look like? We have no idea unless the Spirit of God reveals it to us. We can’t begin to imagine the future without God’s Spirit. Occasionally, for example in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we are given a number of hints. Hints that whet our appetite to know more. Will we be shown more? I suppose that if it was in His interests He would do so. He does give us the overall dimensions. Whether it’s a cube or a pyramid, we don’t know. Rev. 21:10-27 gives us an idea of the appearance of the New Jerusalem. The Spirit revealed it to John. Read it and be astonished! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:7 ESV 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 1 Corinthians 15:19 NLT 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16 NLT 4 We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can't be destroyed or corrupted and can't fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:4 GW 21 So don't brag about people. Everything belongs to you. 22 Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future things, everything belongs to you. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22 GW 9 It is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love him." (Isaiah 64:4) 10 But God has shown it to us through his Spirit. The Spirit understands all things. He understands even the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIrV 4 No one's ears have ever heard of a God like you. No one's eyes have ever seen a God who is greater than you. No God but you acts for the good of those who trust in him. Isaiah 64:4 NIrV 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 2 John 1:8 ESV 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT	The Hebrews and the Gentiles both have a heritage. One which they all have to share and not get as a wage. No one knows exactly what it is they will see. All they know for sure is that each beneficiary, Will be with God Almighty when Jesus Christ comes back. All those who’re ready, will never suffer lack. It’s been like this since Abraham first saw the Promised Land. A little bit of real estate; that God said He had planned, To give to Abraham’s offspring. Exactly where or when, Was something that they didn’t know, at least not way back then. We know that under Joshua, they took the land by force. But it was not their heritage. Such thoughts are way off course. For sure, the land was fruitful. The Bible makes that plain. But it was not the paradise they thought they should obtain. They seemed to be quite satisfied, when it had been inspected. But it was not the place their holy men had all expected. It wasn’t such a bad place and they could settle down; Until the Lord provided them a city or a town. The centuries rolled by them. The people came and went. They didn’t get the city and settled for a tent. The towns they had were beautiful but how do you compare, The promised Holy City with the tents they had back there? So what is it we’re waiting for? This City from on High, Where all the streets are paved with gold and people do not die? No one has ever seen it; at least not in this life. But many people think they know and man’s opinion’s rife! The only thing we know for sure, the architect is God. We know about the gates and walls but what is very odd. Is when we talk about the size. We’re told there’s lots of room; And looking at its size, it would fit right into the moon! It has a tree-lined river flowing from the Father’s throne. No one ever dies there and no one is alone. The tree of life is growing and there is no more night. The Trinity abides therein and they provide the light. We truly can’t imagine it. No human mind has known, The things Almighty God has made for those who are His own. And here is what’s exciting. The saints who’ve gone before, Are waiting for us all to come; They can’t wait any more. And so they stand and clap their hands, they ululate and cheer. For God has said we’ll all receive, when all of us are here! So hang in there and overcome. For they who say and do, Will all receive their crown of life. I cannot wait, Can you? Jim Strickland Written 23rd September 2012