JIMMETS; SPEAK TRUTH – NO BOASTING

Time with Jesus - Monday, 01 October 2012

Hi all,

Today we have a pair of Jimmets to meditate upon. The first one draws its inspiration from Ephesians 4:15 “Speak the Truth in love. The second from 2 Peter 3:18 “All glory to Him. With this latter one we are able to share something of His glory. While we ensure that the glory is His, He often allows us to “handle” His glory provided we are careful not to point to ourselves; Jesus will allow us to “handle” His reflected glory. The illustration is simple. The sun gives its glory to our moon. The moon reflects the glory of the sun. If we can be like the moon, God’s glory will fall on us and we will reflect it to others.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 01 October 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	JIMMETS; SPEAK TRUTH – NO BOASTING
In the early 1980’s, Christianity went through a time of great transition. Here in South Africa, what is now called the “Faith Movement” arrived in Johannesburg with the emergence of “Rhema”. It was not really a denomination in the sense that the Methodist Church or the Anglican Church were. But this movement “took off”. Many of the people who joined Rhema or several similar Churches were men and women who felt underutilised in the denominations. Many were rebelling against the inflexible “Clergy” and “Laity” attitude. They recognised that Scripturally there is no such distinction and were not prepared to continue as a “second class” citizen in that denomination.  As a result, many “Charismatics” are former Anglicans or Methodists etc. There was also a move toward believing the Bible and accepting the contents at face value. Phyllida and I were and still are convinced of the veracity of God’s Word. Yes, it was necessary to read God’s Word with due regard to context, who is “speaking” to whom, along with common sense and understanding. For example when Jesus said, 9 I am the gate. John 10:9 NLT, we did not go round hunting for handles and hinges. We understood He was speaking figuratively. One of the books we devoured back then was “What You Say Is What You Get” by Don Gossett. It was a revolutionary idea. We immediately put it into practise. At that time we had a golden spaniel called Pippa. She was one of the smelliest dogs we’ve ever come across. It was so bad that we started to call her “stink dog”. We tried a variety of solution, all without success. The smell was unbearable. Then we came across Don Gossett’s book. We read it with great enthusiasm. At that point we decided to change our confession over Pippa. We began to call her a sweet smelling dog. In spite of the unbearable smell, we stuck with our “confession”. About two weeks later we had to consult a new vet. We had moved away from the area so it was not possible to consult the previous one. The new vet took one look at Pippa and said he knew exactly what the problem was. He asked us to leave Pippa with him until the morning and the smell would be gone. The next morning we went to collect our sweet smelling dog. He was right. He had discovered what he called “lip-fold eczema”. All that needed doing was to cut the affected tissue away, apply a disinfectant and all would be well. He was right. We had no more “stink dog” problem! Since then, we have been very particular about the things we say. The main difficulty is to distinguish between telling a lie and making a positive or negative confession. It can be something of a tightrope. But there is a way! Ask the Lord! He will always tell you! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. Ephesians 4:15 NLT 28 All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head. Mark 4:28 NIrV 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:13 NLT 12 Oh, don't worry; we wouldn't dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! 2 Corinthians 10:12 NLT 17 As the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD." 18 When people commend themselves, it doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 NLT 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality. 18 Don't let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For He holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. Colossians 2:17-19 NLT 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 NLT	Speak the Truth in Love Speak the truth in love. That’s how we grow, In every way, to be more like the Lord. We will always reap the crop we sow. This is stated clearly in God’s Word No one plants tomatoes and gets beans. Horticulture doesn’t work that way. If you stop and think what all this means, You could be a better man today. Every word you say is like a seed, Planted in God’s rich and fertile ground. It could satisfy your deepest need, Or cause all life’s problems to abound. Prosperity or massive mounds of debt? What you say is always what you get. Jim Strickland – Written 1st October 2012 Reflect His Glory If you want to boast, boast in the Lord! Without Him, there is nothing you can do. Pride in what you’ve done will bring a sword, That will quickly cut your life in two. Men have seen this time and time again. “Look at all the things which I have done”. Understand your boasting is in vain. Stealing glory from God’s only Son, Surely will bring canker to your soul. Very soon you’ll falter and will fall. You will lose your purpose and your goal. You may even miss God’s Holy call. Give Him all the glory! You will see, His reflected glory come on thee. Jim Strickland – Written 1st October 2012