Time with Jesus - Friday, 19 October 2012
Hi all,
Today’s meditation looks at Adam, Eve and fall. What
happened in the Garden? What was Adam doing? We observe that Adam was only a
tenant. He had a leasehold agreement for the earth from God. Satan stole it by
deception. Jesus cancelled the leasehold and now exerts His freehold rights.
When the trumpet blows, Satan will be evicted.
Blessings,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Friday, 19 October 2012
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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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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WHEN
THE TRUMPET SOUNDS
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The fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. I wonder what it looked like. How easy was it to
identify. We know that it was located in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
But how did Adam know which tree it was? Did it look any different from all
the other trees? Was it in the middle of an orchard? Did it stand all alone
so that you would recognise it if you walked toward it? We don’t know. What
we do know is that Adam and Eve had the complete run of the garden. But they
were not given ownership. 15 The LORD God placed the
man in the Garden of Eden to tend and
watch over it. Genesis 2:15 NLT
Adam and Eve were “innocents
in paradise” with no restriction on them. I assume that the fruit of every
other tree in the garden would contribute to their knowledge of what was
good. I’m not sure that they had any idea about evil at all. How could they.
The knowledge of evil was confined to the fruit of one tree. There was no other
evil in that garden. Presumably, if Satan hadn’t come along, we would all be
there romping and playing in the garden and enjoying our time with God in the
cool of the evening! But I digress.
There was no sin in the
world. Nothing died. Did the trees grow? Did the grass, flowers and plant
life grow? What about the animals? Man was told to be fruitful, multiply and
fill the earth. Presumably this applied to all the creatures God had made.
The instruction may have been given to Adam and Eve only. Presumably it
applied to all the creatures? It seems that this would inevitably result in
the entire world being fully populated. Only one thing could prevent this
from happening. If Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. he would lose the leasehold right of occupation on God’s world.
Only one sin was possible.
For Adam (not Eve) to eat the forbidden fruit. We usually include Eve in this
prohibition. But the way she spoke to the serpent, suggests the Lord had not
given the instruction to her. God gave the order to Adam. It was his
responsibility to pass it on.
We know what happened. God
had given Adam an indefinite lease on the Garden. 1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all the people belong to Him. Psalms 24:1 NLT Satan now had legal possession
for an undefined period. But he didn’t own it. This means that God had the
right to take it back, subject to the laws He had put in place. So Jesus did
not “steal” the world back. He legally cancelled the lease and terminated
Satan’s tenancy agreement. Since the “freehold” was His, He had every right
to do so. One of these days, Satan will be evicted. When the last trumpet
blows!
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
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1 Are you cheerful because you belong to Christ? Does his love comfort
you? Is the Holy Spirit your companion? Has Christ been gentle and loving
toward you?
Philippians 2:1 NIrV
1
"How frail is humanity! How short is life,
how full of trouble! 2 We blossom like a
flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
Job 14:1-2 NLT
26 When my skin sags and
my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful.
Psalms 73:26 MSG
16 I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you
another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.26
The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will
send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind
you of all the things I have told you.
John 14:16 & 26 MSG
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can
comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same
comfort God has given us.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to
life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with
Him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this
directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will
not meet Him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord Himself
will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have
died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we
who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18
So encourage each other with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 NLT
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When he’d been created; in the days before the fall;
I’ve wondered about Adam. Did he understand at all,
What the Lord was saying, when He told him he would die.
The fruit of good and evil He told him not to try.
If ever Adam ate it, death would come on board
And he would face destruction, by death’s great and mighty sword.
Did he really listen? Did he comprehend,
The outcome of his eating and that death would be his end?
It seems he wasn’t frightened. He wasn’t quite aware,
Of all the consequences. He didn’t seem to care.
But after he had fallen; with Satan in control,
He knew that all his children had lost their mortal soul.
He didn’t seem to realise, a little tiny sin,
Would put all of his children in the mess that we are in.
He didn’t quite appreciate that everyone would die.
That fear of death would haunt us, for to all death would apply.
From that very moment, when death was in control,
We have all been frightened, of what happens to our “soul”.
From that very instant, we have been the slaves of fear.
Terrified of dying and knowing it was near.
No one could avoid it. Death’s “jaws” were open wide.
It was unrelenting and to all it was applied.
No one could avoid it. No man dispute its claim.
This would last forever, or till Christ the Saviour came.
He took on the devil and Satan was defeated!
Beat him fair and squarely. The devil wasn’t cheated.
Jesus through His lifetime had not committed sin.
So it was inevitable Jesus Christ would win.
Death had been defeated, when Christ was resurrected!
By His precious blood, His saints are thoroughly protected.
Death has lost its terror. His saints can overcome,
In the precious Name of Jesus Christ God’s only son.
Yes, our mortal bodies will surely pass away.
But we’ll get a new one when He comes again one day!
So be a little patient. All of us will rise,
The instant that His trumpet sounds. the devil and his guys,
Will have to give the lease back. It will not be extended.
And Christ will have the “freehold” of all that God intended.
Jim
Strickland – Written 19th October 2012
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