A VISION FOR MINISTRY

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation has very little to do with today’s Scriptures. Instead I’ve included something written in 1999 for a lady who was trying to find her ministry. Over the past weekend I came across a couple of people seeking for theirs. So I thought it was time to include it for today’s meditation.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 23 October 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	A VISION FOR MINISTRY
Written in 1999, this parable was written for a lady looking for her ministry. I’m going to tell a parable, to help folk understand, The thing that they already know as what, for them, I’ve planned. There was a little lady who wondered what to do. She said she had no training. At least, none that she knew. She didn’t have much learning. She didn’t know My Word. She’d spent her days in service. And yet her heart was stirred. She wanted to do something. A very special task. But she had little money and felt she couldn’t ask, Her neighbours to assist her to start a ministry. But in her heart, she longed to do a lovely work for Me. She hunted round her humble home but couldn’t find a thing; Except some different scraps of wool she tied like balls of string. There were so many colours. Some red, some green, some pink. “The colours of the rainbow” is all that she could think; And all the lengths were different. Some short, some very long. And some of them were very weak, with others very strong. “What can I do,” she wondered. “I can’t buy any more. I haven’t even got the time to travel to the store”. And so she took her needles and started on a quest; To knit a rainbow garment and make a small child’s vest. She knitted in the mornings and in the afternoons. Whenever she could find the time, her knitting she’d resume. She started with the strongest lengths, and with the weaker strands, She braided two together with her kind, loving hands. Eventually she finished. She looked at what she’d done. It didn’t look impressive. But she’d had lots of fun. She giggled as she looked at it because it looked so odd. It really seemed the strangest thing for her to do for God. The next day, in the market place, she came across a child. He was a homeless urchin. He looked at her and smiled. The cold wind blew upon him and what he wore was thin.			63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life. John 6:63 TNIV 45 The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 NLT 6 When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch--the Spirit--and becomes a living spirit. John 3:6 MSG 5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 NLT 11 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:9-11 ESV 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 TNIV 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 TNIV	And so, she took the rainbow vest and handed it to him. He looked at her with great big eyes and pulled it o’er his head. His eyes expressed a thankfulness which words could not have said. The child looked quaint and interesting and suddenly she knew, That she’d performed a ministry that no one else could do. The meaning of this parable is very plain to see. It isn’t very difficult to find your ministry. Take a look around you and see what you can find. Look for what you like to do and what inspires your mind. This lady loved her knitting. The wool was close at hand. She didn’t have to emigrate or leave her native land. She didn’t go to Bible School. She didn’t need matric. She only did what she could do; and did it double quick. She didn’t use excuses; she didn’t cry or mope. She wasn’t sure of anything. She wasn’t sure she’d cope! She simply took her talents and her abilities, And set off on a venture into her ministry. So tell this to my children. This parable of Mine, To show them that their ministry is forged in their design. It isn’t going places, or being seen by men. It’s doing what they like to do, no matter where, or when. So if they want a vision of what they need to do. Take a little look around and they will get a view, Of what there is available, to meet another’s needs; And then put into action their own God given deeds. Whatever they can find to do, just do with all their heart. For that is where they’re sure to find their ministry will start. So, tell them to take courage and tell them not to wait. The time is now! The place is here! Today’s the perfect date, For them to put in motion that which now must be done. To glorify the Father, the Spirit and the Son. Jim Strickland – Written 1999

ON TRACK

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 21 October 2012

Hi all,

Yesterday it was my intention to finalise today’s meditation when we got home from Klerksdorp. I started but was too tired. So today’s meditation is a bit behind my schedule.

Today’s meditation draws together the idea that God wanted to have a bigger family. There may be a better reason for the creation of man, Perhaps you do? So I’ve drawn several strings together to produce what is now before you.

.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 22 October 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	ON TRACK
When we start thinking about God, most of us give up very quickly. We struggle with anything that is infinite. How can we begin to cope with such huge dimensions? We also find that when we begin thinking, we find our minds not big enough to cope with an infinite intellect. By way of illustration, in 1992, Phyllida and I moved to Worcester in the Cape. We were there to work for the Methodist Church. Now I’ve been using computers since 1985. That’s when I bought my first one. I wanted it for writing purposes at home and at work. I bought the most up to date computer available at that time. After switching it on and listened to its whirring noises I was smitten. The screen said “Press anykey” I couldn’t find it. But with perseverance I began to find my way round the DOS system. Shortly thereafter, a good friend of mine sent me a copy of Word Star. From that time on, my proficiency on the thing increased rapidly. More than that. I was well and truly hooked. The computer was slow but fast enough for my purposes. But the speed issue became a bit of a problem. So I thought I’d spoil myself with a bigger hard drive. So we drove over the mountain to Paarl. That’s where I bought a 100Mb hard drive. This should last me about 20 years, I thought. Then came 1995 and with it, windows 95 from Microsoft. One look, and it was all over. I had to have this new piece of electronic wizardry. I think I was among the first 100 people to buy it in Worcester.  Then I was introduced to MS Office. It was installed and I found to my horror, my computer was short of memory and hard disk space. It was difficult to explain to Phyllida. It may have helped if I had been able to explain it to myself! All this meant I had to get a bigger hard drive with more memory. The solution was to buy a new computer with a faster processor. It was a 386 processor. By then I was getting to be something of a techno-junkie. This yearning for all things “computotronic” was not confined to me alone. It was rapidly being taken up by my grandchildren. In a very little time I found that they know more about it than me. We would talk about 12 year old “modem-burier’s who could install a new modem in a computer in about 5 minutes flat. Then came LAN’s, WAN’s, wireless connections, extended memory, laptops, flash drives, and a host of other things far beyond my own ability. Technology had left me behind. I’ve realised that there is so much out there, I can’t start up to date. In a small way, my lack of computer knowledge resembles the knowledge difference between the Lord and creatures He made. When I’m told that most people use less than 5% of their brain capacity, I start to wonder. Would God start us off with some form of a lobotomy? But it is possible that the fall seriously affected our brain power. What would we be like if 100% was in use? Don’t ask me. But if God’s intention was to have a bigger family, could it be that when we get our resurrection bodies, we will have 100% use of our brains restored? Whether that would be sufficient to squeeze all the knowledge of God into the mind of one man is debatable. But it is clear that we will have a lot to learn and infinity in front of us to learn it. God has made it clear that we are the bride of Christ. We are members of that species He planned would increase the size of His family. Is that possible? What do you think? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Psalms 103:19 TNIV 33 We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall. Proverbs 16:33 NLT 6 When someone blows a trumpet in a city, don't the people tremble with fear? When trouble comes to a city, hasn't the LORD caused it? Amos 3:6 NIrV 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. Isaiah 45:5-7 ESV 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35 ESV 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Romans 8:31 NLT 25 For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. 1 Corinthians 15:25 NLT 32 "So don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Luke 12:32 NLT	The fellowship experienced twixt Father and the Son, And with the Holy Spirit, was such a lot of fun. It was so delightful, with such a sense of peace, They felt there should be more of them; and membership increase. But what to do about it? The family was three. We could make it bigger and grow exponentially. We could make a creature who if properly designed, Could come and join our circle when suitably refined. They could be the “children” whom we would most enjoy. Made within our image not some mechanistic toy. Now Father, Son and Spirit, are infinitely smart. They knew they were preparing a being who’d be part, Of what all three were seeking. And so they’d start from scratch! Creation wasn’t difficult; but there was still a catch. Freewill was a problem; the right to pick and choose; Obedience was wanted; and yet it could refuse! There’d have to be a factor, that came from up above, Embroidered in its nature; a capacity to love. Love would be the hallmark included in the plan. A tender-hearted conscience, embedded in their “man” This wasn’t quite as simple, as I have made it seem. Nor was it just a figment of some high and lofty dream. The creature must be capable of marriage to God’s Son. How would this be possible? How would it be done? There’d have to be a system; a brand new paradigm, Comprising space and matter developed over time. They wondered what to call it. Perhaps a universe, Of suns and moons and planets; a system so diverse, And yet interconnected and governed by the laws, Which they would have to integrate in spite of minor flaws. How about a “cosmos” They thought the word was right. So they began creating and said, “Let there be light!” How long did all this take them? The scientists don’t know. Some think about nine billion years could be a little slow. The last thing was a garden in which He put a man. And from that point in History, God’s problems first began. Adam had been given the right to turn away. And that is just what Adam did when Satan came to stay. Was it a catastrophe on a gigantic scale? Yes! But God expected it, and knew it wouldn’t fail. Every possibility was worked out in advance. Nothing had been overlooked, or left to follow chance. So Father looked at Spirit and Spirit looked at Son! They smiled and said, the plan has worked; soon Satan’s days are done! Jim Strickland Written 22nd October 2012