IMMANUEL

A Virgin Shall Conceive

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 01 June 2013

Hi all,

A Young Woman
1921

In the study above my desk there are two prints. They were taken from photographs. One is of Phyllida taken in 1952. She had just committed her life to Jesus and it shows. The expression on her face is “divine”. The other is one of her mother. It was taken in 1921! It shows a very beautiful young woman. There is a resemblance in the two photographs that suggests mother and daughter. These are my two “pin-up” girls.

Phyllida’s mother was born toward the end of the reign of Queen Victoria. Her great grandfather was a missionary from Scotland which accounts for her “religious” upbringing. 

Queen Victoria 1847

As a young woman, she had “rebelled” against that lifestyle. But she was not openly aggressive toward Christians and Christianity. She was suspicious of anyone who professed to be a Christian. She had “seen it all before”. Furthermore, she continually challenged Phyllida on what she believed. For example, Phyllida would come home from attending church. She would be greeted by her mother saying, “I don’t believe in the Virgin birth”! 

The Word
was made Flesh

On another occasion, Phyllida was greeted by the comment, “I find my God in the roses”! Strangely enough, we became firm friends almost from the day I met Phyllida. It was clear to her that I only had good intentions toward her daughter. Later, when I asked for her approval to marry Phyllida, she smiled and agreed. We became good friends and had some very interesting discussions about history.

Immanuel Means
God With Us

The Protestant view on the “virgin birth” is mostly misunderstood. The Roman Catholic position is that she was and remains a virgin. Protestants believe that Jesus had several half-brothers and half-sisters. Mary was their mother but after the birth of Jesus, she was no longer a virgin. We believe that the words of Isaiah were literally fulfilled. ¹⁴ All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a Child! She will give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). Isa 7:14 NLT

The words are important. Isaiah stated “The virgin will conceive”. It says nothing about her remaining a virgin after the child was born. Even so, as we all know, it is impossible for a virgin to conceive. Mind you I dare say many young women would love to say, “God is my baby’s Father”. In other words, Protestants believe Mary remained a virgin until the birth of Jesus. How could this have happened? Scripture does tell us what happened. A Virgin gave birth to a Son. When I was a child, this was a medical impossibility. No longer! Medical science can do the same. Exactly how they do it is beyond me. But they can do it. Medical Science makes it possible to be a surrogate mother. Once again, I don’t know how.

The Son of God

The Bible tells us exactly what happened. ³⁴ Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen? I am a virgin." ³⁵ The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:34-35 NLT Note the words, “So the baby to be born will be holy”. 

God and Man's DNA

This could only happen if Jesus’ mother was a virgin! No man is holy. But the Son of God is Holy. Jesus had the DNA of His Father and Mary. He had to be 100% God and 100% man. The “union” between Mary and the Holy Spirit gave rise to Immanuel. God with us!Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 01 June 2013			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	IMMANUEL
There was a time when people believed the Bible and believed in God, because the prophetic word had been fulfilled. There was no question that Jesus Christ was a real person. His miracles were acknowledged as fact. Every detail in the Bible was accepted as “Gospel” truth. For me, it is still the truth. It doesn’t really matter what others think. The Bible is true. It is the Word of God. Today there are more sceptics than believers. Indeed, many University professors and lecturers are not just sceptics, they are unbelievers! They may be theologians, but they believe nothing! As far as they are concerned, all religions are equal. They teach about the God they don’t know! In this matter, I’m reminded of something Dr Ken Stewart said when I was in Bible School thirty years ago. He said he went to Seminary to prove the existence of God. He shared a room with a man who had gone to the same seminary, to prove God doesn’t exist. Ken added that when he entered the seminary, about 20 students believed in God. By the time he qualified with his doctorate, there were only three believers remaining. Unbelief dominated the campus. What baffles me, is how these men can be regarded as Christians. Thank God this is not true in all universities. There still remain those who are committed to Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it is a wise Christian parent, who will warn their sons and daughters about the onslaught against Christianity. They will encounter this in many places of tertiary education. Today, it takes a certain amount of courage to face up to the challenge of the unbelieving “masses”. This is not new. It has been on-going for centuries. This world has always ridiculed those who are out of step with them. It is probably true, that the Jews have suffered from this form of treatment, since the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Some 2000 years ago, the Jewish people believed the time had come for God to send the Messiah. The Son of David, would deliver them from the hands of the Romans. It would have been the desire of nearly all the young women to be the mother of Messiah. No doubt many prayed and asked the Lord to choose her. There could be only one mother of Messiah. There would have been no shortage of applicants. Perhaps we might compare it with the young ladies in the 21st century who would have given anything to marry Prince Harry. Mary qualified biologically. She was descended from King David. She was young, loved God, unmarried and a virgin. In addition, she was promised in marriage to Joseph, another descendant of King David. This was essential. The Jewish religious authorities knew the Messiah would be a “son of David”. They had all the genealogical records and would reject out of hand, anyone claiming to be the Son of David, unless it was possible. Then the date in history arrived when a young Jewish virgin would conceive miraculously, just as their prophets had foretold. Mary had been chosen “before the foundation of the world”. The time was exactly right. Mary conceived supernaturally. Her baby was the Son of God. It’s not necessary to go into the detail. It’s recorded for us in the Bible exquisitely. There we get a beautiful insight into what took place; a culmination of what is predicted so joyfully in Song of Songs. God’s love for His people through the woman of His choice! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" Matthew 1:23 NLT 18 "But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain You. How much less this Temple I have built! 2 Chronicles 6:18 NLT 14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son. He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIrV 16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NLT 2 And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe. Hebrews 1:2 NLT 19 That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you!" 20 When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord. John 20:19-20 GW 26 A week later Jesus' disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe." 28 Thomas responded to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:26-28 GW 6 For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NLT	Isaiah spoke about Him, a long, long time ago. He had it written in his book, so everyone would know, There would be a Messiah long after he had died. Someone Who would save us from our sins of stubborn pride. He told us it would happen. He didn’t tell us when. And from that very point in time, the “Jews” saw it as “gen”. Examine what he prophesised. The Lord God would draw nigh. His name would be “Immanuel”, God with us from on High He said a virgin would conceive. That’s rather strange to me. How could that ever happen? It surely cannot be? But this is what would happen, just when the time was right. And from that time in history, the girls would pray at night, And ask to be the virgin who’d bring forth the Divine! She had to be descended from the Davidic line. We know that Mary qualified, her genealogy Complied with every aspect of Isaiah’s prophesy. So now we have the woman. A virgin through and through, Praying she would be the one whom this would happen to! Then when the Lord was ready and when the time was right, God’s Spirit “overshadowed” her one very special night. And here we see the miracle; a virgin girl conceived. We think it is impossible and hard to be believed. But nothing is impossible; not for the Living God. So why are we so sceptical and think that it was odd? But there’s something important. After the baby’s birth, She couldn’t be a virgin. Not on this present earth. I don’t need to explain it from man’s biology. I’m sure that every mother will totally agree! So Mary was a virgin until the birth was done. And she brought forth “Immanuel”, God’s One and only Son! They gave Him the Name “Jesus”, and people couldn’t tell. That He was God in overalls while being man as well! This was no schizophrenic! He made the universe. But when He came to be with us, He needed a wet nurse! Was this humiliation? He didn’t think that way. He only ever did the things He heard His father say. He lived among His people a life of truth and grace. And He became the Saviour, of all the human race! Exactly what Isaiah said, down to the fine detail, Took place when Jesus Christ was born. It happened without fail. A Son was given to us; a virgin girl gave birth. The “Everlasting Father” was sent from Heaven to Earth “The Prince of Peace”; the “Mighty God”, “The Counsellor Divine”, Came as had been promised to take your sins and mine. Indeed this really happened. Believe that it is true. For Jesus came and gave His life, for folk like me and you. Jim Strickland Written 1st June 2012

ABIDING IN JESUS

Abiding in the Vine

Time with Jesus - Friday, 31 May 2013

Hi all,

My father married the first and only girlfriend he ever had. He met her in 1937 in Hull while overhauling turbo-generating equipment at Skull-Coates Lane Power Station. They married the day after her 21^st birthday in 1940 and were together until she died in 2001.

Neither of them spoke of the war years more often than necessary. It had been a dreadful time of suffering, loss and death. They did tell me that preparations for the possibility of war began before hostilities commenced. Things like gas-masks were made and issued. Air raid shelters were built and similar precautions were taken. The object was to do what could be done, so that in the event of a war, people were protected.

Some of the people themselves took what precautions they could. They knew that if a bomb fell on their house, their prospects of survival were slim. Others made no preparations. When the air raid sirens began their dreadful wail, people made their way to whatever shelter was available. Incidentally, the air raid shelter would not save the occupants in the case of a direct hit. But they were safer in those shelters than in their houses or on the streets. Later, when people had grown accustomed to the nightly terror, many stayed in bed and hoped they would be safe. Some were. Many were not.

The life of a Christian in 2013 is not unlike the streets of the major cities during a bombing raid. We know that we are fighting an implacable enemy; an enemy who has one purpose; to destroy God’s people. He will do so if given the opportunity. 

Righteous People?

South Africa is not a bastion of righteous people. The majority are just the opposite. But His followers know that they are covered with the blood of Jesus. In a sense He is our air raid shelter. But we are free to wander the streets should we so wish. In this regard, we are free to play hop-scotch in the minefield of dangerous situations. 

Trying to Fly!

I may be a Christian. But if I step off the roof I am just as likely to die as an unbeliever. Jesus does not protect us from our own foolish actions. Bear in mind that the blood of Jesus does not inoculate us against our own stupidity. In this, we have a part to play. The Lord’s half-brother, Jude, expressed it as follows:

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God's love. Jude 1:20-21 NLT

Today’s meditation looks at this from the aspect of continuing in known sin, after having committed your life to Jesus. Luther and some of the early protestant reformers stated that after salvation, they could rape, kill and pillage because their salvation depended upon Jesus and not on Martin Luther. Today, this call has been taken up by the extreme grace message that is so popular. “Once saved always saved” is their clarion call. You may enjoy the fleshpots of life and can have the very best of heaven. Come to Jesus now and all this is yours!

I for one would like to believe this. I wish I could. That’s the way I would like it to be. But that’s not what I find in Scripture. I see Christians being exhorted to put away the lusts of the flesh. I see promises made to “overcomers”. Who are they if there is nothing to overcome? I read Scriptures which quote Jesus as saying: ¹³ And everyone will hate you because you are My followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13 NLT

Endure to the End!

For me it is very clear. I am not saved so that I may sin as much as I want. For me, salvation is not a one off event. It is a process which begins with committing your life to Jesus. The fulfillment of this comes at the mouth of the grave. Then assuming I’ve been faithful and followed Jesus, I will have endured to the end and will be saved.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 31 May 2013			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	ABIDING IN JESUS
Looking at the first Scripture today; abide in Him, is the topic for today’s meditation. I’ve included most of the other Scriptures. Hopefully you will enjoy the humorous touch! Humour is the best way to convey bad news. This approach has come about as a result of what is implied by “abiding” in Jesus. Essentially, abiding in Him means to live like He did; imitating Him as much as humanly possible. The expression “living seamlessly” could well be a good way to put it. Of course, for us that is impossible! Not without the help and guidance of His Spirit. Abiding in Him does not mean speaking the way He did. We can train parrots to do that; parrots can never be Christian. It means to live a lifestyle like His. It’s a question of behaviour rather than speech. In this way, behaviour underlies speech. I’m vividly reminded of the expression, “Do as I say, not as I do!” Parents are often accused by their children of such hypocrisy. John Gill, the 18th century theologian commented on 1 John 2:28-29 as follows: - The visible proof of being a Christian is right behaviour. Many people do good deeds but don't have faith in Jesus Christ. Others claim to have faith but rarely produce good deeds. A deficit in either faith or right behaviour will be a cause for shame when Christ returns. Because true faith always results in good deeds, those who claim to have faith and who consistently do what is right are true believers. Good deeds cannot produce salvation (see Eph. 2:8-9), but they are necessary proof that true faith is actually present (see James 2:14-17). It is particularly distressing that men believe they could “make a decision” for Jesus 30 years ago. From then on they believe they can do anything at all. They may sin indiscriminately and God will not hold them accountable. But it is inconceivable that the same God Who condemns sinners will not condemn “Christians” for the same sins! Those who live like the world are not abiding in Him! I understand that Martin Luther and several of the early Protestant reformers believed this. Of course, that doesn’t make something right or wrong. We are only ever “correct” when our opinion coincides with that which God states. Incidentally, this applies to me and everyone else in the Church today. Something is not correct because anyone thinks so. It is only correct if God says so. My problem with Luther’s opinion is this. I can’t believe that God will condone sins in a saint that He will condemn in a sinner. That’s an inconsistency we should never try and leave at God’s door. He is not double-minded! Personally, I’m not prepared to take a risk with this. My love for Him compels me to follow His lifestyle, the essence of abiding in Him. Am I sin free? No! But His blood cleanses me from all unrighteousness. I believe that abiding in Him will inevitably result in my producing good “fruit”. Sure, He gets all the credit! But as Paul wrote to the Romans in the Message translation; 1 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2 I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Rom 6:1-2 MSG There will come a day when God judges everyone. I’d hate to flirt with sin and be included among the disobedient. My way may be more difficult but it is the “safer” approach. Abiding in Him assures me of His eternal reward. Continuing to live like a sinner is likely to lead to destruction. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2:28 ESV 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:5-8 NLT 6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to Himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. 8 Let God's curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. Galatians 1:6-8 NLT 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace. Galatians 5:4  NLT 7 You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? Galatians 5: 7 NLT 4 Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me. 5 "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! John 15:4-7 NLT 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV	We used to sing it often, in the church to which we went. But no one ever told us just what “abiding” meant. “Abiding in the Vine”; these were the words we used to sing. Reflecting back upon them now, they didn’t mean a thing. They brought a “gooey” feeling as we sang in one accord. Enthusiastic praises to our Everlasting Lord. Webster’s Dictionary says it is a transitive verb. Assuming that you understand such highfaluting blurb! It talks about the syntax and means that we must wait. But if SARS puts a tax on sin, we’d all be in a state. Another definition means, to bear things patiently. Not a favourite pastime I can state assuredly. Another way to put it is, “endure and never yield”. A sort of fun expression on the rugby playing field. I hope you understand it. It’s clear as mud to me. And really doesn’t help me with my daily poetry. So much for dictionaries. That didn’t help a bit. I think the Lord meant, “be prepared” and “never ever quit!” He’s told us He is coming back, but none of us know when! What will we be doing and what will happen then? Will we be ashamed of all the things which we have done? Will we wish we didn’t have to meet with God’s own Son? Not if we use wisdom. He’ll generously give, All the wisdom needed for each of us to live. But a bigger danger, is we may fall away, Following a “gospel” which is not the truth today! There are many teachers who pervert the Word of God. None of them will pass beneath the Master’s measuring rod. Just like the Galatians they’ve fallen from God’s grace! I for one don’t envy all the problems they will face. Sadly, they had started to “run the race” so well. Why they were deflected? I’m sorry, I can’t tell. There is a solution. Abiding in the vine. Tapping into Jesus will keep us doing fine. Never ever leave Him; without Him we are lost. Furthermore, to leave Him, is much too great a cost. Think about His promise. If we will but remain, Abiding in the Master; then when He comes again, We will be rewarded. But more importantly, We will be with Jesus throughout eternity. God has many promises. In Christ they are AMEN! It’s only just a question of when He comes back again! Jim Strickland Written 31st May 2012