Time with Jesus - 29
Aug 2013
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| John Gill |
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| He will Cover You with His Feathers |
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| Matthew Henry |
Now if you think God has wings and feathers, you are
mistaken. Jesus said, 24 For God is Spirit, so those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:24 NLT To the best of my knowledge, the
vast majority of us have no idea what “spirit”
looks like. We have never seen a spirit. Therefore, at best, our description
comes from our imagination.
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| John Wesley |
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| Charles Wesley |
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| Shroud of Turin |
There are no drawings or sketches of Him. Of course, if the Shroud of
Turin is the shroud over Jesus’ face after He was placed in the tomb, it may be
that we do have a good idea what He looked like. But we do not know for certain
if the Shroud of Turin was Jesus’ burial shroud.
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| The Shroud with Image of a Crucified Man |
John Gill’s commentary was written in the 18th
century. For this reason, it is rejected by many, particularly by those who believe
in the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church. For me, I prefer his
interpretation because it is uncluttered with the opinions of many commentators
who have been influenced by subsequent Bible commentaries.
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| Shroud Image and Artist's painting of Image |
Another reason is
because of a number of men of God from that era whom we still respect in the 21st
century. The above table gives the names of 5 men of God from that era who were
more or less contemporaries. Matthew Henry died in the year 1714, 6 months before
George Whitefield was born.
Nevertheless, although some of them may have
differed from each other doctrinally, even today they remain in our memories as
men who served Jesus Christ faithfully and sincerely. Phyllida and I feel very
comfortable with their opinions and teachings, albeit from some 250 years ago.
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| George Whitefield |
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 29 Aug 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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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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A PICTURE OF GOD!
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One
of the cutest little stories I’ve come across is about the young girl and her
drawings. She was very busy working on her latest picture. Her teacher asked
her, “What are you drawing?” “A picture of God” the little girl replied. “But
nobody knows what God looks like” said the teacher. The little girl replied,
“They will when I’ve finished”.
One
of our greatest problems is the fact that we don’t know what God looks like! We
are inclined to ask why? The simple reason is because it has been forbidden
by God. 2 "I am the LORD your God,
-- 3 "Never have any other god.
4 Never make your own carved idols or
statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water.
5 Never worship them or serve them,
Exodus 20:2-5 GW. People ask why this is
so important from God’s point of view?
There
are a number of reasons. The first is because we should not even ask this
question. God only forbids our doing things which would harm other people and
our relationship with Him. He has said, “Don’t do it!” That should be
sufficient reason for us.
The
next reason is related to the little girl in our story above. We don’t know
what He looks like. How do we describe someone we know very little about? (ask any politician) It would be a
complete guess. Worse than that. It would be inadequate as a description of
God. How does one describe a Being Who is infinite but displays a number of
human characteristics? It’s a bit like playing Russian Roulette with all the
barrels loaded. No matter how we envision Him, it would be wrong. Worse than
that. It would be a picture of a false god. Yes He has described some of His
“qualities”. But these are incomplete. When we remember that everything He
is, He is infinitely. How do we draw or describe a picture of infinite love?
Another
point is, because it is unnecessary. In reply to Philip’s request that Jesus
show them the Father, Jesus replied, 9 "I
have been with all of you for a long time. Don't you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John
14:9 GW
In
spite of all the above, there is a way to get a glimpse of the Father. Look
at Jesus dying on the cross. In response to the question, “How much does the
Father love us”, we can say, “Enough to send His Son to die for us”. Another
way is to see his hands stretched out and pointing, as it were, to infinity. How
do we describe this? It’s utterly impossible. But the picture of Jesus Christ
and His redeeming love displayed on the cross is a beautiful description of
God.
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O
LORD, will keep me safe.
Psalms 4:8 NLT
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We wonder what God looks like. We
really do not know.
And trying to imagine Him is not the
way to go.
He sees that as idolatry. An idol in
the mind,
Is just as much an idol, as the any we
can find.
Don’t think that in this century they
simply don’t exist.
Take a look around you and read my
little list!
Chelsea, Leeds and Sunderland and
Manchester’s two clubs.
The Yankees and the Phillies and the
Chicago Cubs,
The Kiwi’s and the Proteas, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan,
Fighting with a cricket bat to do the
best they can.
And then there’s the Olympics which
always draws a crowd.
Men worship at these temples, which
all are not allowed.
Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar, a Brand new
SUV.
People gather round them and quickly
bow the knee.
Federer and Henman and both the Williams
gals,
All the sporting superstars and their
related pals.
Then there’s Hashim Amla, Tendulka and
Shane Warne.
And don’t forget Prince William and
others royal born.
Prince Harry and his picture which
made the centre fold;
And all those modern paintings the
galleries want sold.
And then there’s Pavarotti, the
Beatles and Tom Jones.
Josh Groban, Celtic Women and then the
Rolling Stones.
They have got their following who
worship night and day.
Don’t say they are not idols, they’re
catog’rised that way!
You see the massive temples, their
many fans applaud.
Loftus Versveld, Wimbledon, The
Wanderers and Lords.
The Super Bowl, The GABBA; wherever
folk pack in,
To sing their team’s achievements, not
knowing it’s a sin!
But they will have to answer to the
Lord God High above.
About these foreign idols, that all
the people love.
If only they would realise and somehow
come to grips,
With Jesus Christ the Superstar
puts all them in eclipse.
Then when their teams have fallen to
the bottom of the pile.
Perhaps they then will see how much
that Satan will beguile.
But then it will be far too late.
Their last chance will be gone.
And in the grip of Satan, they’ll have
to carry on.
Jim
Strickland
Written
29th August, 2012
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4 He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter
you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armour and
protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the
terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Psalms 91:4-5 NLT
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37
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to
you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
and you were not willing.
Matthew 23:37 TNIV
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3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you
will not slumber. 4 Behold, he
who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your
right hand.
Psalms 121:3-5 ESV
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4 I long to live in your holy tent forever. There I find
safety in the shadow of your wings. Selah
Psalms 61:4 NIrV
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12 It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day,
darkness and light, they're all the same to you.
Psalms 139:12 MSG
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32 If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line
for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending
his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't
gladly and freely do for us?
Romans 8:32 MSG
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22 Whether
it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future
things, everything belongs to you. 23 You
belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
1 Corinthians 3:22-23 GW
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2
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust,
and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation."
Isaiah 12:2 ESV
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