THE CONVERSION DIVERSION

Time with Jesus - 17 Aug 2013

Hi All

A couple of days ago we looked had a brief look at World War 1 in colour. The war took place in full colour. It took place in real geographical positions. Certainly the cameras were primitive. They were driven by hand. The photographer turned a handle and the picture was taken onto the “films” of those days. I’ve no idea how they controlled the speed of the filming by hand. 

No doubt when the photographer stopped turning the handle they stopped “shooting the movie”. They may have been spring controlled like the old record players. All the handle did was to tighten the spring in the mechanism. I’m told that film speed (frames per second) is different now from what it was then. That’s why everybody has a funny high speed walk; far faster than people do on our movies today.

The pictures were all “black and white”. But technology today is marvellous. Although the original movies were “shot” in black and white, technology has a way of bringing out the original colour. Don’t ask me how. It’s a bit like the old question, “How can a brown cow, under a blue sky and a red son, eat green grass and give us white milk and yellow butter?” Sadly, the cows won’t tell us how!”

Seeing the “action” in WWI in colour, does nothing to reduce the obvious tragedy of the entire debacle. No one really knows what it was that made the opponents declare war on each other. We are told it had something to do with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Why that would trigger a world “war to end all wars” borders on insanity. 

The two sides ended up in the trenches in France and Belgium. There, they tried everything they could to win, regardless of how many lives were lost. It was only 11 years since the Wright brothers made the first manned flight. By the time the war ended, aeroplane technology reached the point when they could have “dog fights” in the air, drop bombs on the opponents armed forces and each other’s countries. They also invented tanks, developed machine guns and related arms and used gas to kill each other. 

If WWI hadn’t been so tragically real, it could have been mistaken for a Marx Brothers comedy. We are told it was only a training ground for what would happen in Europe 20 years later.

When we consider madness of this nature, we are inclined to ask God to save us from our own stupidity. We are also asked, “Where was God in WWI and WWII.” The answer is, He was no further distant from humanity than He had been at any time in the history of the world. He did care about what was happening. 

We know that as Jesus accompanied Mary and Martha to Lazarus’ tomb; ³⁵ Jesus wept. John 11:35 ESV

The Life Application Study Bible comments on this passage of Scripture as follows: John stresses that we have a God who cares. When Jesus saw the weeping and wailing, he too wept openly. Perhaps he empathized with their grief, or perhaps he was troubled at their unbelief. In either case, Jesus showed that he cares enough for us to weep with us in our sorrow. This portrait contrasts with the Greek concept of God that was popular in that day—a God with no emotions and no messy involvement with humans. 

Here we see many of Jesus' emotions—compassion, indignation, sorrow, even frustration. He often expressed deep emotion, and we must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to him. He understands them, for he experienced them. Be honest, and don't try to hide anything from your Saviour. He cares.

In the Word - Jesus Wept

No doubt Jesus wept over the carnage and stupidity of WWI. No doubt He wept looking at the victims of the holocaust. Likewise He wept over what took place on land, sea and in the air during WWII. No doubt He longed to save us from our stupidity. I suspect, during those terrible times, He wished He had never given us free will. Instead of loving each other the way He intended, we behaved worse than animals. Animals don’t do such things.

Time & Space in God

How long is it since the fall of man? ±6000 years? It’s ±2000 years since Jesus was crucified for you and me. What have we learned during that time? Yes, technology has improved our “lot” on this earth. Unfortunately, we have taken that same technology and used it to destroy and enslave each other. 

We need to be saved; saved from ourselves. We already know how to make a weapon that could destroy life on earth. It’s a scary prospect. Only Jesus can prevent the holocaust of man destroying man. Even so, Come Lord Jesus.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Auschwitz

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 17 August 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	THE CONVERSION DIVERSION
My opinion of the Bible is that in the original languages, it is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Errors in translation and reproduction are possible mainly because of language differences. This along with the integrity and accuracy of scribes who have copied the text. The Holy Spirit has ensured that the copies we have of the autograph (original) are trustworthy. I don’t know how. That’s not necessary. All that is necessary to know, is that the text we have received is reliable. Having said that, you can understand that I believe Adam and Eve were two real people. The Genesis story is not a myth to assist ignorant believers. It is fact. Accordingly, I believe that the fall of man actually took place as stated in Genesis. As a result, death came on the scene exactly as God said it would. Thus until such time as Jesus returns, every man, woman and child will die. The Word of God guarantees it! Originally, man had the potential to live forever. This would be through a “diet” of eating the fruit of the tree of Life. Whether this was a single meal or an on-going “daily process”, is not clear. Either way, man has tried to find something that will extend his life eternally. This “magic elixir of life” has not been discovered. It will not be until Jesus returns. But that does not stop man from looking! Man knows that in the original design, we would have lived forever. As an old man, Solomon is said to have written: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT It follows that man is on a continuous search to find our birth-right. We were originally made for eternity. We must keep on looking. “Where is the promise of eternity?” seems to be the unwritten question we all ask. In the meantime, what can we do? The answer is, “”Absolutely nothing”! Only God can change the situation. Indeed, this “law of sin and death” was applied to His Son. But with a slight difference. He was sinless and didn’t deserve death. But on the cross, He took your place and mine. In 2 Corinthians, Paul put it as follows: 21 Christ didn't have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIrV. It follows that at the instant He was made sin for us, He had to die, because He had taken on our sin. When that had happened, and Jesus had taken on the punishment we deserved, God’s anger at our sin was complete. It had been dealt with. To quote the Lord Jesus from John’s Gospel: 19 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 ESV. The words, “It is finished” or “It is accomplished” have been translated and interpreted in many ways. One way is that Jesus was stating that the task was over and done with. His struggle with sin and our deserved punishment was over. Nothing further was needed. Man could now approach God in and through what He had done. Man could be forgiven. In other words, the situation had changed. There is something man can do. Something so simple. Have faith in His Son! Do I? Do you? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 Human life is as short-lived as grass. It blossoms like a flower in the field. 16 When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears, and there is no longer any sign of it. Psalms 103:15-16 GW	Our quest for immortality will never be relieved. We keep on looking forward, to what cannot be achieved. The problem is our wages. We’re going to get paid! It really doesn’t matter if we’re brave, or are afraid. We’ve worked for them, deserve them and will not be short changed. To think you will not get them – I’m sorry, you’re deranged. It’s all the same for everyone, regardless of our years. Our stomping up and down again and buckets full of tears, Can’t interrupt the process; nor can it be delayed. God’s Kingdom regulations have got to be obeyed. It’s surely going to happen, much sooner than you think; And after you’ve departed your body’s going to stink! It’s brevity that matters. Our lives are far too short. It only takes a single sin and “brother you are caught” Something happens in you, we do not understand. Instead we find death’s angel has grabbed us by the hand. Little sins or big ones; It matters not at all. It may be something trifling and infinitely small. Perhaps it is enormous like Stalin or Pol Pot? Regardless of excuses; it truly matters not. And each of us is equal. We all will get the same. It won’t make any difference if we try to shift the blame. Many folk have tried it, but sadly, it’s “not on”. One instant they’re living; the next and they are gone. It cannot be avoided; we know about the pay. And each and every one of us, are sure to die one day. We’ll vanish like a candle, snuffed out and cast aside. The breath of God will blow on us. He cannot be defied! No one is excluded. Not even Jesus Christ. A single sin committed would easily suffice. But He was not a sinner. In fact He was sin free! He was not defeated on that cross of Calvary. He only traded places for the likes you and I! So after final judgement, we will not have to die! So let’s not talk of dying. We’ll only fall asleep! Until the day when finally, His promises He’ll keep. And we will live with Jesus and reign for evermore. That’s the final wages, a Christian has in store. Jim Strickland Written 17th August 2012.
			12 Teach us to realize how short our lives are. Then our hearts will become wise. Psalms 90:12 NIrV
			36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Mark 8:36 NLT
			7 The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground. That happens when the LORD makes his wind blow on them. So people are just like grass. 8 The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground. But what our God says will stand forever.'" Isaiah 40:7-8 NIrV
			17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17 ESV
			2 God says, "At the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you." Listen, now is God's acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2 GW
			31 Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out. 1 Corinthians 7:31 MSG
			24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT