Behaviour

 Time with Jesus - 13 Aug 2013

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is on the topic of behaviour. It was written 29 years ago as a result of my observation of what was taking place in and around where we were living. Today’s Scriptures strongly reminded me of that poem. I’d like to say things are different today.

Basically, behaviour is acting on what we think. We do what we think is right or, in some instances, what we think is wrong. Many factors influence our thinking. e.g. Teachers, parents, societal norms and God. It should be God only.

One of today’s Scriptures states: - ⁸ "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. ⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT. It’s a strange statement concealing more than it reveals.

Firstly, God states that His thoughts are nothing like our thoughts. At first glance we are tempted to say, “OK Lord, we know that. So, what’s for lunch”? It’s the sort of superficial language we use so often about things we think we know. 

We are accustomed to our own way of thinking. We want to make a decision, so we marshal all the facts in our minds; then we try and find the most appropriate course of action in the circumstances. For us, it’s our normal thought process. It’s the best we can do anyway. We are compelled to make a decision and can only do so based on what we know. In a way, it’s what keeps most of us honest.

For example, we think about robbing a bank. We decide not to do so; based on the fact that God forbids it! For those who do not fear God, His opinion doesn’t matter. So they think about the next possibility. It’s illegal and will attract the “unwelcome attention” of the police. 

It seems that “fear of repercussions” keep most of us honest. We don’t want to disobey God and/or we don’t want to end up in jail. In both cases it is a thought process. For many, the possibility of our robbing a bank has been pushed so far into the background; we don’t have to think about the “dumb” idea. This is because we know the repercussions and don’t fancy them.

The issue here is that we “know” the answer without “thinking”. Now, God knows everything. He doesn’t have to “think things through”. He knows. No matter how complex and convoluted the question might be, He can give the answer instantly, without even having to think. So what exactly are His thoughts? What does He think about? It’s a good question. We are trying to establish the thought process within the Trinity! One thing we can say. It’s nothing like ours at all.

Secondly, He tells us His ways are higher than our ways. He adds “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways. The words to look at are “as the heavens are higher than the earth”. This is also an astonishing statement. By how much are the heavens higher than the earth?

Man has walked on the moon and we have sent spacecraft into the immense void of the cosmos. Recently, on TV, there was a photograph of earth taken from a spacecraft. I can’t recall how many trillions of miles it was from the earth when the picture was taken. 

The commentator needed to point out a little pinprick of “light” behind the distant spacecraft. Without him, we would never have guessed which “pinprick” was earth. They all looked the same. We were told the spacecraft will continue on its journey indefinitely. It will never get to the end of space because from mankind’s perspective, there is no end. We speak of space being “infinite”. It cannot be infinite. Only God is infinite.

By how much are the heavens higher than the earth? Forgive me for saying it’s “infinitely higher”. I don’t have a phrase or a word to describe the difference, so “infinity” has to do. Furthermore, from our vantage point on earth, the heavens are “infinitely higher” than the earth.

What then do we conclude? God has indicated the difference between Himself and us. What's more, since He has put “thoughts” and “ways” together, It confirms He is infinitely “higher” than we are. It boggles the mind. How is it possible, for Someone infinitely higher than we are in thoughts and ways, to love us? 

If we think back to the photograph from space, where earth is little more than a pinprick of light, we begin to see the magnitude of the difference. In spite of this, He loves and has said so in His Book.

We can say we believe something because God has said so. This should be sufficient. We don’t have to understand it! We have to trust Him and do it. That is good Christian behaviour!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 13 August 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	BEHAVIOUR - 1		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	BEHAVIOUR - 2
There's such a contradiction in things that I have seen. The sinners love each other and say just what they mean. When something doesn't please them, they speak and spit it out. Perhaps they're not God's children, but that's what love's about! They do not judge each other. They know they all fall short, Of how they know they ought to live. They do not resort, To sifting through the Bible to find out what it says, And then draw a comparison with all their brother's ways! They do not use The Word of God as some form of excuse, For leaving people helplessly to suffer man's abuse. They do not spend their waking hours, holding in their fist, Some doctrinal barometer or spiritual checklist. Few of them are hypocrites; They do just what they feel; Following their consciences with fervency and zeal! It's true they are not 'Christians'. They do not 'Praise The Lord', But sometimes it occurs to me, THEY should get the reward! We Christians have missed it! We've heard all about love, But in our 'willingness to serve', we push and pull and shove Anyone who's different right out of the way. We cannot help each other because we have to pray........! We have to go to 'meetings', organised at 'Church' And leave our friends and neighbours alone and in the lurch. It seems that all that's missing are our phylacteries, For most of us behave like the Scribes and Pharisees. Even all the artefacts and clothing that we wear Are frequently selected to make the sinner stare; And gaze in admiration as we walk proudly by, Pretending that we're 'holy' with noses in the sky. The language we keep using is pious and a pain. The sinners know we're different and most of them complain, About the way we witness. They say it’s 'verbal stones', Thrown by 'whited sepulchres, filled with dead men's bones'. It seems there's little difference between the things You saw, When, Lord, You dwelt among us. Except, perhaps, we're more Adept at self-deception. Religiosity, Is just as much in evidence, as what You used to see. It's just the mode that's altered; our ways are more refined; Our 'brand' of legalism's doctrinally defined;			28 God chose things despised by the world; things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 1 Corinthians 1:28 NLT	All is compartmentalised, clinical and pure, Organised and marketed and packaged to ensure, That everything is perfect; designed and guaranteed, To meet specifications, religious men decreed! O Lord! Where is Your Spirit? Why have we gone so far, From what, in the beginning, You wanted? Lord, we are, Exactly what men stated ... Pious, pompous freaks, Peddling religion and stealing from the weak; Living as it pleases, in immorality, While paying our lip service to what we know should be. Only You can change us. Only You know how, To help us see what we should be, right in the here and now. Lord please consecrate us to being what we could; To live as men and women, who really love You should. Father, dedicate us to being, day by day, The love of God incarnate to all along the way; To crucifying everything that doesn't glorify, The God of all Creation. Lord Jesus, please draw nigh And take away religion. Replace it with a verve, To serve You, Lord and Master, with sinew, bone and nerve. All that we comprise of, Lord, please purify, In order that, in what we are, with You, we do comply. Mould us by Your Spirit; Bring us to our knees; Modify our attitudes and make us what does please. Until the final product is Christian in fact. Not Religious Thespians whose life is just an act! Jim Strickland – Written 1984
			9 Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people--none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT
			1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil--the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else. Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT
			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. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Titus 3:5-6 NLT	This 1984 poem seems as fresh today as it was 29 years ago. Almost nothing has changed. Sadly I find myself stumbling into this sort of thing too often. What makes it a bigger problem is we fail to see our own behaviour in this light. The English say, “The pot is calling the kettle black”. Recently the Lord has been whispering the word “rebellion” in my ears. First Samuel states: 22 Samuel said, (to king Saul) "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, He has rejected you as king."1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT. I rather suspect The Lord is asking all of us to check out our behaviour. Are we in any form of rebellion and/or stubbornness? Jim & Phyllida Strickland 13th August 2012
			8 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT