Time with Jesus - 31 Oct 2013
A day or so ago we looked at an essay by Dr AW Tozer called, “The
Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches.” The reaction to his essay has been
such that it is appropriate to include extracts from his other writings.
Phyllida and I firmly believe that this man was a 20th century
prophet of Jesus Christ. His writing has deeply impressed us both and brought
significant changes in our lives.
Today’s meditation comprises two Jimmets; “Veracity” and
“Creativity”. God possesses these “qualities” infinitely. In fact you and I are
only able to be truthful and creative because these “qualities” come to us from
Him. Tozer refers to these “qualities” in His book, “The Knowledge of the
Holy”.
Today we look at “Why We Must Think Rightly about God”. If we fail to do
so, we can stumble into idolatry, in spite of our best intentions.
What comes into our minds
when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will
probably show that no people have ever risen above its religion. Man’s
spiritual history positively demonstrates, no religion has ever been greater
than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high
or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest
question before the Church is always God Himself; and the most portentous fact
about any man is not what he, at a given time, may say or do, but what he in
his heart conceives God to be like. 
We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to
move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual,
but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most
revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God; just as her most
significant message is what she says about Him, or leaves unsaid. Her silence
is often more eloquent than her speech.
She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.
Were we able to extract from
any man a complete answer to the question, “What comes into your mind when you
think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that
man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders
think of God today, we might be able, with some precision, to foretell where
the Church will stand tomorrow.
Without doubt, the mightiest
thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God. Furthermore, the weightiest word in any language
is its word for God. Thought and speech are God’s gifts to creatures made in
His image; these are intimately associated with Him and impossible apart from
Him. It is highly significant that the first word was the Word:
“And the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.” We may speak, because God spoke. In Him,
word and idea are indivisible.
That our ideas of God
correspond, as nearly as possible, to the true being of God, is of immense
importance to us.
Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal
statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under
the rubbish of conventional religious notions.
It may require an intelligent
and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is.
Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we
actually believe about God.
A right conception of God is
basic, not only to systematic theology, but to practical Christian living as
well. It is to worship, what the foundation is to the temple. Where it is
inadequate or out of plumb, the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. 
I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying
Christian ethics, that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble
thoughts about God.
It is my opinion that the
Christian conception of God in these middle years of the twentieth century, is
so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God.
This
actually constitutes, for professed believers, something amounting to a moral
calamity.
All the problems of heaven
and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be
nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is
like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him.
The man who comes to a right
belief about God, is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems. He sees at
once that these have to do with matters which, at the most, cannot concern him
for very long;
but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him,
the one mighty single burden of eternity, begins to press down upon him with a
weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another. 
That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant and
lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, and to obey Him perfectly,
and to worship Him acceptably. And when the man’s labouring conscience tells
him, he has done none of these things, but has from childhood been guilty of
foul revolt against the Majesty in the heavens, the inner pressure of self-accusation
may become too heavy to bear.
Perverted notions about God
soon rot the religion in which they appear. The long career of Israel
demonstrates this clearly enough, and the history of the Church confirms it. So
necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God, when that concept in any
measure declines, the Church with her worship and her moral standards declines
along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders
its high opinion of God.
Before the Christian Church
goes into eclipse anywhere, there must first be a corrupting of her simple
basic theology. She simply gets a wrong answer to the question,
”What is God
like?” and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal
creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her
adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and
that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.
The heaviest obligation lying
upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God
until, it is once more worthy of Him - and of her. In all her prayers and
labours this should have first place.
We do the greatest service to the next
generation of Christians, by passing on to them undimmed and undiminished, that
noble concept of God which we received from our Hebrew and Christian fathers of
generations past. This will prove of greater value to them than anything that
art or science can devise.
Shalom
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 31 Oct 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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JIMMETS
– VERACITY & CREATIVITY
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“Cross my heart and hope to die!” Are these words
as familiar to you as they are to me? They come from childhood. Someone would
say something. “Is that true?” someone else would respond. In my day, it was
something you said to confirm your statement. “Yes it’s true”, was never
quite enough to add credence to your words. So we would make foolish
statements hoping the other person would be convinced. It was certainly not a
“Christian” phrase. But when you’re somewhere between the age of 6 and 10,
what else can you say to emphasise that your statement is absolute truth. If
memory serves correctly, it was only partly true anyway. Part of it was said
for effect; to make yourself seem more reliable and truthful than you really
were!
To
some extent, David’s words to the Lord in 2 Samuel 7 have a feeling of
incredulity about them. Yes, these were words of thanks and grateful
appreciation to God for promising David, His line would continue forever. After
all, what do you say to God when you hear that He has made such an
extraordinary promise? It’s not a time to say, “That’s great so what’s for
lunch?” How can I say this about David’s comment to God?
It
has nothing to do with David and everything to do with God and the prophet
Nathan. David was already thoroughly aware that God doesn’t tell lies. David
also knew, Nathan the prophet always only brought God’s truth to the
discussion. If Nathan really was a prophet of God – and David correctly
believed that he was – God’s message would be totally reliable. In those
days, lying prophets very quickly vanished from the scene. Rapidly removed
might be the way to put it. Stoned to death! Not a bad idea! Perhaps we
should do it today?
There
is something else about God not telling lies that is hugely comforting. It’s
the fact that we can be sure that what has happened in the past will happen
today and tomorrow. If God is a liar, how do we know tomorrow will come? Why
would the speed of light be constant? Would we have children or cabbages?
Would there be anything we can depend on? Would two and two still be four?
All these are true because of God’s invariable reliability.
Now
God also understands the creatures He has made. He knows that we live in a
fallen world and that we are sceptical about anything and everything. We are
inclined to doubt the Lord God Himself. So when He made a promise to Abraham
He said, 16 "I swear by My own
name that 17 I will certainly
bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number. Gen
22:16-17 NLT Now that’s a trustworthy statement. It’s His version of, “Cross my heart and hope to die!”
Jim &
Phyllida
Strickland
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25
"And now, O LORD God, I (David) am Your servant; do as You have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm
it as a promise that will last forever.
2 Samuel 7:25 NLT
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VERACITY
It’s difficult for us to
understand,
Almighty God will never tell a
lie.
Liars we observe on every hand,
Many of them, do not even try
To tell the truth; and lying is
their norm.
Every word they speak is to
impress.
Speech is little more than
verbal porn,
Weaved into a web of
“truth-less-ness”.
Politicians – whom can we
believe?
Government’s a stranger to the
truth.
Is it they’re intending to
deceive,
Voters and especially the
youth?
What has happened to veracity?
Bring it back O Lord, we beg of
Thee.
Jim Strickland
Written 31st October 2012
CREATIVITY
The things the Father told us
long ago,
Are guaranteed and they will
come about.
This is something we all need
to know.
There need be no wavering or
doubt.
Why is this? Because it was His
Word
Spoken; and creation came to
be.
In that empty, nothingness was
heard,
God Almighty’s creativity.
That is how our universe was
born.
Light with time and space
quickly appeared.
What God said was like the break
of dawn.
All the host of heaven loudly
cheered!
God had started what He had
said He’d do.
Make a paradigm for me and you.
Jim Strickland
Written 31st October 2012
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38 Keep your promise to me. Then other people will have
respect for you.
Psalms 119:38 NIrV
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42 Then I will answer those who make fun of me, because I
trust in your word.
Psalms 119:42 NIrV
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Zayin. 49 Remember
what you have said to me. You have given me hope. - 54 No matter where I live, I sing about your orders.
- 72 The law you gave is worth more to
me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold
Psalms 119:49, 54 & 72 NIrV
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Lamedh. 89 LORD,
your word lasts forever. It stands firm in the heavens. 90 You will be faithful for all time to come. You made the
earth, and it continues to exist.
Psalms 119:89-90 NIrV
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17 So God took an oath when he made his promise. He wanted to make it very clear that his
purpose does not change. He wanted those who would receive what was promised
to know that. 18 God took an oath
so we would have good reason not to give up. We have run away from everything
else to take hold of the hope offered to us in God's promise. So God gave his promise and his oath. Those two things
can't change. He couldn't lie about them. 19 Our hope is
certain. It is something for the soul to hold on
to. It is strong and secure. It goes all
the way into the Most Holy Room behind the curtain. 20 That is where Jesus has gone. He went there to open the
way ahead of us. He has become a high priest forever, just like
Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:17-20 NIrV
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1 And
because of His glory and excellence, He has given
us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you
to share His divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human
desires.
2 Peter 1:4 NLT
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