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| How Much He Loves Us |
Time with Jesus - Thursday, 18 April 2013
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| Eternal Love |
Hi all,
Today’s meditation is about
infinity and the Love of God. We see that He gave us eternal comfort. For you
and me eternal is a time concept; infinite is a space concept. Yet they both
amount to the same “thing”. Perhaps “limitless” is the word which can apply to
both?
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| He Intercedes For Us |
Currently, we read “self-improvement books” and listen to “motivational
talks”. They are aimed at making us bigger and more important than we are. Thus
we begin to move further and further away from basic Christianity. Paul made it
very clear, that we were to see others as better than ourselves. Jesus’ comment
was, that the one who would be great in His kingdom, would be the servant of
all. Instead, today we see a general trend toward self-aggrandisement. People
arguing about the merits of the flavour of the day, in their place of worship,
compared with someone else. Where has brotherly love gone? When are we going to
begin to behave like members of the body of Christ?
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| The Celestial City |
Today’s Scriptures take us on a tour reflecting on that which Jesus Christ
has done for us. The covenant He cut on our behalf. We take a brief look at His
love for His people and see Him represented as the Shepherd of His flock. We conclude
with a request to hasten the day when we will all be with Him in the Celestial
City.
Shalom,
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
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Time with Jesus – Thursday, 18 April 2013
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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EN
ROUTE TO THE CELESTIAL CITY
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How big is infinity? I know it’s a silly question.
Infinity is not something we can define in terms of time and space. It’s much
bigger than anything we can imagine. In fact if you can imagine it, what
you’ve imagined, is too small.
So where does infinity start and where does it end?
About 20 years ago, I recall reading something Dr A W Tozer wrote in the
1950’s. He said that the universe is not infinite. Only God is infinite. At
that time, my reaction was one of incredulity. How could that be? On
reflection, the truth began to penetrate. Then, the penny dropped! It is
inevitable! The Creator is greater than His creation. His creation was and is
in God. He contains creation. It follows that He is bigger than His creation.
How much bigger I remember thinking. The answer came in a flash. He is
infinitely greater than His creation!
The concept of infinity began to dawn on me at
school. We were learning about mathematics and trigonometry. Remember sine,
cosine and tangent? Those strange ratios which made sense back then but are
now little more than yesterday’s semantics. We learned if any number was divided
by zero, the result was infinity.
So there was my answer to what infinity was. Sadly,
it wasn’t helpful. I could give a mathematical answer. But the answer still
didn’t explain infinity. That’s when I looked up at the sky and concluded the
universe was infinite. My logic told me that if it wasn’t, something must be at
the end. What that something was, I couldn’t explain. Then some 40 years
after leaving school, I came across Dr Tozer’s teaching. Suddenly I knew what
was at the end of the universe. God was there. The universe could expand or
contract. It didn’t matter. God was there.
The implication produced a clearer idea of infinite
love. Since God is infinite and God is love, love is bigger than the universe.
We can say the same about all the other “qualities” of God. e.g. God doesn’t
have power, He is power; infinite power. He is infinite mercy; infinite
grace; infinite patience; infinite …. Whatever!
What does this have to do with you and me today?
Let’s look briefly at the mathematics. Assign any number to God. e.g. assume
God is 1. (Unity if you prefer). The next question is how big are you? Only
you can answer. The Word tells us to consider ourselves less than others. How
much less? Well, when you become nothing and others are everything, we have 1
divided by nothing. (zero if you prefer) The answer is infinity. In other
words, the smaller you are in your eyes, the bigger the result. Be a nothing!
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our
Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal
comfort and a wonderful hope,
2 Thess 2:16 NLT
All the same, I'll
remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I'll make a new
covenant with you that will last forever.
Ezekiel 16:60 MSG
For by a single offering he has
perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 10:14 ESV
Consequently, he is able
to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he
always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25 ESV
That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the One in whom
I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him
until the day of His return.
2 Timothy 1:12 NLT
God's gifts and God's call are under
full warranty--never cancelled, never rescinded.
Romans 11:29 MSG
Who can separate us from Christ's love? Can trouble or hard times or harm or hunger? Can
nakedness or danger or war?
Romans 8:35 NIrV
The Lamb, who is at the centre of the
area around the throne, will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs
of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:17 NIrV
Then, together with them, we who are still alive
will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord. So then,
comfort each other with these words!
1 Thess 4:17-18 GW
Get up, and go away! This
is not a place to rest! It will be destroyed, completely destroyed,
because it offends me.
Micah 2:10 GW
For here we have no lasting city, but
we seek the city that is to come.
Hebrews 13:14 ESV
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Talking with a friend of mine, some twenty years
ago.
He said
that he once had to ask the Lord if He would show,
Him how much He loved him. He said, the Lord had
sighed,
Then held
His arms out like a cross; and then the Lord had died!
My friend said he felt “gob-smacked”. He couldn’t
take it in!
That Jesus
Christ had such a love for sinners just like him.
“Can such a
love be possible?” He asked, “How can that be?
Are we
truly valued for such a massive fee?
I’m really nothing special; an average sort of
guy.
A love so
vast, that it would cause, Jesus Christ to die?
I’m like a piece of chewing gum that someone had
discarded.
It seems to
me absurd to be approvingly regarded.
Surely human beings were worth a dime a dozen!”
But that’s
not how God sees us. A sister, brother, cousin,
A father or a daughter, a closest relative.
How can you
let a person go, without a chance to live?”
The Lord had cut a covenant two thousand years
ago.
He cut it
there, on our behalf, is what we need to know.
A covenant’s unbreakable from Jesus Christ’s
perspective.
For
everyone who follows Him, it’s equally effective!
He made a single offering; exactly what was
needed.
Since then,
for all His followers, our Lord has interceded.
He’s also made a promise on which we can rely.
He will
always be with us until the day we die.
Which means we are protected by the Master’s Holy
Love.
Nothing has
the power to stop the Lord God up above!
Trouble, harm and hunger are just a bagatelle.
None of
this has got the power to cast us into to hell.
Christ is at the centre, He’s seated on His
throne.
Surrounded
by His people, the ones who are His own.
He is like a shepherd, who will lead His flock of
folk;
Wipe away
the former tears and smash the devil’s yoke.
Many will be “caught up” to meet Him in the sky.
At that
very instant, we’ll watch death as it dies.
Lord we’re feeling homesick; there is no rest
down here.
We’re
looking for the city, which You will make appear.
Please hasten the moment; we don’t want to
remain,
Living in
this sin-sick world, of hate, of death and pain.
Jim
Strickland
Written
18th
April 2013
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