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| The Upside-Down World |
Time with Jesus - Thursday, 09 May 2013
Hi all,
We all begin our new life in the
Kingdom of God at more or less the same point. We have been living in a world
in which the values are virtually the opposite of Christian life.
For example,
we are taught at school to seek to be “first”. The 2012 Olympic Games in London
showed this clearly. Many of the people who came second were in tears. They
only came second! Some of us will understand this. They have been in training
for about 4 years, getting ready for the event. Hours of training and practice
for this one event; a small fortune spent to reach the pitch of perfection. To
then only came second? To be second best! All the time and money spent for
this! Only second best! My heart breaks with and for them!
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| The Christian's Reward "Well Done Good & Faithful Servant" |
Then I pause and
think about life in the Kingdom. It’s so opposite to what we have seen in the
case of the Olympic Athlete. In the Christian Life race, your competition is
you. You are not running for a gold medal but for a “Well done, Good and
Faithful Servant” from the King of Kings. You will get a Golden Crown for
having finished the course; a crown that will not fade or be put aside in four
years for a new competition. You may finish last when competing with others.
That’s not important. What is important is to put others first. This means you
will be last! (Point 4 below)
This is typical of life in God’s
Kingdom. In fact in most areas of life, things are the opposite. To see things
correctly, the best thing to do is stand on your head. It’s the paradox of
Life. What men believe, is frequently the opposite of what we believe in
Christianity!
In the table below you will find
12 “World Principles”. i.e. 12 examples of what we are taught in this world.
Next to them you will also find the corresponding and opposite principle in the
Kingdom of God.
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The Kingdom Counter Culture – The
Paradox Of Christian Life With Life In This World
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Kingdom of this World
Satan = god of this world 2 Cor.
4:4
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Kingdom of God
JESUS is Lord Phil 2:11
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Practical
Answers for Christians
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World
Principles
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Kingdom
of God
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Scripture
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1
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Seeing
is Believing
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Believing
is seeing
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John 20:29
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Faith
like Potatoes – Angus Buchan’s crop
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2
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Attain
Wisdom
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Become
a fool
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1 Cor. 3:18
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Christians
are called idiots in Varsities
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3
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Save
your life
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Lose
your life
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Matt 16:25
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You
get to keep only what you give away
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4
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Be
first
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Be
last
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Mark 10:34
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Allow
God to promote you
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5
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Achieve
Greatness
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Become
the least
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Mark 10:34
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The
least in the Kingdom is the greatest
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6
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Be a
leader
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Become
a servant
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Mark 10:34
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Servant-hood
trains leaders
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7
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Exalt
yourself
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Humble
yourself
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Luke 14:11
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If you
exalt yourself, you will be humbled
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8
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Take
the front seat
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Take a
back seat
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Luke 14:10
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The
front is reserved for those God selects
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9
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Look
after your own interests
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Look
out for others interests
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Phil 2.3
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Concern
for others is measure of greatness
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10
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Receive
much
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Give
much
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Luke 6:38
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Don’t
stop the flow – giving starts the flow
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11
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Make
good deeds known
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Keep
good deeds secret
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Matt 6:3
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Let
the Lord do your bragging – say nothing
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12
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Love a
conditional feeling
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Unconditional
Commitment
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1 Cor. 13
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Love
is a command from God – not optional
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| The "Lion of Judah" The KING OF KINGS |
The above list in not
exhaustive. You will find others if you look for them.
The table introduces us to
today’s meditation.
Shalom,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Thursday,
09 May 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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PARADOX
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Today we look at
one of the great paradoxes of Christianity. So let’s begin by looking at one
of the definitions of the word “paradox”: a
statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory,
but in fact is or may be true. The paradox in this instance is how
each of us should feel in the manifest presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible seems to
be consistent regarding this. Every Bible character we know, who comes into
the presence of God, feels overwhelmed. Abram is no exception.
1 When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him.
He said, "I am the Mighty God. Walk with me and live without any blame.
2 I will now put into practice my covenant
between me and you. I will greatly increase your numbers." 3
Abram fell with his face to the ground. Genesis 17:1-3 NIrV John Gill’s commentary
states: At the sight of so glorious a
Person that appeared to him, and in reverence of his majesty, and as sensible
of his unworthiness of such a visit, and of having such favours bestowed upon
him.
Falling flat, face
down on the ground seems to be the action of those who’ve had the privilege
of what we call a “Christophany” – An appearance of Jesus Christ before or
after Calvary; all have reacted similarly. Peter the apostle is not recorded
as having fallen face downward. But as it states in Luke; 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened; he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me--I'm too much
of a sinner to be around You." Luke
5:8 NLT, so his experience was similar to Abram’s.
Isaiah was similarly
affected. 5 "Woe to me!" I
cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a
people of unclean lips, and my eyes have
seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isaiah
6:5 TNIV
Saul/Paul had an
almost identical experience. He fell to the ground and the brightness of the
Lord blinded him.
John the Apostle;
the one who had leaned back onto the chest of Jesus; the one called “The
disciple whom Jesus Loved” did much the same. We think John was Jesus’ favourite.
Even so, John fell face down when Jesus appeared to Him. His manifest presence
does this to mortal men.
Today’s meditation
explores this. The paradox is wanting to run away while being drawn to the
Lord.
I suppose it could
be called a lose/lose situation. Whatever I do is the wrong thing. I can’t
leave because of my love for Him and His love for me. I can’t stay because
his absolute purity scares me spit-less. So what do I do? I really don’t
know. What would you do?
Jim and Phyllida
Strickland
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20 But he said to them, "It
is I; do not be afraid."
John
6:20 ESV
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.
Then he put his right hand on me and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the
First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One. I
was dead. But look! I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys to
Death and Hell.
Revelation
1:17-18 NIrV
25 "But I, yes I, am the one who takes care of your
sins--that's what I do. I don't keep a list of your sins.
Isaiah
43:25 MSG
5 So I said, "Oh, no! I'm doomed. Every word
that passes through my lips is sinful. I live among people with sinful lips. I have seen the king, the LORD of Armies!"
6 Then one of the angels flew to me. In his
hand was a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "This has
touched your lips. Your guilt has been taken away, and your sin has been
forgiven."
Isaiah
6:5-7 GW
22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered
your offences like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the
price to set you free."
Isaiah
44:22 NLT
1 My dear
children, I'm writing this to you so that you will not sin. But suppose someone does sin. Then we have one who
speaks to the Father for us. He stands up for us. He is Jesus Christ, the
Blameless One.
1
John 2:1 NIrV
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If Jesus stood before you, how do you
think you’d feel?
Put your arms around Him and hug Him
with great zeal?
I wish that I could say that. He’s
said He is my friend.
But it is much more likely; my knees
would shake and bend.
I know that Jesus loves me. Of that
there is no doubt.
But when I stand before Him. He’s
everything - I’m nowt.
He’s the One Who’s known me since
before the world was made.
The One Who speaks and His command is
instantly obeyed.
The One who formed the universe when
there was nothing there;
Designed the “Laws of Nature” in
detail and with care;
Made the law of gravity; He fixed the
speed of light;
The sun to rule the daytime, the moon
to rule by night.
He fashioned all the galaxies and put
each one in place;
Planned the” Laws of Motion” and made
both time and space!
His infinite ability, the power of His
lips.
He only has to glance at me and I have
had my chips!
How can I not feel humbled the instant
He appears?
He knows when I was “started”. He’s
numbered all my years.
I think I’d do what John did – fall at
His feet as dead.
He fills me with abundant joy and just
a tinge of dread.
How do we cope with someone who is the
King of Kings?
What do we say to someone who flies on
eagle’s wings?
What is the first reaction when Jesus
Christ draws near?
Peter knew exactly, a sense of
reverent fear,
Came up and overwhelmed Him. “Don’t come too close to me.
For Lord, I am a sinful man and your
bright purity
Is now so overwhelming I think I’ll
surely die.
So don’t come any closer”; would also be my cry!
And yet there is a paradox. I want to
know Him more.
I’d want to stay just where I am and
worship and adore,
The one who means far more to me than
I will ever know.
Master what a privilege to let me love
You so!
Have mercy Lord, I need You. Please
don’t send me away!
Although I know I have no right to
come to you and stay.
O Lord, how do I handle this? I want
to stay and leave.
To stay intimidates me. But I cannot
conceive,
A life that is without You. Please
don’t cast me away.
How do I face this paradox confronting
me each day?
Jim Strickland
Written 9th
May 2012
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