Time
with Jesus - 08 July 2013
Hi
all,
Since the flood, the lifespan of men and women has been in the order of 70 to 80 years. For some it, has been considerably less. There was a time in history when life was hard and it was a great struggle to survive. Those who lived to 45 had done well. Even so, we tend to look at the past through rose-tinted spectacles. The older we get, the easier it is for us to get all sentimental and look back at our past and think of the “good old days”.
Since the flood, the lifespan of men and women has been in the order of 70 to 80 years. For some it, has been considerably less. There was a time in history when life was hard and it was a great struggle to survive. Those who lived to 45 had done well. Even so, we tend to look at the past through rose-tinted spectacles. The older we get, the easier it is for us to get all sentimental and look back at our past and think of the “good old days”.
Two
things were different after the flood which may have contributed significantly
to the reduction in longevity. One was the inclusion of meat in our diet.
This
is recorded for us in Genesis: 3 "Everything
that lives and moves will be food for you. I
have already given you the green plants for food. Now I am giving you
everything. Gen 9:3 NIrV Here, God gave
mankind permission for us to eat meat. If people had been doing this earlier is
not clear.
We are told: 4 But Abel brought the fattest parts of some of the lambs from his
flock. They were the male animals that were
born first to their mothers. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering.
Gen 4:4 NIrV. Why Abel kept flocks is not
stated. Perhaps it was purely for sacrificial purposes, although this seems
unlikely?
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| Meat in our Diet |
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| Adam's Diet Nuts, seeds and fruit |
The
second was that the “canopy” over the earth was removed. This “canopy” is
thought to have been mainly water. Perhaps some form of cloud which may have protected
mankind from the damaging rays of the sun.
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| The Canopy Explained |
Associated
with these two “happenings”, we know God decided: 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not struggle
with man forever. He will die. He will have only
120 years to live until I judge him."
Gen 6:3 NIrV. Of course, God is not obliged
to tell us how He made the changes in mankind’s lifespan. But since He usually
uses local and visible “factors” to bring about change, it’s possible that He
used these two together to carry out His intention.
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| Looking at Life Differently |
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| JUDGEMENT |
History
has a habit of repeating itself. What has been done will be done again. One of
the few things we have learned from history is that we don’t learn from
history! This is confirmed by the author of Ecclesiastes; 9 History merely repeats itself.
It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 NLT
Of
course, we cannot live in the past. For us, while we are alive, the “time” is
always “now”. We live in time, but for us it is always “now”. We can look back
at what has been and, hopefully, learn from it. Alternatively, we can look
forward to the future. But that future only happens when we are in the “now”. We
can look back or forward. We can’t change the past. Even the Lord can’t change
the past. If He did, it would no longer be our past! He can change the future.
He does this in response to our prayer.
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| Separating the Sheep from the Goats |
For a
change, herewith two “Jimmets”. These are “Sonnet” type poetry. The difference
is I’ve stuck to Shakespeare’s style of rhyming. This is 14 lines of Iambic
pentameter. The rhyme is 1st and 3rd line along with 2nd
and 4th line. Twelve lines are written this way. The final two lines
rhyme at their respective ends.
Shalom,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 08 July 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
- REPETITION - LOOKING AHEAD
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Most of us love to go to the Fair Ground. While I was a school-boy in
the 1950’s, the fair came to Port Elizabeth every year during the Christmas
School Holidays. What fun! Remember the Big Dipper, the Wall of Death, the
Ghost Train, the Octopus, the Dodgem Cars and the Hall of Mirrors? I so
enjoyed the Hall of Mirrors. The mirrors distorted your appearance so that
you didn’t see yourself as you were. Even back in those days I was a bit
overweight so I could go and see a thinner me! It was an optical illusion but
did no harm to anyone.
At the same time the “bioscope” shows, gave an overall impression of
prosperity after WW2. War movies, escape stories, spies, heroes and heroines.
All these were deliberately designed to raise the spirits of those who had
been through one of the worst periods of history.
In a way, the children of the 1930’s 40’s and 50’s were compelled to
go through a time of unreality. None of us were really sure what was genuine
and what was not. What we could all see was that the people of Germany had
become the psychological victims of one of the world’s greatest mass murderers.
Hitler had blossomed and bloomed in the period immediately after WW1. The war
had ended with an armistice. Even so, Germany was held responsible for the
war and had to pay massive reparations. On top of this, the depression hammered
the German people. This caused the rise of Hitler and the Nazi’s. In many
respects, WW2 commenced where WW1 had ended less than 20 years previously.
Hitler was catapulted into power. He promised prosperity to the Germanic
people and the beginning of a glorious1000 year Reich. The people welcomed
him. At first he did some good things. The German autobahn’s were conceived
and built. The “Volkswagen” car was designed and manufactured. What people
didn’t know was that the prosperity of the people and the cost of these
projects were more than the treasury could fund. His way of obtaining money
was to march into a country and confiscate their financial resources. The
Jews in particular were targeted because the wealth of Europe was more or
less in their hands.
In his rise to power he would truck no opposition. Those who regarded
him and his political aspirations as wrong were quickly and quietly dealt
with. In this way this diabolical monster was able to crush most of
Continental Europe beneath his jackboot. Edmund Burke is regarded as
stating in 1770, “All that is necessary for the
triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing."
He may have phrased it differently but it is still true. The greatest victim
of this is Jesus Christ. He was crucified and the good men of His day did
nothing to stop it.
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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20 Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side--leaders
whose decrees permit injustice?
Psalms 94:20 NLT
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Repetition
They thought he was a person they could trust,
Until the day they found that they were wrong,
Investigations showed that he was just,
As bad as all the crooks who came along.
Why is it he took them for a ride?
Why is it they missed his crooked style?
Character like his is hard to hide.
They were wrong; they missed it by a mile.
Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson well,
And it’s something they will not repeat.
Now he’s locked up in a prison cell,
He was just a liar and a cheat!
Why is it we go through all this pain?
Lord we do this time and time again!
-oOo-
Jim Strickland – 8th July
2012
Looking Ahead
Friends we are now children of the Lord.
Even so, the future is unclear.
Yes, it’s true, the Master is adored!
And we’re longing for Him to appear.
But there’s many questions that we ask,
As we journey through our paradigm.
Are we really fitted for the task,
Of fighting with the author of all crime?
Can we beat the rulers of the dark?
Are our weapons still appropriate?
When in battle, do we miss the mark?
Is our armour in a proper state?
The answers Lord may well be false or true.
When You return, we know we’ll look like You!
-oOo-
Jim Strickland – 8th July 2012
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3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also
to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son
Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3 ESV
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2 Dear friends, now we are God's children. What we will
be isn't completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be
like him because we will see him as he is. 3 So all people who have this confidence in Christ keep
themselves pure, as Christ is pure.
1 John 3:2-3 GW
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30 I'll
not be talking with you much more like this because the
chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don't worry--he has
nothing on me, no claim on me.
John 14:30 MSG
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26 For
it was fitting for us to have such a high priest,
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the
heavens;
Hebrews 7:26 NASB
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12 Our fight is not against human beings. It is against
the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.
Ephesians 6:12 NIrV
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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.
Ephesians 2:2 NLT
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18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to
sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot
harm them. 19 We know that we
are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the
evil one.
1 John 5:18-19 TNIV
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