PSALM 16 AND CHOICES

Time with Jesus - 25 July 2013

Hi all

Before he died, my dad loved taking photographs. At least he did before he retired. He had an old 32mm camera. He loaded it with standard photographic film. For processing he posted the film to a company called “Gratispool”. 

Free Film!

Several readers may remember them. The company had a novel idea. They produced a special “film” which could only really be processed by themselves. The processed slide photographs were then returned, along with a free film! 

The name “Gratispool” had a South African connection. One of the original directors visited South Africa in the early 1930’s and came across the word “Gratis” meaning “free”! Thus the idea of supplying a free spool of undeveloped film when the photographs were processed, gave rise to the word Gratis-spool. In this way, they were one of the early mail order companies.

Butterfly

They were reasonably successful. They originated in Leeds in the UK and spread to South Africa. 

My Dad used their products; so did I. Our prints were not conventional colour photographs. They were colour slides for use in a “slide projector” specially made for the purpose. It was a very profitable business.

The Veil in the Temple was
ripped in two

Colour slides had a major problem. To see them properly, you needed to set up the projector with a suitable projection screen. There were hand held viewers available, but they didn’t give good results. Slide viewing was a “schlep”! Slides were best seen in a darkened room or at night. Things had to change!

The first “change” was the “polaroid” camera. This type of camera is still used for “instant” photographs for Passport and ID pictures. The end of the slide projector came about with the digital age. Electronic cameras with “pics” stored on mini-discs came onto the market. I suspect the Japanese developed the technology to the point where Gratispool’s system became redundant. By the end of the ‘80’s the company was sold and the system ended.

The demise of Gratispool was inevitable unless they changed. Today, it’s a case of “adapt or die”. Nothing continues indefinitely without responding to changes all around us. 

I’m told that computer technology is developing so rapidly, the new computer bought today is already outdated.

When I wound up my Dad’s estate, I came across boxes of old slide photographs. My wife and I knew we would never look at them. In the end we discarded about 90% of that collection.

As Christians, we need to realise, only God is permanent. Only He is changeless. We need to thank Him for this. If He changed, how would we know that Jesus’ sacrifice was still sufficient? 

A B Simpson 1843 - 1919

We wouldn’t know. If you were forgiven yesterday, how would you know you’re forgiven today? We couldn’t know for sure. Not if He changes. There are certain immutable laws He has decreed for us. What would happen if the law of gravity was variable? Could we survive on a planet where the oxygen concentration changed from day to day with chlorine gas?

Many years ago A B Simpson wrote one of the great hymns of the Christian faith. Here-under I’ve included the first verse and chorus to remind us of the changelessness of Jesus:

By A B Simpson - 1890	Refrain
O how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim. Yesterday, today, forever Jesus is the same. Still He loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame. Cheer the mourner, still the tempest, glory to His Name.	Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name! Glory to His Name! All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His Name!

Lord we thank you for your changelessness. There is no such thing as “Gratis-grace”. It cost you dearly.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 25 July 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	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					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	PSALM 16 AND CHOICES
Most of us dislike change with a passion that is difficult to comprehend. In Primary School, I was two years with the Boy Scouts. It was great fun and I would have liked to have continued. Sadly, we moved from Port Elizabeth to a power station close to Sasolburg. That was the end of my scouting days. Later, as my son was growing up, I got involved with the cubs. The things the more senior cubs were doing were similar to what I had done in 1953/4.  Thus I was in a position to assist as leader of the Cub Pack. I was able to help them working from my past knowledge. Then Headquarters decided that the time had come to change the system completely. It changed from the comfortable system I had known as a scout in the early 1950’s, to something more complicated. Certainly it was in the best interests of the youngsters. But for me, the change was a bit like open heart surgery without anaesthetic! I didn’t like it one bit. Fortunately it came at the time when my son was too old for the cubs. So we both left at the same time. I’ve found over the years that change happens whether we like it or not. In one respect, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to complete things under the previous system, before the change was forced on me. This was true of my engineering studies. One year after I qualified, the syllabus changed radically. I doubt if I could have passed the new syllabus exam. As a Christian, I’ve found that change is normal! We have to change. God never changes and He expects us to change as we progress along the pathway of life. Paul spoke of this sort of change in his second letter to the Corinthians. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT. There are times it feels as though we pass through a stage of being changed from being an ugly caterpillar, into a beautiful butterfly. This illustration speaks so well of the Christian life. We are in this world as sinners; ugly and unattractive. Then we meet Jesus Christ. Encountering Him leads to our own death to self. At least that is what is supposed to happen. Then we pass through the most traumatic change we could ever imagine. Finally, when life in this dimension is over, we emerge as the most beautiful butterfly we could picture. It’s all part of the change process. We go through a phase of being changed from glory to glory, as we submit to the changes which are necessary for us. What I particularly like about this process is the fact that we must change from being an ugly, repulsive caterpillar into that which God envisions for us. Somehow, in the cocoon of change, we are changed. Of course, we are the ones who change. But He is the one who makes it possible. Psalm 16 describes part of this process. I’ve rephrased the Psalm so that it is in rhyme and metre. The second half of the meditation follows the Scriptures. We see that we have to make a choice to follow Him. Then we are taken to a place where we must choose the correct gate in order to walk on His Holy Highway. What we can expect on the narrow way and the easy way is spelled out. Finally, we go on to be with Him. We become His beautiful butterflies! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalms 16:11 ESV	Psalm 16 - (God is my refuge) 1)      Keep me safe O Lord my God. In You alone I Hide. 2)     You are MY God. Apart from You, can no good thing abide. 3)     All the saints within the land are glorious within! In all of them You take delight. For they're set free from sin. 4)     Those who follow other gods, their sorrows shall increase. Their names are never on Your lips, their sacrifices cease. 5)     But Lord, you have assigned to me my portion and my cup. 6)     My boundaries have fallen in a place I can look up In praise for my inheritance; Wherein is my delight. 7)     I'll praise You, Lord, who counsels me within my heart at night. 8)     Your ways are set before me. You are at my right hand. 9)     My Heart is glad; my body rests; rejoice my tongue as planned. 10)    For You will not abandon me nor leave me in the grave; Your Holy one won't see decay; You've caused me to behave, 11)     With joy upon the paths of life, on which You have made known. The pleasures of eternal life, in which I'm free to roam. Jim Strickland - Written 1992 -oOo- CHOICES You may be nine or ninety, A little less or more. You’ll still be faced with choices to finalise your score.             (Jer 21:8) A little bit of evil? Perhaps, a lot of good? The choice is always up to you, to do the things you should.      (1 Sam 12:23) Sometimes God is in it. More often, He is not. It really doesn’t matter. Your choice is what you’ve got. Perhaps you’ll give to charity? Perhaps you’ll rob a bank? Whatever you decide to do, there’s only you to thank! The Lord does nothing evil. The devil, nothing right. And in the last analysis, it’s you that has the fight. Temptation’s always present, to lead you far astray. But if you follow Jesus, He’ll surely show the way! He said if you will follow Him, He’ll teach you how to fish.        (Matt 4:19) Not for hake or kingklip; It’s not that sort of dish. It’s people you’ll be catching, from every racial group. It’s not their nationality, or if they’ve flown the coop. They may think what they’re doing, is how they should behave. But it could lead them in a loop or right into the grave! (Prov. 14:12) Through a gate we enter. The wide one will not do. We have to find the narrow gate; it’s found by very few.   (Matt 7:13-14) The wide gate is the easy way. A life of sin and ease. A life of sex and drunkenness and anything you please. The highway of God’s Holy Road starts at the narrow gate.       (Isaiah 35:8) You’ll find the way is difficult, but the reward is great. Rude or the rebellious are not allowed thereon. But if you’re persistent, you’ll reach the Holy One. So let us be obedient, Press on to know the Lord.               (Hosea 6:3) And we are sure that at the end we’ll have our great reward. (John 14:2) Jim Strickland Written 25 July 2012
			8 "Tell the people, 'The LORD says, "I am offering you a choice. You can choose the way that leads to life. Or you can choose the way that leads to death. Jeremiah 21:8 NIrV
			23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 1 Samuel 12:23 TNIV
			6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 NLT
			19 And He *said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19 NASB
			12 There is a way that may seem right to a man. But in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12 NIrV
			13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14 ESV
			8 There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It's for GOD's people exclusively-- impossible to get lost on this road. Not even fools can get lost on it. Isaiah 35:8 MSG
			3 "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth." Hosea 6:3 NASB
			2 There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? John 14:2 MSG