Time with Jesus - 06 August
2013
1952 was a watershed year for my family. We had moved
back to Port Elizabeth from Vereeniging into our first “home” in South Africa.
Up to this point in time we had lived in Residential Hotels. Earlier we had
lived in Hornby House on the beach front in Humewood, Port Elizabeth.
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| Hornby House in 2010 |
Hornby House is still
there. It has a prime position on the main road in Humewood, but it has been
converted into self–catering accommodation. I’m not sure how much they charge
now, but it will be a lot more than R350 per month for the 3 of us.(£20.00 = ±R350.00)
Mom wanted a home of her own, so dad found a flat in
Pearson Street. It was rented accommodation but was a “step up” from hotel
life. I went to Marist Brothers College in Bird Street for Standard 3 (Grade 5
now). The school was well within walking distance so getting to and from it was
not a problem.
I mention this because I’d reached the age where reading
was a part of life. I had a voracious appetite for the “Hardy Boy’s”.
Furthermore, simple poems from the classics became part of our set reading in
school. I was 10 when I read Kipling’s famous poem, “If”. The first four and
last four lines are included hereunder:
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| Rudyard Kipling - "If" |
I recall reading the poem a couple of times through.
Then I went to see mom and dad in their bedroom. I was bawling like a baby. “What’s
the matter?” mom asked. “I’ll never be a man” was my tearful reply. They didn’t
laugh at me – Thank God. They saw it as part of growing into what I would finally
become.
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| Bradley Wiggins |
Thinking back on that incident now over 61 years ago, I
recall how much that poem went deep into my psyche. I suspect it was partly due
to God shaping me into someone with a passion for writing poetry; perhaps not a
Shakespeare or a Kipling. That can never be. I’m not them and they aren’t me.
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| David & Solomon's Temple |
In a small way, for me, it was a bit like the occasion
when Nathan took God’s message to King David. Nathan told him that one of David’s
sons would always sit on the throne. David was gobsmacked. “I’m not all that special”
is what was running through his head. “All I wanted to do was build a house for
God. Now God tells me that won’t happen. Instead, God will build a house for
me. How can this ever be?” No doubt the thought was spinning through his mind. “I’m
King of Israel, but I can never get to a place where all this will happen!”
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| David & Nathan |
It took King David a while to get used to the idea. Then
he began making preparations for his son to build the temple he couldn’t. He
had a vivid imagination so he became the “architect” of the most beautiful and
expensive building ever built. No expense was spared. In his mind, step by step,
he began to imagine what it would look like. This was his poetic imagination
giving expression to His love for God. In a sense, the building erected by his
son, Solomon reached heights of beauty not seen before or since. If David could
sing psalms of love and joy to God, his artistic architectural ability
overflowed with all the expression of a man inspired by his passionate love for
God.
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| The City with its Walls |
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| Jesus - Our Great High Priest |
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 06 August 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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DAVID’S
PRAYER & WORSHIP
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There
are some experiences in life that are both intimidating and unforgettable. As
I write this I’m reminded of the Olympic Games which took place in London in
2012. At that time, Bradley Wiggins won the “Tour de France”. This cycle race
must be the greatest test in cycling and perhaps many other sports that we
have in 21st century. His next opportunity was to compete in the
Olympic Games. As we know, he also won that race.
Listening
to Bradley, we are tempted to wonder which of these two events was the
greatest in his eyes. He seemed to struggle with his answer. It seems that an
Olympic Gold Medal means more to competitors than any of us realise. This
opinion was shared by many of the athletes who won a silver or bronze medal
and not a gold medal. We watched as men and women burst into tears because
they had not won “gold”. We also observed the tears of joy of those who had won
“gold”. Paul captures the attitude of the competitors in his letter to the
Corinthians. 24 Don't you realize that
everyone who runs in a race runs to win, but only
one runner gets the prize? Run like them,
so that you can win.1 Corinthians 9:24 GW
Not
many of us have won medals at the Olympics. The vast majority haven’t even competed
in the games. Those who have, tell us of the honour and privilege of
representing their country. To have competed is described as a great honour.
I agree with them.
One
of Scripture’s best loved men is surely King David. In spite of all his
faults and mistakes, it’s clear He had a love for God. This is quite
extraordinary, even by today’s standards. If nothing else, we can tell from
his Psalms, he was an extraordinary worshipper of God.
One
of his greatest aspirations was to build a “house for God”. We also know that
through the Prophet Nathan, he was told that because he was a man of war, God
forbade it. We know that he did not build it. That was left to Solomon, his
son. But David designed the temple and left most of his personal wealth to be
used for this purpose. In a way, God gave David a “gold medal” for wanting to
build Him a house. In effect He said, “No David, you won’t build Me a house.
Instead, I will build you a house” God told David that his descendants would
always be seated on the Royal Throne!
David
was “gobsmacked”. It was something akin to God telling Bradley Wiggins that
one of his descendants would always win the “Tour de France”. Today’s poem,
which I wrote back in 1984, is my attempt to describe David’s reaction when
God brought him this news. It was his response in thanksgiving, praise and worship
to the Lord!
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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A psalm of David. 1 The earth
is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to
Him.
Psalms 24:1 NLT
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2 Sam 7:18-22 &
1 Chron. 17:16 - 27
“I am not
worthy, Sovereign Lord, of what You’ve done for me,
Nor of the
promises You‘ve made unto my family;
And now You‘ve
told me, Sovereign Lord, that You are doing more;
Revealed the
plans, for all my children that You have in store!
To think that
You would show me this! Lord, what can I say?
You’ve shown
this to Your servant, to demonstrate Your way!
All these
wondrous things You‘ve done, display Your loving will.
There is no
other God like You, who rescued Israel,
From Egyptian
bondage, to make us all Your own;
And by Your
great and mighty acts, Lord God, Your fame has grown,
Until
throughout this world of ours, You are known to be,
The God who
saved His people from Egyptian slavery!
So now Lord
God, for all of time, fulfil Your promises,
To me and my
descendants. May all the people bless,
And spread Your
universal fame. May they forever say,
‘The Lord is
God of Israel and will remain that way!’
Oh Lord,
preserve my dynasty until the end of time.
Almighty God of
Israel, please hear this prayer of mine.
For unto me,
Your servant, You have revealed these things;
And shown that
my descendants will always reign as kings!
Lord, keep all
these promises You’ve made to me today.
Bless all my
descendants! Lord, permit that they
Will all enjoy
Your favour. Lord, let Your blessing be,
Continually
resting upon my family.”
Jim Strickland
Written 1984
A Worship
Poem
I worship You, my Lord, my God and lift Your name up high;
In adoration, I look up and now, I testify,
That You alone are God above. Yes, You created all;
You spoke The Word and so it was, from very large to small!
Yes Lord, You are The Mighty God; The King of all the Earth;
The never changing, glorious one, who gives us second birth;
And every atom of my frame, a tribute to You sings
A loud expression of my love for Christ, The King-of-Kings!
Jim Strickland
Written 1986
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8 She doesn't realize it
was I who gave her everything she has--the grain, the new wine, the olive
oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all My gifts to
Baal. 9 "But now I will take back
the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I
will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her
nakedness.
Hosea 2:8-9 NLT
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14 But
who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to You? Everything we have has come from You, and we give You
only what You first gave us! 15 We
are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors
were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon
without a trace. 16 "O
LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to
honour Your holy name comes from You! It all
belongs to You!
1 Chronicles 29:14-16 NLT
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36 All things come from him. All things are directed by
him. All things are for his good. May God be given the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:36 NIrV
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17 Tell
those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place
their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should
place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
1 Timothy 6:17 GW
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4 Everything God created is good. Nothing should be
rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks. 5 The word of God and prayer set it apart as holy.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 GW
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19 You can be sure that God will take care of everything
you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from
Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 MSG
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