BOAST IN THE LORD

Time with Jesus - 18 Aug 2013

Cassius Clay in his Prime

Hi all,

The first time I heard the voice of Cassius Clay as he was then, was in a motor car. We were driving back to Thundersley in Essex after a brief visit to the shops (I think). It must have been in 1962. The “Louisville Lip” as he was nicknamed back in those days, was talking about how he was going to deal with the next opponent on his list. 

The Louisville Lip

At the time, Cassius Marcellus Clay was beginning to climb the ladder of success to becoming the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. “I’ll fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee! The guy is “gonner go” in three!” These were the words, or something very like them, which came over the radio waves from the mouth of this “braggart”.

To the best of my knowledge, no boxer had spoken out like this on radio. We’d heard similar comments from wrestlers. It was part of their “performance”. Hearing a boxer boast this way was something brand new. Most of the listening audience thought it was some sort of a joke. But he kept up the “patter”. Then, on the night, in round three of the boxing match, Clay put him away!

Boast only in God

In the after fight boxing interview, Clay told the listeners. “I’m the greatest! No one can beat me. I’m the best!” The folk in UK thought he was crazy. But what do you do with a “crazy man” who proves to be right! Furthermore, as he continued his boxing career, he carried on with his boastful predictions. Then he did exactly what he had said. 

Henry Cooper

At that time, Clay went head to head with one of Britain’s favourite sons. Henry Cooper was a very good boxer. To be honest, he was more like a fighter. His boxing career had been mostly successful. But he had a real boxer’s face. It looked as though his nose had been broken. The skin above and around his eyes was thin. Too many blows in this area had given him a reputation for profuse bleeding. His corner knew all about it and they were always ready to step in between each round and “fix things up”. He was called “Enry the Ammer” because he had a “lethal” left hook. If Henry managed to “land his left hook” most fights were over.

The 2 Contestants

Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay, later to be known as Mohammed Ali, in Round Four at Wembley Stadium 50 years ago. "Enry's 'Ammer" felled Clay in the dying seconds of the 1963 non-title fight's fourth round. Ali eloquently said later on British television, Cooper "had hit me so hard that my ancestors in Africa felt it". With Clay withering, his trainer Angelo Dundee opened a small tear in one of his gloves. When noticed by the referee, Clay was told he required a new pair of gloves and the fifth round was delayed. (Courtesy Huffington Post Sport)

Cooper Knocks down Clay

Ali had a wonderful boxing career. Sadly he has also been bruised and battered. Age has caught up with him and he is only a shadow of the man he once was.

After the big fight

In Romans 10, Paul wrote, ⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Rom 10:9-10 NLT

There’s a fascinating principle here worth examining. Paul was writing specifically about the words and beliefs of a Christian. Certainly, Phyllida and I have used this verse to assist others who doubted their own salvation. 

Romans 10:9-10 brings clarity to the mind of doubters. But there is little doubt that this is a universal principle. It’s not only confined to Christianity. The principle is that if and when your confession (what you say with your mouth) begins to be believed in your heart, you will get what you say. In essence it’s the very substance of faith.

If you boast,boast in the Lord

God created the world. He did it by speaking. “Light be!” God said and it was so. Now what God says He believes. Actually in His case, there is no question concerning whether or not it will happen. I suspect it happens not just because He is God. God believes what He says in every respect. It is not accidental. His commands are irresistible.

Lord, I am "nothing" - You are everything!

Scripture suggests that God wants His people to do the same. We must believe it and speak it! When they come together, that mountain will be cast into the sea. You and I are able to say it. But do we believe it? You will have to settle that in your own heart.

Cassius Clay persisted saying “I’m the greatest!” He also believed it. Put these two factors together and you have dynamite. How do men of flesh and blood come up against such a combination? I’ve heard it said that Sony Liston was beaten before he went into the ring. Not just by a superb and super fit boxer, but by a man with such a powerful confession. It literally blew him away. It was a “no contest”.

Henry years later

Shalom,

Mohammed Ali Now

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 18 August 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	BOAST IN THE LORD
At the beginning of 1981, I had no Christian books. All I had was an old KJV Bible. It was a bit dog-eared. Not surprising since my parents gave it to me as a Christmas present in 1950. I’ve had it ever since. It’s fairly well marked dating back to my early days as a Christian in 1960. It had one or two notes which go back to those days. It may have been that I wrote them while attending training sessions for Billy Graham’s evangelistic campaign in Manchester. Looking back at the contents of this Bible, I’m convicted of some of the things I did from 1965 until 1981. I had been a naughty boy! In 1981, the very first Christian book I bought was “Confess It!” In those days we were all very much “into” believing with the heart and confession with the mouth. Len Jones wrote the book. He was related to William Wigglesworth. Those days were fascinating particularly regarding “What you say is what you get”. Most of us, myself included, were so intimidated by this, we forgot the importance of truth. People went to extreme lengths to avoid anything which might be used by the devil as an entrance into their life. I recall going through a time of great testing while experiencing divorce. It was tough. But if anyone asked me how I was, I would smile and say, “I’m fine!” It was an absolute lie. I felt like “death warmed up”. But I wouldn’t say anything about it to anyone. On reflection it seems to me that we had made a superstition out of what God was saying. Perhaps the best illustration I can think of was the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They originated from the days after the Babylonian captivity. The people rightly decided that their captivity was because they had failed to keep the Mosaic Law. In particular, with reference to the worship of idols. You will find that from then on, idols did not become an issue in Israel. What happened was they made an idol of the law. They made dozens of “fence laws” associated with the Mosaic law. The purpose was not so much how to keep them, but how to avoid breaking them. There are huge differences. Differences which Jesus addressed with them. A reading of Luke 11 indicates this. Len’s book looks at “What you get is what you say”. He then looks at the words and “confessions” of Cassius Clay, now Muhammad Ali. He points back to the days of the fight with Sonny Liston – the “big ugly bear” according to Cassius Clay. Len then makes a very interesting comment. He stated that the world in general and Sonny Liston in particular, had never come across a confession like Cassius Clay’s. In spite of all the odds against him winning, Clay’s confession was so powerful that it literally swept him along to victory. Clay had stumbled upon a “spiritual principle”. One that defies human understanding. The principle is that if you say something often enough, you will start to believe it. Thus, what Cassius Clay was saying with his mouth, became that which he believed in his heart. That sort of “confessions” is hard to beat. Sonny Liston got “caught up” in this spiritual principle. So, as we all know, Cassius Clay became the world heavyweight champion. There’s no question that he had remarkable talent and ability as a boxer. He may have become the champion another way. But his confession trashed Sony Liston. If you believe in you heart and confess with your mouth….. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let those who boast, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31 TNIV	Who of us remember what’s called “The good old days?” A young man was in boxing. His name – Cassius Clay. He said, “I am the greatest. I’ll knock him out in three.” And strangely as it sounds to us, that’s just what came to be. He really was a boaster. He never really cared. But most of his protagonists were quickly running scared. He “took on” Sonny Liston, an “Ugly bear” he said. And when the fight was over, Liston looked like he was dead. “I float in like a butterfly and sting just like a bee. There ain’t no boxer anywhere can beat the likes of me”! Boxer after boxer came and put him to the test. And when the match was over he’d proved he was the best. Muhammad Ali was the name he took when he converted. He became Muslim, but his quest was not diverted. And looking back upon it, I’m sure he was the best. But time has done its damage; he’s just like all the rest. No longer fast and nimble; he has “Parkinson’s disease”. And when you hear him talking now, no longer does he please. We look back at his history, when boxing was his game. He really was the greatest and deserved his boxing fame. But like so many boasters, God’s judgement came along; And he became a member of the “boastful people throng”. It is a sorry story, a very dismal tale. This happens to a braggart. They ultimately fail. I can’t forget the boasting of “the lip from Louisville”. He continued boasting and went over the hill. A shadow of the man he was; and crippled now with age. He got his fame and fortune, but with it came his wage. So when we look upon him now, it’s very sad to see, A man with so much talent, consigned to history. The moral of this story, is do not ever boast. You may get fame and fortune, but the Lord of heaven’s host, Will start a downward cycle and you’ll end up with defeat; That never, in your life time, you ever would repeat. When you do your boasting, boast only in the Lord. Only He is worthy, to be worshipped and adored. Boast of His achievements and what Jesus Christ has done! Tell the world you’re nobody compares with God’s own Son. Thank Him for salvation and praise Him for His care. That’s the sort of boasting we may do anywhere. He deserves the honour, the glory and the fame. Compared with Him, we’re nothing; and life is just a game. Jim Strickland Written 18th August 2012
			23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV
			8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ Philippians 3:8 NLT
			16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:16 NLT
			17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. Romans 15:17 ESV
			25 I don't have anyone in heaven but you. I don't want anything on earth besides you. Psalms 73:25 NIrV
			1 Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the LORD! The LORD has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because You rescued me. 1 Samuel 2:1 NLT
			1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalms 115:1 NLT

THE CONVERSION DIVERSION

Time with Jesus - 17 Aug 2013

Hi All

A couple of days ago we looked had a brief look at World War 1 in colour. The war took place in full colour. It took place in real geographical positions. Certainly the cameras were primitive. They were driven by hand. The photographer turned a handle and the picture was taken onto the “films” of those days. I’ve no idea how they controlled the speed of the filming by hand. 

No doubt when the photographer stopped turning the handle they stopped “shooting the movie”. They may have been spring controlled like the old record players. All the handle did was to tighten the spring in the mechanism. I’m told that film speed (frames per second) is different now from what it was then. That’s why everybody has a funny high speed walk; far faster than people do on our movies today.

The pictures were all “black and white”. But technology today is marvellous. Although the original movies were “shot” in black and white, technology has a way of bringing out the original colour. Don’t ask me how. It’s a bit like the old question, “How can a brown cow, under a blue sky and a red son, eat green grass and give us white milk and yellow butter?” Sadly, the cows won’t tell us how!”

Seeing the “action” in WWI in colour, does nothing to reduce the obvious tragedy of the entire debacle. No one really knows what it was that made the opponents declare war on each other. We are told it had something to do with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Why that would trigger a world “war to end all wars” borders on insanity. 

The two sides ended up in the trenches in France and Belgium. There, they tried everything they could to win, regardless of how many lives were lost. It was only 11 years since the Wright brothers made the first manned flight. By the time the war ended, aeroplane technology reached the point when they could have “dog fights” in the air, drop bombs on the opponents armed forces and each other’s countries. They also invented tanks, developed machine guns and related arms and used gas to kill each other. 

If WWI hadn’t been so tragically real, it could have been mistaken for a Marx Brothers comedy. We are told it was only a training ground for what would happen in Europe 20 years later.

When we consider madness of this nature, we are inclined to ask God to save us from our own stupidity. We are also asked, “Where was God in WWI and WWII.” The answer is, He was no further distant from humanity than He had been at any time in the history of the world. He did care about what was happening. 

We know that as Jesus accompanied Mary and Martha to Lazarus’ tomb; ³⁵ Jesus wept. John 11:35 ESV

The Life Application Study Bible comments on this passage of Scripture as follows: John stresses that we have a God who cares. When Jesus saw the weeping and wailing, he too wept openly. Perhaps he empathized with their grief, or perhaps he was troubled at their unbelief. In either case, Jesus showed that he cares enough for us to weep with us in our sorrow. This portrait contrasts with the Greek concept of God that was popular in that day—a God with no emotions and no messy involvement with humans. 

Here we see many of Jesus' emotions—compassion, indignation, sorrow, even frustration. He often expressed deep emotion, and we must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to him. He understands them, for he experienced them. Be honest, and don't try to hide anything from your Saviour. He cares.

In the Word - Jesus Wept

No doubt Jesus wept over the carnage and stupidity of WWI. No doubt He wept looking at the victims of the holocaust. Likewise He wept over what took place on land, sea and in the air during WWII. No doubt He longed to save us from our stupidity. I suspect, during those terrible times, He wished He had never given us free will. Instead of loving each other the way He intended, we behaved worse than animals. Animals don’t do such things.

Time & Space in God

How long is it since the fall of man? ±6000 years? It’s ±2000 years since Jesus was crucified for you and me. What have we learned during that time? Yes, technology has improved our “lot” on this earth. Unfortunately, we have taken that same technology and used it to destroy and enslave each other. 

We need to be saved; saved from ourselves. We already know how to make a weapon that could destroy life on earth. It’s a scary prospect. Only Jesus can prevent the holocaust of man destroying man. Even so, Come Lord Jesus.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Auschwitz

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 17 August 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	THE CONVERSION DIVERSION
My opinion of the Bible is that in the original languages, it is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Errors in translation and reproduction are possible mainly because of language differences. This along with the integrity and accuracy of scribes who have copied the text. The Holy Spirit has ensured that the copies we have of the autograph (original) are trustworthy. I don’t know how. That’s not necessary. All that is necessary to know, is that the text we have received is reliable. Having said that, you can understand that I believe Adam and Eve were two real people. The Genesis story is not a myth to assist ignorant believers. It is fact. Accordingly, I believe that the fall of man actually took place as stated in Genesis. As a result, death came on the scene exactly as God said it would. Thus until such time as Jesus returns, every man, woman and child will die. The Word of God guarantees it! Originally, man had the potential to live forever. This would be through a “diet” of eating the fruit of the tree of Life. Whether this was a single meal or an on-going “daily process”, is not clear. Either way, man has tried to find something that will extend his life eternally. This “magic elixir of life” has not been discovered. It will not be until Jesus returns. But that does not stop man from looking! Man knows that in the original design, we would have lived forever. As an old man, Solomon is said to have written: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT It follows that man is on a continuous search to find our birth-right. We were originally made for eternity. We must keep on looking. “Where is the promise of eternity?” seems to be the unwritten question we all ask. In the meantime, what can we do? The answer is, “”Absolutely nothing”! Only God can change the situation. Indeed, this “law of sin and death” was applied to His Son. But with a slight difference. He was sinless and didn’t deserve death. But on the cross, He took your place and mine. In 2 Corinthians, Paul put it as follows: 21 Christ didn't have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIrV. It follows that at the instant He was made sin for us, He had to die, because He had taken on our sin. When that had happened, and Jesus had taken on the punishment we deserved, God’s anger at our sin was complete. It had been dealt with. To quote the Lord Jesus from John’s Gospel: 19 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 ESV. The words, “It is finished” or “It is accomplished” have been translated and interpreted in many ways. One way is that Jesus was stating that the task was over and done with. His struggle with sin and our deserved punishment was over. Nothing further was needed. Man could now approach God in and through what He had done. Man could be forgiven. In other words, the situation had changed. There is something man can do. Something so simple. Have faith in His Son! Do I? Do you? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 Human life is as short-lived as grass. It blossoms like a flower in the field. 16 When the wind blows over the flower, it disappears, and there is no longer any sign of it. Psalms 103:15-16 GW	Our quest for immortality will never be relieved. We keep on looking forward, to what cannot be achieved. The problem is our wages. We’re going to get paid! It really doesn’t matter if we’re brave, or are afraid. We’ve worked for them, deserve them and will not be short changed. To think you will not get them – I’m sorry, you’re deranged. It’s all the same for everyone, regardless of our years. Our stomping up and down again and buckets full of tears, Can’t interrupt the process; nor can it be delayed. God’s Kingdom regulations have got to be obeyed. It’s surely going to happen, much sooner than you think; And after you’ve departed your body’s going to stink! It’s brevity that matters. Our lives are far too short. It only takes a single sin and “brother you are caught” Something happens in you, we do not understand. Instead we find death’s angel has grabbed us by the hand. Little sins or big ones; It matters not at all. It may be something trifling and infinitely small. Perhaps it is enormous like Stalin or Pol Pot? Regardless of excuses; it truly matters not. And each of us is equal. We all will get the same. It won’t make any difference if we try to shift the blame. Many folk have tried it, but sadly, it’s “not on”. One instant they’re living; the next and they are gone. It cannot be avoided; we know about the pay. And each and every one of us, are sure to die one day. We’ll vanish like a candle, snuffed out and cast aside. The breath of God will blow on us. He cannot be defied! No one is excluded. Not even Jesus Christ. A single sin committed would easily suffice. But He was not a sinner. In fact He was sin free! He was not defeated on that cross of Calvary. He only traded places for the likes you and I! So after final judgement, we will not have to die! So let’s not talk of dying. We’ll only fall asleep! Until the day when finally, His promises He’ll keep. And we will live with Jesus and reign for evermore. That’s the final wages, a Christian has in store. Jim Strickland Written 17th August 2012.
			12 Teach us to realize how short our lives are. Then our hearts will become wise. Psalms 90:12 NIrV
			36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Mark 8:36 NLT
			7 The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground. That happens when the LORD makes his wind blow on them. So people are just like grass. 8 The grass dries up. The flowers fall to the ground. But what our God says will stand forever.'" Isaiah 40:7-8 NIrV
			17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:17 ESV
			2 God says, "At the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you." Listen, now is God's acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2 GW
			31 Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out. 1 Corinthians 7:31 MSG
			24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT