THE THOUGHTS OF JESUS

Time with Jesus -  21 Aug. 2013 

Hi all,

Up to about 250 years ago, most people in the western world believed in God and the inerrancy of the Bible. It began to change with what is known as “rationalism”. If the thought was “irrational” it was discarded. 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “irrational” means “not rational”: e.g. 1) not endowed with reason or understanding. 2): lacking usual or normal mental clarity or coherence. With rationalism, everything was subject to the human mind. In essence, you only believed that which could be established and proved empirically. 

Now because God could not be demonstrated in a test tube, His existence was doubted. Furthermore, miracles were questioned and rejected because they were “supernatural”. Biblical prophecy was also rejected, since it is impossible to know things in advance. Where such things were found in the Bible they were assumed to have been inserted into the text at a later date to give credence to what was prophesied. These thoughts on rational and irrational are very brief and do not do justice to either. Sufficient to say, that in rationalism, the human mind became the means by which anything was regarded as true or not.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have done much to undermine the rationalist critics of the Bible. These scrolls were compiled about 100BC. Among them was a complete volume of the Book of Isaiah. We are told the difference between what is in the scrolls with what we have in the Old Testament in our Bibles today is negligible. In this regard, the fastidiousness of the scribes down the centuries has preserved the inerrancy of what has been transmitted from generation to generation. There can be little doubt that the same attention to detail would have been given to all the other books of the Bible.

But what is Bible or Biblical prophecy? It is typically the prediction of future events based on the action, function, or faculty of a prophet. Such passages are widely distributed throughout the Bible, but those most often cited are from The Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24 & 25, and Revelation. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

For today’s meditation I’ve used a different rhyming style; short verses rhyming every other line. I’ve not covered all ten Scriptures. I’ve focused on Psalm 69. ¹⁷ Don't hide from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! ¹⁸ Come and redeem me; free me from my enemies. ¹⁹ You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace. You see all that my enemies are doing. ²⁰ Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me. ²¹ But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst. Psalm 69:17-21 NLT

This psalm is a prayer of desperation. David realizes that because he is hated by others, he may be killed. Though he begs for rescue and calls down curses on his enemies, he concludes the psalm with a high note of praise, with inferences concerning the coming messianic kingdom when all enemies of God's people are dealt with swiftly and severely. (Courtesy John MacArthur)

The meditation seeks to “fill in the blanks” of what Jesus might have been thinking at that time. Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours. Only 6 hours to murder God! We all know it is impossible to experience what Jesus went through during those 6 hours. David wrote about this in Psalm 69. What I’ve tried to do is express what may have been going through 

His mind during those terrible 6 hours of agony. Call it poetic licence if you wish. There is however one prayer by Jesus which, I suspect, He repeated over and over, from the time He was taken in Gethsemane, to the time He yielded up His Spirit. The prayer is in Luke’s Gospel. - ²³ And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34 ESV

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus 21 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 THOUGHTS OF JESUS
The Lord Jesus Christ was amazingly accurate in His assessment of people and the things they desire. Being God, this is not surprising. Because of this, He is able to sum things up with a succinct phrase. In Luke’s Gospel He summed up our attitude toward “things” as follows; 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34 TNIV I’ve looked at this statement on a number of occasions trying to understand His meaning. The context is our attitude to wealth or money. What I took from this was that if my treasure is money, that’s where my heart will be. It seems a bit obvious. Charles Dickens’ better known novel is “A Christmas Carol”. There we see the great miser, Scrooge, obsessed with money and the drive to accumulate more and more. His statement, “Christmas – humbug!” stands out from this story like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Scrooge’s treasure was money. That’s where his heart was. The story of his transformation makes “A Christmas Carol” one of the best loved stories in English literature. When Jesus spoke, His words were invariably on many levels. It’s obvious where Scrooge’s heart and treasure was. But what about you and me? Now it’s very easy to get all pious and say that my heart and treasure are with Jesus Christ. That would be wonderful. For me, I wish that were always true. So where is your heart and your treasure? Dr A W Tozer spoke about this in one of his books. He said “If you want to know where your heart and treasure are, all you need to do is stop and think. What do you think about in your spare time? What does your mind return to when you are free to think of anything you wish?” He added, “That is where you heart and your treasure are”. Very simple isn’t it? I find this very scary. You would think that every man or woman of God would always think about Jesus, His Father, The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of Heaven. I’d like to think it’s true for me and all who reads this. What happens in fact is that many men tend to think about the opposite sex. This may not be unsavoury thoughts. Some think about the girlfriends they had when they were growing up. Many think of their Mother. None of these thoughts are wrong. They become wrong when they are revisited whenever the opportunity arises. Whenever they are free to dwell on such thoughts. That’s where his treasure is! Ladies also have fantasies. It could be “Prince Charming” or the boy next door! These thoughts are not wrong. But when they are an obsession, they become wrong. That’s where her treasure is! In today’s meditation I’ve taken some of the Scriptures and turned them into short rhyming verses. The one I’d like to draw your attention to is taken from Psalm 69:20. What I’ve tried to do is imagine the thoughts of Jesus while He was on the cross. Through His agony, was He able to think of anything? I think so. I’d be surprised if He was in such pain that He couldn’t think. One of our recent choruses says that He thought of you and me! Whether or not that’s true, I’m not able to say. There’s little doubt in my mind that He was fully aware of everything happening around Him. No doubt, snatches from the Psalms and Prophets passed through His mind. All I’ve done is tried to fit some of them together in a rational way. Am I right? Don’t ask me, ask Him! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			10 If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Proverbs 24:10 TNIV	Failing in the Time of Trouble. And your strength is small? That is when you burst your bubble. And you’ll lose it all! He will always give His power, To those who are weak. For He is a strong high tower! Ask for what you seek. I’ve sufficient grace for you, Far more than all you need. When you’re weak, then I can do, A strong and mighty deed, That’s when I stopped asking, Lord, take this thorn away. From now to everlasting, He’s all I need each day! Call on Me, I’ll answer you, If you are in a jam. Rescuing is what I do, For that is who I Am! Our great God is eternal. So safely run to Him. He deals with the infernal; He makes their power go dim! He’ll drive away your enemies. “Destroy them” He will say. So seize your opportunities, And you will take the day. I’m terribly insulted. Heart-broken, I feel sick. My searching has resulted, That no one cares a lick. There’s not even a token, Of any sympathy. No kind word has been spoken; No one would “pity me”!		Comfort has departed. The agony’s severe; And it has barely started. If only God was near. Why have you forsaken; Your one and only Son? What action have You taken? It feels like You have gone! This horrible sensation. All sin, throughout all time. This dreadful desolation, Which I have made all Mine! But Father, I’m still trusting, That this will also end. I know I look disgusting; But on You I depend. I know we’ll be together. My life’s been free of sin. Then we will be forever! Mankind will be our kin! The trial is nearly over; My Spirit I’ll dismiss. Then we’ll all be in clover; Justice and mercy kiss! I see the Priest’s knife flashing. It’s time for me go, The devil’s work is crashing; He doesn’t even know! My task has been completed Mankind can be restored, For sin has been defeated. All men may serve the Lord! Jesus became High Priest, Because The Father said, “Since You made Yourself the least, I’m going to make You Head. This honour was not taken, Assuming it Your right. But when You were forsaken, You showed the world the light!”
			29 He gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak. Isaiah 40:29 GW
			9 and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 MSG
			15 When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honour them. Psalms 91:15 NLT
			27 God lives forever! You can run to him for safety. His powerful arms are always there to carry you. He will drive out your enemies to make room for you. He'll say to you 'Destroy them!' Deuteronomy 33:27 NIrV
			20 Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one. Psalms 69:20 GW
			1 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 2 And He is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because He Himself is subject to the same weaknesses. Hebrews 5:1-2 NLT
			5 That is why Christ did not honour Himself by assuming He could become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him, "You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father. " Hebrews 5:5 NLT
			8 Even though Jesus was God's Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. Hebrews 5:8-9 NLT
			4 He suffered the things we should have suffered. He took on himself the pain that should have been ours. But we thought God was punishing him. We thought God was wounding him and making him suffer. Isaiah 53:4 NIrV
				Jim Strickland Written 21st August 2012