BUILDING A HOUSE

Time with Jesus - 7 Oct 2013

Hi all,

What is it that constitutes fame? Certain names speak for themselves. Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale, Adolf Hitler, Emily Pankhurst, Joseph Stalin, Jezebel, Horatio Nelson, Salome, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth 1^st, Nero, Mother Teresa. I could go on with lists of this sort; famous or infamous men and women of history.

Adam and Eve are famous or infamous depending on your opinion. After them, Cain and Abel spring to mind. Cain was Adam & Eve’s first son. Cain became the world’s very first murderer; a murderer for religious reasons. God wasn’t pleased with his offering, the work of Cain’s hands. Abel’s offering was a sacrifice from his flocks. It was acceptable to God. Cain was furious. 

“I’ve worked my fingers to the bone. From sunrise to sunset I’ve slaved away trying to produce an offering acceptable to You. Along comes my brother who has done nothing except watch his animals. He offers you a few choice bits from his flock and you approve. Do You like laziness? It’s not fair. My “stuff” is as good as his! I hate him! I hate him! I’ll kill him!” So in a fit of jealous rage, the firstborn murdered the second-born. After this infamous act, God marked Cain, presumably as the very first murderer. It was called, “The mark of Cain”. He went to his grave bearing this mark. No one really knows what it looked like. Whatever it was, it has become the “emblem” of murderers down through the centuries. 

Adam and Eve had another son. It’s thought he was their third-born. He was called Seth. From his line, God would one day, ±4000 years later, bring forth the Messiah; the Lord Jesus Christ.

Name	Age at birth of
Adam	687
Seth	557
Enosh	452
Kenan	362
Mahalalel	292
Jared	227
Enoch	65
Methuselah	0

Going down through the years, we come to another remarkable man; one of only two men who didn’t die. His name was Enoch. The little table on the left gives the age of antediluvian patriarchs from Adam to Methuselah. Adam was 622 when Enoch was born.

²¹ When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God; then he was gone because God took him. Gen 5:21-24 GW

Did they know each other? It’s quite possible. We need to bear in mind that with such longevity, the family may well have split and go their respective ways. Furthermore, Scripture reveals to us only that which God chooses to reveal. Were other children born during this time period? There must have been unnamed daughters. In addition, God only gives the names of those who are meaningful in His eyes. If we think of the huge number of those drowned in the flood, it’s probable that there were many other sons born!

There is a quaint story about Adam and Enoch. Adam was his great, great, great, great grandfather. Now as we are all aware, great, great, great, great grandfathers love to sit with their great, great, great, great grandsons on their knee and chat. 

One day, Enoch said to Adam. “What was it like in Eden?” Adam replied, “It was wonderful. You would have loved it.” Enoch then asked Adam, “What happened? Why aren’t we all still there?” Adam replied, “It was your great, great, great, great grandmother Eve! She ate us out of house and home!” Mmmmm

The Two Lines of the Firstborn
Seth	Cain
Enosh	Enoch
Kenan	Irad
Mahalalel	Mehujael
Jared	Methushael
Enoch	Lamech
Methuselah	Jabal, Jubal & Tubalcain

For convenience, the little table on the left gives the names of the firstborn sons of Seth and Cain down to Methuselah/Jabal. 

Thought to be Lamech

Please note, those names “together” may not have been contemporaries. The similarity of the names in both columns is interesting. I’ve pondered this and can find no reason. The best I can come up with is Satan’s determination to prevent the coming of Messiah. One way might be to confuse the names so that no one knew who was who!

What is striking is that Enoch and Lamech are both the same “distance from Adam”. Enoch is in the Godly line of Seth and is the great, great, great, great grandson of Adam. Enoch walked with God.

Lamech is in the “ungodly” line of Cain and is also Adam’s great, great, great, great grandson. Lamech is thought to be one of the wickedest men in the antediluvian period. He is on record as the first man to have more than one wife.

Methuselah

Methuselah is famous as the man who lived the longest in the Bible. He lived for 969 years. He didn’t quite manage a millennium! His name is fascinating. It is said to mean, “When he dies it shall happen”. 

According to dates and times we find that the flood occurred, the same year he died. Thus, for the best part of a millennium, a man walked the earth telling everyone, through his name, that the flood was coming. 

He is one of the very few men who, in the course of their lives, may have known Adam, Noah and his three sons. It is possible he may have met everyone who lived from the fall to the flood! 

I may be wrong but if this is true, we can say that one man was able to tell every antediluvian that God would “wash the world clean” when he died. It seems only Noah and family believed him!

"Face" on Shroud of Turin

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 07 October 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	BUILDING A HOUSE
Do you love surprises? For me, it all depends on the circumstances. Usually I love surprising other people. But I get a bit embarrassed when people surprise me. The example I have in mind is the notices most churches issue every week. In most of them there is a column with names, birthdates, and telephone numbers. The idea is to phone the person on their birthday with a greeting of some sort. For as long as possible I’ve done my very best to keep my date secret. These well-meaning and supposedly encouraging calls, I find most embarrassing. What about a surprise party? Have you ever been the subject of one? Organising such an event can be hectic. How do you arrange a party for someone and keep it secret? Has it occurred to you that nothing can surprise God? He is omniscient. Besides which, God doesn’t have a birthday. Well, perhaps Jesus does have a physical birthday. But that’s different. In this regard God always announces His intentions before He acts. Amos tells us: 7 The fact is, GOD, the Master, does nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story. Amos 3:7 MSG In the light of this, let’s spend a few moments thinking about King David. Apart from Jesus Christ, he is one of the best loved men in the Bible. We are told that Samuel informed Saul that God had rejected him as King; - 14 But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after His own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."1 Sam 13:14 NLT The man was David. Now David was not perfect and he knew it. But he loved the Lord. David was a man of war. His hands were stained red with the blood of his enemies. The “Bathsheba” incident confirms he was subject to the same temptations we experience. He wanted to build a temple for God. David was the architect of the first Jerusalem Temple. His chief aim in life was to build it. All his personal wealth was given to finance it. Through the prophet Nathan, David was told God had said he was not to do so. It would be built by his son, King Solomon. Nathan added that although he (David) had wanted to build God a house, God would build a house for him. An everlasting dynasty. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before Me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'"2 Sam 7:16 NLT This was David’s big surprise. To say he was “gob-smacked’ is an under-statement. We are told: King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? 2 Sam 7:18 NLT How do we handle such surprises? You tell me! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			29 And now, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, so that it may continue forever before You. For You have spoken, and when You grant a blessing to Your servant, O Sovereign LORD, it is an eternal blessing!" 2 Samuel 7:29 NLT	The crafter of a building is called the architect. He puts his plans on paper. His purpose, to reflect, The vision of the building, which he has got in mind. They’re very skilled and competent; is what you always find. They don’t erect the building, although I’m sure they could. A builder takes the set of plans and does just what he should. He brings in brick and mortar, the marble, sand and stone, The wood, the tiles and scaffolding to build what has been shown. Now who should get the credit when all the work is done? The architect or builder? It should be everyone, Who made a contribution to see the work complete. For as folk take a look at it they’ll say, “That’s quite a feat!” Now what about God’s temple? King David made the plans. God wouldn’t let him build it with blood upon his hands. That task was left to Solomon. It took him seven years. But David was the architect. At least that’s what appears. Everything that David owned; all this was dedicated. To build a temple for the Lord, precisely as he stated. God wouldn’t let him build the house; He had a better plan. God said “Your son will build it – he is a peaceful man”. He said He’d build a dynasty that wouldn’t ever end. David was the starting point. God said He would send, A King who’d reign forever. He’d be from David’s line. The “house” He’d build for David, would have a King Divine. David sat there “gob-smacked”. It’s hard to comprehend, That someday He would send a King, Who’s life would have no end. David was His forefather. How do you come to grips, With anything the Lord had said? A King Who would eclipse, Anything and everything that David might have done? A King Who’d rule in righteousness; Who also was God’s Son! I don’t think I could handle that. I think somehow I’d freak! I think I’d sort of shake my head and say, “Lord, I’m too weak! O Lord I’m just a servant and I can hardly cope, With knowing what You’re doing. It’s far beyond the scope, Of all I have imagined. You’d do all this for me? You know I am a sinner Lord. How can You let this be? But Lord, You said You’d do it. So Father, carry on. Thank you Lord for telling me that I will be that one!” Jim Strickland Written 7th Oct 2012
			27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O LORD, who have blessed and it is blessed forever." 1 Chronicles 17:27 ESV
			22 It is the LORD'S blessing that makes a person rich, and hard work adds nothing to it. Proverbs 10:22 GW
			35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 TNIV
			13 Instead, when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the handicapped, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then you will be blessed because they don't have any way to pay you back. You will be paid back when those who have God's approval come back to life." Luke 14:13-14 GW
			34 "Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. 36 I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Matthew 25:34-36 GW
			To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 1 Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; Psalms 41:1 ESV
			11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalms 84:11 ESV

INDEPENDENCE

Time with Jesus - 6 Oct 2013 

Hi all,

In September 1990, I was boarded by Eskom for ill-health. It was 30 years to the day since I had started working in the power station industry. 

1991 was the year in which I slowly recovered and we remained in Middleburg for that year. At the end of 1991, we moved to Worcester to work for the Methodist Church. Fairbairn Street Methodist Church was a very small English speaking work for the Lord. When we arrived there were only 9 “white” people who attended the English speaking Morning Service. Not far from where we lived, there was a “coloured” Afrikaans speaking Methodist Church with about 300 members. There was another Methodist Church in Zwelethemba. It was a large “black” church. It was a large society. The minister was Rev Joe Mpanza. He was fluent in English and several African languages. The three of us quickly became close friends.

Worcester is a pretty town. It’s also very hot in summer and very cold in winter. One of its chief claims to fame is it was the dwelling place of Rev Andrew Murray. He is the one who was largely responsible for establishing a school for the blind and another for the deaf. That was at the turn of the 19^th Century. 

In his day, the school would have catered mainly for “white” children. For the record, there are schools for the partially sighted elsewhere in RSA. Those who are totally blind would be sent to the school in Worcester.

Worcester town has adopted a number of features to assist the blind. One of them is at the traffic lights for pedestrians. When the light was green, there was a “tweeting” sound from the lights to advise people it was safe for pedestrians to cross the road. 

Industry also caters for the blind. I recall speaking to an engineer. He told me that some of his best machine operators were blind. One man in particular could “read” his micrometre. How it worked, I’ve no idea. But he was accurate to within a tenth of a millimetre! We had a number of partially sighted youngsters in our Sunday school. In addition, their teacher was blind! Incidentally in the “white” church we had a number of copies of the Methodist Hymn Book in Braille.

Life for the deaf children was difficult. They quickly learned to use sign language. Then they went on to learning how to lip read. When these had been mastered, we found that, provided you looked directly at them when you spoke, they could carry on a conversation. To catch their attention, particularly from behind, you had to touch them.

I’ve often wondered, if it came to a choice between going blind or deaf, which one would I choose. Both are terrible afflictions. John Milton wrote about his blindness. It wasn't easy ’or him. The closest I’ve been to being blind was when Phyllida and I visited the Cango caves close to Outdshoorn. The caves were “lit up” with electricity. We walked round with a guide. At one place he stopped and said he would show us how dark it was within the caves. He said he would turn off the lights for ±1 minute. 

Personally, I’ve never experienced such darkness and was relieved when the lights were switched back on. I suppose that is similar to the darkness of hell! When God removes the light of His presence, the darkness will by terrible. Jesus refers to such darkness obliquely in Matthew’s Gospel. ²² "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Mat 6:22-23 TNIV

Deafness is also frightening. Because of loud music as a child, combined with the noise in the power station, when I was young, I now need a hearing aid. A few weeks ago we went to the Johannesburg Tattoo. At one point a solo piper played something. I don’t know what that was. In spite of my hearing aid, I didn’t hear him.

Hearing Aids

Others have experienced deafness. Beethoven would lie on the floor trying to pick up vibrations from the piano. He wanted to “hear” his compositions! He couldn’t. His was a progressive deafness. It may have been treatable with 21^st century medication. He couldn’t hear his students playing the piano so he became a disappointing teacher. I’ve been told that he could “hear” his compositions in his head. How else could he have composed such magnificent music?

Hearing Aid

In this world today, there is a terrifying spiritual deafness. The vast majority of people don’t hear God’s voice. Their ears are closed to such a possibility. Even the boy Samuel needed to be made aware that God wanted to speak to him. Read 1 Samuel 3 for the complete story. In verse 10 we read: ¹⁰ The LORD came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Speak. I'm listening." 1 Samuel 3:10 GW

Sadly, many Christians don’t hear the voice of God either. Actually, they do hear Him. They don’t realise it’s Him speaking. In 1998, the Lord instructed Phyllida to teach a group of ladies to listen for and hear the voice of God. She developed a course entitled, “Hearing from God!” We have taken the course to many parts of RSA and a great number of Christians have benefited from the course. On one occasion we took the course to Nairobi in Kenya. Those who attended the course benefitted. 

Helping others to hear from God is still our passion. It has changed our prayer meetings into “Hearing from God!” meetings. We get together and ask the Lord what to pray for. He tells us or shows us and we pray accordingly. 

Suddenly, “prayer meetings” takes off and become meaningful rather than people ploughing through lists and getting bored. 

For us, there is no other way for us to pray. Let us know if you would like to hear more about our “Hearing from God” course?

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 06 October 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	INDEPENDENCE
Wikipedia tells us the meaning of: - Independence: A condition of a nation, country or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over the territory. The definition is fine but doesn’t refer to that which is in the heart of the individual. The drive to be free from the control of others. The classic example is surely the freedom demands of an enslaved people. We have no difficulty identifying this in a nation or a part of a nation. A bit of thought, will remind us that, it starts in the heart of an individual and spreads from there to become the desire of many. In many ways, independence is something we all should seek for ourselves. Babies are not independent. They rely totally on the care of others. In most cases this is their parents or other care giver. As they grow, we find each one stretching their boundaries in an effort to explore their own independence from parental control. A healthy relationship between parents and child encourages this. Each youngster seeks a measure of independence as they grow. When I was a baby, my mother washed, fed, clothed and dressed me. If she hadn’t, in all probability I’d be dead! This slowly changes over time. As a 10 year old it would be intolerable for me to be in the same situation, unless there was a medical condition that demanded it. During the teenage years, the young man or woman is given more and more freedom. The wise parent realises it won’t be long before the child reaches maturity and is in a position to repeat the process. Then, as grandparents, we are able to watch our sons and daughters establishing their own homes and raising their own children. Wow! All this is very good. We think so anyway. I wonder what God thinks of it? I’m sure He must have mixed feelings. In the first place, man was never designed to be independent of God. To leave Him is to walk away from life itself. At the same time, He wanted us to obey Him from within a relationship of love and care. We see this in the garden. God gave Adam complete freedom within that garden with one exception. He was not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Defend Adam all you like. The fact remains, he broke the only law God had in place in that Garden. Sadly, through the wiles of the serpent and the gullibility of his wife, Adam declared UDI. It was a unilateral declaration of independence. This declaration had catastrophic results. This messed-up world was the outcome. Adam declared his independence from God and took on the nature of a fallen creature. It was worse than that. He became the slave of a fallen angel who hated him and intended to kill him and all his offspring. Adam lived a further ±900 years. The real death was his immediate separation from God. Physical death only came to get him all those years later. I’ve often wondered why? The answer that amuses me most is that it took Satan ±900 years to figure out a way to do it! In this case Adam changed from dependence on God to be “in-dependence” upon Satan. Cut off from God. From being free, to being a slave of Satan. In this case I don’t think independence was much of a deal! Any comments? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			17 "What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." 1 Samuel 3:17 TNIV	It started in a garden a long, long time ago. Adam and his side kick thought things were kind of slow. This diet they were living on was only nuts and fruit; They thought what was forbidden, was somehow rather cute. That’s what the serpent told them and it looked kind of good. And so they tried a sample of what they never should. They wanted “independence”; that’s what the snake implied; And after they had eaten it, the life inside them died. The found that independence was just a “hill of beans”. Not what they had thought about; not in their wildest dreams. They wanted independence from the God Who Reigns on High. And only changed their “ownership” which sort of made them cry. But they were somehow stuck with it and they were then enslaved, By Lucifer, the devil. He made sure they behaved, The way that he intended. He made their firstborn son, Become the world’s first murderer. The dreadful deed was done. He killed his younger brother from jealousy it seems, Because the Lord rejected his offering of greens! By now they’d left the garden. Their time with God was through. It’s clear that right from then on in, the things they had to do, Was what the devil told them; there really was no choice. They’d lost their contact with the Lord and couldn’t hear His voice. But from that very moment, when it was done and dusted, They knew that in the devil’s words they never should have trusted. Independence still remains the people’s heartfelt cry. “I don’t want you to rule me; I think I’d rather die”! How often have we heard this? How often have we thought, It’s time for me to run away; I hope I don’t get caught! We dream of independence. We long to see the day, When we can softly close the door and somehow get away, From the responsibilities which we see all around. But independence isn’t something anyone has found. Not while we are living. We find we need each other. The way that little children need their father and their mother. A wife still needs her husband. The husband needs his wife. We know that their relationship should last them both for life. But still we somehow long for that which we know can’t be. A chance to taste forbidden fruit which everywhere we see. O yes, that man looks handsome. I’ll taste a little bit. But when romance is over, will you own up to it? That woman sure looks sexy. Far better than my wife. I think I’ll try a little taste. It will “spice up” my life! How very, very silly. It is adultery. And you have broken covenant. That isn’t liberty! And just as Eve and Adam departed from God’s will. Your streak of “independence” your marriage you could kill. Jim Strickland Written 6th October 2012
			8 But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously-- take God seriously. Micah 6:8 MSG
			13 Obey the LORD's commands and rules. I'm giving them to you today for your own good. Deuteronomy 10:13 NIrV
			10 And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law." 11 The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God--and that's the real life." Galatians 3:10-11 MSG
			19 The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a first-hand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. Galatians 3:19 MSG
			1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through the prophets. 2 In these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 GW
			9 So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, 'Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went back to bed. 1 Samuel 3:9 NLT