OUR FATHER

Time with Jesus - 10 Oct 2013

Hi all,

War is more often than not, a waste of human life. In all of history there have been hardly any justifiable wars. 

The Crusades were inexcusable. To even think that man should take up arms against another, in the name of Jesus Christ, makes no sense at all. In some respects, what took place then was little different from the terrorism we see today. The Crusaders eventually arrived in Jerusalem. 

They murdered Arabs and Jews, in what we could call a killing frenzy. Many of the women and children who weren’t killed, were raped and treated with a barbarism that to this very day, has still not been forgotten in the Middle East. 

In places like Nairobi, where a handful of terrorists murdered 37 people of all ages indiscriminately; many are receiving a taste of what took place in the Middle East during the Crusades. This does not justify what took place in “Westgate Mall” in Nairobi. But it should disturb our consciences as we grapple with the fallen nature of men and women.

Within the past 100 years, two world wars have inflicted terror, death and destruction in unprecedented ways. The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I, was over 37 million. There were over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. 

The Allied powers lost about 6 million soldiers while the Central Powers lost about 4 million. At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million were missing, presumed dead. (Courtesy Google – Wikipedia)

WW2 CASUALITIES
CASUALTIES	MILITARY	CIVILIAN	TOTAL
AXIS	6 582 000	1 686 000	8 268 000
ALLIED TOTAL	14 276 800	25 686 900	39 963 700
TOTAL	20 858 800	27 372 900	48 231 700
INFORMATION COURTESY GOOGLE - WIKIPEDIA

 World War II or WW2, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. 

Roosevelt & Churchill

It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million people, from more than 30 different countries, serving in military units. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. 

Concentration Camp Inmates

These factors made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history. It is possible that the totals mentioned on the left are an underestimate and that the grand total may well be in the order of 100 000 deaths.

Churchill & Troops

Almost one hundred years later, we find that two of the members of the Axis powers, Germany and Japan, might perhaps be considered the political and economic victors of WWII. Certainly USA, UK and many of the other Allied nations do not have the same economic “clout”. China, India and other Far Eastern Nations appear to be vying with each other for economic dominance on the world stage.

War Damage

Technology and high speed transport have “shrunk” our world. Even from Jo’burg, there are few destinations that can’t be reached in less than 24 hours. We’re told we live in a global village. 

One thing which continues to divide us is language. At present, English appears to be the world’s lingua franca. But Mandarin is the world’s most spoken language by a ratio of 2 to 1. Should I say, “Ah so?” “I’m not sure what “Dad” is in Mandarin”. 

Microsoft translates the sentence: 不知道老爸在普通話中是什麼. Now we all know. As said on “Allo Allo!”, “I’ll say this only once!”

The two most used words in English, excluding expletives and profanity, are Mom and Dad. This doesn’t come as any surprise. But we are living in a global village so we can never be sure if our neighbours speak the same language we do. Not to put too fine a point on it, we live so close together now, knowing our parents, is essential. 

We have no problem recognising Mom. But Dad could easily be a “horse of a different colour”. Let’s not go too far down that route. Sufficient to say we all need to know our earthly father. If we aren’t certain, it may be that when we are dating and slobbering over the man/woman of our dreams, could it be we are “dribbling over a sibling”!

Jesus solved the problem for all of us. We may not know our earthly father, but we know we do have a Heavenly Father. Furthermore, Christians all have the same Heavenly Father. Taken to its conclusion, in Jesus, you’re my brother or sister. If you don’t like this, “Sorry for you!” Remember you can choose your friends but not your family! It also means we all have an elder brother called Jesus Christ. With His Father, He is God.

Yesterday we looked at this. We saw that when we are born again, miraculously Jesus converts us into what we called “Christian ore”. You are correct, it’s awesome. In this way, we enter His Kingdom, with His Father as our Father and Jesus Christ as our elder brother. This confirms the fact that we are brothers and sisters by re-birth! For those who wish to be pedantic and to settle with our being his adopted children, the outcome is the same.

Against this background we can cope with Jesus’ teaching His disciples to pray, beginning with, “Our Father”. God is now my Father and Phyllida’s Father. He is every Christian’s Heavenly Father. It’s exciting! When we are all with Him, we won’t be strangers, but with millions of our siblings! Wow! Maranatha! Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 10 Oct 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	OUR FATHER
All the schools I attended had an “assembly” every day. All the pupils would meet and line up in their classes and listen to whatever it was that was being said. Normally it was routine and the assembly would conclude with prayer. The Roman Catholic School I attended always concluded with us reciting the “Our Father” prayer. Usually this was “done” in a disinterested manner. We just had to get to our class and get on with the day. The Roman Catholic boys would then repeat the “Hail Mary” prayer which, after several repetitions, we all knew. The Jewish boys were never expected to participate in these times of prayer. But there we were, all together at the assembly time and they had to either participate, or stand saying nothing. Needless to say, by the end of the year, every pupil, Catholic, Protestant and Jew, was thoroughly familiar with the Lord’s prayer and the “Hail Mary” prayer. The first period of the day was “Catechism” for the Catholics and “Scripture” for all the protestants. The Jewish boys had a free period. I loved the Scripture classes. It gave me knowledge of the names of the books of the Bible. Paul’s Missionary journeys were part of the Scripture period as was the 10 Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and many of the parables. In my final year I was awarded the School Scripture prize for Protestant boys! Even then I loved the Scriptures! Because it was a Catholic school, run by the Marist Brothers, prayers were said every hour. The bell would ring and everyone in the class would stand and say the “Hail Mary” for as long as that took. We all heard the bell and stood immediately. At 12h00 the bell would ring. We would all stand and recite the “Angelus”. My memory fails trying to recall the details. This took ±one minute. Then it was lunch time. No doubt an interested observer would think that we were a class of devoted young Catholic boys, seeking to serve God to the best of our ability. That was not true. We were a bunch of boys and later young men, who were required to pay lip service to God. Sincerity or insincerity was irrelevant. What it did for me was help me get to know a few of the universal prayers, along with the Apostles creed, which was also included somewhere in the prayer ritual. Later on, when I made a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, this ritual proved to have been of considerable benefit. I had a head start on many of the people who committed their lives to Christ at that time. My one regret is that we filled our minds with knowledge of God and had almost no interest in Him. Repetition does this. I realised you could teach a parrot to say the “Our Father”, but it would not change the parrot. That was the great tragedy. It was all talk without the heart! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Matthew 6:9 TNIV	When Jesus said, “Our Father”, this world was changed for good. The thoughts of distant deity’s, you’d pray to if you could, No longer were appropriate. We didn’t have to shout, So that some god would hear us, Such thoughts were now in doubt. God wasn’t so impersonal, that we would try in vain, To capture His attention; and treat us with disdain. He said God is a Father. What does that mean to you? That we are all His Children and everything we do, Is terribly important. That He is on our side; And loves us with the passion of a husband for his bride. Such thoughts were quite disturbing for those who love to sin. God isn’t as convenient as one made out of tin! It also means, almighty God, is actually my Dad; And I will get a spanking, if I do something bad. You cannot treat your father as a stranger you’ve just met. You have to be responsible and not get into debt. For that would bring dishonour, unto your Father’s Name. You can’t keep on behaving as if life is just a game. You’ve also many brothers and sisters in the Lord. And in your daily dealing with them, you can’t afford, To ever rob or cheat them. For Dad will get to know; He’ll “sort the situation” with a well-directed blow! If God is Jesus’ Father; and this we know as fact, We have to treat our siblings, with courtesy and tact. They’ve also been adopted, just the same as you; And you must “stick together”, as if by “super-glue”! It means they have His Spirit and each of them may claim, The self-same right of access, to Jesus and His Name. Each one of us is equal in every little way; And He will also hear them when they come to Him and pray! We love our elder brother. He is God’s first-born Son. We know that by His power, Satan’s on the run. That anything we ask for the Father will provide, If we ask in Jesus Name and not from sinful pride. So God is now our Father. The Bible tells us so. And as we get to know Him, our love for Him will grow. And there will come a moment, when we are face to face, Worshiping our Father, because of Jesus’ grace. Jim Strickland Written 10th Oct. 2012
			1 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said: Father, it's time. Display the bright splendour of your Son So the Son in turn may show your bright splendour. John 17:1 MSG
			17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John 20:17 ESV
			26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3:26 NIV
			15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:15-16 ESV
			6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:6-7 ESV
			23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24 ESV
			17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 ESV

BEING PURIFIED

Time with Jesus - 9 Oct 2013

Hi all,

There is always room for improvement. 

One of our grandchildren recently got 98% in a school examination. This grandchild’s sibling has also achieved extraordinary results. No doubt this, in part, is attributable to the work they put into learning for their exams. 

The part their parents played in enabling their children to achieve such good results. must be acknowledged. Their mother is a qualified and gifted school teacher. Their father is also no slouch when it comes to the application, of what Hercule Poirot called, “the little grey cells”. Phyllida and I were “gob-smacked”.

Over the past half century or so, results have improved steadily for those who have had the time and determination to succeed in school. It was only in the 1980’s we started to look at matric results. Finding out that a number of students had received 7 distinctions, was the first sign to us that we were behind the times. 

Since then, students (called “learners” today) results have, if anything, improved. Sadly, after 1994, results have been very disappointing. This is not the case in the rural schools.

One of the tips both of us received during our school days, was that to improve, you needed to “play” with those who are as good as, or better than you are. For example, if you want to become a world class tennis player, you must play tennis with world class players. Furthermore, you will need a world class tennis coach to fine-tune your skills. 

Of course you must have a basic ability in tennis. If you don’t, you will not get very far in tennis circles. For me, a classic example is Graeme Pollock. I saw him playing cricket when we were both in primary school. He was a cricketing phenomenon. In a way he was a “one man team”. What I mean is that if you were fortunate enough to be on his side, you were almost guaranteed to win. 

He went on to become one of South Africa’s finest batsmen and his name is frequently included is the so called “world’s best cricket teams”.

An essential quality required to rise to be the very best in anything is determination and a willingness to dedicate yourself completely to your quest. You have to seek for perfection. 

Of course, none of us are perfect. But if you want to be the best, you have to make perfection your goal. In South Africa, gold is a good example. To obtain pure gold from gold ore is a lengthy and costly process. It doesn’t happen by wishful thinking. Furthermore, you must start with gold ore. If there is no gold in the ore, you are wasting your time. You can no more obtain gold from coal than you can make “a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”.

Living the life of a Christian is not grossly different from obtaining pure gold from gold ore. The starting point is somewhat different. Eugene Petersen, in the Message, quoting from John’s Gospel expresses it as follows:¹⁶ "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. John 3:16 MSG

Note the words, “no one”. Jesus has the Divine ability of starting with anyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done. He can change iron ore into gold ore. He specialises in impossible situations and with seemingly impossible people. 

He can take a “monster of iniquity” from any culture or belief system and “convert” him or her into the “basic building block” required for His building. No person is too “bad”. Likewise, no person is too “good”. 

Pope or peasant, it makes no difference to Jesus. Muslims, Hindus, Confucians, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Jews; put the name of any religious system or opinion, and He can miraculously convert them into what He desires. 

It’s not difficult for Him. They are “born again” and made into new creatures in Christ Jesus. On the outside they look and may even feel exactly the same. However, they have been changed; converted into “gold ore” which is about to be processed and purified into “pure gold”.

In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians the Message states: ¹⁷ Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! 2 Cor. 5:17 MSG 

In other words, anyone who has been born again is this new creature Paul was writing about.

Jesus, in John 3, in His discussion with Nicodemus, speaks of someone being born again. According to Paul, it’s a new start as a new creature in Jesus. In almost every case, the new creature starts life as a baby; an infant who should grow and develop into a mature adult. We see this in the animal kingdom as well as Homo sapiens. 

Nicodemus was right. No one is born fully grown! It’s exactly the same in Christianity. None of us are born fully grown. In the same way that gold begins with gold ore, Christians are born from “Christian ore” created by Jesus! Then we begin the process of becoming what we were made to be. 

We see an excellent example in William and Kate’s new baby, George. He has been born as third in line to the UK throne. He was that when he was born. He will grow and in time will be King of UK. He is about to start the process of becoming what he was born to be.

In 1960 I was “born again” and became a new creature in Christ Jesus. For me, the process began. One day, the fullness of this will dawn. It’s a long process and is certainly not complete. There are lots of impurities which need to be refined out. It may take all of eternity. 

But since Jesus does the refining, I’m in no hurry. At the moment I’m not 98% pure; far from it. But if our grandchild can get 98% for a school exam, it tells me that with further purification, I’ll get there. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 9 Oct 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	BEING PURIFIED.
Purity is a very strange thing. We try to achieve it and soon find that it is an impossible task. Those of you who remember or know about the 1950’s, will recall the drive among athletes to beat the 4 minute mile. Today, most of us don’t know what a mile is! Why should we. It was a measurement of length in the old “English” system. At the time, this was seen as the “Holy Grail” of middle distance athletes. The record for this distance had been reducing from 4min 10 seconds. Many regarded the time to be an impossible target. Then on 6 May 1954 Roger Bannister succeeded. A couple of weeks later, John Landy, the great Australian runner, also ran the mile in less than 4 minutes. In the British Empire Games in Vancouver, in a race billed as "The Mile of the Century," both runners beat the four minute time, but Bannister came in first at 3:58.8 to Landy's 3:59.6. Since then, many men have broken this “barrier” and it is no longer seen as impossible. If people ask what has happened in the intervening years, we are informed that training techniques have changed significantly. Better nutrition and intensive exercise have equipped sportsmen to achieve what was once thought to be impossible. Obviously, there will come a time when it will be humanly impossible to break the record. In other words, we will never be able to produce a perfect athlete. Now Jesus is perfect in every respect. But, in His manhood, to improve on the record will be impossible, even for Him in His perfection! Don’t ask me when that will be. But it would be very helpful if you would tell me! If you take the time to read the dietary requirements and exercise programme of any Olympic athlete, you will probably decide not to try it yourself. I came to that conclusion shortly after the Sydney Games. There was a TV program showing us some of the young Australian gymnasts preparing for the Beijing and London Olympics. Little girls who volunteered to commit to a regimen to which they would devote the following 4 or 8 years of life. Will any of us achieve perfection? It’s a good question. In the race of life it takes the willingness of an Olympic athlete to finish the course. But there is a difference. We only compete against our self. In addition, the Holy Spirit is our coach and Jesus is our trainer. They assure me that if I keep going, I will definitely come first in my race! They also tell me that it won’t be for just a gold medal. It will be for a crown of gold that Jesus will give. All who finish the course will get the same or similar golden crowns. Will we then be perfect? I’m told that by then it could be possible. Our mortal bodies require adjustment. But when we will change our mortal body for a resurrection body, it may be bit easier. Will we then be able to run a sub 4 minute mile? Good question! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. Psalms 12:6 TNIV	Purifying anything takes lots and lots of time. Silver in a crucible, is how it is refined. Gold is heated seven times to skim away the dross. People can be purified by nailing on a cross. Jesus was the perfect man. And yet He had to learn, Obedience to Father, by going through that burn. The agony of whipping, which would kill lesser men, Inflicted by a specialist for pain beyond our ken. Tormented by the hammering, of nails through hands and feet; Of hanging there stark naked in that “hellish” midday heat. That’s what Jesus suffered, when He was crucified. That’s what He experienced while being “purified”. He didn’t have to do it. He could have walked away. But in the middle of it, He knew He had to stay. Because He traded places; He took it all for me, And all the other members of the human family. We needed to be purified. The sin was yours and mine. But since the Blessed Master, was also Christ Divine, His death was efficacious for all the human race. So what the Lord experienced, we do not have to face. There wasn’t an alternative. The heat was turned up high. And just because of what He did, we know that death will die! What Jesus did was flawless. He is the Living Word. Everything predicted has certainly occurred. Not a tinge of falsehood.  Each prophesy fulfilled. There is now a “way to God” because His blood was spilled. Lord, You said You’d do it. O Lord You’ve been proved right. You achieved the victory, so we may win our fight. You sent Your Holy Spirit, so we’re not on our own. We grow in our salvation, through You and You alone. You gave Your commandment, to help us stay on track; And by Your generosity, there’s nothing that we lack. You grant to us discernment to reject all shameful deeds. And willingness to follow You and put aside our greed. We know You are refining us, to bring us forth as gold. That somehow in the process, Your plans for us unfold. We’re yearning for perfection, when we will be like You! And all the promises You’ve made, will certainly come true. Jim Strickland Written 9th Oct 2012
			140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. Psalms 119:140 NLT
			8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalms 19:8 TNIV
			5 Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection. 6 Do not add to His words, or He may rebuke you and expose you as a liar. Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT
			11 I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You Psalms 119:11NLT
			15 I will study Your commandments and reflect on Your ways. Psalms 119:15 NLT
			8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV
			2 Like new-born infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation 1 Peter 2:2 ESV
			17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us. 2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT
			2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 2 Corinthians 4:2 NLT