Time with Jesus - 28 Dec 2013
Hi all,
Two of our grandchildren have recently
had their 21st birthdays. It’s rather a strange feeling celebrating
the event. We went to the first party and not to the second. No reason other
than we came to the conclusion that 21st birthday celebrations are
not the sort of occasion grandparents should attend.
This comment comes about
from personal experience. I had my 21st birthday 50 years ago. We
all know it was 50 years ago. It just doesn’t feel like 50 years. Furthermore,
we remember attending their mother or father’s 21st birthday
celebrations. It feels like it was just a couple of years ago. For Phyllida and
me to attend any great-grandchildren’s 21st birthday celebrations is
highly unlikely. It could happen, but I’m not sure we’d like it to happen. We’ll
be in our late 90’s and suspect we’d rather not still be on this planet. Not
unless Jesus has returned and we have received that wonderful new resurrection body
we’ve all heard about but haven’t seen. Not to our knowledge anyway. By then we
will have “Fallen to the ground and died”.
Let’s not be morbid about this.
Benjamin Franklin is recorded to have written, “In this world, nothing can be
said to be certain, except death and taxes”. I’m not in a position to comment
about taxes. But we live in a world that is dying. Everything that contains
life is going to die. Only two people have avoided death. They were Enoch and Elijah.
Even our Lord Jesus Christ died. Yes, He was raised from the dead and now has a
resurrection body. But even the Son of God could not avoid death!
Of course, we know death was not
God’s plan for humanity. Adam and Eve knew nothing of death until the fall. Before
then it was a meaningless term. They knew they would die if they ate the fruit
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But they lived in a universe
in which, with the exception of Satan and his gang, there was no such thing as
death. In some respects, they were warned about something they couldn’t really
conceive. They lived in a death free world. Nothing died. All the animals were
herbivores. What the fish did is beyond my understanding. 
Death meant nothing
to them. Perhaps it’s like our knowing what it feels like to be tickled by a chunk
of rock from Jupiter? How do you describe the indescribable? You can’t really
do it. Obviously they knew it was not good. It couldn’t be, or God would have
told them all about it. It’s not that the “threat” wasn’t real. It was very
real. What would happen to them when death came as an uninvited and permanent “lodger”?
How could they know? They couldn’t. Furthermore, Eve was deceived in to
underestimating the consequences. As for Adam, he did what so many husbands do
today. They do what their wives tell them.
When Jesus was crucified, we know
that the ground shook. For want of a better expression, there was an earthquake.
We have no idea what happened the instant after Adam ate the forbidden fruit.
Was it like an earthquake? Plants would be hideously distorted. Many flowers
would turn to weeds and thistles. The anatomy of many of the animals would
change. The lion became a blood hungry predator. Some birds turned into
vultures. The beaks of eagles changed so that they could tear the flesh of
their prey. Some fish became sharks. Everything around them became a caricature
of what it had been.
Death was suddenly necessary to produce fertiliser for
other plants. Trees, bushes, animals, fish, birds. All these things “warped”
into that which we now know. Pain became a reality. Childbearing would be
accompanied by suffering. Adam would have to dig the weeds out of his “garden”
so that he could grow crops to eat for Eve and her children. Everything was
twisted and changed in accordance with the wishes of the new “king” on the
earth.
We don’t really know the extent of
these terrible changes. We can only guess. We can say all this sprang from the
evil and corrupt mind of Satan. He knew what death was. For him it was
separation from God. Thus he saw to it God was kept well away from his (Satan’s)
human slaves. As long as he could keep people away from God, the victory
remained his. In this way, men and women would be born and would die without
any hope for the future. His plan had a fatal flaw. The flaw was this. The way
to defeat Satan was to die! He would be destroyed by his own passion and
determination that death would reign forever.
King David spoke of this in Psalm
16; 10 For You will not leave my soul among
the dead or allow Your holy one to rot in the grave. Psalm 16:10 NLT Here we see two prophetic
statements about the righteous man God would send to earth to defeat Satan. God
will not leave the body of a righteous man in the grave, or allow it to (decompose)
rot. Satan made the mistake of thinking that if he could kill a righteous man,
that man would remain dead in the grave. King David stated otherwise. The wages
of sin is indeed death; but what about a man who remained sinless? It’s clear
from Scripture that God would raise Him from the dead. It was a foregone
conclusion!
Another factor not understood by
Satan was the “cost” of “killing” God. It also depended on the “value” of God’s
“life” compared with that of a man. Since God created every man and woman who
ever lived, surely God was “worth” at least the value of the sum total of all
humanity, past present and future. In other words, the “death of God” was worth
more that the “death of all humanity past, present and future”. So if God “died”,
His “death” would be the same as the death of all of us. That’s why Jesus “allowed”
Satan to ill-treat, beat and kill Him. As a righteous, sin-free man, God would
raise Him from the dead before His body began to decay. He was right! It
happened on the third day after death.
In his letter to Corinth Paul
wrote: 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is
the mystery of God - His plan that was previously hidden, even though He made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the
rulers of this world have not understood it; if
they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 1 Cor. 2:7-8 NLT Satan, in his greed for murdering
Jesus, effectively “shot himself in the foot”. Jesus let Satan kill Him. It was
the way to complete victory over Satan and over death. Jesus realised that by
falling to the ground and dying, the crop He would reap would be sufficient for
to pay for the death of all humanity past, present and future. 24 What I'm about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains
only one seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. John 12:24 NIrV
You and I need to remember the
principle here. Jesus’ victory came by surrendering Himself to His Father and
to death. The same is true for you and me. Victory in Christianity comes by
laying our life down for Jesus and for others. It’s the only way.
Shalom,
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 28 Dec 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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LIFE
COMES THROUGH DEATH
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A year or two ago, Phyllida and I were watching
Oprah on TV. She always had a number of guests. Some were well known TV
personalities. On many occasions it was Dr Phillip
McGraw, better known to us all as Dr Phil. We particularly enjoyed his
honesty. He didn’t beat around the bush when dealing with people. He wasn’t
particularly “politically correct”. He said what was needed and that was
that. Agree with him or not. That was irrelevant. He said what he thought
and, presumably, thought what he said. Back in the UK the expression was, “He
would call a spade a spade, unless it was a bl…. shovel!” Watching him on TV
was always fun. At times I recall saying to myself, “I wish Christians were
this honest with people!” Sadly, most of us aren’t. We would rather “die”
than be unkind to someone. It’s a wrong attitude and one that was completely
foreign to Jesus.
Political
or Religious correctness does not get sinners into heaven. If anything it prevents
them from entering. There is only one way in; and that is through the person
of Jesus Christ. Quoting Paul, Christians say 8 For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 ESV
Thank God for that. It’s a wonderful relief to know
that all my efforts toward trying to please God, are as much use as “square
wheels on a rickshaw”! Having stated that, there is a question to ask. Namely,
how do I get rid of self-effort? To put this somewhat paradoxically, “What do
I not do, so that I’m not doing anything?” Now that really is a “canackler”
as my late Dad would have said. What do you do so that you are not doing
anything? There is an answer. The answer is you have to be dead. Yes indeed!
When you are dead you are not doing anything. But if I’m still alive, what do
I do? The answer is, “Die!” No it’s not a trick question. You have to settle
this completely in your head or in your mind. If you are dead, that’s it. You
cannot be born again unless you are dead! Are you following my logic? It’s
only the dead who can be alive in Christ. If you are alive to self, you are
not alive in Christ. You are alive yourself! You have to be like the grain of
wheat. You have to fall to the ground and die. I’m not bluffing. Jesus said
so. So how can I be dead to self and alive in Christ? You start by denying yourself;
plans, ambitions, wants, needs, comfort and all the trimmings that go with
being alive. When all that has gone, you are dead. When you are dead. Hey! Stop wriggling! As I was saying.
When you are dead, all that stuff is behind you. No temporary resurrections
for breakfast! Only then are you truly alive in Christ! So die! Jesus didn’t
say it was easy. Just do it. If you don’t, you are not alive in Him! You
can’t have it both ways.
But can I do it? You mean everything; even
prosperity must be behind me? Absolutely. There is no prosperity in the
grave. Furthermore, when you are alive in Him, there is no need for
prosperity. You will never be more prosperous than the living Lord Jesus
Christ. Incidentally if you are dead, you can never be one of the following. 15
Outside are dogs, sorcerers, sexual sinners, murderers, idolaters, and all who lie in what they say and what they do. Rev. 22:15 GW It
seems to me, being dead in Christ is the right way to be. Of course if you
want to keep your life -------
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and
asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
John 12:20-21 ESV
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“Sir may we see Jesus”. That’s what
those Greek men said.
Do you think it’s possible? “To Him we
have been led.
Soon it will be Passover. We saw Him
come to town
We heard the Hallelujah’s. We thought
the crowd would crown,
Him as the Great Messiah whom they
were waiting for.
If it is true, we also want to worship
and adore,
This Galilean Carpenter Who rode in on
a colt.
It sounds as if this city, is almost
in revolt,
Against the Roman army! They’d better
all calm down.
Or there will be a massacre within
this ancient town.
We don’t know if He met them. I think
He may have done.
But there was something critical
occurring to God’s Son.
The Gentiles of the nations were
starting to believe.
The glory of the Son of Man by some
could be perceived.
He said, “Except a grain of wheat falls to the
earth and dies.
There couldn’t
be a harvest and all alone it lies.”
It’s only by
its dying, it’s able to increase.
If it doesn’t
give it’s life, then life will surely cease.
Anyone who
loves his life, for him life will be lost.
Those who give
their lives away, will realise the cost
Was truly next
to nothing. They’ll grow abundantly,
And they’ll
bring forth a harvest they thought they’d never see.”
To be the
Master’s servant, first you have to die.
If you will not do it, then wish your
life good-bye.
Death to self produces a life that
multiplies.
If you try to keep your life, you and
your future dies.
Jesus knew instinctively, the time had
surely come.
For Him to save humanity, His dying
must be done!
If He dodged or ducked it, no one He
could save.
If He didn’t give His life, we’d all
stay in the grave.
And what is true for Jesus, to each of
us applies.
Entry into heaven is paid when someone
dies.
It cannot be avoided. If you and I
would live,
The cost is death to self on earth.
It’s what we have to give.
If I’m not dead in Jesus and think I
will survive,
Then I have been deluded; the
“dumbest” man alive.
The “second birth” is meaningless
unless the first has gone.
You cannot be alive in Christ, if you
just carry on,
Living as you want to. First, lie down
and die.
If you will not do it, your salvation
is a lie!
Entry into heaven is by the Saviour’s
death.
If you do not follow Him, you’ve just
wasted your breath.
So let us learn a lesson from what has
gone before.
Sacrifice your life on earth and enter
heaven’s door.
Jim Strickland
Written
28th December 2012
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8 LORD, we are living the way your laws command us to
live. We are waiting for you to act. Our hearts long for you to be true to
your name. That's
what you are known for.
Isaiah 26:8 NIrV
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18 The LORD is ready to help all those who
call out to him. He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him.
Psalms 145:18 NIrV
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20 And when two or three of you are together
because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there."
Matthew 18:20 MSG
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18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you.
John 14:18 ESV
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20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. "And remember that I am always with you until the end of
time."
Matthew 28:20 GW
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1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so
easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
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12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even
as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV
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23 I find it hard to choose between the two.
I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That's by far the better
choice.
Philippians 1:23 GW
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2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and
what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we
shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as
he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3 ESV
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