PRAYER

Perhaps the greatest problem for Christians today

Is following the Lord’s command to all of us to pray.

It seems to be a topic that we talk a lot about.

But when it comes to action – that’s where I have my doubts.

I cannot speak for everyone; that’s absolutely true.

But going to prayer meetings is what we seldom do.

We’re happy in church meetings; that’s where we let off steam.

We call it “praise and worship”. But prayer remains a dream.

We all have our opinions of what prayer aught to be.

Some do it in a great big crowd where others they can see.

Some pray in groups of people that do not like the noise.

And others say it’s only good for little girls and boys.

Some pray in tongues unceasingly. They just go on and on.

So much is so repetitive the Holy Ghost has gone.

And then there are the stompers who storm around the place.

They say they “bind the devil” with looks upon their face,

That Jesus is their servant and they are in control.

It’s surely lots of exercise. But does they reach their goal?

But what is really happening? Is Jesus there at all?

And yet the Bible tells us, God listens when we call.

I’d love to take our systems and kick them into touch.

Is dialoguing with the Lord’s something we want so much,

That we’ll examine everything, including our own way?

We’ll lay it on the altar Lord, and do the thing You say.

But what did Jesus tell us? We don’t need company.

Go into your prayer closet; that’s where you’ll meet with Me.

Pray privately to Father where you cannot be heard.

The Lord will surely listen and answer every word.

He knows what you are needing, so pray for other men.

Lift them up on wings of prayer in ways beyond your ken.

And when you think you’re finished with nothing else to pray,

Turn to your prayer language. The Spirit knows the way.

Lift up your holy hands to God for surely as you do,

You’ll find that He is speaking to no one else but you.

For prayer is not a monologue where all you do is speak.

Take the time to listen. You’ll find Him when you seek.

And prayer will be a way of life. Just you and God alone.

He’ll make you very welcome before His royal throne.

And prayer won’t be a duty. Your life will be on fire.

For Jesus will be everything; you total heart’s desire.

Jim Strickland – written Friday, 17 June 2011

DOER OF THE WORD

Our actions are more vocal than any words we speak.

You might say you are humble but if there’s an angry streak,

Visible to everyone; to children and the old.

Who will listen closely to the “clap trap” you have told?

We know words are important. That cannot be denied.

But who will listen to you if you’re twisted up inside?

Who will give approval to anything you say,

Unless communicated in the most consistent way.

Actions denote character. Your words are just hot air.

Unless folk see the evidence of how you really care,

Your “faith” will be regarded as pure hypocrisy.

Unless it’s plainly evident by what the folk can see.

I do not love my spouse if she is battered and is bruised.

You may shout “Hallelujah!” but the fact is you’re confused.

You cannot speak of honesty with fingers in the till.

The people will believe it when you pay your every bill.

You cannot look at women if you’re laden down with lust;

And no one will believe you if your words they cannot trust.

You cannot be a Christian while you’re in the devil’s camp.

How can you be a Christian if you’re living like a tramp?

I truly can’t point fingers. It’s true for you and me.

We cannot hear the fruit while it is hanging on the tree.

You know it is an apple by its colour, shape and size.

It doesn’t shout “come eat me, I will make you very wise!”`

You’ll only ever hear it when falls upon the ground.

And that’s approximately how a Christian is found.

He doesn’t sing his praises. He turns the other cheek.

He knows his strongest moments are the times when he is weak.

He knows that for promotion he has to step right down.

He seldom has a mansion in the poshest part of town.

He only has one purpose; to live for other folk.

To hover in the background and support the other bloke.

He doesn’t “push” his ministry. It matters not at all,

If others get the credit when he has done it all!

He always is contented regardless of his state.

Poverty or riches, He’s quite content to wait,

And bow before his Master and look into His eyes.

Jesus is important, not all the other guys.

He knows the Lord is watching and that Jesus Christ will say,

Well done My faithful servant. You lived your life My way!

Jim Strickland – written Thursday, 16 June 2011

THIS IS OUR GOD

"The Lord God is omniscient!” Such easy words to say.

But do we understand them in their real and proper way?

God knew what He was doing before the worlds began.

And everything that’s happened is all within his plan.

With absolute precision he knows what will take place,

At any chosen instant in all of time and space.

He knew what happened yesterday, before the worlds began.

He knew all that would come to pass to each and every man.

He didn’t have to concentrate. He didn’t have to think.

He knew all of the answers far quicker than we blink.

But that is not the end of it. His knowledge is much more,

Than knowing all the details from millennia before

They actually happened. He knows what might have been,

If someone acted differently to what He had foreseen.

All the possibilities of all scenarios,

All these variations our Great Creator knows.

You’ll never catch Him sleeping. He knew that you would try

He knew the day you would be born; He knows when you will die.

You cannot take Him by surprise. He never is off-guard.

No matter what the question is; For Him, no answer’s hard.

So it is not surprising that there are mysteries.

Things we can’t imagine that our Creator sees.

Our minds are far to puny to understand all this,

And so, from our perspective, our ignorance is bliss!

But Father, in His wisdom, who knows our every need,

Knows what’s been revealed to us; they currently exceed,

Everything required. We don’t need any more.

The universe dimensions, what do we need that for?

Will it make us more Godly, or clutter up our mind,

With superfluous knowledge of the unwanted kind!

Our omnipotent Deity; He wants to be our friend.

This infinite Creator whom we can’t comprehend.

Every star that’s ever shone; He put each in its place.

The omnipresent architect who made both time and space.

The One who’s told us all about the things He has revealed.

Sufficient to redeem us and which needn’t be concealed.

This King who wants to fellowship with men like you and me.

Who sent His Son to live a life the way it aught to be.

This is the Lord Almighty! This is the Lord Most High.

This is the One who wants to be the friend of you and I.

Jim Strickland – written Wednesday, 15 June 2011

GLORY IN SUFFERING

Success without some suffering is very seldom seen.

Unless it is inherited by someone like the queen.

How often does that happen? Eight billion to one.

In other words, let’s get it straight. It’s virtually none.

So suffering’s a given. There’s sure to be some pain.

Unless you think you’re better off, if life goes down the drain.

But that is just a cop out. The pain that’s left behind,

Is worse for the survivors. So why be so unkind?

Of course we may avoid it by going on a “trip”

But drugs do far more damage, though some folk say it’s “hip”.

So put aside objections and let’s all face the facts.

For suffering will dog your steps; the “boo’s” as well as “claps”!

But suffering improves us and helps us move ahead.

An athlete doesn’t practise by sleeping in his bed.

He gets down to the stadium at some unearthly hour.

He tries to get a better time and all within his power,

He does and keeps on at it; if he thinks there’s a way,

To win some fancy medal he can look at every day!

Perhaps he’ll get his name down in someone’s record book.

But he will not forget about the effort that it took.

The same is also true today of Christianity.

It takes a lot of effort to be what you can be.

It happens through discipleship by someone in the know.

Someone who’s in training and knows the way to go.

Your “spiritual muscles” you’ll find you have to train.

For living in God’s Kingdom; no pain and there’s no gain!

We know that God has given us His grace and it is free.

But that is at the starting point; the rest is up to thee.

He’ll send His Holy Spirit; the blessed paraclete.

But you must do the work it takes to get to Jesus feet.

It is a competition and Jesus is the prize.

The only way to get to Him is focus on His eyes.

Through hell and through high water is how it’s been expressed.

You’ve got to face right up to it, if you want to be blessed.

Get off your rusty dusty, shape up to what you need.

Break your own pain barrier and let His Spirit lead.

Do not think of quitting. There’s far too much to lose.

Your trainer’s name is Jesus; The King of all the Jews.

Start by rising early. You’ll find it’s for the best.

Get down to your stadium and face up to your test.

Know that you’re in training for the One Who’s done it all.

Beat your body under and be just like St Paul.

Will you go through suffering? There’s much you will endure.

But Jesus Christ is beckoning and you’ll get there for sure.

Jim Strickland – written Tuesday, 14 June 2011

CLOSE THE GAP

The gap between perfection and mediocrity,

Trying to draw closer – impossibility.

At least that’s what it looks like. So can we close the gap,

Between the place we aught to be and our place on God’s map?

There’s lots of ways suggested; and lots who want to try.

The “magic” word is progress for folk like you and I.

But though we change positions, we seem to stay the same.

Just wealthier or poorer as each one plays life’s game.

So are we any better off than ancient stone age man?

Of course we have our gadgets but are we better than,

Our forefathers who lived their lives so many years ago?

I think if we are truthful, the answer must be “No!”

We may have our computers and all they had were bones.

We may have rocket science when all they had were stones.

But do we live a better life? We’re just the same inside.

A mess of selfish lust for power; for sex and greed and pride.

Some thought we were improving; and then the holocaust!

It clearly shows what men can do when evil is endorsed.

The fact is man is fallen. The gap is far too great.

All humanity combined; still no one could create,

A way to make us better, because it’s forged by sin.

There is no cure or remedy to treat the mess we’re in.

It would go on forever unless God intervened.

But what to do to break the grip of an outlandish fiend?

The only way was Jesus, the Saviour of mankind.

He did just what was needed, to break the chains that bind.

He bridged what was unbridgeable; which only He could do,

And made it possible for us to live a life made new!

But that’s not all that Jesus did. He gave us righteousness.

He made it possible for us to live a life like His!

No longer slaves of Satan, but freed from every sin,

Empowered by His Spirit to overcome and win

The battle of the ages. We too are crucified.

We were in Him upon that cross. We died the death He died.

So we can be together. That gap our Lord has closed.

For when our Master rose again, in Him we also rose!

And now He has ascended; He’s seated at God’s side,

Wanting us to join Him and be His precious bride.

And so we have to answer “Yes, much better than before!

We’re free to fellowship with Him and be with God once more.”

Jim Strickland – written Monday, 13 June 2011

TESTED IN ADVANCE

The Christian’s life of service starts when we are ‘born again’.

And many of us wonder what happens to us then.

We think of harps and flowers and wispy fluffy clouds.

Of sitting back relaxing away from all the crowds.

I wonder where this came from? Who started off this tale?

It isn’t in the Bible; look for it and you’ll fail.

The concept of the afterlife is full of crazy notions.

Like Peter at the Pearly gates or prearranged devotions.

But like so many strange ideas that we have all been told,

They cannot be relied upon. It’s junk that’s bought and sold.

The moment we are “born again”, the demons “do their nut”.

They’ve lost their slender grip on us and we become the but,

Of general derision. Our friends think we are mad.

“How could you be a Christian?” They think it’s rather sad.

But as the days go marching by and we’re enthusiastic,

They start to change their words into, “Your faith is only plastic.

Just watch and see what happens. In just a year or two,

You’ll have another change on mind, and then what will you do?”

But what we’re not aware of, within the Spirit realm,

The Holy Spirit’s leading us with Jesus at the helm.

It is the start of testing which will not ever end.

Until we’ve run the race of life as one of Jesu’s friends.

The tests will get much tougher as each day passes by.

Sometimes you’ll feel so horrible you’ll ask if you may die.

It’s certain you will make mistakes. We’re human after all.

And even though the Master is constantly on call,

There’s times you will be headstrong, quite unintention’ly.

And that is when you’ll “bump your nose” most unexpectedly!

These are the normal trials that face us every day.

These are the normal “building blocks” that all of us must lay.

The foundation is Jesus. He never will collapse.

But what you build upon Him will, often make you gasp.

You thought of precious metal like silver or like gold.

And so you laboured ceaselessly. You thought you had been told,

To carry out some project and then, to your dismay,

You find out your material was wood or straw or hay!

Then on the day of judgement He’ll set your work alight.

That’s when you’ll know for certain if you did get it right.

The very precious metals, the fire will purify.

The wood and hay and stubble will burn away and die.

The way to know the difference now is if you start to pray.

Ask the Lord to show you now if this is the right way.

Then all that you’re constructing will be tested in advance.

And nothing will be burned away or simply left to chance.

Jim Strickland – written Sunday, 12 June 2011

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL

From pauper to a palace; it happened in a day.

Joseph was exalted in a very special way.

From palace to a pauper, it wasn’t overnight.

But prodigal’s resources soon vanished out of sight.

It happened fairly quickly. The money was all gone,

It was a major problem for him to carry on.

At last he found employment, to feed a farmer’s hogs.

A job that only should be done by “unclean, gentile dogs”.

A Jew would never do it. For working with the pigs

Was thought of by the Jewish men as far too infra-dig.

The situation humbled him. He had no food to eat.

The only thing was “pig food”; His fall was thus complete.

He came back to his senses. He wanted to return.

To go back to his father; that was his deepest yearn.

His father’s lowest servants were better off than he.

And so he started walking, back to the family.

We are not told the details. The Lord leaves us to guess,

The hardships that he went through to rectify his mess!

How many days it took him, we do not know for sure.

To see his father’s face again. I think he would endure,

Anything and everything. He had one goal in mind.

To get back to his family in spite of what he’d find.

He had his own agenda of what he thought he’d say.

He kept on going through it each step along the way.

“Father, I’m unworthy for you to call me son.

Not in view of all the wicked things that I have done.

Let me be a servant, the lowest of the low.

I will be your bond slave regardless where you go.

How can you forgive me? I cannot put things right.

I’m no longer suitable to pass within your sight.”

There’s one thing he’d overlooked; his father’s love and care.

Yes his father let him go, but father’s inmost prayer,

Was for the prodigal’s return. He’d watched the roads each day,

Longing for his precious son who’d wandered far away.

Scanning the horizon his one wish was to see,

His son returning home to him. How happy he would be.

Now let me tell a secret. I want the world to know.

That prodigal’s identified. The Father let me go.

All that I had was wasted. My future - everything.

I truly had no prospects; There’s nothing I could bring.

All I had was “pig swill”. I stood before his throne,

Naked and unworthy; a sinner to the bone.

And yet the Father welcomed me; received me as His child.

Washed away my wickedness declared me undefiled.

It happened because Jesus exchanged with me His place.

He received my punishment. I received His grace.

Jim Strickland – written Saturday, 11 June 2011