TAKE THE DAY

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 22 March 2012

Hi all,

We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This statement is supposed to originate with King Solomon. ¹⁰ Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Proverbs 9:10 NLT This is true. Only in God can we find wisdom.

Solomon is sometimes spoken of as the wisest man who ever lived. Sadly, he appears to have been a womaniser. ³ He (Solomon) had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. 1 Kings 11:3 NLT There doesn’t seem much wisdom in that. For most men, one wife is more than enough. How do you live with 1000 women simultaneously? Where is the time to marry 1000 wives? If he had married one wife or taken one concubine every day it would have taken 2.74 years. That somehow does not encourage the idea that Solomon was the epitome of wisdom.

One statement he made recorded in Ecclesiastes was very wise. ⁹ Whatever has happened before will happen again. Whatever has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 GW This statement had nothing to do with science and technology. It is also very comforting. In essence it means that Satan has nothing up his sleeve. He cannot invent a new form of temptation. He’s stuck with the ones he has. Sadly, that seems more than sufficient for his evil purposes.

It also means that the examples we have in our collective past can be equally efficacious today. So we can be confident that what God has said is sure to happen. Also, what He has said to previous generations could well apply to us today.

The implications for us today are that situations similar to that faced by Gideon are possible today. Gideon was hiding in a winepress from the raiding Midianites. He was beating wheat so that he could get food for himself and his family. His prospects looked bleak. He didn’t think he could stand up to the Midianites. God knew otherwise. Not because of Gideon’s ability but because He would undertake for Gideon. Gideon had a part to play. That part was to do what God told him to do.

What is so encouraging about this is simple. Gideon may be dead and buried. God is not. What He did for Gideon and His people He can do for us. The real question is whether or not we are listening for Him. Try looking over your shoulder. You may be surprised.

Today’s meditation looks at the wisdom of man and the assurance from the Lord. Whom do you believe?

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Take the Day

Men are realistic. That’s always been the case. We like to know before-hand, the problems we could face. It’s hard to fight an army whom none of us can see. How do we defend against invisibility? Do we use machine guns, an axe, a sword, or tanks? Which way do we send them? Are they Brits, or Yanks? Can we use our archers and arrows tipped with fire? This is information we essentially require. Where to send our forces? Behind us or before? But fighting men in hiding! Please don’t go through that door. We tried it in Afghanistan and also in Iraq. But how can we protect against a suicide attack? We need someone to shoot at. But if they are not there. We can only get help if we will turn to God in prayer! We’ve heard all of these arguments for many, many years. But let us put away these thoughts and all our other fears. Concentrate on righteousness in all we say and do. And we will find in everything, He always will be true. He’s said He’ll never leave us. This truth is guaranteed, If we follow justice and go where He will lead. He has never failed us and He will do once more, The things that He has promised and He has done before. Perhaps you are a Gideon and you are beating wheat, Somewhere in a winepress to get enough to eat. Perhaps you are a-tremble, the enemy is near. All is done in secret, in quietness and fear. But take a look behind you and see Who’s standing there. You didn’t spot Him earlier, while blinded with your care. Then He says, “Mighty warrior” and looks you in the eye. “Is that me You’re talking to?” You ask Him with a sigh. “If only it was possible. If only it was true” That’s when the Lord said, “Gideon, I’m speaking unto you. You’re the one I’ve chosen to beat your enemy. I will do the fighting. Just listen unto Me. Your enemies are handed over right into your hands. You will lead the army and smash their evil bands. You will save your people by the power of My might. Do just what I tell you and you will see the sight, Of being liberated in a way you’ll never guess. Go and lead your people right out of the mess. You’re My Mighty warrior; your people are all Mine. You are in the presence of the One Who is Divine. I will make it happen. You needn’t be in fear. They may be invisible; but I am drawing near. So My son, take courage; march forward to the fray. You will be victorious, for I will take the day.” Jim Strickland  Written Thursday 22nd March 2012.

HIS FAITHFUL LOVE ENDURES FOREVER

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Hi all,

I’d like to share a couple of thoughts about today’s Scriptures; particularly Psalm 136. These are only thoughts and may well be incorrect. But sometimes it’s worth stimulating thoughts in order to understand more clearly.

In the New International readers Version (NIrV), in Psalm 136, nine times the Psalmist directs us to give thanks. Twenty six times he states that God’s love endures forever. ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love continues forever. Psalm 136:26 NIrV.

Like the Psalm, no matter how short or long our lives may be, we find God’s steadfast love at the beginning and at the end. We also find that, as is the case in the Psalm, we begin life giving thanks to God. We should end the same way; by giving thanks to God. In between there is life – our life.

A generation is thought of as being ±25 years. It’s only a rough guess. In a family, from the birth of the father to the birth of his son is ±25 years. Now our Psalm has 26 lines. What I like about this is we can see this Psalm applies to every generation! May I suggest that this Psalm also speaks to every individual in every generation? i.e. We are all able to personalise it! We don’t live forever, God does. His faithful love spans all our generations. It also spans each year of each generation. He is faithful – equally faithful to all our generations.

Notice also that the Psalm starts with giving thanks and ends with giving thanks. Furthermore, throughout the Psalm and throughout our lives it is appropriate to give thanks to Him. We should begin life giving Him thanks and no matter how long we live, we need to conclude life giving Him thanks.

Today’s meditation bemoans the fact that our lifespan is limited. Biblically we are allotted 70years. 80 years if we are strong enough. We only have one chance in life. No Matter where we are or what we do, keep in mind that this is not a dress rehearsal. In these few years we determine our eternal destiny. We come into this world naked and leave much the same.

According to Shakespeare; life is “a walking shadow ……. signifying nothing”. But death is not the end! There is life after life. Life with God made possible by Jesus! God planned it before you and I ever saw the light of day. God changes shadows into reality. Furthermore, God is our Creator. He specialises in making something out of nothing. He has a destiny for His people; a destiny that staggers our imagination. So let’s give thanks to Him. His faithful love continues forever!

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

His Faithful love Endures forever

We only have one lifetime in which to do it all. A strong man has some eighty years before death comes to call. Our time is very limited. It goes by in a flash. A bit like our athletics in the hundred metres dash. There goes the starter’s pistol and each of us is born. We reach the finish ribbon and from this world we’re torn. We really do not have the time for us to make mistakes. Then we do something stupid and sin within us wakes. That’s when the chance is over to get to God Most High. Our actions have condemned us and we all have to die. Of course we’re disappointed that it all came down to this. But just one little tiny sin and death we cannot miss. We think that it’s “game over” the message tells us “tilt” Then we are very grateful that Jesus’ blood was spilt. It is the one way possible to know the Father’s love. His faithfulness continues and reaches high above. Since Jesus came and paid the price for each and every sin. We now have what is needed for us to enter in. His love endures forever. He will not let us down. The Lord gave me His righteousness and lets me wear a crown. He’s overlooked rebellion and wickedness in me It’s by His grace He does this and it is ours for free. The cost to us was nothing. But grace is never cheap. It’s by His endless mercy His blessings we may reap. It cost the Saviour everything. He even had to die. He suffered for our sinfulness and here’s the reason why. Mankind was truly helpless. We couldn’t get away. We were the slaves of Satan. With him we had to stay. Just because our ancestor did what he shouldn’t do! All of his successors had fallen with him too. But Christ knew all about it before the worlds were made. His cross was predetermined; the foundation was laid, For Him to come and rescue us and be our Great High Priest. And He could be the Saviour of the greatest and the least. So even in our sufferings, when we had lost all hope, He knew what He was doing and was certain He could cope! And so he brought us comfort; our greatest fears allayed. And by His willing sacrifice, our debt to God was paid. Jim Strickland  Written Wednesday 21st March 2012.

MY FAVOURED SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 20 March 2012

Hi all,

Genesis is a marvellous book. It’s the book of beginnings. David Pawson’s observation was that if it wasn't there, the Bible would begin with slaves in Egypt. How or why, would be something we could hardly even guess.

For me, Genesis is the best book in the Old Testament. It takes us from before creation. I love the vast panorama of history. The characters are so real. They were no more perfect than you or me. They made mistakes and have the appearance of a human touch. When Noah came out of the ark, he planted a vineyard and promptly got drunk. Abraham was afraid of the Egyptian Pharaoh. So he let them take his wife into Pharaoh’s harem. He lied and said she was his sister! Jacob was a liar and a cheat. Today we would say that he was a hustler or a conman. No one would want to buy a used car from a man like Jacob. He ended up with two wives, two concubines, twelve sons and a daughter. God radically changed him and gave him the name, “Israel”.

One summary states that Genesis begins in the heavens before the Garden of Eden and ends with a coffin in Egypt. It covers more time than all the rest of the Scripture combined. It is called the seed plot of the Bible. Virtually every other book has a flash-back to Genesis. The book of Revelation has several references to Genesis. So there is a sense in which all the Bible is founded on this amazing book.

Today’s meditation begins with a reference to one of the most tragic comments in Biblical history. ⁵ God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil--evil, evil, evil from morning to night. ⁶ God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. ⁷ God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds--the works. I'm sorry I made them." Gen 6:5-7 MSG

It’s hard to imagine how wicked the people were for God to state He was sorry He made them. According to the ages of the respective antediluvians, it took place about 1600 years after the creation of Adam. In other word from the fall of man to when mankind became totally depraved was in the order of 1500 years. This was all the time Satan needed to achieve this.

Today’s meditation is in the form of a discussion between God and a man; perhaps you or me. It focuses on what God saw prior to the flood. It then traces the difference between keeping the law and salvation by grace through being faithful to the Lord. It concludes with the realisation that it is only in Jesus Christ that we can be accepted into the family of God.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

My Favoured Sons and Daughters

The Bible’s saddest Scripture is found in Genesis.   (Gen 6:5) Is anything more tragic than what we see in this? The thoughts of man were evil. There wasn’t any break. The Lord was grieved He’d made them. “It’s more than I should take! I’ll blot them out completely; all men and birds and beasts. I never should have made them; from greatest to the least”. But then He looked at Noah; and Noah made Him pleased. And when God thought about this, His anger was appeased. How does a man find favour in the eyes of God Most High? There is a way to do it, if only we will try. The secret’s to be faithful, obedient and true; To do what is expected, from the likes of me and you. We know that it’s impossible for us to keep the law. But rather that we understand what it was given for. God knows we cannot keep it. He knew that we would try. That we would break it frequently, before our time to die. So law was not our answer. That really is a shame. But there is still one answer. To call on Jesus’ Name. To trust in Christ the Saviour, to give His righteousness, To swap it for our sinful lives and utter wickedness. “But isn‘t that immoral? I’m sure it isn’t fair. I get all His joyfulness and He gets my despair! It’s so much more than I deserve. The mess that I am in, Was brought about because of my intense desire to sin! I know I cannot change it. But Father God Most High; Your Son was far too excellent to take my place and die”. “My son, I know the problem. I knew it from the start. Before the world was ever made, I knew in My heart. There had to be a better way for you to be with Me. And Jesus Christ, My only Son, complied implicitly. He knew you were imperfect, you couldn’t keep the law. And if He came and died for you; that He could do no more. And now He makes this promise; if you will faithfully, Walk in what He’s done for you, then you will certainly, Receive from me forgiveness. Because He took your place; And was the representative of all the human race! Then, anyone who trusts in Him, will be a child of Mine; My favoured sons and daughters through Jesus Christ Divine!” Jim Strickland  Written Tuesday 20th March 2012

UTTERLY DEPENDABLE

Time with Jesus - Monday, 19 March 2012

Hi all,

Psalm 119 is awesome. It’s a wisdom psalm. It’s an acrostic of praise about God’s Word. An acrostic is very difficult to write. In English we would have 26 lines. Each successive line begins with the next letter of our alphabet. It’s a daunting task. Now Psalm 119 has 176 lines. It is divided up into 22 parts. Each part begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Thus we have eight lines beginning with the letter “Aleph”. This is followed by eight lines beginning with the letter “Beth”. Thus they use the entire Hebrew alphabet. The NIV indicates this by using the phonetic for each successive Hebrew letter. We have to bear in mind that Hebrew poetry is unlike traditional English poetry. We talk about rhyme and metre. Hebrew poetry is different. There is insufficient space to elaborate on this. Even so, this psalm is a masterpiece.

What is important here is Psalm 119’s focus on God’s Word. Reading it gives the impression that the accuracy and reliability of God’s Word is paramount. As Christians we need to have the same attitude toward the Bible. Liberal Scholars tend to approach the Bible with a pair of scissors. They cut out everything that doesn’t appeal to their reason. It seems that they regard the rational mind is greater than God’s Word!

One of the questions we are often asked is how do we know that the Bible is God’s Word? It’s a fair question. How do we answer it? We can’t call God to the bar of human logic. It has been written and we are not compelled to accept it as God’s Word. What we can do is test it for veracity. This has been done by many scholars. It hasn’t failed the test.

I’m reminded of a story told by Dr Ken Stewart when I was in Bible School 30 years ago. He stated that he went to seminary to prove God’s Word was true. To his amazement he shared a room with a man who had gone to seminary to prove that God’s Word was not true. He added that neither of them succeeded. Then Dr Ken decided he would accept it as true. That’s when it started working for him.

In my early days as I Christian I was faced with the same problem. Was the Bible really God’s Word? Like Dr Ken, I was unable to prove it. Then, when I started to believe it, everything fell into place. That’s when I realised that God isn’t impressed with unbelief. He has no need to prove Himself. The epistle to the Hebrews makes the very clear. ⁶ It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Heb 11:6 MSG When I started to believe that the Bible is God’s Word, veracity was no longer an issue.

Now, when I’m being challenged on this issue or and other faith issue, I have a standard reply. “I believe”. No man or woman can gainsay it. No matter what they say, my reply is “I believe”. “But you’re an arrogant, dogmatic, fundamentalist, idiot!” “I believe!” No apology is necessary. “I believe”, is all we need!”

Today’s meditation is on God’s Word. What it means to me and what this belief has done for me.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Utterly Dependable

Veracity; veracity is what we truly need! Without it, can we ever tell if on it we can feed? It has to be dependable! The Word of God - No less! For everything that comes from man, will curse and never bless! So how can we be certain the Bible is God’s Word? It has to be consistent and all of it occurred, At some time in our history that we can verify. If it’s a “fairy story”, it’s no more than a lie. It has to be consistent and it’s inerrancy, Confirmed in every aspect, throughout all history. In cannot be just guesswork; it must be guaranteed! It has to be reliable in each and every deed. It must include a future that only God could know. It must describe each incident correctly, blow by blow. It must contain correction; so we need not go wrong. It has to bring encouragement, to help us to be strong. It must speak of the places we can identify. It has to bring us laughter. It aught to make us cry. We have to know for certain that all who wrote it down, Were not some raving lunatics or some celestial clown! It has to bring us comfort; it has to bring us hope! It has to show it’s possible that somehow we can cope. It has to touch our spirit, our body and our mind. It has to give us guidance and never leave us blind. We have to know that others have found these qualities; And that we can be like them. We can’t complain at these! It has to show relationships within this world of men, Can also be repeated. Not only now and then, But with a certain confidence that if in Him we trust, We will not be discarded or thrown outside to rust. It must have all these qualities and many, many more. It must reveal a Saviour Whom people can adore. It has to give us confidence that right up to the end, We have a God on whom we can forevermore depend. My brothers and my sisters, for over fifty years, God’s Holy Word, the Bible, has brought me joy and tears! I’ve found that it’s dependable far more than I can say. Not once, but through the many years, right up until today! It’s been the central bastion of all I’ve sought to do. And every single word of it’s proved absolutely true. No longer can I doubt it. For Christ has done for me, Far more than I can think about, or estimate, or see. Jim Strickland  Written Monday 19th March 2012