CREATION

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 05 June 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation looks at the creation. It describes in brief the creation of Adam and goes on to make a couple of imaginative assumptions.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 05 June 2012			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	CREATION
There is a huge difference between questioning God and asking Him questions. The issue here is challenging His authority. By way of explanation I’ll illustrate from my own experience with my father. In his own special way, my father loved me and in my own special way I loved, respected and held him high regard. I suspect most of us know what I mean because of their relationship with their fathers and sons. Whatever we did as a family, my dad made the final decision. Of course my mom and I had an input into his decision. But when it was taken, there was no further argument considered. If I moaned and groaned, Dad would deal with me appropriately. As I grew older, the more He valued my opinion. But the final decision was his. He would “truck” no challenge to his authority. To question that authority was a “no-no”. On the other hand he loved my asking him questions. He would do his best to explain comprehensively. When I could add anything to the subject, he more than welcomed it. I was not challenging his authority. It was a quiet chat between a father and son. On reflection, these were precious moments that happened all too infrequently. In many ways, our dealings with the Lord are similar. He is omniscient. He takes pleasure in helping us with questions. The best example I can think of was an Afro-American called George Washington Carver. (January 1864 – January 5, 1943) He became a Christian at the age of 10. He prayed and asked the Lord to please help him unlock the secrets of the peanut. Progressively over the years this is exactly what happened. Carver explored peanut and many other related technologies. Carver was not challenging God. He was asking God questions. The result is that God delighted to answer him. Today, the world has more or less adopted Darwin’s theory. What has happened is that the world has rejected creationism. In this they have challenged God. As a result more and more people have turned from the light of God into the darkness of human imagination. Those who choose to continue with this will be allowed to continue doing so. Paul expressed it as follows: 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. Romans 1:22 NLT Read Romans 1:18-2, you will find the process described in detail. Does it matter if unbelievers unite against anything the Lord has said? Paul states in Romans 3:4 “Let God be true and every human being a liar”. So what really happened? Why did God create man? None of us have the complete answer. I certainly don’t pretend to understand the thinking of the Almighty. What I’ve put together is a possible scenario explaining what creation was all about and fitting it into what we know of the creation story. It happens to be my own opinion which has been strongly influenced by the teachings of David Pawson. In particular I am taken with his reason for the entire creation. He states that God so enjoyed fellowship with His Son and the Holy Spirit, He thought He would like a bigger family. In other words, everything He did culminated in the creation of Adam. It has also been suggested that He was looking for a “bride” for His Son. I’ve “cobbled these ideas together” and come up with the scenario described in the poetry section on the right. Am I correct? Perhaps some of it is correct. To what extent, is not important. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			14 For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Psalms 103:14 NLT 7 Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person. Genesis 2:7 NLT 14 I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skilfully woven in an underground workshop. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was only a foetus. Every day of my life was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place. Psalms 139:14-16 GW 10 Don't we all come from one Father? Aren't we all created by the same God? So why can't we get along? Why do we desecrate the covenant of our ancestors that binds us together? Malachi 2:10 MSG 28 "For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:28 TNIV 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. Psalms 103:13 ESV 38 Yet He was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times He held back His anger and did not unleash His fury! 39 For He remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns. Psalms 78:38-39 NLT	We’ve no idea how long it’s been since God began creation. The trouble is, it’s subject to our human speculation. Put it to the scientists and they do not agree. If that’s the case, there’s not much point in people asking me. But I am a Creationist. I’ve put my faith in God! And many people think that I am something rather odd. But I will not apologise; my faith in Him is sure. And all the things that He has made continue to endure. But where do people come from? Not from a ball of slime! The Darwinists suggest they do.  But that’s a waste of time. To say that we are here because of purely random chance. Is something like our teaching pigs the skills to ballroom dance. The one way it could happen is intelligent design. Another way of saying it was done by the Divine. He tells us how He did it. By using mud and clay. He squeezed it all together in a rather special way. He moulded it collectively and shaped it like a man. Then breathed the breath of life in it. That’s how it all began. I don’t know how He did it; not scientifically. But that is what He told us and that’s good enough for me. Adam was the reason why creation had begun! Father, Son and Spirit were having so much fun, They thought that They would like to have a bigger family. And all of the creation was so that this thought could be. Then, step by step and year by year, they put it all in place, Until the Lord of heaven looked at Adam in the face. But only just one person, could not possibly suffice. They thought a “bride” for Jesus was surely very nice. And since the Lord is infinite, they needed quite a few. His bride would be a composite of folk like me and you. I do not know how many. The number’s been concealed. But some day in the future, all will be revealed. Then you and I will constitute the bride whom He will wed, Along with the believers who’ve risen from the dead. Jesus will be bridegroom and we will be His bride. And all the gender issues the Lord will put aside. Will the Holy Trinity increase and number four? It’s only supposition. We don’t know any more. Will the bride and bridegroom bring forth a family? I honestly can’t tell you with any certainty. But this one thing is certain. Where Jesus is adored, Nothing is impossible as Jesus Christ’s reward. Jim Strickland  Written 5th June 2012.

THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Time with Jesus - Monday, 04 June 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is about righteousness. ¹⁰ I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For He (God) has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 NLT Is the verse on which the meditation is based and the introduction is about, justification, sanctification and glorification.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 04 June 2012			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	THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
There are several words used in Theology that were written by theologians for theologians for theological discussion. Mere mortals look at such words as though scalded by boiling water. Three of these words are Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. Why these words are still used, boggles the mind. My suspicion is that in those days when ordinary men were not given access to the Bible; only the clergy were permitted to read it! Laymen could never understand it anyway!. Frankly, I dislike “gob-stoppers” like these. I think they are a carry-over from those evil days. So for my own and other people’s benefit, I’d like to attempt to put what these words mean into plain English. Justification means to be made righteous and thus in right standing with God. An easy way to put it is to look at the word “justify” and its three syllables. - Just; if and I (y) This is not exactly correct, but it’s adequate for our purpose. I’m not looking for a definition which is accurate to twenty decimal places. There is an expression which was popular among the coal miners of the North East of England. When they were asked about a measurement they would give an answer and say, Aye, that’s nigh enough for pit-work. Translated it means that the dimension was sufficiently accurate for their purposes. You don’t measure a barn door with a micrometre. All that’s needed is a measuring tape. Look again at the syllables and say; “Just as if I”. So when God looks at me, He sees me “just as if I’d never sinned”! How does that happen? In a way we will never understand. Jesus suffered and died upon that cross in your place and my place. Then we traded places. He took all my sinfulness and gave me all His righteousness. He did so, by covering me with a robe of righteousness. It doesn’t sound “fair” does it? But God never was and never will be “fair”; it was His idea. Now we all know that salvation is a process. It’s not something that happened on a particular date and continues indefinitely. In other words we are all in the process of being “saved”, We have to “overcome” to “persevere” until the end. It’s a paradox. When we commit our lives to Jesus we receive His salvation and His righteousness. The only way we can lose it is by deliberate and unrepentant sin. But it can be lost. So from the date of our initial salvation, (justification) it is necessary for us to walk day by day in the power of His Holy Spirit. This too is a process. It’s the process of being sanctified (made holy) by God. Now here’s a paradox. For those who persevere to the end, it will be true to say that they were saved on the day they made that first commitment and were justified. For those who don’t, it will be the same as if they had never started. From the date of being justified until the end of life we will be going through the sanctification process and becoming more and more like Jesus. Growing in grace and the knowledge of God. Glorification will take place when we receive our resurrection bodies. At that point we will be like Him in all His glory. Exactly where God in His wisdom wanted us to be when He began with creation. Now here’s the best part. All this will have been achieved, not by our own ability, but by His love and grace. If we have done anything, it will be nothing more than follow the instructions of His Holy Spirit. Thus every bit of the process from justification to glorification will be His doing. I like this enormously. My presence there will be the consequence of all of what He has done and none of mine. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:12-14 ESV 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9 NLT 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: Romans 3:22 KJV 10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 NLT 16 I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Psalms 71:16 NASB 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! Ephesians 5:8 NLT 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Ephesians 5:11 NLT 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light." 15 So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Ephesians 5:13-15 NLT	When first I came to Jesus, just after I was “saved”, I started to be bothered about how I behaved. Being “saved” was wonderful. I tried to get things right. I didn’t know how difficult that I would find the fight. “Just give your life to Jesus. He will take care of you. That’s all that is required and all you need to do.” It sounded very simple. I thought it was a breeze. I thought I could be Christian and live a life of ease! It only took a few short weeks for me to realise, That it was far from easy in anybody’s eyes. I don’t know what persuaded me to keep on keeping on. But I had burned my bridges; the former things were gone. There must be a solution. Who else has found this out? My faith began to falter and I began to doubt. That’s when I met a person who’d walked the Christian road. A man whom I could share with to ease this heavy load. And then he told me something I couldn’t understand. He said that I was “righteous” the way the Lord had planned. I thought that he was crazy. He wasn’t meaning me. The thought of being righteous. How could that ever be? He said that being righteous was included in the deal. That’s how the Father saw me, regardless how I feel. I thought that he was joking. I thought it wasn’t true. I felt about as righteous as a monkey in the zoo! He then said that salvation was only just the start. And all of Jesus’ righteousness to me He would impart! I didn’t understand it. He’d saved me from my sin. But what about the ugliness I found deep down within? If He had made me righteous, how come it didn’t show? He said I wear it as a robe into which I must grow. The righteousness He’d given me was draped around my frame. He said that I was wearing it in Christ my Saviour’s Name. The Living God could look at me and see what I’d become. The picture of perfection acquired from Christ His Son. Since He sees the beginning and also sees the end. If He saw me as Righteous, on that I could depend. I don’t know how He does it. I have to theorise And try and have a look at me through God the Father’s eyes. I found I was forgiven for He had paid the price. That He had been the offering, the perfect sacrifice. And we had traded places so when God looked at me, The righteousness of Jesus Christ was all that He could see. I know it sounds incredible and too good to be true. But that is how He looks at me and how He looks at you For when you are a Christian you want that robe to be, The robe of Christ the Saviour and the robe of you and me! Jim Strickland Written 4th June 2012

THE NAME GAME

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 03 June 2012

Hi all,

What’s in a name? Far more than we realise. We often “dump” a name on a baby with very little thought. It’s a nice name so that’s what the baby’s name will be. Be very careful. In many cases the baby will grow up into an expression of that name. Names are powerful; more powerful than we know. Today we meditate on names and naming.

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 03 June 2012			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	THE NAME GAME
Names can be terribly embarrassing and difficult to live with. My wife Phyllida was given the name by her parents. The name means “green leaf” and since she was born in the Spring, it seemed appropriate to them at the time. I know her mother was “into” Shakespeare and this may be where they found it. The problem was that it was so unusual. She had to say it, repeat it and spell it to everyone she met. When I first met her, all I had heard was the name spoken by others. So one of my earliest Christian poems was dedicated to “Fillador”; “Filly” for short! I have been forgiven. Another danger is the reading of initials. Bernice, Agatha Gladstone gives rise to BAG as initials. Not a nice name for an attractive and virtuous young woman. It would be a disaster if Mr and Mrs Thomas named their son Stephan, Horatio, Ignatius or even Basil Andrew! Some of us may well remember the Johnny Cash song, “A boy named Sue”. An example of what happens when children are given “difficult” names. In Scripture, the child was given a name which was, in a sense, prophetic. A case in point is the name David. The name means “Beloved”. He is now remembered as the “beloved king of Israel” who was also God’s beloved. It’s an interesting exercise to examine the names given to Jacob’s twelve sons. In a miraculous way, these names described the character and behaviour of the recipient. In these cases you will find that the mother gave the name to their baby when they were born and the names represented something the mother knew or experienced at the time. One of the most poignant of these was Rachel’s second son. She died in childbirth and wanted to call him Benoni – son of my sorrow. Her husband overruled her and called him “Benjamin” – son of my right hand. Benjamin grew to be exactly what his name depicted; Jacob’s favourite whom he was reluctant to let out of his sight. He finally allowed it only when he was under great stress to feed his family. Her first son, Joseph (increase or addition) became Pharaoh’s Prime Minister. The story of how he came to be in Egypt and became Prime Minister is legendary. Because of this, Jacob and family went to Egypt and multiplied to the point where they became a great nation. We often find that the Lord tests us on the names we choose. For example if you choose to call your church, “Agape’” He will test your church’s love for members and outsiders. Jack Hayford knew all about this when his assembly began to increase in numbers. They collectively agreed to call themselves, “The Church on the Way”. By implication, they hadn’t arrived and were seeking to follow the will of God. Frankly I like this idea. None of us have arrived. We are seeking to be like Him. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am El-Shaddai--'God Almighty.' Serve Me faithfully and live a blameless life. Genesis 17:1 NLT 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 ESV 24 Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him. Genesis 5:24 MSG 18 Grow in the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Get to know him better. Give him glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 NIrV 18 As all of us reflect the Lord's glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 GW 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, John 17:1 ESV 15 I'm not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. John 17:15 NLT 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. John 17:23 NASB	Names were most important way back in Bible days. There wasn’t a Samantha; no Clint’s and not a Bae  (This is a name) Their names were the description of what they’d surely be. They also seemed to get it right and that’s whom you would see. Jacob meant “deceiver” And they sure got that right. He cheated and he tricked his way from everyone in sight. But he became the victim when he came to take a wife. When he awoke next morning, a big shock in his life! He’d wed the ugly sister! By then it was too late. He had to marry both of them; a somewhat cruel fate. With them and with their handmaiden who were his concubines, He had a daughter and twelve sons, the heads of family lines. We could go through his offspring and speak about their names. But space prevents this happening and we’d be playing games. Now when it came to Father God Who’s “Name” we do not know, Moses had a problem when the bush gave off its glow. When he asked, What Your Name is, “I AM” is what God said; For I AM God Almighty of the living and the dead. Whatever you are wanting, “I AM” all you need The Everlasting Holy One Who can do any deed. The ages will all come and go, but I remain the same. You never will define Me by giving Me a Name. It isn’t a coincidence, we are the same today, Our names define a person, no matter what men say. Upon my birth certificate is written Ernest, James. Ernest is appropriate, that’s what my family claims. And James denotes a cheater. And that was very true. It’s only Jesus in my life changed what I used to do! So please be very gentle when It comes to naming kids. Perhaps the names you give them will put them on the skids. Jacob got a new name. God called him “Israel” A prince who has prevailed with God. This name went down quite well. I’d also like a new one. But what should that name be? A name that shows my character and what men ought to see? A name that’s short for “bond slave of Jesus Christ my King”. I’ve scratched my head and pondered, but don’t know anything, That is a bit more suitable. But Ernest was my dad. So I’ve been known as Jimmy since I was just a lad. Perhaps now he’s departed that’s what I ought to pick? Not Clint nor Finn nor Akwell; not Yaegan, Grant nor Mick. But I have grown accustomed to answering to Jim. It satisfied my forebears; I hope it pleases Him! Jim Strickland Written 3rd June 2012