Time with Jesus - Monday, 24 September 2012
Hi all,
Today’s meditation looks at Jesus Christ and what He
has done for you and me. It also gives some information about Charles Wesley
and his extraordinary hymn writing gift. John and his brother Charles have been
two of my heroes since 1960. Our meditation explains this in more detail.
Blessings
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Monday, 24 September 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
|
HE
IS GOD’S SON
|
||||
Let earth and Heaven
combine,
Angels and men agree, To praise in songs divine The incarnate Deity, Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made Man.
He laid His glory by,
He wrapped Him in our clay; Unmarked by human eye, The latent Godhead lay; Infant of days He here became, And bore the mild Immanuel’s Name
Charles
Wesley
I make no apologies for the fact that two of my
Christian heroes are John and his brother Charles Wesley. God used these two
men to begin a revival in England that has not been seen since then. Charles
was born on 18th Dec 1707 in Epworth, England and died on 29th
March 1788 in London. (80 years)
Charles was a gifted hymn writer. It is said he
composed 6000 hymns.
One of his better known hymns included the words, “Our God contracted to a span.
/ Incomprehensibly made Man”.
The second line of today’s poem borrows from this statement.
At the 6:15 Special (18h15) on Sunday 9th October 1960, at
Bainbridge Memorial Methodist Church, in Heaton, Newcastle on Tyne, UK, I
heard the gospel for the first time. To use the expression of John Wesley,
“my heart was strangely warmed”. That was nearly 52 years ago!
This place, date and time, my testimony if you like, is something I’ll
never forget even if I live for another thousand years! Since that date,
apart from several years in a wilderness of my own making, God has allowed me
the privilege of walking with my Saviour and Lord. Thinking back over the
years, I’m still inclined to weep over the fact that He came to save me! Yes,
others as well. But to die for me is still astonishing.
The change in my heart very quickly changed my taste in music and by
the end of 1960, my favourite hymn was one of Charles Wesley’s hymns, “And can it be that I should gain and interest in my
Saviour’s blood”. The verse concludes with the words, “Amazing love, how can it be that Thou my God would die
for me!” All these years later, it still amazes me.
Some have told me that I’ve been given a similar gift to the one the
Lord gave Charles. To be spoken of in the same breath with a man of his
unique God given ability, is to elevate my “doggerel” to heights above anything
I can imagine. It’s a bit like comparing Beethoven with Ringo Starr’s “We all
live in a yellow submarine”. Forever I’ll be in awe of the writings of
Charles Wesley. His hymns are still alive 250 years later. If my verse and
rhyme are still remembered 50 years from now, I’ll be astonished.
Jim Strickland
|
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so
that you by his poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
14 The Word became a human being. He made
his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only
Son. He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 NIrV
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of
men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you
forever.
Psalms 45:2 ESV
22 All the people spoke well of him. They
were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They
said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
Luke 4:22 GW
3 You can do it now that you have tasted
how good the Lord is.
1 Peter 2:3 NIrV
10 Those who believe in the Son of God have
the testimony of God in them. Those who don't believe God have made
God a liar. They haven't believed the testimony that God has given about his
Son.
1 John 5:10 GW
11 I can guarantee this truth: We know what
we're talking about, and we confirm what we've seen. Yet, you don't
accept our message.
John 3:11 GW
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalms 34:8 NIV
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved
among the young men. With great delight I sat in
his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Song of Solomon 2:3 ESV
9 But he said to me, "My grace is all
you need. My power is strongest when you are weak." So I am very
happy to brag about how weak I am. Then Christ's power can rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIrV
7 But each one of us has received a gift of
grace, just as Christ wanted us to have it.
Ephesians 4:7 NIrV
10 As each has received a gift, use it to
serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
|
It really is amazing. The one who
owned it all.
Infinity personified, compressed
Himself so small,
That He could fit with comfort into a
human frame.
To leave behind His riches and never
once complain!
The wealth of the creation; He owned
it all by right.
But He did not hang on to it, He put
it out of sight,
And lived among His creatures, in
abject poverty,
So each and every follower may know
prosperity.
Not so much in money. That was a
bagatelle.
But so that those who loved Him would
not end up in hell.
He came to take our sicknesses,
iniquities and sin.
To fight against the devil; to take
him on and win!
We saw Him in His glory, Mount Hermon
was the place,
Where He was transfigured and light
shone from His face.
We also saw His glory when He was
crucified.
The whole earth seemed to tremble the
instant that He died.
We saw Him in His glory when He walked
out of the tomb.
We saw Him in His glory; in that quiet
upper room
We saw Him in His glory; He was lifted
up on high.
And taken back to heaven, His home up
in the sky.
He didn’t look much different from any
other man.
By He was rather handsome and far more
gracious than,
The people He encountered. He
personified the truth;
And got along with those who were
ill-mannered and uncouth.
We knew that God had blessed Him above
all of His peers.
Some thought He was Messiah for two
and forty years.
He had a joy filled lifestyle, of
great variety,
Mingled with an attitude of utmost
piety.
We “tasted” of His goodness. The
gracious words He said,
Had God’s very power to raise men from
the dead.
He fed men by the thousand from a
little schoolboy’s lunch.
He said the Scribes and Pharisees,
were mostly just a bunch,
Of self-promoting hypocrites whose god
was mainly greed.
Giving an impression of their warped
and misplaced creed.
The Jesus Christ Whom we all loved was
not like that at all.
He healed the ones who came to Him;
all people great or small.
We sat within His shadow; His “fruit”
was sweet to taste.
And when they crucified Him, we all
said, “What a waste”
But now we know that He is God, and
all that He has done,
We bow our heads and worship Him.
Indeed He is God’s son.
Jim Strickland – Written 24th September
2012
|
||||
