Time with Jesus - Sunday, 21 October 2012
Hi all,
Yesterday it was my intention to finalise today’s
meditation when we got home from Klerksdorp. I started but was too tired. So
today’s meditation is a bit behind my schedule.
Today’s meditation draws together the idea that God
wanted to have a bigger family. There may be a better reason for the creation
of man, Perhaps you do? So I’ve drawn several strings together to produce what
is now before you.
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Blessings,
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Monday, 22 October 2012
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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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ON
TRACK
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When we start thinking about God, most of us give up
very quickly. We struggle with anything that is infinite. How can we begin to
cope with such huge dimensions? We also find that when we begin thinking, we
find our minds not big enough to cope with an infinite intellect. By way of
illustration, in 1992, Phyllida and I moved to Worcester in the Cape. We were
there to work for the Methodist Church. Now I’ve been using computers since
1985. That’s when I bought my first one. I wanted it for writing purposes at
home and at work. I bought the most up to date computer available at that
time. After switching it on and listened to its whirring noises I was
smitten. The screen said “Press anykey” I couldn’t find it. But with perseverance
I began to find my way round the DOS system.
Shortly thereafter, a good friend of mine sent me a
copy of Word Star. From that time on, my proficiency on the thing increased
rapidly. More than that. I was well and truly hooked. The computer was slow but
fast enough for my purposes. But the speed issue became a bit of a problem.
So I thought I’d spoil myself with a bigger hard drive. So we drove over the
mountain to Paarl. That’s where I bought a 100Mb hard drive. This should last
me about 20 years, I thought. Then came 1995 and with it, windows 95 from
Microsoft. One look, and it was all over. I had to have this new piece of electronic
wizardry. I think I was among the first 100 people to buy it in
Worcester. Then I was introduced to MS
Office. It was installed and I found to my horror, my computer was short of
memory and hard disk space. It was difficult to explain to Phyllida. It may
have helped if I had been able to explain it to myself! All this meant I had
to get a bigger hard drive with more memory. The solution was to buy a new
computer with a faster processor. It was a 386 processor. By then I was getting
to be something of a techno-junkie. This yearning for all things “computotronic”
was not confined to me alone. It was rapidly being taken up by my
grandchildren. In a very little time I found that they know more about it
than me. We would talk about 12 year old “modem-burier’s who could install a
new modem in a computer in about 5 minutes flat. Then came LAN’s, WAN’s, wireless
connections, extended memory, laptops, flash drives, and a host of other
things far beyond my own ability. Technology had left me behind. I’ve realised
that there is so much out there, I can’t start up to date.
In a small way, my lack of computer knowledge
resembles the knowledge difference between the Lord and creatures He made.
When I’m told that most people use less than 5% of their brain capacity, I
start to wonder. Would God start us off with some form of a lobotomy? But it
is possible that the fall seriously affected our brain power. What would we
be like if 100% was in use? Don’t ask me. But if God’s intention was to have
a bigger family, could it be that when we get our resurrection bodies, we
will have 100% use of our brains restored? Whether that would be sufficient
to squeeze all the knowledge of God into the mind of one man is debatable.
But it is clear that we will have a lot to learn and infinity in front of us to
learn it. God has made it clear that we are the bride of Christ. We are
members of that species He planned would increase the size of His family. Is
that possible? What do you think?
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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19 The LORD has established his throne in
heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Psalms 103:19 TNIV
33 We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines
how they fall.
Proverbs 16:33 NLT
6 When someone blows a trumpet in a city, don't the people tremble with
fear? When trouble comes to a city, hasn't the
LORD caused it?
Amos 3:6 NIrV
5 I am the LORD, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6
that people may know, from the rising of
the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and
there is no other. 7 I form
light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the
LORD, who does all these things.
Isaiah 45:5-7 ESV
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to
him, "What have you done?"
Daniel 4:35 ESV
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Romans 8:31 NLT
25 For Christ must reign until He humbles
all His enemies beneath His feet.
1 Corinthians 15:25 NLT
32 "So don't be afraid, little flock.
For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.
Luke 12:32 NLT
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The fellowship experienced twixt
Father and the Son,
And with the Holy Spirit, was such a
lot of fun.
It was so delightful, with such a
sense of peace,
They felt there should be more of them;
and membership increase.
But what to do about it? The family
was three.
We could make it bigger and grow exponentially.
We could make a creature who if
properly designed,
Could come and join our circle when suitably
refined.
They could be the “children” whom we
would most enjoy.
Made within our image not some mechanistic
toy.
Now Father, Son and Spirit, are
infinitely smart.
They knew they were preparing a being
who’d be part,
Of what all three were seeking. And so
they’d start from scratch!
Creation wasn’t difficult; but there
was still a catch.
Freewill was a problem; the right to
pick and choose;
Obedience was wanted; and yet it could
refuse!
There’d have to be a factor, that came
from up above,
Embroidered in its nature; a capacity
to love.
Love would be the hallmark included in
the plan.
A tender-hearted conscience, embedded
in their “man”
This wasn’t quite as simple, as I have
made it seem.
Nor was it just a figment of some high
and lofty dream.
The creature must be capable of
marriage to God’s Son.
How would this be possible? How would
it be done?
There’d have to be a system; a brand
new paradigm,
Comprising space and matter developed
over time.
They wondered what to call it. Perhaps
a universe,
Of suns and moons and planets; a
system so diverse,
And yet interconnected and governed by
the laws,
Which they would have to integrate in
spite of minor flaws.
How about a “cosmos” They thought the
word was right.
So they began creating and said, “Let
there be light!”
How long did all this take them? The
scientists don’t know.
Some think about nine billion years could
be a little slow.
The last thing was a garden in which
He put a man.
And from that point in History, God’s
problems first began.
Adam had been given the right to turn
away.
And that is just what Adam did when
Satan came to stay.
Was it a catastrophe on a gigantic
scale?
Yes! But God expected it, and knew it wouldn’t
fail.
Every possibility was worked out in
advance.
Nothing had been overlooked, or left
to follow chance.
So Father looked at Spirit and Spirit looked
at Son!
They smiled and said, the plan has worked;
soon Satan’s days are done!
Jim Strickland
Written 22nd October 2012 |
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