ENDLESS COMMITMENT

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 09 December 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation looks at covenant in general and the marriage covenant in particular. To deal with this topic adequately would take far more space than is available here. So let’s say that this is perhaps the foreword for such a tome. If this excites you as much as it excited us over 30 years ago, we encourage you to begin delving into a covenant relationship instituted by God. Sadly, many Christians today are unfamiliar with this.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 09 December 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	ENDLESS COMMITMENT
Phyllida and I have both been divorced. Subsequently we met and married. It’s not something we are proud of. It’s a statement of fact. We believe that at the root of ours and every other divorce is sin; this combined with youthful ignorance. During adolescent years we know what is right and wrong regardless of the opinions of others, God included! So we married and later broke covenant with our former spouse. Marriage was under attack by Satan and his cronies. It still is. God hates divorce and from personal experience, we also hate it. One reason is it makes a mockery of covenant commitment. We grew up knowing the Bible was in two “parts”; the Old and New Testaments, often called the Old and New Covenants. The associated significance was more or less unknown. We knew divorce was wrong, but had no idea why. Our initial years as Christians did nothing to address our ignorance. If we were asked why divorce was wrong we would say naively, “because God said so”! A good reason, but not an explanation. Then as we started to come to grips with Scripture, we began to get a glimpse of what marriage is all about. It’s about covenantal commitment. Like most young people, we looked at the “quaint” words and practices of the typical wedding ceremony. Why did the bride wear white? Why were rings exchanged? Why did the bride take the husband’s surname? What completely confounded us was that after marriage, the bride and groom became “next of kin”. It was a complete mystery. How could two members of unrelated families become next of kin? Why was there a reception? What about the “honeymoon”? Why were the couple supposed to be virgins? What was the importance of the shedding of blood? To answer all these questions is impossible in the available space here. Sufficient to say, that the couple entered into an unbreakable and everlasting blood covenant commitment. This was not just a fancy legal contract between two people. It was much more than that. From that day on the couple were regarded as one. He was Mr Fred Blogs. She was Mrs Fred Blogs. They were required to lay their lives down for each other. Her blood became the blood of their covenant commitment visible to God. In many instances their respective parents demanded to see the evidence of this. The only way out of a covenant was by death. You didn’t quit. Divorce was impossible. This was marriage in God’s eyes and was permanent. So important is this seen by God that when Phyllida and I married, we were told He would regard us as virgins, in spite of us both being parents. We wept when He told us that. That’s probably the greatest reason why we value marriage so highly. We’ve been forgiven and will never willingly break our marriage covenant! Never again! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			5 "Bring My faithful people to Me--those who made a covenant with Me by giving sacrifices." Psalms 50:5 NLT 28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him. Hebrews 9:28 NLT 15 That is why He is the One who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. Hebrews 9:15 NLT 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark 13:27 ESV 4 Even if you are scattered to the most distant country in the world, the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back from there. Deuteronomy 30:4 GW 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT	Have you made a covenant with God Who reigns on high? Has He reassured you that when it’s time to die, He will draw you to Him? We really need to know. If we are uncertain, then which way will we go? Life is an apprenticeship for us to learn a trade. Not to work for “Brownie Points”, so we can make the grade. That will never happen. Self-effort is a trick, If you try to do it, you’ll founder like a brick When placed into the water. That’s just what God intends. It’s only when you’ve died in Christ, that’s when the Father sends The precious Holy Spirit. He will enable you To do what He has purposed and to His will be true. A covenant is only made when somebody has died. It isn’t all about the way religious folk have tried! You’re saved by cutting covenant. You give your life away. Just like the bride and bridegroom upon their wedding day. No longer are they separate. The two of them are one. Their former independence is finished, dead and gone. Within the bridal chamber, her virgin blood is shed. The marriage consummated, they share the marriage bed, As man and wife together; their singleness behind, They will raise their offspring, the way the Lord designed! They’re called Mr and Mrs and share a common name. Henceforth and for eternity, we see them as the same. Back in the Old Testament, the wife would call him “Lord”. He’d be her protector, defended by his sword! Our covenant with Jesus is very much the same. We give ourselves away to Him and we take on His Name. The blood of the New Covenant by Jesus has been shed. He is now our husband. Our former life is dead. We have no independence and we should call Him “Lord”. But since He’s God almighty, He’s worshiped and adored. We have also promised to honour and obey, Everything that He requires at any time of day. As a “wife” of Jesus, we have no human rights We surrendered all of them. No more are they in sight. We have just one purpose; to serve Him ‘til we die. Nothing’s more important for the likes of you and I. Jim Strickland  Written 9th December 2012

SWEET DREAMS

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 08 December 2012

Hi all,

When I committed my life to Jesus in 1960, I was told that from then on in everything would be great. It wasn’t. Today’s meditation looks at this. It’s still an impossible dream. But Phyllida and I wouldn’t change it for all the tea in China!

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 08 December 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	SWEET DREAMS
In 1972, Peter O’Toole made a movie called “Man of Lamancha”. Somewhat loosely based on the classic novel “Don Quixote de la Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes, it was one of those memorable movies which have become rather forgettable! What is probably best remembered is the song, “The Impossible Dream”. In this regard, there is no question that Don Quixote’s impossible dream and imagination, made excellent reading. Likewise, Peter O’Toole’s portrayal of the man from Lamancha was very good. But for me the words of “The Impossible Dream” still live in my heart. It may sound vaguely heretical, but I’ve always regarded the Christian life in this light. The fact is the Christian life is impossible! No man or woman will ever succeed in their self-effort to attain it. And yet Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit, holds it out for us as a goal. At the same time, reading these lyrics, we are confronted with the fact it is exactly what He did. True, He was 100% God and 100% man. This made the impossible, possible. But He achieved this as a man and not as God. For man, the dream of being free from Satan and sin is impossible. Steeped in the sin nature, holiness and reconciliation are unattainable. I can’t speak for you, but I confess that I “wore out” my re-dedicator so regularly that I started to feel embarrassed; returning to the Lord and asking for His forgiveness. “I’ll do better this time!” was my “vow”. In my mind, I scratched a line in the sand, deep enough to reach China. But no matter how hard I tried, I failed to keep it up. Even as a Christian I couldn’t do it! In the end I became so disillusioned with my own frailty that I quit. What else do you do when you realise you can’t succeed? It should have driven me to my knees. But if you are a man in the full bloom of youth, how do you cope with your own hypocrisy? I felt too ashamed to ask to be forgiven once more. But the life of a back-slider is the most miserable existence imaginable. You know Him. You’ve walked and talked with Him. Without Him, all the baubles of human success are insipid. The words of King Solomon rang in my ears like the cries of the Man from Lamancha. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. Eccl. 1:2 ESV I spent 17 years in this lunacy. Then, when my need for Him exceeded my revulsion for my own hypocrisy, He rescued and restored me! This proved one thing. Success in the Christian life is founded on personal failure! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			27 Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside! 1 Kings 20:27 NLT 28 Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, "This is what the LORD says: The Arameans have said, 'The LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains.' So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD." 29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 1 Kings 20:28-29 NLT 4 My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. 1 John 4:4 MSG 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 TNIV 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:19 TNIV	Things are not as simple as what at first they seem. Rather like what passes through our heads each time we dream. Dreams are so indefinite and hard to call to mind. Things may look quite definite, but when we wake we find, They were imaginations; sometimes so very odd. Occasionally we find they are messages from God. How can we tell the difference? I’m not sure that we can. But we can ask the Lord to show, if they’re from Him, or man. Experience suggests to me, that if they’re very weird, They originate in me and shouldn’t then be feared. If you dream you’re naked and standing on the bus. Be assured you’re “normal” and therefore needn’t fuss, About what you were dreaming. Forget it! Let it go! Visit your Psychiatrist and he will let you know, You are not going crazy; you haven’t “flipped your lid” He’ll tell you it’s meanderings, from deep within your id! But if what you are dreaming, appears to make good sense. It may be God Who’s speaking, so get down off your fence! This sort of thing was “normal”, back in the days of old. People they called “seers”; sometimes could unfold, The dreams that people told them and spelled out in detail. They would be interpreted in ways that that didn’t fail. A dream could be a vision, that’s seen when wide awake. The seer or the prophet did not make a mistake. They predicted truthfully, the things that would take place, For they were listening to God and always sought His face. Sometimes it was good news and sometimes it was bad. Mostly it was something, to make the heart be glad. Looking at our Scripture, we see the way it went. The prophet went to see the King and told him God’s intent. The Aramean army filled the countryside. The army of the Israelites, looked miniscule beside, The army they were fighting. They didn’t stand a chance. But God said He would beat them, without a second glance. We know it is what happened. The Arameans smashed. One hundred thousand soldiers by Israel were trashed! The Lord above had spoken. The prophet understood. And Israel succeeded, the way God said they would. Jim Strickland  Written 8th December 2012

CORRECTION

Time with Jesus - Friday, 07 December 2012

Hi all,

“Correction”: Why is the word more acceptable than “discipline”? In South Africa we speak about “correctional services” and not “disciplinary services”. I can’t prove this but I think it has a lot to do with society’s reluctance to discipline. “Don’t smack a child’s bottom! He/she may be traumatised. Worse than that! You may have violated the child’s human rights! So we don’t discipline our children and wonder why school children are undisciplined and violent and why children are being raped at school. Today’s meditation looks at discipline and correction.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 07 December 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	CORRECTION
There is an English proverb that states, “Children should be seen and not heard”. Most of those who are 45 plus are probably familiar with it. Our parents quoted it and on occasions, when we were growing up, enforced it. It doesn’t seem to be observed any longer. In most homes we visit, children barge into the room where adults are talking. These children then interrupt the conversation. In the end, the only thing to do is leave and go home. Now it’s no concern of ours what others allow in their own homes. That’s entirely up to them. Unfortunately, allowing children to interrupt is another symptom in the general lack of discipline in society today; particularly among school children! The teaching profession in some societies has been seriously affected by bad behaviour in schools. Good teachers have left the profession, due to children’s rudeness; in some case through intimidation. In the main, this has come about by a distortion of this proverb. It has been revised to be, “Children should be seen and not hurt!” Obviously there is a difference between abuse and discipline. But the fact is, if children are not brought up with defined boundaries, they are unloved! Freedom has nothing to do with indiscipline. No one in South Africa is permitted to drive on the wrong side of the road. No one is permitted to steal or murder. These laws are in place for the benefit of society in general. We are not free to ignore them. Men are not permitted to use the women’s toilets and vice versa. If you park a vehicle in a “no parking” zone, you will be dealt with in terms of the law. To say you do not agree with the law will not exonerate you. The Bible is very clear about anti-social behaviour. It’s a definite No-No. God gave us 10 Commandments not 10 Suggestions. The Bible is also very clear about disciplining children. Read the following Scriptures: - Prov. 22:15, Prov.10:13, Prov.23:13-14, Prov.26:3, Prov.29:15. For the sake of space and clarity, the following more or less sums them all up. 15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away. Prov. 22:15 TNIV The Lord has told us what to do. But we have freedom of choice, so we are not compelled to obey. There are always consequences to disobedience. Adam lost the Kingdom for disobeying one command. The same applies to us. It follows that if we obey Him, we will be rewarded. If we don’t, we won’t! He tells us what to do because He loves His children. He disciplines us in order to correct us that we may grow into mature men and women of God. But He will not discipline those who are not His children. He calls such people “bastards” and says they are illegitimate. The only question remaining is, “Are you sure you are His child?” Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11 TNIV 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 ESV 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:11 NLT 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 NLT 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 NLT 9 Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT	If you’ve been corrected, please know that you are blessed. You must have the answer right, for you to pass the test. Two plus two is four we know. But if you say it’s seven; You might have a problem with entrance into heaven. If you are a baby and have never been to school, You won’t be affected by this mathematics rule. But, if you’ve sat in classes and dreamed your life away, God will be demanding about the things you say! If it’s purely laziness, heaven’s not your place. You won’t stand the pressure of the things you’ll have to face! Heaven’s not a hospital for lazy, idle, saints. That is not the picture, the Holy Bible paints. We will all be busy, with lots of work to do. That’s why the Lord is training folk, the likes of me and you. Training will be difficult, in this world and the next. Do not curl your lip up and say this makes you vexed. The Lord will surely test you. If you don’t get it right, You will have to start again. It’s possible He might, Use the rod of discipline, to change your attitude. Know that it will sting a bit, for a short interlude. He does this ’cause He loves you. You really mustn’t fail, Or He will send His discipline to gently warm your tail! But if you are compliant and want to get along, He’ll build your endurance and make you firm and strong. This will mould your character and reinforce your hope, Shame will never bother you. His love will help you cope! Discipline is painful. That’s what He intended. He will carry on with it until the problem’s mended. When you’ve learned the lesson you’ll experience His peace. The related discipline, incredibly will cease, ‘til there’s another lesson the Lord wants you to learn. Then you must acquire it, or His discipline will burn! It isn’t any easier, when we become mature. There’s only one solution; learn quickly or endure, Another round of discipline. But keep this fact in mind. If there is no discipline, it’s possible you’ll find, That you are illegitimate and not His child at all!                Heb. 12:8 NLT The only way to find this out is on His Name to call. Jim Strickland  Written 7th December 2012