THE RETURN

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 22 December 2012

Hi all,

Today’s introduction speaks of Christmas and Jesus. The poem speaks of the second coming of Jesus. For many Christians, the second coming is little more than a fairy story, little better than the annual return of Father Christmas. But the second coming is real. It will certainly happen. For those who expect Him, the experience will be better than any fairy story. It will make Father Christmas look like a street beggar. This is our meditation today.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 22 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	THE RETURN
How many more “sleeps” till Christmas? From about three years of age children begin with this question. Usually there is an expression of anticipation and delight on their faces. Their eyes seem to light up with the prospects of the Christmas season. Few sights in life are better than this. By straining my own memory, I can still glimpse and experience again what it was like all those years ago. Most people in the First World have memories of those days. Day’s that are relived through the lives of children and grandchildren. Days that have gone but will never be forgotten. It’s true that Christmas has been over commercialised. It’s hard to find any shop that isn’t filled with Christmas lights and decorations. Once more, Father Christmas is ubiquitous. Stores are filled with gifts to tempt adults and children alike. It’s hard to resist the temptation and many of us give in and spend far more than we should. In this regard, there is a general expectation that we should give and receive presents. The store owners encourage this and tempt people to spend money they haven’t got, to give a present to recipients who have no need and do not really want. Sadly, many families overcommit themselves to the point where it takes until the end of February before their Christmas debt has been discharged. Those of you who have had experience with Church finances will, no doubt, be familiar with the downturn in church income during January and February. Of course this only applies to those who are unspiritual! A yearly complaint by many sincere Christians centres on the person of Father Christmas. We hear righteous cries of, “It teaches the children to tell lies!” Phyllida and I have discussed this on many occasions. Yes, there is something incongruous about men in funny red suits delivering presents from a snow covered sleigh, drawn by flying reindeer. The connection between the commercialisation of this and the birth of our Lord and Saviour is tenuous, to say the least. Yet there is something touching about a man giving gifts to the undeserving; the idea that people will receive an unmerited gift from a complete stranger in a red suit. We have placated our conscience by remembering that Jesus Christ was a man “dressed” in His own “red”, with blood flowing from His wounds. Wounds that should be ours. He gave the gift of His life to undeserving men and women who had no interest and no love for Him. He didn’t say, “Hoh, Hoh, Hoh! He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. He didn’t ride in a sleigh. He was nailed to a cross. He doesn’t come once a year at midnight. 24/7 He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. He doesn’t come down the chimney. He waits for us to invite Him in. Have you? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			4 They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." 2 Peter 3:4 ESV 14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, "Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of His holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:14-15 NLT 7 "Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:7 TNIV 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 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Titus 2:11-13 ESV	Where is the second coming? When will the Lord return? Could it be any moment? My heart within me burns, With such anticipation. To see my Lord at last! To wait another minute, please let the time fly past. How many generations, have longed to be with You? To see You as they worship, that’s what they’ve longed to do. Sound out the final trumpet; come forth that mighty shout. Send forth the Angel army. Let there be no more doubt, That Jesus is triumphant. That He’s the King of Kings. That He will live forever! This truth within us rings! Let all the graves be opened, of those who went before. That all the dead in Jesus will rise and live once more. Your servants who are living; Lord, cause them all to rise. That Christians from all ages will meet You in the skies; In resurrection bodies. Lord, let us be caught up. That with the King of Glory, each one of us will sup. To be with You forever! There is no higher goal, For any of Your people, who serve with heart and soul. Draw near Ye clouds of glory! O Master, take Your place! Let every eye behold You, from all the human race. Elect from every nation, rejoice for He is near, Put away your crying! Wipe away every tear. Join in the celebration. This is our Jubilee! The captives liberated and every slave set free. Be terrified ye sinners. The time at last has come. Let all bow down before You! God’s great and mighty Son. Let every tongue acknowledge, You are the Lord of Lords. Let even those who pierced You receive their just rewards. Those who rejected Jesus; let them begin to mourn; Experience what happens, when Jesus Christ they scorn. Lord, execute Your judgement, upon ungodly folk, The way you deal with people, who say You are a joke. Your grace has brought salvation to those whom You have trained, To disown worldly passions and in Your truth remained. To live a life that’s Godly, upright and self-controlled. Filled with Your deep compassion and with Your love untold. Even so, Come Lord Jesus, Come for Your loving bride. Come for Your humble servants; let us be at Your side. Jim Strickland  Written 22nd December 2012

TESTS AND TRIALS

Time with Jesus - Friday, 21 December 2012

Hi all,

According to the Encarta Dictionary, an enigma is a mystery; somebody or something that is not easily explained or understood. As far as our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned, this is an understatement. We know a little about Him. We may have a personal relationship with Him. But He is God and to understand God, is beyond us. Today we look at Jesus calming the storm.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 21 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	TESTS AND TRIALS
Jesus Christ is an enigma for Christians and non-Christians alike. From experience, the more we learn about Jesus, the more we are confronted by the enigma of Who He is. We are told He is 100% man and 100% God. Theologically this is imperative. He had to die as a man for the sins of all men. One man can die for one man. But only God can die for all mankind. Does that mean that God the Son died? Is it possible that God can die? Really it depends on the nature of death. Our usual understanding is that it’s the condition when life has departed from the body. A corpse is what remains when the spirit and soul have departed. The corpse is lifeless. But the spirit and the soul do not die. The body of Jesus was left behind on the cross. Exactly what happened to His soul and Spirit is not clear. Our creed tells us “He descended into ‘Hell’” For us today, this is misleading. We understand “Hell” to be the place of suffering prepared for the devil and his angels. Other translations use the words Sheol, Hades, Gehenna or Tartarus. Take your pick. Personally, I’m not really interested. He is now resurrected and next to His Father in heaven. In a way, this only deepens the enigma of Jesus. Today’s meditation examines this. The Bible tells us Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. Jesus, the man, was tired. Was the Son of God also sleeping? It’s unlikely. The Psalmist tells us, 4 Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. Psalms 121:4 NLT What does this mean? I suspect it means Jesus was fully aware of all that was going on around Him. If this is the case, it suggests that this passage of Scripture was a way for Him to try and test His disciples and reveal Himself to them more fully! All Jesus’ miracles demonstrate He had complete control over everything in creation. We are told that Jesus only carried out miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. This has always been the case. Nothing changed while He walked the earth. All of creation came about as a result of God’s spoken Word empowered by His Holy Spirit. He only ever did what His Father told Him to do. But this has always been true. It’s the way the Trinity functions. In over simplified terms, the Father has the “idea”, the Son “speaks” and the Spirit “makes it happen”. So what was happening while Jesus was asleep in the boat? I suspect Jesus, the man, was sleeping. But He was fully aware of what was happening. Jesus, the man, needed His rest. His disciples “needed” to learn that He was in control of everything. Let the storm do its worst! He could stop it instantly. But His disciples needed to know that He was in charge even when He seemed to be doing nothing! It’s still true. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't You care that we're going to drown?" Mark 4:38 NLT 9 The LORD is good to everyone and has compassion for everything that he has made. Psalms 145:9 GW 3 "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. I have already given you the green plants for food. Now I am giving you everything. Genesis 9:3 NIrV 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." Genesis 8:22 ESV 7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. Nahum 1:7 ESV 17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, "Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants." 19 Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. Genesis 21:17-19 NLT 31 "Don't ever worry and say, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' 32 Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. Matthew 6:31-32 GW 17 Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17 GW	Jesus Christ lay sleeping, somewhere in the stern. His head was on a cushion. His followers would learn, That, though He was in dreamland, they were all secure. Evil couldn’t harm them. Of this they could be sure. Was He really sleeping or was this just a test? Certainly the storm had come at Lucifer’s behest. Did they have the faith to face this storm without His aid? Would they merely panic because they were afraid? The boat was filling quickly with water from the waves. Did they need the lesson that only Jesus saves? Perhaps it was His motive? Perhaps it was a test? We don’t know for certain; but their fear was manifest. “Teacher don’t you care that we are all about to die?” Jesus was awakened to this sad and anguished cry. He arose and ordered the raging wind to cease “Be still!” he told the waters and all was then at peace. Instantly it happened. The storm gave way to calm. “Why are you such cowards? No cause for your alarm!” Gently He chided them, “Why is your faith so small?” Now they knew for certain, He is Lord of all. They began to realise, that here at their right hand, Was He who made the universe by giving a command. A word was all He needed and creation came to be. No wonder they were asking, “Who is this Man we see? Two thousand odd years later, we too pass through a trial. Jesus isn’t sleeping but His face takes on a smile. How will we all handle, the little tiny storm, We have been confronted with? Will the trial form, Character within us? Will we pass the test? If we do, be certain, He’ll see that we are blessed. Will we start to panic and tremble in our fear? Or will we remember that Jesus Christ is near! He doesn’t need a pillow and doesn’t ever snooze. He’s supplied the things we need; but are we going to use, The faith we have been given? How will we react To the little trial? Is our faith a fact, Or merely wishful thinking? What will the answer be? I can’t speak for others; I can only speak for me! Jim Strickland  Written 21st December 2012

TOUCH NOT GOD’S ANOINTED

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 20 December 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation deals with what happened to the people of Samaria in 2 Kings 7. It tells the story of how the King’s officer died for calling Elisha and, by Implication, God, a liar. This officer died as Elisha prophesied. The story relates with God and the statement that God cannot lie. It concludes asking if you or I are liars.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Thursday, 20 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	TOUCH NOT GOD’S ANOINTED
Matthew’s Gospel tells us, “With God, all things are possible!” Matt 19:26 NLT. God can do anything. This is an overwhelming truth. The fact is if there was anything God couldn’t do, He would not be God. Having stated that, how do we deal with the statement in Hebrews, 18 So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. Hebrews 6:18 NLT Let me start by stating that I have not found a contradiction in God’s Word. The answer has to do with the nature of God Himself. Within the overall ability of God, He is able to lie and He is able to break covenant. If this was not true, He could not be God. But God, in His infinite wisdom, has decided how He would be to all His creation. He has defined that which he will never do. He will never lie and He will never break covenant. Not because He is unable to do it but because He has made an unbreakable decision with Himself not to do so. An easy way to understand this stems from my own personal experience. I stopped smoking in 1981. I decided that I would never smoke again. It doesn’t mean that I am unable to do so. It means my decision not to smoke again is unbreakable. There is however, one enormous difference between God and me. I do not have His moral perfection. He will not break His Word. Because of my moral imperfection, I could. Another way to look at it is to say that God cannot forget my sins. If He could forget, He could not be God. But God has perfect control over His memory. He can choose not to remember. In Jeremiah 31:34 God tells His people. “I will remember their sin no more." For our purposes, for Him to not remember our sins, is the same as Him forgetting them! This introduces today’s meditation. Elisha brought a word from God to the King of Israel, concerning the provision of food for his people. The king’s officer did not believe Elisha. This is where we need to be careful. Telling Elisha it could not happen implied Elisha was lying. He was accusing Elisha of being a Lying Prophet. But Elisha had brought a genuine message from the Lord. Thus the Officer was indirectly calling God a liar! Elisha then spoke to the Officer and brought him a further word from the Lord. The officer would see God deliver the people from the Arameans. But he would die before he had a chance to eat any of it. It came to pass exactly as Elisha had said. We need to bear in mind at all times that accusing God of being a liar is blasphemy. The penalty for blasphemy is death. This was very much the case in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira died for telling lies to Peter about the sale price of their land. He said they were “lying to the Holy Spirit”. In Rev. 21:8 we are told "But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars--their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.” Being truthful is not optional. It is a requirement of God. Rev 21:8 is a warning to Christians as much as it is to unbelievers. Sadly we find today many Christians are liars. Ananias, Sapphira and the King of Israel’s officer showed the danger of lying to or about God. Am I a liar? Are you? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			2 The servant on whose arm the king was leaning answered the man of God, "Could this happen even if the LORD poured rain through windows in the sky?" Elisha replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you won't eat any of it." 2 Kings 7:2 GW 22 Jesus said to them "Have faith in God! Mark 11:22 GW 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 MKJV 26 But Jesus looked on them and said to them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 MKJV 2 When I came to save you, why didn't anyone welcome me? When I called out to you, why didn't anyone answer me? Wasn't my arm powerful enough to set you free? Wasn't I strong enough to save you? I dry up the sea with a single command. I turn rivers into a desert. Then fish rot because they do not have any water. They die because they are thirsty. Isaiah 50:2 NIrV 8 "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in My Temple. If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test! Malachi 3:10 NLT 1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; Isaiah 59:1 ESV 11 And Asa cried to the LORD his God, "O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you." 2 Chronicles 14:11 ESV 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9 NLT	Be very, very careful when you’re speaking to God’s man. Nothing is impossible for God and so He can, Bring about a judgement on the foolish words you’ve said. And it is very simple for God to strike you dead! That is just what happened in our reading for today. Elisha brought a message; “Hear what God does say. By this time tomorrow the flour and the wheat Will be such that the people will again begin to eat.” The Aramean army was all around the town. Samaria was starving; the walls could be torn down. That was when Elisha brought that message from the Lord. Food would be abundant at a price men could afford. The officer who heard him, questioned what the Lord had said. “This could never happen though rain poured upon the head, Through the very windows of God’s heaven in the sky.” Meaning that Elisha’s words were empty and a lie! “With your eyes you’ll see it” Elisha then declared. “But you will not eat it!” The man would not be spared. That night the Arameans turned around and fled. “The Hittites and Egyptians are attacking us!” they said. The sound of a great army they thought that they could hear, Came from God Almighty and they ran away in fear. You can read the story in the Second Book of Kings. Look at chapter seven; see how God arranged these things. The Aramean army had left all their goods behind. Everything was left for the Samaritans to find. The King said to that officer “Go and control the gate”. The people were so hungry that they could hardly wait. And so they stormed the gateway with one great mighty rush. That officer fell over and was trampled in the crush. It was the fulfilment of what the Lord had said. Food was in abundance and that officer was dead! So be very careful; don’t question what God says. He can discipline you in a hundred thousand ways. Criticise His prophet and God could deal with you, In a way you’d rather that He didn’t ever do. Touch not God’s anointed, for you are touching God; You could be the victim of His death inflicting rod! Jim Strickland  Written 20th December 2012