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| Jim & Phyllida Wedding 12 Dec 1981 |
Time with Jesus - Friday, 12 April 2013
Hi all,
Much of the introduction in today’s meditation focuses on divorce and
remarriage. The fact is God hates sin. It follows that God hates divorce. To
say God hates one sin more than another, is to misunderstand both God’s meaning
and sin. God does not grade sin. All sins are equal and hated with a burning
anger and ferocity which goes beyond our imagination. We grade sin. As far as
we are concerned, the sins of Adolf Hitler and Stalin are far worse than
stealing the purse from a lady’s handbag.
This is not true with God. When we realize that sin is anything less than God’s standard of perfection, brings
this more into focus. For example, let’s consider marksmanship with a bow and
arrow. To “pass God’s test” we would have to shoot every arrow into the middle
of the bull’s eye. We would have to do this 24/7 for life. One arrow that misses
the bull’s eye comprises failure. That one failure would result in our being
rejected and thrown out by God. All Adam did was eat the forbidden fruit. He
was cast out of Eden. If God does that because of eating the wrong fruit, do
you think He will condone your one act of missing the bull’s eye in your entire
life? To think that would be naïve
God says He hates divorce. Why? The only possible answer is because divorce
is sin. To Him, it’s as bad as stealing 10 cents from the offering, or Doeg the
Edomite, murdering the priests of Nob, in the days of David and King Saul.
There is a sense in which we can thank God that divorce is a sin. If it wasn’t,
what else could it possibly be? Because it is sin, it can be forgiven. The
proviso for this is repentance. Forgiveness depends on repentance. No
repentance = no forgiveness.
Some years ago there was a popular song called, “Love and Marriage” The
punch line stated, “You can’t have one without the other”. The same is true for
repentance and forgiveness. “You can’t have one without the other”.
Sadly, in the 21st century, marriage has gone out of vogue in
the First World. People “shack up” on the basis that either may leave whenever
they want. There are many “logical reasons” for this. They may be logical from
a human perspective. That does not make them right. God instituted marriage.
For Him it’s still the only way.
Shalom,
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Friday, 12 April 2013
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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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Through all Eternity
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My time in Bible School in 1982 – 31 years ago; was a time of learning
and understanding. We had a number of lecturers. Some were very “Ho Hum”
Others were outstanding. My favourite was not very popular with most of the
others. He was Dr Ken Stewart; an American from the Dallas area if I remember
correctly. His series, Foundations of Faith, were very informative. I learned
a great deal of truth from him. I’ve still got the series on tape somewhere.
He was the man who said that he had gone to seminary, to prove the existence
of God. There he shared a room with a man who had gone, to prove that God
didn’t exist. He stated that neither was successful. He added, when he
started believing God’s Word was true, suddenly everything worked!
Phyllida and I had both been through divorce; something not to be
recommended. God hates it, and so do we. The damages and recriminations are
horrendous. Back then we were looking for something to help us through this
traumatic time. Dr Ken had produced a 6 tape series on Divorce and Remarriage
and, in view of his lectures; we decided to get the series. We are so glad we
did. It’s one of the best teachings on Divorce and remarriage we’ve come
across. We used it years ago as material for teaching in the singles group.
Dr Ken’s main point was that divorce was sin. We already knew that.
What we didn’t really appreciate was sin and its nature. So he started the
series with an introduction I’ll never forget. He told us that he was a
Pastor in a church somewhere. He added that his elders asked him to preach
about sin. So he started his series by saying, Today I want to talk about
sin. God’s against it. The elders are against it and I’m against it. So let’s
talk about Jesus!” I wept when I heard this. The reason for this is that
Jesus specialises in forgiveness of sinners. So Phyllida and I were able to
go to Jesus and be forgiven. In this regard, Dr Ken’s final statement in the
series was to ask the question, “What is sin?” “Sin is forgiven”, he answered
in a way that we felt was a direct message from the Lord. We vowed it would
never happen to us again. That was 31 years ago. We are still happily married
and will stay this way until our death. If that should be a million years
from now, it would still be too soon for us. In spite of our imperfections,
our relationship grows deeper every day.
Today’s meditation is something of a foundation for being a Christian.
I’ve tried to bring out the impossibility of man’s condition outside of Jesus
Christ; helpless, hopeless and unable to change, even if we wanted too. Then
Jesus enters the equation. He changes everything!
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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23 Because all people have
sinned, they have fallen short of God's glory.
Rom. 3:23 GW
10 As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous--not even one. 11
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned
away; all have become useless. No one does good,
not a single one."
Rom. 3:10-12 NLT
20 There isn't anyone on
earth who does only what is right and never sins.
Eccl 7:20 NIrV
4 How can a mortal be
innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure?
Job 25:4 NLT
1 God's promise of
entering His rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of
you might fail to experience it.
Heb. 4:1 NLT
3 For I recognize my
rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against You, and
You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight. You will be
proved right in what You say, and Your judgment against me is just. 5
For I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my
mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:3-5 NLT
13 Then David confessed to Nathan, "I have sinned
against the LORD." Nathan replied, "Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin.
2 Sam 12:13 NLT
30 And having chosen them, He called them to come to
Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His
glory.
Rom 8:30 NLT
18 So all of us who have
had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the
Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like Him as we are changed
into His glorious image.
2 Cor. 3:18 NLT
23 This is on the
condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid
foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You've heard this
Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout
all creation under heaven.
Col 1:23 GW
12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you
to live your lives in a way that God would consider
worthy. For He called you to share in His Kingdom and glory.
1 Thess. 2:12 NLT
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Each of us is suffering from that which can’t be cured.
It happened to our forefathers and we can be assured,
That each of us will perish and lie down in the grave.
Only Jesus Christ can ever interfere and save,
Us from all the consequence of being born in sin,
And reaping the corollary of what we’re living in!
None of us are righteous. It doesn’t work that way.
We can’t ever earn it. We cannot even pay,
To buy sufficient righteousness to satisfy the Lord.
The riches of humanity together can’t afford,
To come up with the purchase price of any human soul.
But Jesus’ objective, His purpose and His goal,
Was bringing the solution for each and every man,
Women and their children by His salvation plan.
No one was excluded and none would be denied.
Anyone who comes to Him will not be turned aside.
If he has repented and Jesus is his Lord,
He’ll be truly rescued from God’s terrible swift sword.
He will be forgiven and though he’ll have to die,
Jesus will receive him in His heavenly home on high!
When a man’s repented, he has been born again.
Cleansed from all His wickedness and all of sin and stain.
But God hasn’t finished. Before His work is through,
He has an extra something that He will give to you.
He has all the righteousness and we have all the sin.
On the cross He paid for all the mess that we are in.
Then He traded places. His righteousness bestowed,
Upon each fallen sinner when Jesus’ life blood flowed.
So He’s made me righteous. My friend, do not blame me.
Who would ever turn away a gift from Deity?
“But you don’t deserve it!” I hear somebody cry.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus” is what I then reply.
Put your faith and trust in Him. Repent from all your sin.
Ask His Holy Spirit to come and enter in.
If you truly mean it, of this you can be sure.
He will wash away your sin and He will make you pure.
He’ll give you His righteousness, just as He did for me
And you will live with Jesus Christ for all eternity.
Jim Strickland
Written
12th April 2012.
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