3 JIMMETS - TELL + HEART + FAITH

Time with Jesus - 19 Aug 2013

James Dean Movie
in the 1950's

Hi All, 

As mentioned previously, when you believe in your heart and speak with your mouth, according to Romans 10:9-10, you “get” what you say. Yesterday’s discussion about Cassius Clay illustrated this such that it needn’t be repeated. We saw that believing and speaking is the essence of faith. Of course that does not exclude those who are dumb, or even those who have entered a “silent monastery”. 

This reminds me of the story of a man who entered a silent order. When he joined, he was told that he was never to speak again unless he was asked a question by the abbot. He was also told that he would be spoken to by the abbot once per year for the next three years. Only then could he be fully received into the order. A year later he returned and was asked. Do you have anything to say? “The food is not very good”, he commented. 

The same thing happened the following year. “The rooms are draughty” he said. A year later he was back. “Do you have anything to say”, asked the abbot. He replied, “The bath water’s cold.”  The abbot then sent him away. “All you do is complain!” said the abbot.

The "silent" treatment

To some extent, fathers and sons, can slip into this syndrome. There comes a time in every young man’s life when he says very little to mom or dad. Not unless they ask a direct question. He says nothing because he thinks they are not very brainy. 

They can’t converse with him intelligently about the deep things in life, he has so carefully studied with his pals at school. Important things like Shakespeare’s plays or why the Sharks lost their last match to the Bulls. They find cell phones too complicated and are computer illiterate. They don’t know about second order differential equations and calculus is something which accumulates on teeth. Besides which they can’t tell him how to go about getting a date with the fantastic looking girl, who sits three rows behind him in school. In fact they have no idea about dating technique. On top of that, they go to church!

What the youngster hasn’t realised is that mom and dad know all about more or less everything. Nevertheless he continues with the silent routine until dad says; “Well now my son, you are old enough and big enough to launch out on your own.” 

Reconciliation

One month after he has moved out and moved in, he realises that they knew a thing or two. Food is expensive; rent just about cripples you. In addition, keeping your own room tidy, combined with washing and ironing is a schlep. He still has to buy a fridge, stove, TV and washing machine. DSTV is out of the question.

Love you  Dad!

When he decides to chat with mom and dad, he finds they knew all about it. Mom had been too busy with a job and supervising the work at home. She had very little time to spare so, if he wanted to stay silent, let him do it. 

Love you Mom!

Dad knew nothing about the Sharks and the Bulls because he preferred soccer. Cell phones made him too easily available and complicated life. He could recite from memory some of the poems of Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley, so hadn’t bothered with reading much Shakespeare. “But if you are willing to teach me a bit about computers, perhaps mom will agree to asking the domestic to do your washing and ironing. It will cost you R20 per week. You are also welcome to have supper with us once per week; provided you bring your girlfriend with you so we can meet her!”

Most of those who read this will recall their own experiences; as a father and a son. How was it resolved? It was necessary to speak, believe and exercise faith. Dad did, so did son. Mom was delighted! “Now how do I arrange this with my daughter?” she wondered.

The following Sunday morning, guess who pitched up in Church? Would you believe it was mom, dad the young man and his new (and very nice) girlfriend?

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 19 August 2013			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	JIMMETS - 3 - TELL & HEART & FAITH
Most of us go through a “rebellious phase” while we are growing up. We get to a time in our lives when our parents know nothing and we are almost omniscient. It’s one of those times in our lives when we are beginning to reach out for independence. Now independence is a good thing. We start making decisions for ourselves. We need to get there. No one appreciates a 25 year old still fastened to his mother’s apron strings. But that inevitable phase when we are smart and Mom & Dad are idiots, comes to all of us. Modern education is partly to blame. We come home from school, our heads stuffed with the knowledge of what we are learning, only to find that Mom and Dad have no idea what we are talking about. Do you remember those days? I do! So do our children and their children. Those days don’t last all that long. A few experiences in the University of Hard Knocks soon makes us appreciate parental wisdom. I recall one sage saying how different his youth would have been, if he only had the wisdom of his grandfather! One of the things we tend to do, is challenge our parent’s authority. My dad had a wonderful way of dealing with me then. He would say “Listen to me my lad, when you are 21, I’m going to pitch you out! You will be on your own and will be able to do whatever you want. In the meantime, under my roof, you will do as I say!” It worked a treat! So much so, that I used the same expression on my kids. It worked with them and their children just as well! In our dealings with the Lord we have similar experiences. We tend to “buck” His authority. Then He deals with us in much the way my dad dealt with me. In the first of today’s three Jimmets, we have a sense of His anger toward us when He thinks we are “too big for our boots”. We laugh at it now, in much the same way I can laugh at my Dad’s comments. But, as I have discovered, you may laugh with Him but never at Him. He knows us far too well for that! But He will and does discipline us. Notice in Isaiah 45:11, man is challenging what God does. By the time we reach the end of the Jimmet, we know He is in charge and we are not. The second Jimmet comments on the need for God’s people to have a heart of flesh and not one of stone. We begin by looking into our own hearts and finding they are as hard as a rock. Against this background, He tells us why we all need hearts of flesh. More than that, He points out that we need a loving heart similar to the one beating in our Saviour’s chest. The final Jimmet transports me back in time to the days of Kenneth Hagin and one or two of the other “Faith” teachers. They didn’t get everything wrong. Mark 11:22-23 was one of his favourite teachings. He pointed out that we only receive from God that which we believe we have received. For me back then, it was revolutionary. I also know that toward the end of his life he distanced himself publically from the “Extreme Prosperity Gospel” which is still in vogue. I don’t want to take sides with or against him or those he criticised. What I must say is that he enabled me to see a little further than the nose on my face. I will always remember him as a man of God who taught that which he believed was “God’s honest truth”. I’d love to be like that! I know I make mistakes. Lots of them. But I honour his love for Jesus. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 This is what the LORD says--the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: "Do you question what I do for My children? Do you give Me orders about the work of My hands? Isaiah 45:11 NLT	Do you have authority to TELL,                       Isaiah 45:11 The Lord of Hosts what He has got to do? Have you got some strange and magic spell? A sort of God compelling witches brew? Be aware that there is no such thing. Nothing can resist what I declare. And in My omnipotence I bring, To fruition all things anywhere! I Am your Creator and your Lord. I created all of time and space In My hand I wield a mighty Sword Nothing can oppose me face to face! But I love the creatures I have made. Come to Me, You needn’t be afraid! Jim Strickland Have you ever looked into your HEART, Ezekiel 36:26-27 And seen how stubborn it can be? I knew all about it from the start. Contaminating all your history. But there wasn’t an alternative. Somehow you just had to learn this truth. If you had a real desire to live, You should love Me while you’re still a youth! One or two have been obedient. But there was a problem deep inside. That is why the Saviour was sent; Knowing that He would be crucified! Love like this can soften hearts of stone; Make a heart of flesh just like His own. Jim Strickland Jesus challenged them, “Have FAITH in God!”            Mark 11:22-23 You must be quite certain what you say. It’s not contradictory nor odd; Even mountains do not disobey. When you have this firmly in your mind, Confident that it will come to be, That is when you’re guaranteed to find. That a miracle you soon will see! That which you have spoken with your lips, Will be manifest before your eyes. If you doubt at all, you’ve “had your chips”; And you’ll be accused of Satan’s lies. But, when faith is rooted deep in Me, You will cast that mountain in the sea!
			26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts. 27 I will put my Spirit in you. I will enable you to live by my laws, and you will obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27 GW
			37 "This is what the Almighty LORD says: I will also let the people of Israel ask me to make them as numerous as sheep. Ezekiel 36:37 GW
			19 When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. 20 And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." Matthew 18:19-20 MSG
			22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. Mark 11:22-23 NLT
				Jim Strickland – Written 19th August 2012

BOAST IN THE LORD

Time with Jesus - 18 Aug 2013

Cassius Clay in his Prime

Hi all,

The first time I heard the voice of Cassius Clay as he was then, was in a motor car. We were driving back to Thundersley in Essex after a brief visit to the shops (I think). It must have been in 1962. The “Louisville Lip” as he was nicknamed back in those days, was talking about how he was going to deal with the next opponent on his list. 

The Louisville Lip

At the time, Cassius Marcellus Clay was beginning to climb the ladder of success to becoming the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. “I’ll fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee! The guy is “gonner go” in three!” These were the words, or something very like them, which came over the radio waves from the mouth of this “braggart”.

To the best of my knowledge, no boxer had spoken out like this on radio. We’d heard similar comments from wrestlers. It was part of their “performance”. Hearing a boxer boast this way was something brand new. Most of the listening audience thought it was some sort of a joke. But he kept up the “patter”. Then, on the night, in round three of the boxing match, Clay put him away!

Boast only in God

In the after fight boxing interview, Clay told the listeners. “I’m the greatest! No one can beat me. I’m the best!” The folk in UK thought he was crazy. But what do you do with a “crazy man” who proves to be right! Furthermore, as he continued his boxing career, he carried on with his boastful predictions. Then he did exactly what he had said. 

Henry Cooper

At that time, Clay went head to head with one of Britain’s favourite sons. Henry Cooper was a very good boxer. To be honest, he was more like a fighter. His boxing career had been mostly successful. But he had a real boxer’s face. It looked as though his nose had been broken. The skin above and around his eyes was thin. Too many blows in this area had given him a reputation for profuse bleeding. His corner knew all about it and they were always ready to step in between each round and “fix things up”. He was called “Enry the Ammer” because he had a “lethal” left hook. If Henry managed to “land his left hook” most fights were over.

The 2 Contestants

Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay, later to be known as Mohammed Ali, in Round Four at Wembley Stadium 50 years ago. "Enry's 'Ammer" felled Clay in the dying seconds of the 1963 non-title fight's fourth round. Ali eloquently said later on British television, Cooper "had hit me so hard that my ancestors in Africa felt it". With Clay withering, his trainer Angelo Dundee opened a small tear in one of his gloves. When noticed by the referee, Clay was told he required a new pair of gloves and the fifth round was delayed. (Courtesy Huffington Post Sport)

Cooper Knocks down Clay

Ali had a wonderful boxing career. Sadly he has also been bruised and battered. Age has caught up with him and he is only a shadow of the man he once was.

After the big fight

In Romans 10, Paul wrote, ⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Rom 10:9-10 NLT

There’s a fascinating principle here worth examining. Paul was writing specifically about the words and beliefs of a Christian. Certainly, Phyllida and I have used this verse to assist others who doubted their own salvation. 

Romans 10:9-10 brings clarity to the mind of doubters. But there is little doubt that this is a universal principle. It’s not only confined to Christianity. The principle is that if and when your confession (what you say with your mouth) begins to be believed in your heart, you will get what you say. In essence it’s the very substance of faith.

If you boast,boast in the Lord

God created the world. He did it by speaking. “Light be!” God said and it was so. Now what God says He believes. Actually in His case, there is no question concerning whether or not it will happen. I suspect it happens not just because He is God. God believes what He says in every respect. It is not accidental. His commands are irresistible.

Lord, I am "nothing" - You are everything!

Scripture suggests that God wants His people to do the same. We must believe it and speak it! When they come together, that mountain will be cast into the sea. You and I are able to say it. But do we believe it? You will have to settle that in your own heart.

Cassius Clay persisted saying “I’m the greatest!” He also believed it. Put these two factors together and you have dynamite. How do men of flesh and blood come up against such a combination? I’ve heard it said that Sony Liston was beaten before he went into the ring. Not just by a superb and super fit boxer, but by a man with such a powerful confession. It literally blew him away. It was a “no contest”.

Henry years later

Shalom,

Mohammed Ali Now

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 18 August 2013			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	BOAST IN THE LORD
At the beginning of 1981, I had no Christian books. All I had was an old KJV Bible. It was a bit dog-eared. Not surprising since my parents gave it to me as a Christmas present in 1950. I’ve had it ever since. It’s fairly well marked dating back to my early days as a Christian in 1960. It had one or two notes which go back to those days. It may have been that I wrote them while attending training sessions for Billy Graham’s evangelistic campaign in Manchester. Looking back at the contents of this Bible, I’m convicted of some of the things I did from 1965 until 1981. I had been a naughty boy! In 1981, the very first Christian book I bought was “Confess It!” In those days we were all very much “into” believing with the heart and confession with the mouth. Len Jones wrote the book. He was related to William Wigglesworth. Those days were fascinating particularly regarding “What you say is what you get”. Most of us, myself included, were so intimidated by this, we forgot the importance of truth. People went to extreme lengths to avoid anything which might be used by the devil as an entrance into their life. I recall going through a time of great testing while experiencing divorce. It was tough. But if anyone asked me how I was, I would smile and say, “I’m fine!” It was an absolute lie. I felt like “death warmed up”. But I wouldn’t say anything about it to anyone. On reflection it seems to me that we had made a superstition out of what God was saying. Perhaps the best illustration I can think of was the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They originated from the days after the Babylonian captivity. The people rightly decided that their captivity was because they had failed to keep the Mosaic Law. In particular, with reference to the worship of idols. You will find that from then on, idols did not become an issue in Israel. What happened was they made an idol of the law. They made dozens of “fence laws” associated with the Mosaic law. The purpose was not so much how to keep them, but how to avoid breaking them. There are huge differences. Differences which Jesus addressed with them. A reading of Luke 11 indicates this. Len’s book looks at “What you get is what you say”. He then looks at the words and “confessions” of Cassius Clay, now Muhammad Ali. He points back to the days of the fight with Sonny Liston – the “big ugly bear” according to Cassius Clay. Len then makes a very interesting comment. He stated that the world in general and Sonny Liston in particular, had never come across a confession like Cassius Clay’s. In spite of all the odds against him winning, Clay’s confession was so powerful that it literally swept him along to victory. Clay had stumbled upon a “spiritual principle”. One that defies human understanding. The principle is that if you say something often enough, you will start to believe it. Thus, what Cassius Clay was saying with his mouth, became that which he believed in his heart. That sort of “confessions” is hard to beat. Sonny Liston got “caught up” in this spiritual principle. So, as we all know, Cassius Clay became the world heavyweight champion. There’s no question that he had remarkable talent and ability as a boxer. He may have become the champion another way. But his confession trashed Sony Liston. If you believe in you heart and confess with your mouth….. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let those who boast, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31 TNIV	Who of us remember what’s called “The good old days?” A young man was in boxing. His name – Cassius Clay. He said, “I am the greatest. I’ll knock him out in three.” And strangely as it sounds to us, that’s just what came to be. He really was a boaster. He never really cared. But most of his protagonists were quickly running scared. He “took on” Sonny Liston, an “Ugly bear” he said. And when the fight was over, Liston looked like he was dead. “I float in like a butterfly and sting just like a bee. There ain’t no boxer anywhere can beat the likes of me”! Boxer after boxer came and put him to the test. And when the match was over he’d proved he was the best. Muhammad Ali was the name he took when he converted. He became Muslim, but his quest was not diverted. And looking back upon it, I’m sure he was the best. But time has done its damage; he’s just like all the rest. No longer fast and nimble; he has “Parkinson’s disease”. And when you hear him talking now, no longer does he please. We look back at his history, when boxing was his game. He really was the greatest and deserved his boxing fame. But like so many boasters, God’s judgement came along; And he became a member of the “boastful people throng”. It is a sorry story, a very dismal tale. This happens to a braggart. They ultimately fail. I can’t forget the boasting of “the lip from Louisville”. He continued boasting and went over the hill. A shadow of the man he was; and crippled now with age. He got his fame and fortune, but with it came his wage. So when we look upon him now, it’s very sad to see, A man with so much talent, consigned to history. The moral of this story, is do not ever boast. You may get fame and fortune, but the Lord of heaven’s host, Will start a downward cycle and you’ll end up with defeat; That never, in your life time, you ever would repeat. When you do your boasting, boast only in the Lord. Only He is worthy, to be worshipped and adored. Boast of His achievements and what Jesus Christ has done! Tell the world you’re nobody compares with God’s own Son. Thank Him for salvation and praise Him for His care. That’s the sort of boasting we may do anywhere. He deserves the honour, the glory and the fame. Compared with Him, we’re nothing; and life is just a game. Jim Strickland Written 18th August 2012
			23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV
			8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ Philippians 3:8 NLT
			16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:16 NLT
			17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. Romans 15:17 ESV
			25 I don't have anyone in heaven but you. I don't want anything on earth besides you. Psalms 73:25 NIrV
			1 Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the LORD! The LORD has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because You rescued me. 1 Samuel 2:1 NLT
			1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalms 115:1 NLT