THANKS FOR THE BUSINESS

South Africa

There is no place more lovely in the world

Than that which nestles on the Southern tip

Of Africa.  With coast line gently curled

Between two mighty oceans.  Where a ship

Can hide from storms ferocious or can cruise

Upon a blue and balmy azure sea.

A land of contrast and stupendous views

Of nature in majestic panoply

Of variation.  Where one can decide

To work or play;  to strive;  to dig for gold;

Where first and third world jostle side by side

And where it never gets too hot nor cold.

A piece of heaven missing from above

South Africa.  The land I truly love.

Thanks for the Business

Written when I was employed by Old Mutual as a thank you card to those who I visited. 

It's usually quite hard to find

A person who will feel inclined

To spend some time establishing

Just what the future has to bring!

So when I do, I like to send

A special "Thank You" to that friend,

For giving up his time for me

To help with his prosperity!

And I would like to say to you

"If there is more that I can do,

To help with your security,

Don't hesitate to contact me,

And I will do my very best

To satisfy what you request,

And help with what you need to do,

To make your every dream come true."

Jim Strickland – written 28^th June 2011

COME LORD JESUS

We know the Lord is coming back. We do not know the date.

For just about two thousand years. Some think it’s rather late.

It taken Him a bit too long. At least that’s what we say.

But all of us would like to think that it was yesterday.

We have a major problem. We’re locked in time and space.

That’s not true in the Spirit realm; They do not have to face

The things that we put up with. Alarm clocks don’t exist.

And every moment is the same. The boss does not insist,

That you are always punctual. Why should he? After all,

There aren’t any seasons. No summer, spring or fall.

It’s neither late nor early; no sorrow and no tears.

And one “day” in eternity is as a thousand years!

Of course this isn’t helpful when we are standing by.

The reason we are in a rush is that we know we’ll die.

So if the Lord ascended two thousand years ago,

It’s only been two days for Him. By no means is that slow!

When seen from this perspective, it makes a lot of sense.

It’s only in the eyes of men that time seems so immense.

But one day it will happen. We know He will return.

We know that for His enemies that they will surely burn.

He’ll have His people with Him; but those who’re left behind,

Will know the end has come for them. No wonder that we find,

These people in a frenzy. There is nowhere they can hide.

They’ll look to find concealment in caves or mountainside.

They’ll pray the rocks will fall on them. His wrath they cannot face.

They cannot stand before Him; for they rejected grace.

His eyes will flash with fire. They know their time is done.

And who can ever stand before God’s One and Only Son?

If only they had listened. Instead they laughed at those,

Who knew the loving Saviour; and all they did’ was doze.

But those who are His people will laugh and dance with glee.

Not at the awful future for Jesu’s enemies.

But at the great salvation that Jesus Christ has brought.

They’ll be with Him forever. Because His blood has bought

His people from their slavery from Satan and from sin.

They will know His love for them and see that special grin,

That He’s provided for them. A sign it is the end,

Of all the sin and wickedness that Satan chose to send.

Jim Strickland – written. Monday, 27 June 2011

JABEZ AND HIS MUM.

Was it really worth it, all that struggling and pain?

If you could start all over would you do it all again?

Would you burn the midnight oil and rise again at five?

Fighting with your problems in order to survive?

Perhaps you will not benefit but others surely will.

And ultimately you will know the glory of the thrill,

Of seeing what has happened reflected in the eyes,

Of someone who’s succeeded and is so glad you were wise.

So think for just a moment about Jabez and his mum.

Not the sort of woman you’d have under your thumb.

She had been delivered. Her labour was all done.

And in her arms was nestled a beautiful new son.

She called the baby Jabez because her labour pain

Had brought her baby to her. It wasn’t all in vain.

And as he grew to manhood, he turned to God and cried,

“Lord God of our nation, extend my borders wide

Lord I seek Your blessing! Lord, keep me from all harm.

Lead me with your strong right hand. Give me Your healing balm.

Lord God in Your wisdom drive suffering away,

That I might have a pain free life each morning every day.”

The Lord Most High was listening. He heard his heartfelt plea.

And in His Holy Wisdom, He said, “So let it be”!

Consider for a moment this well known Jabez prayer.

Did God make it happen because he had a flair

For deeper intercession? Let’s not go down that route.

God doesn’t give us reasons. That would be far too cute!

He tells us, “Think about it, The answer’s not concealed.

Keep on asking for it and all will be revealed.”

Take your eyes off Jabez. Seek, you’ll surely find.

Think about his mother and what was on her mind.

An honourable woman who took the time to plead,

She brought her son before Me, without a hint of greed.

She was a faithful servant. Her blessings were transferred,

Down many generations according to My Word”.

It wasn’t only Jabez whom God was honouring.

His mother and the women who do the righteous thing,

And come in intercession. It’s also their reward,

For all their many hours of devotion to the Lord.

The many midnight hours of prayer; of getting up at five,

To intercede for children who’d only just arrived!

They mustn’t be forgotten, passed over or ignored.

It’s time that they are recognised, not only by the Lord,

But also by their fathers, their husbands and their sons,

For what they’ve contributed and all that they have done

Jim Strickland – written Sunday, 26 June 2011

LIKE HIM

We’ve wondered what He’ll look like when Jesus Christ returns.

The more that we consider it the more the question burns.

We try and work it all out; His height and weight and size.

We think about His hairstyle and the colour of His eyes.

Will He be in a pinstripe suit or in a flowing gown?

And where is it we’ll meet Him and will it be in town?

These thoughts are academic. I don’t think we will care.

We’ll all be so excited that we are with Him there.

Some people have suggested there’ll be a massive crowd.

So big we’ll have to meet Him as He comes through the clouds.

This seems the biggest problem. Our cities are too small.

Our stadiums are “pipsqueak”, not big enough at all!

Just think of all the Christians in the past two thousand years.

The angels and the saints of old. It certainly appears

That we’ll be packed together like sardines in a tin.

But will it really bother us if we can be with Him?

Perhaps we will surround Him in some sort of a ball,

With Jesus in the centre – our God and Lord of all.

How will the world receive Him? I think they’ll weep and wail.

The wasted opportunities; perhaps their hearts will fail?

Perhaps recriminations will spiral out of hand.

But righteousness will take control in each and every land.

One thing we know for certain, we’ll see Him as He is.

No longer just a promise; .at last we will be His.

Yes, we will be God’s children because we have received

The Lord of all creation. In Him we have believed!

His great and precious promises at last will all come true.

And all He has prepared for us will flood into our view.

We cannot comprehend the things that Jesus has prepared.

The blessings we’ve experienced just cannot be compared,

With what He has stored up for us. Our minds would all go “tilt”

If we had just an inkling of what He’s done and built.

And we will fully know Him! We’ll see Him face to face.

No longer a reflection; but the fullness of His grace.

A resurrection body like His we will “put on”.

Our lowly bodies be transformed; our former struggles gone.

But what is most important and worth it’s weight in gold

Is that when we are with Him we’ll never more grow old.

And that which we’ve experienced we’ll find was so worth while.

For more than all of the rewards, will be to see Him smile.

Jim Strickland – written Saturday, 25 June 2011

LEAD US ON LORD!

They didn’t march just anyhow but how the Lord decreed.

To do it any other way would not increase their speed.

It would be a disaster. The Lord would not endorse,

A different way of marching. It was His stated course.

So why was this so different on those three special days?

To really understand it, see what the Bible says.

The Ark was in the centre. God’s pillar took the lead.

To point out the direction His people had to heed

The cloud provided shelter from the scorching midday sun

The fire kept them warm at night until the day begun

Was this an exception with the Ark up front instead?

A quaint misunderstanding of the words that we have read?

There’s no way to be certain but of this we can be sure.

A King can lead an army from anywhere secure!!!

Even if He’s standing in the middle of His troops,

His standard goes in front of them in case their spirit droops!

He’s just as much their leader regardless where He’s placed.

His leadership inspires them; they will not be disgraced.

Perhaps this is the meaning God decided to display.

For God will lead His people in His very special way.

His actual location is the spot which He decides.

He’s also all around them and since He always guides,

His actual position be it middle, front or rear,

Is rather immaterial. He’s unquestionably near.

So what is it we learn from this extraordinary tale?

Perhaps the most important is that He will never fail.

He’ll lead and guide His followers. He can’t be undermined.

Perhaps we cannot pinpoint Him but those who seek Him, find.

For He is all around us. He’s north, south, east and west.

To lead us to wherever from the place that suits Him best.

He’ll always be attentive to His people when we pray.

Omnipotent, omniscient in His omnipresent way.

And as He led His people in those days so long ago,

He’ll always be the leader of the ones who love Him so.

Jim  Strickland – written Friday, 24 June 2011

THE HOLY SPIRIT

He’s called the Holy Spirit; the God Who’s everywhere.

No matter what you say or think, the Holy Spirit’s there.

The middle of the brightest star; that place is not exempt.

The power of the universe. No one has every dreamt,

Of any place where He is not. No person can conceive,

Of anywhere He isn’t. No force can make Him leave.

He’s like a throbbing dynamo that cannot controlled

The Member of the Trinity with qualities untold,

Who flows between the Father and His Most Precious Son;

The mighty energy by which the universe is run.

And yet He is a Person, He isn’t just a force.

He has a personality He’s not just a resource.

He’s quite incomprehensible to feeble human minds.

Could you describe a sunset to somebody born blind?

He always has existed. When time and space were made,

He caused it all to happen. God spoke – it was obeyed!

He’s always been amongst us. Old Testament and New,

Describe what He was doing and what He would still do.

Before the death of Jesus, He mainly came upon,

The kings and priests and prophets; they spoke and He was gone.

That’s how God’s Word informs us that “prophecy” took place.

He hardly ever dwelled within that fallen human race.

But when the Lord ascended, a new phase was begun.

He came to dwell inside those committed to God’s Son.

For Jesus Christ had promised His Spirit would indwell,

The ones who had believed in Him and cut their ties with Hell.

So now in the New Testament we see what He can do.

He sends His Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you.

He comes with all His power. He is our “paraclete”

Our Advocate, our Holy Guide, our Escort Who can beat

Anyone who’s influenced by Satan’s wicked touch.

The Holy Spirit active in a Christian is too much

For Satan and his forces to ever overpower.

In Jesus Christ we’ve all become a Holy Spirit tower,

That reaches to the heavens and Satan can’t defeat.

The only “weapon” he can use for Christians to beat

Is if we start believing deception and his lies.

Which merely are his demons approaching in disguise.

So let the Holy Spirit do His work through you.

He is the Christian’s victory in all we say and do.

Let us all take courage. Stand strong and firm and tall.

Jesus and His Spirit will never let you fall.

And when the battle’s over, as soon as you have won,

Give glory to the Father, His Spirit and His Son.

Jim Strickland – written Thursday, 23 June 2011

DEATH

Death is an enigma. A riddle that we fear.

We know it’s going to happen, but hope it’s not too near.

We keep it in the background; We think if we ignore

Its dreadful implications, we’ll live a little more!

And so we sanitise it; put flowers round a grave.

Speak kindly to the relatives and tell them to be brave.

Then when we’ve left the funeral and gone back home again,

We’re glad we’ve done our duty; and some of us complain,

About how long the service took; then think of it no more.

It’s back to trivialities, like what’s the rugby score?

Don’t think I’m being callous with what is written here,

It’s true that the departed, we once held very dear.

But life was made for living. We can’t turn back the clock.

But funerals are times for us to quietly take stock,

And get a new perspective of why we have to die.

We’re monsters of iniquity and few of us know why.

We die because we’re sinners. That is the bottom line.

We may believe that we are good and we are doing fine.

But deep within the inner man, we know that it’s not true.

If you were really perfect, death wouldn’t come for you!

But what if it was possible for sin itself to die?

     Then death would not be able to come for you or I.

If we could deal with sin itself and put it in the grave,

Then we would all be free from death and we would all be saved!

But who could ever do it? It had to be a man.

And someone supernatural to put in place a plan,

To deal with sin forever. And if that someone died,

Then He would take death with Him; it couldn’t be applied!

But let’s go one step further. If He included me

And you, down deep within Him. Then miraculously,

If He was resurrected and brought to life again,

Then death would lose all meaning, along with sin and stain.

There’s one more implication that we must still explore.

If you and I are in Him, then death can reign no more!

We would be resurrected. In Him we’d be alive.

Then sin would be defeated and death would take a dive.

But this has really happened! Christ Jesus beat man’s fall!

God’s Son defeated sin and death. He is the Lord of all.

So when we go to funerals now, we needn’t say good-bye.

For if that person is in Christ, he cannot ever die!

 Jim Strickland – written Wednesday, 22 June 2011