REAL LOVE

Time with Jesus - Friday, 20 January 2012

Hi all,

In the Book of Deuteronomy, God indicates that “Israel” belongs to Him and “Jacob” is His special possession. In the context in which this is written, Jacob and Israel are the same. It’s a classic piece of Hebrew writing in which the same thing is stated twice. We could perhaps say that God is expressing His love for His people. Special possession is an interesting statement. The best illustration I’ve heard is to say that Israel is my “pocket money”. The entire world belongs to Him. In a sense, if the entire world was expressed in terms of an income, it was all His.

We understand this best when we say that you and I earn a wage; So much per week or month. Whatever! We have certain commitments that must be paid. For instance, we have to buy food, clothes, family needs, rentals etc. So although all the money is ours, we are compelled to spend it in a particular way. But every one of us likes to have something to spend on whatever he/she wants. We call it our pocket money. For you and me, it’s special. It’s mine for me to spend as I want. No strings attached, it’s mine. As children, most of us received something from our parents to spend somewhere. For me that was my pocket money.

Now think of it on a Divine Scale. God loves us all. We are all His people. Every man and woman on this earth is His. We are all His possession. But, like us, God has a special possession. Favourite in the sense that the pleasure we get with our pocket money is how He sees His people. His people are His pocket money!

The implications of this are staggering. Suddenly the Song of Songs starts to make sense. God is the King. In the book, He is the groom. Then He begins to describe His love for you and me; we are His bride; His special possession. He shares His passion with and for us. We respond in the way a bride responds to her groom. It’s breathtaking! You are His special possession. You are His pocket money. You are His beloved.

How can such a love be described? It’s supernatural; It’s that unique love of God that gives itself away. The Greek word somewhat Anglicised is “agape’” What’s it like? Some years, ago I was listening to one of our better known SA speakers. He asked much the same question. How much does God love us? By way of answer he spread out his arms as far as he could.  He added that it’s exactly, what Jesus did – then Jesus died. He can go no further, because there is nothing any further. That’s agape’! No limits and no end.

Today’s meditation looks at the Love of God.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland.

Real Love

There’s little understanding of the love of God Most High, For guilt-infested sinners, the like of you and I. We don’t know why He bothers. Why should He even look, At people who don’t care for Him, or what is in His Book. It seems we’ve been inoculated, so we cannot tell, If we are bound for heaven, or have been condemned to hell. We know it’s done by Satan. We know about his hate. Any person that is born – they have to share his fate. And so he does his very best, in order to ensure, That not a person in the world could any way be pure. But thank God, Jesus knows it. He knows of Satan’s trap. And just because He loves us, He died to fill the gap, That Father had erected the instant of the fall. And He came here to close it. He died to save us all. We mostly find His love for us is more than we have seen. It stretches to eternity, where we have never been. This world is full of “eros” which usually is lust. Do the things you want to do! There’s no one you can trust. So if your “love” is glandular then grab it double quick. The value of virginity, That makes me feel so sick. Mankind are only animals, so you can copulate With anyone or everyone. Who needs a marriage mate? We find it all around is. This is normality? If that is now your attitude, it’s crass stupidity. The fact is, you don’t understand what Christ has really done. He didn’t die upon the cross to stop you having fun. He died because He loved you. There was no trace of lust. He didn’t have to do it for the children of the dust. He didn’t love for my sake, but because it had to be. He didn’t get emotional and concentrate on me. He saw a dying people, who had been led astray. A lost and mad humanity who didn’t have a way, To come and meet His Father. Compassion then arose, And filled Him with a longing to go and rescue those, Who truly would receive Him and love Him for His sake. A love that gives itself away and cannot bear to take! A love that says, “Whoever, no matter where you’ve been, I’ll freely give My life away so that you can be clean. No matter what they do to Me, my focus is on you. My love for you is limitless. I’ll do what I must do. If you will just believe me, I’ll teach you how to love. Then you can also give your life for God who reigns above”. Jim Strickland – Written Friday 20th January 2012.

DECEPTION

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 19 January 2012

Hi all,

Deception is perhaps the greatest tool in Satan’s armoury. It seems to be his specialisation. The deception of Eve in Genesis 3 introduces us to the fall of man. There is a sense in which the effect of deception is the focus of God’s attention throughout the Bible to the end of the Book of Revelation.

Mother Eve was deceived. Adam was not. He was a copy cat. Like many husbands today, he went along with his wife no matter what. He was not deceived. He knew what he was doing but did it anyway. So what else is new?

The Bible has a number of classic deceivers. Abram, Jacob, 10 of Jacob’s sons, Joseph in Egypt; Moses birth, Joshua; the list goes on and on. Today, deception is rife. The best comment I’ve heard about this is the question, “Would you buy a used car from Jacob?”

Jesus deceived no one. He was sinless. He is the only person who could truthfully state: - ³⁰ I'll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don't worry--he has nothing on me, no claim on me. John 14:30 MSG If He may be accused of anything it would be to allow Satan and his forces to crucify and “kill Him”. Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead! Satan seems to have bitten off more than he could chew!

Today’s meditation looks at deception. What happened and some of the implications

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland.

Deception

Deception’s not acceptable, no matter who it’s by. We may think we must do it. It’s better not to try. “Sarai is my sister”. Is just what Abram said, It’s true, to His half sister, that Abram had been wed. But it was a deception and Pharaoh wasn’t pleased, He put her in his harem and his “wives” became diseased! He found they couldn’t reproduce and Sarai got the blame. So Abram had to leave with her, far richer than they came! The arch-deceiver Jacob, tricked everyone he could; He paid his uncle Laban a lot more than he should. He only wanted Rachel, but he had been deceived. The fact he married Leah, was hard to be believed. So Laban added Rachel. He worked for seven more years. With two wives and two mistresses! He would be close to tears! Perhaps the “best” deception that ever has been told, Is of the men from Gibeon. The thing they did was bold! They loaded up their donkeys, with very old stale bread. “We’ve travelled from so far away” is what their leader said. “We’ve heard about your exploits and what your God can do; So we have travelled from afar to make a pact with you. We’d like a firm agreement to always be your friend. So can we cut a covenant on which we can depend?” Now Joshua and his people did not ask God’s advice. And so they cut a covenant; they did it in a trice. Then, found out that the Gibeonites lived only just next door. But they were in a covenant which they could change no more. For it was done and settled. The Covenant was cut. They didn’t want to keep it. They nearly did their “nut”. And they would have to live with it, throughout the years ahead. They forced the men of Gibeon to serve till they were dead. Then, some years in the future, when Saul became the king, He tried annihilation, to end this problem thing. But he forgot the covenant and it was still in place. So seven of Saul’s offspring with death itself were faced. Each one of them was butchered and their bodies left to rot. Perhaps Saul had forgotten it, but Father God had not. He never will forget it. Time doesn’t wipe away, The terms of any covenant. They’re still in place today. And this is why a husband and wife are next of kin. It goes back to the covenant that they have entered in. So do not let deception destroy your marriage bond. You cannot dump each other because you are not fond, Of living as a couple, before the Lord Most High. You cannot break a covenant no matter how you try. But Jesus might forgive you, repentance is required. You never will repeat it, is what you’ll find desired. Jim Strickland – Written Thursday 19th January 2012

A “PROPHET” COMES TO TOWN

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Hi all,

In Christian circles today, it’s disturbing to find people going from meeting to meeting trying to hear a word from God. It’s been going on for so long that many see it as normal behaviour. The problem is this type of sin is always seen as normal. There is a perception that since everyone does it, it can’t be wrong.

It’s wrong because for a Christian, guidance is meant to come via the Holy Spirit and not by some visiting speaker. The Bible is clear on this issue. Any other way is unacceptable to God.

We need to be aware that God’s requirements are not determined democratically. He sets the standards. We may not like them. We may hate them. We may love them. Our opinion is irrelevant. His opinion is the only one that counts.

An excellent example of this is the abortion laws of South Africa. Any pregnant woman, who decides that she doesn’t want to have a baby, is entitled to obtain an abortion. There are one or two associated legalities. But today, a girl is legally entitled to have an abortion regardless of the opinion, preferences or requirements of her parents.

But that which is legal in South Africa is not necessarily approved by the Lord. Consulting a medium or prognosticator is not! It’s a sin!

Of course, many will say that they went to a church service and the “preacher” gave them a “word”. They will say that they didn’t know. But that is not an excuse. There are no excuses for disobeying the Lord. Furthermore, He knows the truth.

As far as truth is concerned, be aware that I have been on both ends of this; as a recipient and a giver. I’ve had to repent on both issues and ask His forgiveness. I thank the Lord for forgiving me.

What about you? Provided you repent, you also can be forgiven. Bear in mind that repentance means that you dissociate yourself completely and decide you will not repeat the offence. The choice is yours

Today’s meditation looks at this topic in further detail.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland.

A “Prophet” comes to Town

Our planet’s populated by many different folk. All of them are different. And many of them broke. They’d like a lot of money, but work is a no-no. They’d like somehow to win it and some will even go, And ask a fortune teller, who’ll win the big horse race? They think it is the answer to all the things they face. Unfortunately, Christians are touched with this malaise. And so they hunt all over, to find if there are ways, To know just what will happen; and just what they must do, For them to see the future in ways they think are true. They try to find a prophet to speak into their life, To find a future husband; or who will be their wife? And so you’ll often find them, when a prophet comes to town, Hoping for a special word that will not let them down. But this sort of behaviour with God is not OK. It’s really fortune telling in a “Christian” kind of way. But even if it’s covered, or disguised so it looks good, It’s something that’s forbidden, that Christians never should, Ever have a part in. It may sound very nice. But do not have a part in it. That is the best advice. I know the prophets did it. We see it in God’s Word. But trying to repeat it is actually absurd. They warned of what would happen if people didn’t change. So when the Lord took action, it wasn’t seen as strange. Perhaps the best example we’ll find is of King Saul. He “had to know” the future and thought he could recall, Samuel the prophet, to tell him what to do! The Witch of Endor helped Him. He heard his reign was through! Today there are occasions when God will send a word, Through someone He’s appointed. It’s true, it has occurred. But please be very careful, your curiosity, To know about your future, is what you’d like to see. For that is fortune telling. Leave everything to God, And you’ll find confirmation, that won’t be seen as odd. So please be very careful when a “prophet” comes to town. You may think he is genuine; But is he just a clown, Who’s sent to spread confusion in Christianity? Ask the Lord to show you exactly who is he. Do not let him pray for you and do not heed his word. It may be just the opposite of what you should have heard. You may think its convincing. You may think it is true. But it’s the very opposite of what you aught to do. The best thing you can ever do is simply keep away, And then get down upon your knees and intercede and pray, That He’ll expose the heretic and harm will not be done, To genuine believers in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Jim Strickland – Written Wednesday 18th January 2012

IT’S HAPPENING – HE’S COMING

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 17 January 2012

For the past 30 years I’ve been passionately interested in the prophetic. That’s not surprising since, when I met Phyllida, she was moving in the prophetic. There was a time in those very early days when we “flowed” together in speaking in tongues and interpretation. In a very inadequate way, we saw through a “glass darkly” and were able to be a blessing to a number of friends and acquaintances. It still happens occasionally as the Lord wills.

One of the reasons this happened was because of our great interest in God’s Word. Not in the usual way many of our brothers and sisters in the charismatic movement preferred. We wanted to know something of the Old and New Testaments and not just a few selected texts, many of which were taken completely out of context. But I mustn’t start preaching!

Today’s Scriptures provide us with a wonderful overview of the prophetic. The focus is mainly on the Second coming of Christ and our understanding of the associated implications. The comments by Jude, Paul and John harmonise in their warning about apostasy and false prophets during the end times. In 1996 I composed a poem about what we could see was happening in the church. It was called “It’s Happening”. In spite of its being written some 15 years ago, it seems relevant for today.

The second section of poems, written in a similar style, are based on what two or three of the Scriptures state. All I’ve done is express the thought behind the Scripture in poetry.

The style is similar to limerick. Writing this way provides an unusual challenge in arranging the rhyme and metre in a similar way but which appears to be very different.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland.

It’s Happening – He’s Coming

1) It's happening! It's happening; Just as the Lord predicted! The blind are leading those who cannot see. We ridicule the prophets, The way that He depicted; And teach the deaf to hear what cannot be! They stumble through the darkness With the light behind their backs, And gesture with the antics of the dumb. Their hearts are full of evil, And as Lucifer attacks, They lap up every syllable and crumb! Father God, in Jesus' Name, Please turn again our face; That we indeed may turn again to You. Lord, our plight is desperate, With shame at the disgrace, Of doing what the Pharisees did do. Place Your fingers in our ears, So that we all may hear. And make Your clay of spittle for our eyes. Help us know reality; And that You're drawing near, That we'll no longer heed the devil's lies. Jim Strickland – 1996	2) The Lord is surely coming. The keys are in His hand. To open and unlock the gates of Hell. He’s been resurrected, Just as His Father planned. Write down everything you’ll hear us tell. The mirror isn’t clear enough. The image is distorted. Enough to make the message incomplete. So, be rather careful of Those things you see reported. Perhaps it’s not the thing God said must be? Everything the Lord has made, Is under Christ’s control. Though it doesn’t seem to be that way. Do not be deluded. He’s managing the whole. And we’re sure to see it all some day. Children let me tell you, This is the final hour, And many anti-Christs are all around. They’re deceiving many, But trust in Jesus’ power. He’ll ensure each one of them is found. Jim Strickland 2012/01/17