Time with Jesus - Saturday, 06 October 2012
Hi all,
Today’s topic is about independence. It can be good or
bad. It’s good when children are being encouraged to stand on their own two
feet and get on with their own life. It’s bad when it is nothing more than
rebellion against authority.
Blessings,
Jim
& Phyllida Strickland
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – Saturday, 06 October 2012
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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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INDEPENDENCE
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Wikipedia tells us: - Independence:
A condition of a nation,
country or state in
which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government,
and usually sovereignty, over the territory. The definition is fine but doesn’t refer to that which is in the heart
of the individual. The drive to be free from the control of others. The
classic example is surely the freedom demands of an enslaved people.
We have no difficulty identifying this in a nation or a part of a
nation. A bit of thought will remind us that it starts in the heart of an
individual and spreads from there to become the desire of many.
In many ways, independence is something we all should seek for ourselves.
Babies are not independent. They rely totally on the care of others. In most
cases this is their parents or other care giver. As they grow, we find each
one stretching their boundaries in an effort to explore their own independence
from parental control. A healthy relationship between parents and child
encourages this. Each youngster seeks a measure of independence as they grow.
When I was a baby, my mother washed, fed, clothed and dressed me. If
she hadn’t, in all probability I’d be dead! This slowly changes over time. As
a 10 year old it would be intolerable for me to be in the same situation, unless
there was a medical condition that demanded it. During the teenage years, the
young man or woman is given more and more freedom. The wise parent realises
it won’t be long before the child reaches maturity and is in a position to
repeat the process. Then, as grandparents, we are able to watch our sons and
daughters establishing their own homes and raising their own children. Wow!
All this is very good. We think so anyway. I wonder what God thinks of
it? I’m sure He must have mixed feelings. In the first place, man was never
designed to be independent of God. To leave Him is to walk away from life
itself. At the same time, He wanted us to obey Him from within a relationship
of love and care. We see this in the garden. God gave Adam complete freedom
within that garden with one exception. He was not to eat the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Defend Adam all you like. The fact
remains, he broke the only law God had in place in that Garden. Sadly,
through the wiles of the serpent and the gullibility of his wife, Adam
declared UDI. It was a unilateral declaration of independence. This
declaration had catastrophic results. This messed-up world was the outcome. Adam
declared his independence from God and took on the nature of a fallen
creature. It was worse than that. He became the slave of a fallen angel who
hated him and intended to kill him and all his offspring. Adam lived a
further ±900 years. The real death was his immediate separation from God.
Physical death only came to get him all those years later. I’ve often wondered
why? The answer that amuses me most is that it took Satan ±900 years to figure
out a way to do it!
In this case Adam changed from dependence on God to be “in-dependence”
upon Satan. Cut off from God. From being free, to being a slave of Satan. In
this case I don’t think independence was much of a deal! Any comments?
Jim & Phyllida Strickland
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17 "What was it he said to you?"
Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so
severely, if you hide from me anything he told you."
1 Samuel 3:17 TNIV
8 But he's already made it plain how to
live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It's quite
simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and
loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously-- take God
seriously.
Micah 6:8 MSG
13 Obey the LORD's commands
and rules. I'm giving them to you today for your own good.
Deuteronomy
10:13 NIrV
10 And that means that
anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to
failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who
fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law." 11
The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a
moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship
with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does
it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the
opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right:
"The person who believes God, is set right by God--and that's the real
life."
Galatians
3:10-11 MSG
19 The purpose of the law
was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the
descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously
this law was not a first-hand encounter with God. It was arranged by
angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses.
Galatians
3:19 MSG
1 In the past God spoke
to our ancestors at many different times and in many different ways through
the prophets. 2 In these last
days he has spoken to us through his Son. God made his Son responsible for
everything. His Son is the one through whom God made the universe.
Hebrews
1:1-2 GW
9 So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again,
and if someone calls again, say, 'Speak, LORD,
your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went back to bed.
1 Samuel 3:9
NLT
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It
started in a garden a long, long time ago.
Adam
and his side kick thought things were kind of slow.
This
diet they were living on was only nuts and fruit;
They
thought what was forbidden, was somehow rather cute.
That’s
what the serpent told them and it looked kind of good.
And
so they tried a sample of what they never should.
They
wanted “independence”; that’s what the snake implied;
And
after they had eaten it, the life inside them died.
The
found that independence was just a “hill of beans”.
Not
what they had thought about; not in their wildest dreams.
They
wanted independence from the God Who Reigns on High.
And
only changed their “ownership” which sort of made them cry.
But
they were somehow stuck with it and they were then enslaved,
By
Lucifer, the devil. He made sure they behaved,
The
way that he intended. He made their firstborn son,
Become
the world’s first murderer. The dreadful deed was done.
He
killed his younger brother from jealousy it seems,
Because
the Lord rejected his offering of greens!
By
now they’d left the garden. Their time with God was through.
It’s
clear that right from then on in, the things they had to do,
Was
what the devil told them; there really was no choice.
They’d
lost their contact with the Lord and couldn’t hear His voice.
But
from that very moment, when it was done and dusted,
They
knew that in the devil’s words they never should have trusted.
Independence
still remains the people’s heartfelt cry.
“I
don’t want you to rule me; I think I’d rather die”!
How
often have we heard this? How often have we thought,
It’s
time for me to run away; I hope I don’t get caught!
We
dream of independence. We long to see the day,
When
we can softly close the door and somehow get away,
From
the responsibilities which we see all around.
But
independence isn’t something anyone has found.
Not
while we are living. We find we need each other.
The
way that little children need their father and their mother.
A
wife still needs her husband. The husband needs his wife.
We
know that their relationship should last them both for life.
But
still we somehow long for that which we know can’t be.
A
chance to taste forbidden fruit which everywhere we see.
O
yes, that man looks handsome. I’ll taste a little bit.
But
when romance is over, will you own up to it?
That
woman sure looks sexy. Far better than my wife.
I
think I’ll try a little taste. It will “spice up” my life!
How
very, very silly. It is adultery.
And
you have broken covenant. That isn’t liberty!
And
just as Eve and Adam departed from God’s will.
Your
streak of “independence” your marriage you could kill.
Jim Strickland –
Written 6th October 2012
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