HALLOWED BE THY NAME

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 11 October 2012

Hi all,

Jesus model prayer (the Lord’s Prayer) continues; ⁹ Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9 ESV Our meditation today looks at the word “hallowed” Some of it is a bit tongue in cheek. Also, thanks to Strong’s numbers, we have a Greek lesson! You may not need it, but I do.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Thursday, 11 October 2012			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	HALLOWED BE THY NAME
What sort of world do we live in? I suppose it’s a world where men and women seek the limelight. People want to be “in the news-papers”, preferably complete with the very latest photograph in glorious colour. People want to be bigger and better than everyone else. Fame rather than notoriety; but if being notorious is the only way, so be it! People want to be “world champion”. To be second or even third is not where it’s at. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the tears and look of utter desolation on the faces of those who didn’t win gold in the Olympic Games. No one wants to be second best. Third best is akin to failure! Many of us are sports crazy. We follow our favourite team with a passion that is incredible. People attend sporting events to cheer on their team. In South Africa, it tends to be soccer, cricket and rugby. We are told that the places where these sporting events take place are hallowed ground. Places like “Loftus, Kingsmead, St Georges Park, the FNB Stadium and Wanderers. Here the fans bow down and swear allegiance to their own special high priests. Men like the Late Danie Craven, Graham Smith and Gordon Igesund and others of their ilk! It’s very straight forward. Pay your money and take your seat. Alternatively watch the game on TV. In RSA we have something like six dedicated sports channels. Even in HD! We are told, Football (soccer) is a gentleman's game played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligans' game played by gentlemen. Of course it could be the other way round if you prefer. According to an American gentleman visiting England who attended a cricket match, “Cricket is a sport invented by God and played by Englishmen who, not being a very spiritual people, needed something to give them a concept of eternity!” What amazes me is the reaction of sports fans to what is happening on the field of play. The crowd roars, chants, waves arms – they would do the same with legs if they could – screams, cries and displays huge emotion. It’s all about who does what with a round or oblong ball. There are rules to these games which, according to the crowd, umpires and referees do not understand. Where they do, the rules are always interpreted in favour of the other team. The team wins by scoring the most goals, tries or runs. Today they even use TV cameras to prove that a goal, try or a run is right. Woe betide anyone who seeks to interfere with the event. Police are sometimes called upon to attend. They are there not to watch the game, but to watch the people watching the game. It’s ludicrous! Personally, if you like this peculiar brand of insanity please be my guest. However, if and when I start to get excited about Jesus Christ, His Father and His Spirit, kindly keep your comments about my mental state to yourself. I love to roar, chant, wave arms and legs, scream, cry and display emotion about the only One Who really matters. I may even get so excited that my language changes into an incomprehensible babble. I sometimes get so excited I didn’t know what I am saying myself. Note that the one I’m supporting never changes. He always wins. This Divine team of Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always been and will always be the very top of their league. According to the Son, the Father is to be “hallowed”. For me this applies to the entire team. They made the world; they made the rules and they made me and you. I think I’ll keep on hallowing the three of them. Whom you decide to hallow is up to you! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matthew 6:9 ESV 14 Don't worship any other god. GOD--his name is The-Jealous-One--is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14 MSG 11 "Who is like You among the gods, O LORD--glorious in holiness, awesome in splendour, performing great wonders? Exodus 15:11 NLT 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" Revelation 4:8 ESV 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness. 1 Chronicles 16:29 TNIV 1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory 5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Isaiah 6:1-3 & 5 ESV 5 I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." Job 42:5-6 NLT 7 But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 1 John 1:7 GW 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. Hebrews 12:10 NLT 19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean; our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19 & 22 NLT	Jesus prayed, “Our Father, Hallowed be Thy Name”, But what is meant by “hallowed” Is it some freaky claim, So we can’t understand it? That’s certainly untrue. So what is it that “Hallowed” means to folk like me and you? The word is hag-ee-ad'-zo. That’s what it is in Greek. Which doesn’t really help us, unless we go and seek, An accurate translation. It means to consecrate; To purify or sanctify or seek to venerate A person who is Holy. In this case, God Most High. He’s Holiness personified above the Earth and sky. He tells us He is jealous. He will not tolerate, Our worshiping anther god. It’s something which He hates. There isn’t any other god. But even so, we find, That we have dug some rubbish, from the darkness of the mind! The Lord alone is Holy. The Lord is quite unique. There’s no one in creation, that anyone can seek, To compare with our Maker. No creature can compare, With His Great Awesome Splendour. There’s no one anywhere, To challenge His authority. He’s God and He’s alone! No man, no fish, no animal, no bird no piece of stone, Can ever represent Him. He is the Great “I AM!” If you think there’s another way – my friend you’re in a jam. All creation worships Him. The angels bow their knee. The seraphim adore! There’s just humanity, Who think that they know better and raise up foreign gods. They do not see their stubbornness, is putting them at odds, With Father, Son and Spirit. They don’t see they are fools. They will have to bend the knee and say “The Lord God Rules”. His Holiness and splendour are hard to comprehend. His qualities are infinite. Indeed, there have no end. He’s bigger than the universe and smaller than a dot. The temperature’s irrelevant. He’s never cold or hot. The darkness can’t enfold Him, for He’s the source of Light. He’s like a hundred million suns which must eclipse the night. No man’s ever seen His face; to do so would bring death. His purity and holiness, would steal away their breath. Isaiah had a tiny glimpse. He stated, “Woe is me!” My eyes have seen the LORD of hosts in all His purity. That’s what is meant by “Hallowed” Don’t think that it is trite, It’s not just an expression to say He’s burning bright. It emphasises holiness, His purity and power. He’s more than just a bulwark; some high and mighty tower. He is the great Creator of our whole paradigm. The One Who truly Loves us and tells us, “You are mine!” Jim Strickland – Written 11th October 2012

OUR FATHER

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Hi all,

There are more religions in the world today than we can guess. In every one except Christianity, God is some distant unfathomable figure who wants to squash you like a bug. You need lots and lots of their deity’s “brownie points” to please him and get to heaven. Nothing was certain except one day you will die. Then you’ll know if you had made the grade for heaven. If not? Let’s not go there. Then Jesus came and told us that His Father had sent Him. More than that! His Father wanted to be our Father. Today’s meditation is on this topic.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 10 October 2012			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	OUR FATHER
All the Schools I attended had an “assembly” every day. All the pupils would meet and line up in their classes and listen to whatever it was that was being said. Normally it was routine and the assembly would conclude with prayer. The Roman Catholic School I attended, always concluded with us reciting the “Our Father” prayer. Usually this was “done” in a disinterested manner. We just had to get to our class and get on with the day. The Roman Catholic boys would then repeat the “Hail Mary” prayer which, after several repetitions, we all knew. The Jewish boys were never expected to participate in these times of prayer. But there we were, all together at the assembly time and they had to either participate, or stand saying nothing. Needless to say, by the end of the year, every pupil, Catholic, Protestant and Jew, was thoroughly familiar with the Lord’s prayer and the “Hail Mary” prayer. The first period of the day was “Catechism” for the Catholics and “Scripture” for all the protestants. The Jewish boys had a free period. I loved the Scripture classes. It gave me knowledge of the names of the books of the Bible. Paul’s Missionary journeys were part of the Scripture period as was the 10 Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and many of the parables. In my final year I was awarded the School Scripture prize for Protestant boys! Even then I loved the Scriptures! Because it was a Catholic school run by the Marist Brothers, prayers were said every hour. The bell would ring and everyone in the class would stand and say the “Hail Mary” for as long as that took. We all heard the bell and stood immediately. At 12h00 the bell would ring. We would all stand and recite the “Angelus”. My memory fails trying to recall the details. This took ±one minute. Then it was lunch time. No doubt an interested observer would think that we were a class of devoted young Catholic boys seeking to serve God to the best of our ability. That was not true. We were a bunch of boys and later young men who were required to pay lip service to God. Sincerity or insincerity was irrelevant. What it did for me was help me get to know a few of the universal prayers along with the Apostles creed which was also included somewhere in the prayer ritual. Later on, when I made a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, this ritual proved to have been of considerable benefit. I had a head start on many of the people who committed their lives to Christ at that time. My one regret is that we filled our minds with knowledge of God and had almost no interest in Him. Repetition does this. I realised you could teach a parrot to say the “Our Father”, but it would not change the parrot. That was the great tragedy. It was all talk without the heart! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Matthew 6:9 TNIV 1 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said: Father, it's time. Display the bright splendour of your Son So the Son in turn may show your bright splendour. John 17:1 MSG 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John 20:17 ESV 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, Galatians 3:26 NIV 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:15-16 ESV 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:6-7 ESV 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24 ESV 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 ESV	When Jesus said, “Our Father”, this world was changed for good. The thoughts of distant deity’s, you’d pray to if you could, No longer were appropriate. We didn’t have to shout, So that some god would hear us, Such thoughts were now in doubt. God wasn’t so impersonal, that we would try in vain, To capture His attention; and treat us with disdain. He said God is a Father. What does that mean to you? That we are all His Children and everything we do, Is terribly important. That He is on our side; And loves us with the passion of a husband for his bride. Such thoughts were quite disturbing for those who love to sin. God isn’t as convenient as one made out of tin! It also means, almighty God, is actually my Dad; And I will get a spanking, if I do something bad. You cannot treat your father as a stranger you’ve just met. You have to be responsible and not get into debt. For that would bring dishonour, unto your Father’s Name. You can’t keep on behaving as if life is just a game. You’ve also many brothers and sisters in the Lord. And in your daily dealing with them, you can’t afford, To ever rob or cheat them. For Dad will get to know; He’ll “sort the situation” with a well-directed blow! If God is Jesus’ Father; and this we know as fact, We have to treat our siblings, with courtesy and tact. They’ve also been adopted, just the same as you; And you must “stick together”, as if by “super-glue”! It means they have His Spirit and each of them may claim, The self-same right of access, to Jesus and His Name. Each one of us is equal in every little way; And He will also hear them when they come to Him and pray! We love our elder brother. He is God’s first-born Son. We know that by His power, Satan’s on the run. That anything we ask for the Father will provide, If we ask in Jesus Name and not from sinful pride. So God is now our Father. The Bible tells us so. And as we get to know Him, our love for Him will grow. And there will come a moment, when we are face to face, Worshiping our Father, because of Jesus’ grace. Jim Strickland – Written 10th October 2012

BEING PURIFIED

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 09 October 2012

Hi all,

Purity! Living a life that is pure before the Lord for most of us is little more than a pipe-dream. We’d like to get there but the difficulties of everyday life make it virtually impossible. Our meditation today looks at this in more detail.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Tuesday, 09 October 2012			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	BEING PURIFIED.
Purity is a very strange thing. We try to achieve it and soon find that it is an impossible task. Those of you who remember or know about the 1950’s will recall the drive among athletes to beat the 4 minute mile. Today, most of us don’t know what a mile is! Why should we. It was a measurement of length in the old “English” system. At the time, this was seen as the “Holy Grail” of middle distance athletes. The record for this distance had been reducing from 4min 10 seconds. Many regarded the time to be an impossible target. Then on 6 May 1954 Roger Bannister succeeded. A couple of weeks later, John Landy, the great Australian runner, also than the mile in less than 4 minutes. In the British Empire Games in Vancouver, in a race billed as "The Mile of the Century," both runners beat the four minute time, but Bannister came in first at 3:58.8 to Landy's 3:59.6. Since then, many men have broken this “barrier” and it is no longer seen as impossible If people ask what has happened in the intervening years, we are informed that training techniques have changed significantly. Better nutrition and intensive exercise have equipped sportsmen to achieve what was once thought to be impossible. Obviously, there will come a time when it will be humanly impossible to break the record. In other words, we will never be able to produce a perfect athlete. Now Jesus is perfect in every respect. But, in His manhood, to improve on the record will be impossible, even for Him in His perfection! Don’t ask me when that will be. But it would be very helpful if you would tell me! If you take the time to read the dietary requirements and exercise programme of any Olympic athlete, you will probably decide not to try it yourself. I came to that conclusion shortly after the Sydney Games. There was a TV program showing us some of the young Australian gymnasts preparing for the Beijing and London Olympics. Little girls who volunteered to commit to a regimen to which they would devote the following 4 or 8 years of life. Will any of us achieve perfection? It’s a good question. In the race of life it takes the willingness of an Olympic athlete to finish the course. But there is a difference. We only compete against our self. In addition, the Holy Spirit is our coach and Jesus is our trainer. They assure me that if I keep going, I will definitely come first in my race! They also tell me that it won’t be for just a gold medal. It will be for a crown of gold that Jesus will give. All who finish the course will get the same or similar golden crowns. Will we then be perfect? I’m told that by then it could be possible. Our mortal bodies require adjustment. But when we will change our mortal body for a resurrection body, It may be bit easier. Will we then be able to run a sub 4 minute mile? Good question! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. Psalms 12:6 TNIV 140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. Psalms 119:140 NLT 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalms 19:8 TNIV 5 Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection. 6 Do not add to His words, or He may rebuke you and expose you as a liar. Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT 11 I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You Psalms 119:11NLT 15 I will study Your commandments and reflect on Your ways. Psalms 119:15 NLT 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV 2 Like new-born infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation 1 Peter 2:2 ESV 17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us. 2 Corinthians 2:17 NLT 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 2 Corinthians 4:2 NLT	Purifying anything takes lots and lots of time. Silver in a crucible, is how it is refined. Gold is heated seven times to skim away the dross. People can be purified by nailing on a cross. Jesus was the perfect man. And yet He had to learn, Obedience to Father, by going through that burn. The agony of whipping, which would kill lesser men, Inflicted by a specialist for pain beyond our ken. Tormented by the hammering, of nails through hands and feet; Of hanging there stark naked in that “hellish” midday heat. That’s what Jesus suffered, when He was crucified. That’s what He experienced while being “purified”. He didn’t have to do it. He could have walked away. But in the middle of it, He knew He had to stay. Because He traded places; He took it all for me, And all the other members of the human family. We needed to be purified. The sin was yours and mine. But since the Blessed Master, was also Christ Divine, His death was efficacious for all the human race. So what the Lord experienced, we do not have to face. There wasn’t an alternative. The heat was turned up high. And just because of what He did, we know that death will die! What Jesus did was flawless. He is the Living Word. Everything predicted has certainly occurred. Not a tinge of falsehood.  Each prophesy fulfilled. There is now a “way to God” because His blood was spilled. Lord, You said You’d do it. O Lord You’ve been proved right. You achieved the victory, so we may win our fight. You sent Your Holy Spirit, so we’re not on our own. We grow in our salvation, through You and You alone. You gave Your commandment, to help us stay on track; And by Your generosity, there’s nothing that we lack. You grant to us discernment to reject all shameful deeds. And willingness to follow You and put aside our greed. We know You are refining us, to bring us forth as gold. That somehow in the process, Your plans for us unfold. We’re yearning for perfection, when we will be like You! And all the promises You’ve made, will certainly come true. Jim Strickland – Written 9th October 2012