CLEANLINESS AND GODLINESS

Time with Jesus - Monday, 03 December 2012

Hi all,

Our meditation today is on the topic of Cleanliness and Godliness. I’ve drawn the title from today’s Scriptures. Some of them focus upon the need for us to be clean. The fact is, nothing “unclean” can ever approach God. In many ways, the two go together. It’s only the sinfulness of man that raises questions about their compatibility. For those who truly love Him, these two “qualities” are inseparable. Only sin can distort this.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 03 December 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	CLEANLINESS AND GODLINESS
Back in the 1960’s in the UK, radio was still comparatively popular. TV was well and truly ensconced, but radio was far from forgotten. There were some programmes that were widely followed. One of them was a weekly “Letter from America” by Alistair Cook. He would take a broad look at what was happening around him. His descriptions were classic. Very often, with tongue in cheek he would report on the latest “fad” going on around him. At times he was most complimentary. His weekly letter had been read since shortly after WW2 and people loved it. When he passed away, it was the closest thing to a national day of mourning that I remember. Other favourites included “Beyond our Ken” featuring the comedy of Kenneth Horne. He followed this with “Around the Horn” which also became a “national event”. Another favourite was a show called, “My Word”. The stars were two “show writers” called Frank Muir and Dennis Norden. Their “Pierce de Resistance” occurred at the beginning and end of the show. At the beginning they were given a well-known expression. They were asked to think about it and, at the end, they would be asked to explain how and where, in their imagination, these saying came about. On one occasion the phrase was, “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. One of them went into an elaborate tale of an African King who lived in a grass house and who kept his thrones in a tree. One day the thrones fell on him through the roof and killed him. Hence the expression, “People who live in grass houses should not store thrones. One of the pithy “proverbs” from my youth was, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. It’s one of those statements we feel sure originates in the Bible. Much to our subsequent surprise, we find it doesn’t. It just seems to sound so right; it should be there somewhere! In fact, in many cases, just the opposite is true. This is because you and I know what appeals to others. Then, when the customer is impressed, a product is produced that is a trade-off between expectation and price. Not many people can afford the excellence of quality and luxury of a Rolls Royce. Some make do with something a little cheaper! Their decision will be dictated by functionality and affordability. The rich will settle for well-known top of the range cars. The poor will have to get by with something that is “pre-owned”. Others will have to make do with “Shank’s pony”. However, whatever it is that we finally settle on, Christians must realise that this thinking pervades almost everything. We know that we are the Temple of the Living God. We know that He is living in us. In other words, all of us are equal in the eyes of God. But the location and comfort of our “temple” depends on our desire to be clean and Godly. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			22 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, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 NLT 18 "You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, 19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations." Exodus 30:18-21 ESV 19 Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. 1 Corinthians 6:19 MSG 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:17 NLT 26 And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! 27 I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! Job 19:26-27 NLT 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty--but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Revelation 21:27 NLT 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? Habakkuk 1:13 TNIV 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 ESV	Cleanliness and Godliness, are said to be a pair, That people all should follow and something we should share. It isn’t in the Bible and is quite often true. But is it universal in everything we do? It hinges on our motives. It hangs upon our goals. It hinges on the purposes, within our hearts and souls. Some people are fastidious in keeping themselves clean. But in their hearts we find that they are covetous and mean. The cleanliness is outward; they wash away the dirt. But they are quite indifferent, to all the pain and hurt, Which they cause other people. They’re fine on the outside, But when you get to know them, they are sin personified! Our Lord and Master Jesus, once spoke of them that way. They are like whited sepulchres; outside they look OK. But underneath the surface; below the whitened stones, They’re littered with corruption and filled with dead men’s bones. He said this of the Pharisees and all their outward rites. Very few were interested in other people’s plights. They’d wash their hands in public when they sat down for a meal. All of the observers would think it very real. But none of it was genuine. They did it all for show; And to impress the people whom they didn’t want to know! They took as their example, what God said He desired. Washing at the laver, He certainly required. “To and from the tabernacle, wash your hands and feet!” It was never optional. And if they didn’t meet, These absolute requirements, most likely they would die. This was the commandment from God Who reigns on High. It is a requirement that still lives on today. Christians are the Temple of God in every way. We must keep it spotless and always free from sin. Give no opportunity for Satan to come in. Jesus Christ will wash us; His blood will make us clean. When we are repentant and confess what we have been. Each of us are temples. His Spirit is inside; With a special purpose; to lead us and to guide. God has said He’ll do it. It is His guarantee. That if we follow Jesus, with Him we’ll always be! Jim Strickland Written 3rd December 2012

THE SACRIFICE

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 02 December 2012

Hi all,

The Sacrificial System of the Old Covenant was very complicated. Certainly from our understanding it was most complicated. It had to be. The system was intended by God to represent what Jesus would be for New Covenant believers. They are thus a “type” of Jesus. Now Jesus Christ’s death upon that cross was difficult to describe in terms of Old Testament imagery. In this instance, five different “procedures were required to accomplish what He achieved with one! Furthermore, the death and blood of an animal is not really sufficient to atone for the sins of anyone. That’s why it was repeated every year on the Day of Atonement. I suppose you could say that these sacrifices were the “down payment” for the Grand Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death would not have to be repeated every year. Once was more than sufficient for everyone.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 02 December 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	THE SACRIFICE
My love affair with the Methodist Church goes back to 1951. As a nine year old I was sent as a boarder to Kingswood College in Grahamstown. It was a “water-shed” year for me. After evening “prep” one of the masters read from Pilgrim’s Progress. On other occasions we would sing hymns from the Methodist Hymn Book. That’s where I “cut my teeth” on hymn singing. The school was by no means what we would call “devout”. We were just boys growing up in a Methodist environment. They didn’t “push” the Bible at us. But they used it for light disciplinary purposes. If you did something wrong, the prefect would say, “Exodus 20”. It was the equivalent of writing “lines”. It meant that we had to spend time writing out Exodus 20 from the King James Bible. Fortunately for me, my parents had given me a Bible for Christmas 1950. So I was able to find Exodus 20 and write it out. I quickly learned it comprised what today we call, the “Ten Commandments”. It also meant that I had to read something from the Bible. I had a go at reading Exodus but quickly became aware that it was mainly about some funny old tent Moses had to build. Frankly, in those days it had no relevance to me whatsoever! Incidentally, I still have that Bible. It’s well used and a bit grubby. But it still has great value for me. Of course, the “tent” was the Tabernacle God instructed Moses to build. Subsequently I got a better idea of what it was all about. What fascinates me are the animal sacrifices in terms of the Old Covenant and the ritual by which the Children of Israel had their unintentional sins “covered over” for a year. There was no sacrifice for deliberate sin. The law declared such people must die. Then I began thinking about the sacrificial system itself. I realised that 2 000 000 people came out of Egypt. Then I took a guess and concluded that although there were about 500 000 families, by the time each family came to confess their sins, there could have been as many as 2 000 000 animals to sacrifice every year. So over 1500 years there would have been some 3 billion animals sacrificed! Probably many more! It struck me that it was a huge waste of animal life. There had to be a better way. There was and is. Jesus Christ came! His life is worth infinitely more than all the animals in creation. Furthermore, the Life of God is worth infinitely more than the lives of an infinite number of people. Suddenly the “penny dropped”. His death upon the cross was worth the lives of every man, woman and child who had, who is, or will ever live on this planet. So He is the sacrifice for the intentional and unintentional sins of homo-sapiens! That’s it! The blood of animals is no longer efficacious. His blood is all we need. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 ESV 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:13-14 NLT 24 You have come to Jesus, who brings the new promise from God, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel's. Hebrews 12:24 GW 7 We have been set free because of what Christ has done. Through his blood our sins have been forgiven. We have been set free because God's grace is so rich. Ephesians 1:7 NIrV 19 Moses first announced every commandment of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of calves. He also took water, bright red wool and branches of a hyssop plant. He sprinkled the scroll. He also sprinkled all of the people. 20 He said, "This is the blood of the covenant God has commanded you to keep." (Exodus 24:8) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the holy tent with blood. He also sprinkled everything that was used in worship there. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be made clean with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven. Hebrews 9:19-22 NIrV	There had been those practices for fifteen hundred years. God gave them to Moses on Horeb, it appears.    Horeb = Mt Sinai Very complicated. Was always done “just so”. According to the Scripture, ‘twas how they had to go. The “Sin” and the “Guilt” offerings; The “Fellowship” or “Peace” The “Burnt” and the “Grain” offerings began and didn’t cease, Until the Babylonians took all of them away. But they were reinstated, when they came back to stay. They actually continued until seventy AD; When Titus burned Jerusalem, is when they ceased to be. Except for the “Grain” offering each one required blood. So all throughout these ages, there must have been a flood, Of bulls and rams and male birds or pigeons for the poor. This multitude of offerings; and yet, there was no cure, For sins which were deliberate. The sinner had to die! And as we look back on it, we ask the question, “Why?” We look back on the animals and all the blood they shed. “Enough to fill an ocean” keeps running through my head! There had to be a better way. To last more than one year. But it was quite impossible ‘til Jesus Christ came here. The reason’s very simple. Each bull or ram or goat Had to be the sacrifice. The priest would cut its throat. And as the poor dumb creature gave up the life it had, The Jews had the atonement for what they knew was bad. I have a little theory. Perhaps it isn’t true? That there were far more animals than folk like me and you. The life of one dumb animal was sacrificed for me! And every other person the Lord has caused to be. When Jesus came it ended. He suffered in my place. He gave His life for every sin, wrong-doing and disgrace, That we have all committed. His blood is worth far more, Than everyone who’s ever lived, back to the days of yore. So they’re no longer needed. The animals that died, Can never be the equal of the Christ we crucified. That system is now obsolete. It’s just a waste of time. No longer can it cover up an accidental crime. So Lord we want to thank you for all that You have done. For giving us redemption by the blood of Christ Your Son. Jim Strickland  Written 2nd December 2012

HEAVEN

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 01 December 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is about heaven. In most respects it’s the thing we know least about. Obviously it’s all the Lord thinks we need to know. But most of us would rather like to be provided with travel brochures all in glorious Technicolor. It’s not going to happen. But it does gives us all an opportunity to be an expert in that which we know nothing about!

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 01 December 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	HEAVEN
Some incidents in life are “welded” into memory. Those of us who were alive at the time, can tell you exactly where we were when President Kennedy was assassinated. I was in the Drawing School in my employers offices. Everything seemed to stop. It was as though the incident was frozen in time. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Things have never been quite the same again. The next time there was a similar experience was in July 1969. I was at home watching TV. We had just heard the voice of Neil Armstrong saying, “Tranquillity Base here. The eagle has landed”. Shortly afterwards the TV was receiving pictures relayed from the moon. We could see Armstrong climbing down the steps. Then those famous and unforgettable words, “One short step for a man. One giant leap for mankind”. For me it was a surreal experience. I wasn’t there; probably never would go there. But somehow it came across as if it was something of a personal achievement. Almost as though I was standing there myself. I understand many people experienced something similar. When the three astronauts arrived back in USA, they were bombarded with questions. Everyone wanted to know what it was like walking on the moon! We’d seen Armstrong and Aldrin doing a sort of kangaroo hop as they walked on the moon. Even so, everyone wanted to hear from them exactly what happened and what it was like. There were three men who travelled to the moon back then. Two men walked on it. I’ve always tried to spare a thought for Michael Collins. He remained behind orbiting the moon while the other two were doing their kangaroo hops. He was as much a part of the expedition as the others. But he had to stay behind and watch. So near and yet so far! Another and similar expression would be, “Always the bridesmaid but never the bride!” Most of us look up at the moon occasionally and wonder what it was really like up there on 20th July 1969. All we really know is what we have been told by those who have been there and from video’s taken while men were there. In many ways it’s much the same with our knowledge of heaven. We know Jesus knows all about it. We can only say what we’ve heard. He is the only person we know of who has had personal knowledge of what it is like. Some claim that they have been on a conducted tour with Jesus or an angel. Have they really had such an experience? I can’t say. They claim to have been there. I’ve no reason to believe or disbelieve them. I’d like to think they are being truthful. Some of their comments have been a tad unscriptural. But they may well be sharing with us an aspect of a deeply held belief. There are times when faith and expectations are difficult to distinguish from each other. One thing we all need to remember is that God intends creating new heavens and a new earth. He has also given us a hint of what it will be like. The last two chapters of the Book of Revelation lift the “lid” enough for us to begin to anticipate what is in store. A city big enough to fit into our moon! The men of Apollo 11 didn’t think of that one. Gates of pearl. Foundations of precious stones which “shimmer” in polarised light. Trees which bear fruit 12 times per year and with leaves with healing properties. Yes, it will be magnificent. But for me the crowning glory of heaven will be the undiluted presence of the Living God! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			17 "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Isaiah 65:17 NLT 22 "As surely as My new heavens and earth will remain, so will you always be My people, with a name that will never disappear," says the LORD. Isaiah 66:22 NLT 13 But we look forward to what God has promised-a new heaven and a new earth-a place where everything that has God's approval lives. 2 Peter 3:13 GW 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:1-5 ESV	What do we know of heaven? There isn’t very much. Lots of speculation and lots is double Dutch! Some say they’ve been taken there and have been shown around. I can’t contradict them. They say it’s what they found. Is it really genuine? We truly cannot say. I trust that they are accurate, or they’ll have led astray, Many trusting Christians, who’d like to know some more, About the truth of heaven and what they’re looking for. There’s problems with our visions, our concepts and our dreams. All of them are filtered through our own religious schemes. We think it should be that way! There’d be a great concern, If it were any other. And so folk quickly learn, Not to make an error in some miniscule detail! Please do not reject it. Admit you too can fail. And though you’ve no intentions of leading folk astray; Perhaps what you have mentioned did not occur that way. But heaven will be wonderful. Far better than we guess. The presence of the Master. His love! His holiness! Perhaps a little sadness about those we do not see? And lots of real thanksgiving the Lord’s admitted me! There’s an existing heaven. But it will pass away. There’s going to be a new one when God decides one day. He says He’ll be creating a new heaven and new earth. And frankly, I can hardly wait to see it come to birth. This earth of ours is plundered, polluted and defaced! It’s been the home of sinners, who’ve utterly disgraced This planet God created. He will incinerate, Anything and everything which we have known to date. Then we’ll see the new one. The one He has prepared. And we will be so thankful the old one wasn’t spared. It will be very different. The sea will disappear. The sun and moon not needed. God’s light constantly near. There’ll be no need for crying; and tears will pass away. There’ll be no more sickness and pain won’t come to stay. Death will be defeated! Swallowed up by life! The bride of Christ assembled will be The Master’s “wife”. For this we are all waiting. But something’s still in store. The Father said He’ll dwell with us until forevermore. He’ll dwell among His people; and by His special grace, We will have the privilege of looking at His face. It will be truly heaven. It’s not just an address. It’s living with the Father in truth and holiness. This is what we’re waiting for. This is His great reward. With Father, Son and Spirit! Forever with the Lord! Jim Strickland  Written 1st December 2012