CHEAP GRACE

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 30 December 2012

Hi all,

About 30 years ago Malcolm Smith was teaching on grace. The place was Emmanuel Church on Grosvenor Road, presently known as New Life. Something he said that evening has reverberated in me ever since I heard him. He said, God’s grace was free, but it wasn’t cheap. He referred to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:8-9 ESV Over the years it has become more and more apparent that many regard God’s gift as an obligation on His behalf. His grace was free. Thus many see it as an excuse to treat His grace profanely. Not in words, but in action. They have almost no respect for God. Many no longer are in Awe of the Creator of the Universe. It seems they have been “vaccinated” against the Fear of the Lord. They forget that the cost to Him was the life of His Son. Nothing in the Universe is more expensive. No man can possibly afford it. All the people who have lived or will ever live cannot pay the price. The collective wealth of Creation cannot pay the price for His grace. So God did the unimaginable. He gave it to us for free. Never devalue it or treat it as irrelevant. If you do, you may lose it. Today we meditate on Cheap Grace.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 30 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	CHEAP GRACE
For how long have you been a Christian? A week; a month; a year; 50 years? The vast majority of Christian men and women have a good idea when they committed their lives to Jesus. Some of us can tell the precise date and time. You do not qualify as a Christian by remembering dates and times. Not unless you are speaking about the date and time of Jesus’ death. All other dates are comparatively unimportant. If you can remember; that’s great. If you can’t remember, don’t go into a downward spiral and celebrate with a pity party. The reason why many can remember is because of something specific. For me, I had just begun working as an apprentice. I was in a strange city in a strange land. All this contributed to the way I was. Most of us come to Jesus Christ with high expectations from ourselves and from other Christians. You know what I mean. “Now, I should be perfect. God is on my side and I’m on His. Everything should be tickety-boo! All that’s missing was my own personal halo! Within twenty four hours, most of us find that there is no halo and we are worse sinners than we thought. Then, to our horror, we find that the others in the church are little different from ourselves. When we make this discovery, there are three possible reactions. The first is to say, “So what! We are all like that. God loved me when He saved me. So why change? He gave me a ticket to heaven. It has no expiry date so I might as well carry on living the way I was. I may look like a sinner to everyone else, but God knows the truth. It happened 50 years ago so I’m safe from Hell! The second way is to start going down the, “Sorry Lord, I failed but I can do it” route. It’s the way of rededication. The way I started. “Yesterday I failed. Today I won’t. Watch me now. I’ll show you I can live like You did. Others may have failed. No me. I can do it and I will do it”. Incidentally, I was on that road for almost 3 years. Then I quit. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with my own hypocritical failures. The third way is the only one that works. You recognise that you can’t change. You know you have failed more times than you can count. So you come to Him helplessly on your knees. “Lord, I know I’m a failure. I can’t live the Christian life. It’s impossible for me. But I know You love me and I love You Lord. Please change me. Give me the grace to live for you for the next five minutes. Five minutes is all I ask Lord. This is what happened to me when I returned to Him after 17 years in the Wilderness. My prayer was, “Lord, just for today”. I know I can’t last for a week. So, just for today!” He touched me. I wept for my wasted years. But for that day, I was able to do what I couldn’t do 17 years previously. That was 31 years ago. He’s still doing it! Thank you Lord! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			9 "He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 1 Samuel 2:9 ESV 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7 NLT 10 Jesus replied, "A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you." John 13:10 NLT 11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. Proverbs 4:11-15 ESV 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:24-27 ESV 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 ESV	What is the description of the normal Christian flake? Someone who’s not faithful and who God’s Word forsakes.           1 Sam 2:9 A man who walks in darkness and says he’s in the light. A lady we refer to as a woman of the night. A man without integrity; who doesn’t keep his word. A woman who will gossip about everything she’s heard. He doesn’t treat his servants with kindness and respect. He cheats them from the wages they rightfully expect. She makes them work long hours in excess of what they should. And when they make an error, she says they are no good. They’re good at church attendance; they even praise the Lord. But woe betide the pastor if they think they’ve been ignored! They boast to everybody about how much they give. But they pay no attention to the way that they should live. Behaviour doesn’t matter. Why bother? Grace is free! Jesus came and saved them back in nineteen twenty three! They have got their “ticket” and they are heavenward bound. “Sin is quite irrelevant”, is what they think they’ve found. Their claim to be in fellowship with God is just a lie.                 1 John 1:6 If you live in darkness, in your sin you’ll die! If we walk with Jesus, we’ll do the things we should. Live the way He’s told us, transparent, true and good. If we walk in darkness we are wicked in God’s sight. Not because we’re perfect! His blood has made us right!  1 John 1:7 We required cleansing; He washed our sins away. If our feet are grubby; if we sin from day by day,                          John 13:10 Jesus Christ will cleanse them, provided we repent; Otherwise, sin sticks to us like huge blocks of cement. In the book of Proverbs, He tells us to be wise.                                       Pro 4:11 Do not follow Satan and his myriad of lies. You will not be hampered. You won’t stumble when you run, If you are obedient to Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Stay away from evil. Avoid all crooked speech,                                       Pro 4:24 Demonstrate a lifestyle in line with what you preach. Then the Lord will rescue you from every evil deed.                                2 Tim 4:18 To His Heavenly Kingdom your steps He’ll surely lead. If we follow Jesus, everyone will know. We are truly Christian and God’s glory, He will show. Jim Strickland  Written 30th December 2012

IT’S YOUR MOVE

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 29 December 2012

Hi all,

Christians and non-Christians alike appear to have forgotten that our distance from God varies in accordance with our belief in Him. If we don’t believe, He is “far away”. If we believe, we draw nearer. In turn, He reciprocates. We need to make it very clear that God doesn’t move. He neither moves nor changes. What happens is that as we decide to draw nearer to Him, the distance between us decreases. In other words, we determine His proximity. Today’s Scriptures show this clearly. Our meditation today examines this.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 29 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	IT’S YOUR MOVE
In the early 1960’s in South Africa, national service had not been introduced. There were one or two young men who were called up to undergo some form of army training. In those days, we talked about a ballot system. It was probably something like drawing names out of a hat. If your name was drawn out, you were in. If your name remained in, you were out! All very easy. I suspect. Fortunately, for me, I was never called up. So presumably, I was out. Not that I’m particularly bothered about it. It was something I was privileged not to be a part of. On my return to South Africa in 1974, there was no question of my being called up. It might have happened, but I like to think I was permanently overlooked. In 1988 the State caught up with me and I was called up to serve for a week in Dad’s Army in Ermelo. That week was one of the coldest ever experienced in Ermelo! It was cold, wet and windy. I was given a rifle and told to guard it with my life. On one occasion, we went to the rifle range to learn to shoot. It wasn’t exactly a memorable occasion. What I did find was, the safest place to be when I was shooting, was in front of the target! After the camp we all had to take our rifles home for safe keeping. I didn’t have a gun-safe at home, so the power station did me a favour. They kept it in their arms locker! Several months later, I applied to be classified as a conscientious objector. Having been reclassified, I had to take my kit and rifle back. I was a bit sorry to part with the gun. Thank God I never had to use it! As we read the Old Testament, it soon becomes apparent that the religious life of the Children of Israel was a measure of their rise or fall in their secular life. When they drew close to God, they were successful; particularly with regard to their enemies. I’m not sure it can be quantified, but it seemed that nearness to God determined their security among the nations. We see this very clearly in the book of Judges. When they lapsed into idolatry, their enemies defeated them. When they returned to God, they defeated their enemies. It was so abundantly obvious; it’s hard to believe how quickly the nation could apostatise. We see a similar trend in the UK today. In only 67 years, the people appear to have forgotten their deliverance from the forces of darkness in WW2. Fairly recently, England was placed second as the least God fearing nation internationally. Japan won this dubious honour. There is presently very little Christian influence in UK. The same can be said for USA. RSA seems to be on the same slippery slope. Few realise that if we move away from God, He will move away from us. Dr AW Tozer wrote over fifty years ago, “We are as full of the Spirit of God as we want to be” Many of us aren’t interested in Him. Why should He be interested in us? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. James 4:8 NLT 3 Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? Amos 3:3 NLT 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do. Psalms 73:28 NLT 2 and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. "Listen to me, Asa!" he shouted. "Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with Him! Whenever you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. 4 But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him out, they found Him. 2 Chronicles 15:2-4 NLT 11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT 19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, 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 10:19-22 NLT	If I’m sitting near you; perhaps six feet apart. The distance in between us, will noticeably start, Getting somewhat smaller if I’m moving toward you.                 James 4:8 Unless you move away from me. This always will be true, The gap that is between us will visibly decrease. We will get much closer; and this will never cease. It’s just the same with Jesus; unless we start to sin, We have His approval to draw near and enter in. Surely that’s the object? But if we disagree, It will be impossible for Him to walk with me.               Amos 3:3 If we aren’t agreeing about which way to go, We can’t walk together and each other we can’t know! But I’ve learned a lesson. It’s good if we draw near. He becomes my shelter and I am free from fear.          Psalm 73:28 I can tell my neighbours, about what has been done. Jesus came and saved me. I’m God’s adopted son! How wonderful this feeling. It makes me want to share, The news about salvation, with sinners everywhere. Perhaps you are a youngster? Perhaps you’re very old? If you don’t have Jesus, you’re left out in the cold. Think of Azariah, the offspring of Obed. The Spirit came upon him and here is what he said. “Listen to me Asa”, the current reigning King.                          2 Chron. 15:2-4 “Listen O ye people. A word from God I bring. The Lord God will be with you; He will not depart. You won’t be abandoned, if you serve Him from the heart. But if you abandon Him, His presence will be gone. Without His assistance, you’ll have to carry on. But if you will turn to Him and seek Him constantly, You will surely find Him and He will be with thee.” God has planned our future. His plan is very good. Jer. 29:11-13 There’ll be no disasters, the way, no doubt, there could. When you seek, you’ll find Him; He will hear you pray. You’ll have right of access to His new and living way.  Heb. 10:19-22 Jesus, our High Priest, is at His Father’s side. He has washed and cleansed you. You’re invited to abide, Without a guilty conscience; no matter where you’ve been. Sprinkled by His blood, you are untainted, pure and clean. Jim Strickland  Written 29th December 2012

LIFE COMES THROUGH DEATH

Time with Jesus - Friday, 28 December 2012

Hi all,

Many statements in God’s Word are circular. For example, ⁶ And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Heb11:6 NLT If you believe He exists He will reward you. This encourages you to seek Him. So He rewards you. Then you seek Him. Do you see this beautiful circular promise? In today’s meditation we look at what it means to be alive to Christ and dead to yourself. Have fun with this delightful paradox.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 28 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	LIFE COMES THROUGH DEATH
A year or two ago, Phyllida and I were watching Oprah on TV. She always had a number of guests. Some were well known TV personalities. On many occasions it was Dr Phillip McGraw, better known to us all as Dr Phil. We particularly enjoyed his honesty. He didn’t beat around the bush when dealing with people. He wasn’t particularly “politically correct”. He said what was needed and that was that. Agree with him or not. That was irrelevant. He said what he thought and, presumably, thought what he said. Back in the UK the expression was, “He would call a spade a spade, unless it was a bl…. shovel!” Watching him on TV was always fun. At times I recall saying to myself, “I wish Christians were this honest with people!” Sadly, most of us aren’t. We would rather “die” than be unkind to someone. It’s a wrong attitude and one that was completely foreign to Jesus. Political or Religious correctness does not get sinners into heaven. If anything it prevents them from entering. There is only one way in; and that is through the person of Jesus Christ. Quoting Paul, Christians say 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 ESV Thank God for that. It’s a wonderful relief to know that all my efforts toward trying to please God are as much use as square wheels on a rickshaw. Having stated that, there is a question to ask. Namely, how do I get rid of self-effort? To put this somewhat paradoxically, “What do I not do, so that I’m not doing anything?” Now that really is a “canackler” as my late Dad would have said. What do you do so that you are not doing anything? There is an answer. The answer is you have to be dead. Yes indeed! When you are dead you are not doing anything. But if I’m still alive, what do I do? The answer is, “Die!” No it’s not a trick question. You have to settle this completely in your head or in your mind. If you are dead, that’s it. You cannot be born again unless you are dead! Are you following my logic? It’s only the dead who can be alive in Christ. If you are alive, you are not alive in Christ. You are alive yourself. You have to be like the grain of wheat. You have to fall to the ground and die. I’m not bluffing. Jesus said so. So how can I be dead to self and alive in Christ? You start by denying yourself; plans, ambitions, wants, needs, comfort and all the trimmings that go with being alive. When all that has gone, you are dead. When you are dead. Hey! Stop wriggling! As I was saying. When you are dead, all that stuff is behind you. No temporary resurrections for breakfast! Only then are you truly alive in Christ! So die! Jesus didn’t say it was easy. Just do it. If you don’t, you are not alive in Him! You can’t have it both ways. But can I do it? You mean everything; even prosperity must be behind me? Absolutely. There is no prosperity in the grave. Furthermore, when you are alive in Him, there is no need for prosperity. You will never be more prosperous than the living Lord Jesus Christ. Incidentally if you are dead, you can never be one of the following. 15 Outside are dogs, sorcerers, sexual sinners, murderers, idolaters, and all who lie in what they say and what they do. Rev. 22:15 GW It seems to me, being dead in Christ is the right way to be. Of course if you want to keep your life ------- Jim & Phyllida Strickland			20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." John 12:20-21 ESV 8 LORD, we are living the way your laws command us to live. We are waiting for you to act. Our hearts long for you to be true to your name. That's what you are known for. Isaiah 26:8 NIrV 18 The LORD is ready to help all those who call out to him. He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him. Psalms 145:18 NIrV 20 And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." Matthew 18:20 MSG 18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18 ESV 20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. "And remember that I am always with you until the end of time." Matthew 28:20 GW 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV 23 I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That's by far the better choice. Philippians 1:23 GW 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 ESV	“Sir may we see Jesus”. That’s what those Greek men said. Do you think it’s possible? “To Him we have been led. Soon it will be Passover. We saw Him come to town We heard the Hallelujah’s. We thought the crowd would crown, Him as the Great Messiah whom they were waiting for. If it is true, we also want to worship and adore, This Galilean Carpenter Who rode in on a colt. It sounds as if this city, is almost in revolt, Against the Roman army! They’d better all calm down. Or there will be a massacre within this ancient town. We don’t know if He met them. I think He may have done. But there was something critical occurring to God’s Son. The Gentiles of the nations were starting to believe. The glory of the Son of Man by some could be perceived. He said, “Except a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies. There couldn’t be a harvest and all alone it lies.” It’s only by its dying, it’s able to increase. If it doesn’t give it’s life, then life will surely cease. Anyone who loves his life, for him life will be lost. Those who give their lives away, will realise the cost Was truly next to nothing. They’ll grow abundantly, And they’ll bring forth a harvest they thought they’d never see.” To be the Master’s servant, first you have to die. If you will not do it, then wish your life good-bye. Death to self produces a life that multiplies. If you try to keep your life, you and your future dies. Jesus knew instinctively, the time had surely come. For Him to save humanity, His dying must be done! If He dodged or ducked it, no one He could save. If He didn’t give His life, we’d all stay in the grave. And what is true for Jesus, to each of us applies. Entry into heaven is paid when someone dies. It cannot be avoided. If you and I would live, The cost is death to self on earth. It’s what we have to give. If I’m not dead in Jesus and think I will survive, Then I have been deluded; the “dumbest” man alive. The “second birth” is meaningless unless the first has gone. You cannot be alive in Christ, if you just carry on, Living as you want to. First, lie down and die. If you will not do it, your salvation is a lie! Entry into heaven is by the Saviour’s death. If you do not follow Him, you’ve just wasted your breath. So let us learn a lesson from what has gone before. Sacrifice your life on earth and enter heaven’s door. Jim Strickland Written 28th December 2012