JOB’S TRIAL

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 12 January 2013

Hi all,

Some believe that the “oldest” book of the Bible is the Book of Job. Whether or not this is true, I don’t know. As I understand it, this is based on the names of the people and the places from which they came. One thing we can say is that the book is fascinating and thought provoking. Today’s meditation looks at Job’s trial from his viewpoint. The introduction takes a somewhat different view. The connection with the Mafia is entirely my own idea!

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 12 January 2013			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	Job’s Trial
Why do bad things happen to good people? The inverse is, “Why to good things happen to bad people? Sometimes we know or we can guess. The Mafia is an unwelcome reminder of one way good things happen to bad people. They make you an offer you can’t refuse and then they sit back and enjoy the good things they receive at your expense. This sort of thing goes back to Noah and the flood. It’s the sort of thinking that brought about slavery. Today we still see it reflected in many societies in the way in which men treat their wives and daughters. Reading the story of Job, we are at a huge advantage over the people who participated in what took place. Right at the beginning, we are allowed a little peek at what took place in heaven. The first time I heard about that scenario, I wondered why it was that Satan had access to God, the way the un-fallen angels had. This was my first shock. My immediate reaction was to ask what that dude was doing there. I thought he wasn’t on speaking terms with God. Then, after a few minutes of quiet thought, it occurred to me that God is more than able to “fix” Satan in an instant at any time. So why not allow him to visit? My second shock was when God spoke about Job to Satan. 8 Then the LORD asked Satan, "Have you noticed My servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless--a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil." Job 1:8 NLT It occurred to me that Satan was being “set-up”. The KJV puts God’s question to Satan as, “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” I figured that if Satan intended to make these visits to the throne-room of God, a regular “thing”, then he needed to be reminded Who was in control. Hence God’s question. As God already knew (He knows everything) Satan was very much aware of Job. Reading the Scripture it’s not hard to conclude that Satan had already made a couple of “passes” at Job in an effort to “fix” him with an offer he couldn’t refuse. It hadn’t worked. Satan knew it and God knew that he knew it! Now it would be wrong to say that God is the “God-father of the Heavenly Mafia”. But the difference is subtle. God is able to “fix” anyone and anything. So perhaps Satan saw Him in that way. To express this in Chicago gangland terms, Satan said something like, “Hey Boss, I can’t get near the dude. He’s got a ring of Your troops around him. Just say the word to Noah’s gang and I’ll show you what’s really going on!” I think we should leave off this imaginary dialog at this point. What happened next reads as though the Mafia got to Job, his children, his flocks and herds and his possessions. Overnight they were gone. Then it was time to fix Job with a serious case of boils, scabs and sores which were weeping with pus. All Job could do was sit on an ash heap and try and scrape himself clean with a piece of broken pottery. Then, to add insult to injury, three of Job’s friends came to sit with him and tell him it was his own fault! Were they really his friends, or had they been sent by the the local Mafia? Good question! The end of the book of Job tells us of the power of God and the reward Job received from God for his faithfulness. There’s only one thing left that really makes me feel nervous. The next time Satan pops in for a visit, I don’t want the Lord to say to him, “Have you noticed my servant Jim?” What if it’s your name? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			3 I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery. 4 Lying in bed, I think, 'When will it be morning?' But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. Job 7:3-4 NLT 11 A Message concerning Edom: A voice calls to me from the Seir mountains in Edom, "Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last?" 12 The night watchman calls back, "Morning's coming, But for now it's still night. If you ask me again, I'll give the same answer." Isaiah 21:11-12 MSG . 37 "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. Heb 10:37 NLT 3 The God of Israel spoke to me, Israel's Rock-Mountain said, "Whoever governs fairly and well, who rules in the Fear-of-God, 4 Is like first light at daybreak without a cloud in the sky, Like green grass carpeting earth, glistening under fresh rain." 2 Samuel 23:3-4 MSG 2 My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am. John 14:2-3 GW 27 "I'm leaving you peace. I'm giving you my peace. I don't give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don't be troubled or cowardly. 28 You heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, but I'm coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. John 14:27-28 GW 31 "LORD, may all of your enemies be destroyed. But may those who love you be like the morning sun. May they be like the sun when it shines the brightest." So the land was at peace for 40 years. Judges 5:31 NIrV 5 All of you are children of the light. You are children of the day. We don't belong to the night. We don't belong to the darkness. 1 Thess. 5:5 NIrV 25 Its gates will never be shut, because there will be no night there. Rev 21:25 NIrV	Perhaps it was depression? I cannot say for sure. We think Job needed comforting. He couldn’t find a cure, For what he had experienced, since great calamity, Had almost overwhelmed him and touched his sanity. There are not many people who suffered like this man. Who would ever think that it was part of Father’s plan? Nobody had told him, it was Satan on the loose, Who had been the author of such terrible abuse! Sitting on an ash heap while his sores were weeping pus. What would we have done if it had touched just one of us? But he didn’t know that he was going through a test And when it was over, by the Lord he would be blessed. Weary nights of misery! Lying in his bed. “When will it be morning?’ was spinning through his head. “What is the solution?” became his silent cry. Mrs Job suggested He should curse the Lord and die. But he wouldn’t do it. He knew that God was good. And he wouldn’t curse God though his Mrs thought he should. We all look for reasons. “O Lord, what have I done? Have I sinned so badly I have “lost it” with Your Son? Can I be forgiven? The unpardonable sin? Am I under judgement? What is this mess I’m in? Lord, You seem so distant! Do You see and hear? Do You know it seems to me my end is drawing near? Lord You are so merciful. Please may I have a taste, Of Your flowing bounty. If I’ve been disgraced, Show me what is needed so that I can repent; And know that in my doing so, your anger will relent. Lord I want to serve you. You are my heart’s desire. Your love is inspirational; it fills my heart with fire. But sitting on this ash heap is driving me insane. All my hope feels futile; am I seeking You in vain?” Those who know the story know what was taking place. Satan had permission, to get Job to disgrace, Himself by doing something, to spoil his reputation, As someone who was righteous in the Lord God’s estimation. Job just sat and argued with his three unhelpful friends. And we know for certain that at the very end, Job was vindicated and his fortune was restored. Just to demonstrate that he was favoured by the Lord. Do not be surprised at this. That’s how it will work out. When you love the Master. There isn’t any doubt, That if you’ve been faithful and pass through every test. In the end it’s certain that the Lord will see you blessed. Jim Strickland Written 12th January 2013

WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE

Time with Jesus - Friday, 11 January 2013

Hi all,

In today’s meditation we reflect on what the Lord has done. Most of us have seen Him active in the lives of other people. Our problem is what happens when He is active in our own lives? How do we react? Many of us regard it as something like winning the Lotto. “That only happens to other people!” But when you find that He has been busy in your own life, it’s a different kettle of fish! It may be unbelievable!

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 11 January 2013			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	WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE
As a nine year old schoolboy at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, we would sing hymns from the Methodist Hymnbook. This happened every Wednesday after supper and before bed time. One of those Hymns still “lives in my soul!’ The words were: - In loving kindness Jesus came / My soul in mercy to reclaim, / And from the depths of sin and shame / Through grace He lifted me. CHORUS From sinking sand He lifted me / With tender hand He lifted me / From shades of night to plains of light / O Praise His name He lifted me! (Hymn 336) Charles Homer Gabriel 1856 - 1932 As a 9 year old I had no idea what I was singing about. Somehow those words just seemed to be right. I don’t know if I believed what I was singing. After all, that was 61 years ago. What I do know is that they stirred up something in me that I can never forget. I wish I had understood them and had done something about them. How was I to know that the Spirit of the Lord was drawing me to Him? Who do you talk to about something like this? Most children at that age don’t talk about God. There were other things to discuss. Top of the list was Vic Towel and his fight with Jimmy Caruthers. Then there was cricket, rugby and the latest edition for our favourite comic. On Sunday mornings we were allowed to walk to the Anglican Church for the morning service. But we had to dash back to school or we would be late. Our teacher was a lady so I couldn’t talk to her. There were prefects and other teachers. But you didn’t talk about God with men in such “lofty positions”. So it was pushed down into the sub-conscience and left until I’d grown up. There is no doubt in my mind now that the Lord was calling me into something. Back then it seemed beyond the realms of possibility. I always did well in Scripture and was very excited some 6 years later while at Marist Brothers in Walmer. We were allowed to attend confirmation classes. Of course, part of the excitement was being out of the school grounds legally for a couple of hours. After I’d been confirmed there was a sense of newness in me. But I couldn’t possibly be called by the Lord. There were no tingling sensations, No hand writing on the wall, No special letters. No burning bushes. No angels with messages. No heavenly voices. Nothing to suggest I was called. In any case, I didn’t fancy the idea of going to China or India or elsewhere for that matter. Everything was so ordinary. At the thought of going into ministry I would have freaked out. Yet all this time the Lord had been preparing me. In 1960 after ruining my life in South Africa I ended up in UK. There I came face to face with Jesus and wanted to go into the Methodist Ministry. It didn’t happen. In 1981, 30 years after singing “Sinking Sands” God opened the door. He has kept Phyllida and me ever since. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			Of David. 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:1-5 ESV 33 The LORD who rules over all says, "The people of Israel are being treated badly. So are the people of Judah. Those who have captured them are holding them. They refuse to let them go. 34 But I am strong and will save them. My name is The LORD Who Rules Over All. I will stand up for them. I will bring peace and rest to their land. But I will bring trouble to those who live in Babylonia. Jer 50:33-34 NIrV 14 "I want to free them from the power of the grave. I want to reclaim them from death. Death, I want to be a plague to you. Grave, I want to destroy you. I won't even think of changing my plans." Hosea 13:14 GW 14 Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Heb 2:14-15 NLT 36 That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn't see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that." John 3:36 MSG 3 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life--even though invisible to spectators - is with Christ in God. He is your life. 4 When Christ, your real life, shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too - the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. Col 3:3-4 MSG	Let’s reflect a little on what the Lord has done. Go into our memory to where we’d first begun. It gets a little scratchy. Perhaps it is unclear? Ask the Lord to show us what happened yesteryear. I haven’t any memories before the age of five. Except brief mental images that somehow do not jive. A funny looking building where once a church had been. Thick and heavy curtains which were not very clean. A very special tearoom with chairs like Micky Mouse. A great big heap of rubble where once had stood a house.  A journey on a mail boat, with just a glimpse or two, Of stairs and great big dormitories and the unending view, Of miles and miles of ocean, which never seemed to end. And of two loving parents on whom I could depend. I think that they were memories, but there are very few. Enough for me to thank the Lord, for all that He did do. Enough for me to praise Him and bless His Holy name,      Psalm 103:1-5 For bringing us to Africa. Life wouldn’t be the same, As it had been in England. It looked like fairy land. With pretty lights and beaches, with miles of golden sand! The memories get clearer in nineteen forty nine. We’d settled down in Durban and I was doing fine. The goodness of the Master was spotted all around. This land is so amazing, is truly what we found. We’d been released from bondage; the rule of God was near. Jer. 50:33-34 And we were very grateful; He’d brought us over here. The country we had left behind was in a dreadful state. The cost of reconstruction was like a ten ton weight. That great big conflagration, meant death was like the plague. Hos. 13:14 God had brought the victory; we couldn’t just renege! Christ Himself had “taken part”; the Axis power destroyed. Heb. 2:14-15 The Nazi’s looked invincible, but they were null and void. We had trusted Jesus! He had not let us down.                      John 3:36 The praying women of the land, deserved the victor’s crown! Thank God all that is over. A brand new life is ours. And where the rubble once had been, is just a sea of flowers. The old life was behind us. A new life stood before.                Col 3:3-4 Here at the foot of Africa. Lord, banish every war! Jim Strickland Written 11 January 2013

A HOLY TEMPLE

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 10 January 2013

Hi all,

Today’s meditation is on Temples, the Tabernacle and where genuine Christians fit into God’s overall programme. You and I are “bricks” in the walls of His temple. We depend on God and on each other. That’s the way He has designed things. He didn't have to, but our great-hearted God decided He would do it this way. Thank You Lord.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Thursday, 10 January 2013			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	A Holy Temple
Construction and building programmes can be fascinating. I’ve had the privilege to work on several of them in UK, Canada and RSA. Back then, from concept to commissioning the first unit was about 10 to 12 years. In may be shorter now. In RSA the main considerations were coal and water supply along with access to the site itself. In the 1970’s, there wasn’t the emphasis on going “green” as there is today. Furthermore, RSA has huge quantities of low grade coal, unsuitable for other purposes but ideal for a power station, designed to run on that coal. It didn’t look much like the sort of coal you and I would bother with. In fact, an American who came to RSA to see what was happening, is reported to have said. “That ain’t coal, that’s real estate!” Over the past 20 odd years we have seen massive construction projects all over the world. The Chinese have built a bridge 42km long. I’m not sure I’d like to drive on it but I hear it is highly successful. In the Bible there are a number of construction projects. Apart from the pyramids and Babel, the first one is the Tabernacle in the wilderness. In a sense it was not a building as we know today. It was a tent. But it was no ordinary tent. God gave the design; the pattern; to Moses along with the instructions, that it must be made exactly according to what God had laid out. It was to be semi-portable so that it could stand in the wilderness and yet be movable. Every detail from the tent pegs to the Ark of the covenant was specified. I would love to have seen it. I’m not Jewish so I wouldn’t have been allowed inside. But from what we read in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, this was the most beautiful tent ever made by man. The whole thing had to be made exactly as God had specified because Jesus Christ was revealed in every item. No one knew that at the time. It’s only some 3500 years later that we can spot these things. The next major building project was Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. It is said to be the most expensive building ever erected. It incorporated several of the design features and furnishings from the Tabernacle. In 586BC it was torn down by Nebuchadnezzar’s men. It had already fallen into a state of disrepair. A much smaller version was built by Joshua and Zerubbabel after the return of the people to Jerusalem from Babylon. Herod the Great tried to win the hearts of the Jewish people by building what is known as Herod’s Temple. It was destroyed in 70AD by the Romans under Titus just as Jesus had said it would be. The final temple comprises men and women of God. Individually we are all a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within God’s people. Collectively we are being built into a Holy Temple. I like the idea that Jesus Christ is our foundation and that we are built on the apostles of the New Testament and the prophets of the Old Testament. Jacob had twelve sons and there is little doubt that many of them are included among these prophets. Many years ago I remember being taught that a brick is held in position by mortar and six other bricks. This makes for strong design. Thus each of us is important individually. Collectively we become great walls protected by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s a wonderful design! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			14 He said, "LORD God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth. You keep your promise of mercy to your servants, who obey you wholeheartedly. 15 You have kept your promise to my father David, your servant. With your mouth you promised it. With your hand you carried it out as it is today. 16 "Now, LORD God of Israel, keep your promise to my father David, your servant. You said, 'You will never fail to have an heir sitting in front of me on the throne of Israel if your descendants are faithful to me as you have been faithful to me.' 17 "So now, LORD God of Israel, may the promise you made to David, your servant, come true. 18 "Does God really live on earth with people? If heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold you, then how can this temple that I have built? 2 Chron. 6:14-18 GW 8 And let them make me a sanctuary, (tabernacle) that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. Exodus 25:8-9 ESV 43 I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by My glorious presence. 44 Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests. 45 Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, 46 and they will know that I am the LORD their God. I am the One who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the LORD their God. Exodus 29:43-46 NLT 18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Psalm 68:18 KJV 16 And what union can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 2 Cor. 6:16 NLT 19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself 1 Cor. 6:19 NLT 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph. 2:22 ESV 28 Then the nations will know that I, the LORD, have set Israel apart as holy, because my holy place will be among them permanently.'" Ezek. 37:28 GW	There’s no God in the universe Who’s anything like You.         2 Chron. 6:14-18 No Deity imagined who can do the things You do! You don’t have a beginning. You do not have an end. The years or days or seconds. On them You don’t depend. The reason is quite simple. Lord, You created time. There was no past or future. In fact You are the prime, Reason for existence. The ever present now, Defines Your habitation and even time must bow. You have no need for buildings. A tent cannot contain, The Lord God, the Almighty, from which You’ll always reign. This planet is your footstool. The stars that shine by night, Are only the reflections of Your incandescent light. They’re “holes” within the “blanket” which “covers outer space”. Or we would be demolished by the brightness of Your face. You do not dwell with people. This place we have designed. We know it is inadequate. So Lord, please do not mind, If what we have erected looks laughable and poor. Nothing we can ever build, can ever show for sure, The Glory and the Majesty of Him Who Reigns on High. But, because we love You Lord, we thought that we should try. So we have made a sanctuary, the way that You have shown. Following the pattern, which came from You alone. Meet here with Your people. O Lord please let them see, A little of the glory and true authority, Within this tabernacle where You have said You’ll meet        Ex 25:8-9 Those committed to You, from Your Holy Mercy Seat. Dwell amongst Your people, that they may see and know, That You are always with them, no matter where they go! You led them out of Egypt. You took them  by the hand,       Ex 29:43-46 And promised You would take them to their home in Canaan Land. Separate our rebels and treat them as You should. As for those who love You. To them Lord please be good!    Psalm 68:18 Keep them free from idols. There must not be a place, Where by their behaviour, they’ll fall away from grace.             2 Cor. 6:16 Let them realise, O lord, that there will come a day, When everyone will worship in a very different way. You will dwell within them. Their God You’ll surely be. They will be Your people for all eternity. You will walk among them and they will trust in You. Collectively, Your temple, in everything they do. Empowered by Your Spirit for all the world to see,                    1 Cor. 6:19 That those who truly follow You, forevermore will be, Set apart as holy. And all will know for sure, They are Your disciples and You have made them pure.  Ezek. 37:28 Jim Strickland  Written 10th January 2013