BLINDED BY LOVE

Time with Jesus - Thursday, 28 February 2013

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Hi all,

“Are you saved brother/sister?” For “Christians” in the 20^th and 21^st century, this question is passed round from person to person, almost like a “mantra”. Normally, people think that there are only two possible answers. “Yes!” or “No!” Is there another? In today’s meditation we look at an aspect of this.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Thursday, 28 February 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	Blinded by Love
It was a Sunday evening in October 1960. I had just committed my life to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. For most of the next couple of days, Jesus Christ thrilled and excited me. Then, progressively, over the next few weeks, doubts started to multiply in my heart. These doubts are best summed up by the question, “How do you know you have been saved? I must admit, apart from being excited about Jesus Christ, everything seemed so normal. I didn’t feel any different. In fact, I felt much the same as I had done before my conversion. I distinctly remember being shown words in the Bible. “So what”, I kept on asking? “What is this all about? What is there about the Bible I can trust? There was very little in it I could understand anyway. Furthermore what had the antics of a bunch of ex Egyptian slaves, roaming round the wilderness, carrying a weird tent and its furniture got to do with it? Genesis and Exodus were easy enough to read; but what about all those odd regulations and sacrificial rituals in Leviticus? Where was God in all this? Where was Jesus? Furthermore, why should I trust it? They said it was the Word of God. But how did I know it was God’s Word? Everything was as clear as mud and twice as murky. I didn’t know it then, but I was experiencing a head on attack by Satan or one of his pals. I think I would have quit, but I was quite enjoying it and getting to know the other young people in the church; especially the girls. Sometimes I think I was attracted to Christianity by the ladies. O well, at least I’m willing to admit it! Then something very important happened. I started attending the Prudhoe Street Mission on Saturday afternoons. Shortly thereafter I began responding to calls for salvation. I kept going to the front regularly. I needed assurance of salvation. The people helped me considerably. Then came 1961 and Billy Graham’s Greater Manchester Crusade. They wanted counsellors. I volunteered on the basis that it would help me with my understanding of being a Christian. I didn’t get to meet Billy Graham. But the counselling and choir sessions were being led by Cliff Barrows in the Prudhoe Street Mission. It was during these training sessions that I began “soaking up” Christian truth and getting answers to my questions. Of course, I didn’t get all the answers. What I did get was a passion for Jesus that is with me today. This experience taught me one unforgettable lesson. I learned that God is greater than my heart. I had so many questions that needed answering. But somehow, He kept me going on with everything. In other words, His Word was bigger than my doubts. I felt condemned by what I didn’t understand. But He was and is greater than my feelings! Now I try and keep short accounts with God. By regular confession and repentance, I’m able to stay close to Him. As a result, the words in John’s first epistle help me continue. 20 It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. 21 And friends, once that's taken care of & we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold & free before God! 1 John 3:20-21 MSG All this comes from beginning to know the Word of God. No longer are there any questions in my mind concerning its validity. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			27 The LORD's light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive. Pro 20:27 NLT 7 When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, "The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 One by one, beginning with the older men, the scribes and Pharisees left. Jesus was left alone with the woman. John 8:7-9 GW 11 God asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?" Gen 3:11 GW 17 Whoever knows what is right but doesn't do it is sinning. James 4:16 GW 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 1 John 3:18-21 ESV 20 Don't ruin God's work because of what you eat. All food is acceptable, but it's wrong for a person to eat something if it causes someone else to have doubts. 21 The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that causes another Christian to have doubts. 22 So whatever you believe about these things, keep it between yourself and God. The person who does what he knows is right shouldn't feel guilty. He is blessed. Rom. 14:20-22 GW 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 NLT	No matter where we run to, from God we cannot hide. He knows us intimately; what’s going on inside, The heart of every person. Be they Christian or not, The way that we react to Him. That puts us on the spot. He penetrates our Spirit, with light ineffable; And He continues doing it. He carries on until, We come to the position, where we have made Him Lord. Where sin has been defeated, by His great & mighty sword. He doesn’t take a holiday. The Lord is never tired. He knows our every motive for the things we have desired. The things we think are hidden, in the recess of our soul, Are lit up like a lighthouse to display our every goal. Adam couldn’t fool Him from the time he ate the fruit. He’d disobeyed the Master. The man could not refute, His terrible exposure, to the God Who reigns on high. And understand because of it, that He was bound to die. Humanity had fallen. With all destined for hell. Until the Saviour came and rang the “liberation” bell; And by the Holy Spirit, could break the bonds of sin; Return again to Father and truly enter in. But still we have a problem, for Satan’s on the prowl. He hunts around to get us like a predatory owl. But he is unsuccessful, if Jesus is our King. And we desire to serve Him much more than anything! Christ provides the method, by the Holy Spirit’s power, For Christians to be “sinless”, every moment, every hour. Confession and repentance from sin will keep us clean; And He will keep us spotless, no matter where we’ve been. But Satan is a liar. He tells us we are lost. He says that we are wicked; and we must pay the cost, Of something that’s forgiven. He makes us feel condemned; And that it is impossible to ever make amends. But God has made a promise and assures us we are saved. That we have been forgiven for the way that we’ve behaved. Perhaps our heart condemns us, but God is so much more. And He’s the One to turn to, to obtain the final score. His truth brings the assurance of the facts about our fate. While we are serving Jesus, the devil is too late! God’s given us the victory, no matter how we feel. And we can keep on serving Him with fervency and zeal. So do not be misguided; Satan’s lies can make you blind. But while you are obedient, God love is what you’ll find! Jim Strickland Written 28 February 2012

ADULTERY! - (JOHN 8 VS. 1 TO 11)

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Jim & Phyllida Strickland at home

Hi all,

Adultery! It’s an interesting word which post- puberty men and women have had to learn to deal with to some extent. God has designed us such that we are attracted by each other in different ways. Let’s not go there. What we can say is that men are stimulated by what they see. Men love to watch strip shows. Ladies usually don’t. It’s difficult for any normal red-blooded man to look at a naked women without being physically stimulated.

Under the Old Covenant, the law stated ¹⁴ "You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14 TNIV By implication, you could “look” as much as you wanted. “Commit” was the operative word. As long as you didn’t “do it” there was no problem with God. Certainly that was the understanding of the men back then. A sign saying, “Please do not handle the merchandise” would have kept everyone, including God, happy!?!

Then Jesus arrived on the scene. His comments put a new “slant” on what comprised adultery. ²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery. ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Mat 5:27-28 TNIV In other words, from the Christian standpoint, committing adultery was taken beyond the action phase to the looking phase.

Now let’s reason this through to establish what Jesus meant. It can’t possibly mean that a man should go everywhere with his eyes closed, in order not to be guilty of adultery. The operative words are “looking lustfully”. Thus men are allowed to appreciate the beauty of a woman. What is forbidden is to go beyond “looking” and to start “lusting” for her. Many counsellors deal with this by to telling the young men to look away. Appreciate the beauty of a woman by all means; but if there is any trace of “lust”, look elsewhere. One writer’s advice was to “bounce” your eyes.

The reason we have gone through this is to get a better understanding of what took place in John 8:1-12. Bear in mind Jesus was simultaneously, 100% man and 100% God. He knew that the woman they brought to Him was naked. He knew how easy it was to be tempted into sin. He also knew that for Him to start looking at a naked woman would be a significant temptation. So He protected Himself from temptation by determining not to look at her. He stooped down and began to write on the ground with His finger.

If you look carefully at the passage, he did not look at the woman till the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had departed the scene. By then someone, knowing of her extreme embarrassment, would have handed her something to cover her body. It therefore seems likely that Jesus was not tempted by a naked woman. Once again the Master had defeated the subtle tricks of Satan.

His action of averting His eyes is our example for us to keep away from falling into “looking to lust”. Thank You Lord for this magnificent example for us to follow!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 27 February 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	Adultery! - (John 8 vs. 1 to 11)
Yesterday’s meditation and Scriptures were all about Covenant. You may recall that it referred to the fact that it was usually only the woman who was stoned to death for adultery. The man got off “scot-free”. I suspect that if women were stronger than men, it would have been the other way round! Being stoned to death for committing adultery is the topic dealt with in John 8 – one of today’s Scriptures. This portion of Scripture is left out in some translations. Where it has been included, there is often a footnote, or marginal-note, stating that the passage is not in them. It’s been deliberately left out for a good reason. Many translators do not like to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God! So they remove any section of Scripture which makes reference to His Divinity. After all, only God can forgive sin! What is not mentioned is that if she was caught in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus, she was probably naked. Her deep humiliation and embarrassment would have touched Him deeply. To help her with this, Jesus didn’t look at her. Instead He wrote on the ground. It’s likely that someone threw her a covering of some sort during the time when the Pharisees left one by one. This would have quietened her trembling significantly. In other words, Jesus would not have been looking at a naked woman! I like this understanding, because of the deep care for women He displayed throughout His time in ministry. He would not have wanted to increase her embarrassment. What was He writing in the sand? We don’t know. Unfortunately the writing has been erased. One suggestion which is plausible, is that it was the sins of each leader of the group. When each of them read it, they had to get away. Caught “Red handed” is the comment. They had to leave! They thought they had “caught” Jesus out. The Mosaic Law was very clear. The penalty for adultery was stoning to death. If He had agreed, they would have stoned her to death there and then. If He didn’t He would have been siding with someone who had broken the law. His action was an act of God; repentance and forgiveness for an adulterer. No condemnation! “Go and sin no more”, was His injunction. Whether she did or did not we are not told. My guess is that her life was transformed by the incident. Jesus still does this today for sinners like you and me. Some of us have gone to Him more deeply entrenched in sin than this unfortunate woman. He forgave us and said, “Go and sin no more”! I’m so glad He did! This little poem was written in 1985. However, it is as just as relevant today as it was back then. Sorry about the small font size! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			5 If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn't find fault with them. 6 When you ask for something, don't have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 7 James 1:5-6 GW 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" 11 "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." John 8:10-11 NLT 15 There is no comparison between God's gift and Adam's failure. If humanity died as the result of one person's failure, it is certainly true that God's kindness and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Jesus Christ, have been showered on humanity. 16 There is also no comparison between God's gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person's failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought God's approval Rom. 5:15-16 GW 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. 2:4-9 ESV 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Rom. 8:31-33 ESV	He'd been on the Mountain of Olives, As well as our Temple in town. We had heard Jesus speak All the previous week And at dawn, He came in and sat down. We all began gathering round Him; All eager, His voice, for to hear; Perhaps we would see Him miraculously Cause a wondrous sign to appear! Then, up walked a group of our leaders With a woman they thought He should see. They said, "It's a fact!" "She's been caught in the act Of committing adultery." They said that, according to Moses, She should now pay the ultimate price; And, if He agreed, They would like to proceed. But first, would He give His advice? Now, all of us knew that the question Was designed to put Him in a flap. They wanted to see What His answer would be. Perhaps, He'd be caught in their trap? The woman looked horribly frightened. She stood there just shaking with fear. She was weeping aloud In front of the crowd, Convinced that her death was now near. But we were all looking at Jesus And wondering what He would say. We could see He was faced With His utter distaste For this harsh and unloving display. We didn't know how He could answer, Or the principle He would propound. But, we knew what He meant When He silently bent And His finger did write on the ground. The Scribes and the Pharisees gloated, Insisting He make a reply. They thought He was beat Till He got to His feet And looked them all straight in the eye. With a voice of authoritive passion, He uttered these words from His heart: “The one without sin May her stoning begin." Then, His writing, once more, He did start!		The leaders all stared in amazement; Confused by the answer they'd heard. For, the words that He spoke Nearly caused them to choke! To them, He had sounded absurd. But slowly the truth of His answer Started settling into each mind. Like the light of the day Driving darkness away, Their reasons for stoning declined. Then, shamed by the wisdom of Jesus, The eldest departed the scene. How could he reply? He did not qualify! He knew what a sinner he'd been. And, right the way down to the youngest, They followed the eldest man's lead And left, one by one, Till each person had gone That accused her of doing the deed. The woman continued her weeping But, since only Jesus was near, Her trembling finished; Her wailing diminished And she was controlling her fear. Then, Jesus arose from His bending And glanced very quickly around. We could tell from His eyes He wasn't surprised Her inquisitors couldn't be found! "Woman, where are your accusers?" Jesus asked as the woman grew calm. "Where are the men Who seek to condemn? Is there no one that's seeking your harm?" By then, she was filled with amazement And relief that she couldn't disguise. "No one Sir!" she replied In a voice which implied That she didn't believe her own eyes. Then, Jesus looked full of compassion As He gazed at her straight in the eye; And His words set her free As He said tenderly, "If they haven't, neither do I!" Jesus knew that she'd truly repented Of what she'd been doing before; And so He did say That she could go away And added, "Don't sin anymore!"
				Jim Strickland  Written 1985