DANIEL AND GOD’S KINGDOM

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 24 March 2013

Phyllida in Wales

 Hi all,

Today’s meditation looks at Daniel and the Kingdom of God. Most Christians have heard of Daniel. One of our early Sunday school lessons was all about Daniel in the lion’s den. In brief, we remember he spent the night with them. Those hungry lions didn’t bother him. While we were growing up, many of us remember trying to reason out why?  The lions left him alone but devoured those who “replaced” him the next morning.

Daniel explaining the King's Vision

My thought is that he spent the night in the Kingdom of God! He was filled with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Let’s not get too pedantic about the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Old Testament. Remember that God is not confined within our time/space dimension. In other words, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit may be manifest at any point in time without being subject to time’s constraints! So there is no reason why Daniel could not have been in the Kingdom of God at that time. Certainly Daniel’s behaviour was consistent with righteousness, peace and joy. So, why not in the Holy Spirit?

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 24 March 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	Daniel and God’s Kingdom
When Phyllida and I went through today’s meditation, she asked me a good question. “Where did the “Daniel” content originate? I went back through it and had to agree she had a point. So where in today’s Scriptures did it come from? To quote John Hagee, “Mmmmm” We read through the poem and asked that question again. I really didn’t have an answer. I’m told that originality is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. So I had to find the 1%. Eventually, in Rev 20:4 it was found. The “beast and his statue” reminded me of the story of Daniel. So the connection, although somewhat vague, became apparent. The Scriptures also referred to the Kingdom of God. That was the point of origin. How to put them together wasn’t obvious. So the meditation was written. Where is the Kingdom of God? We all struggle with the concept. For you and me, a Kingdom is a place. It’s all we know. But Paul tells us 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Rom 14:17 ESV Let’s have a look at the three “qualities referred to in this Scripture. Righteous is what God is. He is perfect in all respects. He always does what is correct in terms of the highest moral code. His behaviour is always an expression of what we call the ten commandments. He is eternally good, moral, just, blameless, upright, honourable, honest and respectable. He is sin-free and cannot be tempted by sin. Peace is not an absence of war, although this cannot be excluded. It is serenity, harmony, tranquillity and calmness despite anything happening around you. It’s a deep inward knowledge that God is real and that He is in control of each and every situation. It’s a sense of being reconciled and safe in the hands of a loving creator. It is walking through life with Jesus. Joy is the deep knowledge of pleasure, delight and .well-being which transcends happiness. David in Psalm 16 gives a picture of joy. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 TNIV As Paul describes in Romans 14, the Kingdom of God is a combination of these “qualities” in and through the Holy Spirit. They are not man generated but “qualities” or fruit as a result of His indwelling presence. Paul describes them in his epistle to the Galatians. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal 5:22-23 TNIV So, how can we recognise that someone is in God’s Kingdom? My guess is that if we find somewhere or someone who displays these qualities in spite of circumstances, we are looking at God’s Kingdom in action in an individual. No doubt there are a number of people in the New Testament who display them. But, the one who really springs to mind is Daniel in the lion’s den. Is my assumption that He was “in God’s Kingdom” correct? Perhaps so? But He was being protected by God in that den of lions. If that’s not being in His Kingdom, what is? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For He called you to share in His Kingdom and glory. 1 Thess. 2:12 NLT 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." John 18:36 ESV 13 There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. Heb. 10:12 NLT 15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." Rev 11:15 TNIV 1 You have made them members of a royal family. You have made them priests to serve our God. They will rule on earth." Rev 5:10 NIrV 4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Rev 20:4 NLT 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! Mat 13:43 NLT 32 "Little flock, do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32 NIrV 29 So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I'm giving it to you. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:29-30 GW 9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. 10 May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one Mat 6:9-13 NLT	The Kingdom is within us. That’s what the Master said. But will you kindly tell me, if that is in my head? I don’t think I can see it, although I’ve really tried. Just a little hint will do, for me to check inside. It isn’t a location? No one has told me that! So when I try to find it, is it underneath my hat? It isn’t in my tummy, although I’m overweight. And trying to get into it, is surely tempting fate. There’s no place I can think of that’s suitable at all. To try and get the Nations in! I’m sorry, it’s too small. So what was Jesus meaning? How can we all get there? If it’s inside each one of us, will there be room to spare? It can‘t be a location. I think that’s fairly clear. Perhaps some sort of “cyberspace” is how it might appear. But Jesus Christ has told us it’s righteousness and peace; And joy which He has told us that will not ever cease. Exactly how this functions and why it will be great, Has yet to be expounded. So we will have to wait, Until the Lord has shown us the way it ought to be. And that is more than adequate for people just like me. We know it must be tangible. The book of Daniel shows, That even in the Lion’s den, God’s Kingdom somehow goes! They weren’t aware that Daniel was sitting in their pit. They somehow looked right through him; or thought he was unfit, To feed a hungry lion. But surely that’s not true. A little taste of anyone for each of them would do! Perhaps He’d found God’s Kingdom and so he wasn’t there? Don’t tell me hungry lions were thinking it’s not fair, To bring their favourite diet and not to care a jot. If you think lions do such things, I tell you they do not! The next day after Daniel, had exited their den, We know they had a special taste of Babylonian men. A couple were thrown down for them. Their breakfast had been served, Those wicked Babylonians got just what they deserved. Was Daniel in God’s Kingdom? I think he had to be. Righteousness and joy and peace were shown abundantly. The lions got the message, for them, he wasn’t there. He stayed within God’s Kingdom in an attitude of prayer! So next time you’re confronted with a thing you can’t control; Take a tip from Daniel and it will keep you whole. Focus upon Jesus, His love and righteousness. So what if you get eaten? With Him you can’t care less! Jim Strickland Written 24th March 2012

EMMAUS REVELATION

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 23 March 2013

Jim & Phyllida at home in Johannesburg

Hi all,

For our meditation today I’ve focused on the Emmaus walk. The dialogue is imaginary. I’ve tried to stick to what we know from Scripture. I’ve also tried to weave some of the other evening Scriptures into the meditation.

Emmaus was an ancient town located approximately 7 miles northwest of present day Jerusalem. The New Testament reports that Jesus appeared before two of his followers in Emmaus after his resurrection. One of the most commonly debated topics in Christianity concerning this walk is the identity of the two men who walked there with Jesus. We look into this in the introduction.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 23 March 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	Emmaus Revelation
Have you ever wanted to be a “fly on the wall”? Most of us do at one time or another. For me there is one Bible Study I would love to have heard. The Bible study when Jesus taught the two believers on the Emmaus Road. Later, when He appeared to the Apostles the following is recorded: 44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Luke 24:44 ESV It must have been an extraordinary teaching. Direct from the lips of the “Author” through the various Scripture writers. WOW! The Jewish Bible is different from ours. The books were the same but they were classified differently. The Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy) is the Pentateuch. (The same as ours) Their next classification was “the Prophets”; the former Prophets and the latter Prophets. The final classification was what they called “the Writings”. The Writings included the Psalms and similar books. There are reasons why the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Scriptures are not classified the same way. Whether or not the reasons are valid is something about which I’m not sufficiently qualified to comment. Strangely enough, they include the Book of Daniel among the Writings. Whether this makes any difference as far as interpretation is concerned is not clear to me. I suppose it should do. But in Christianity, we find that Daniel and Revelation are so “intertwined”, it’s almost impossible not to see Daniel as a Prophetic Book. Who were these two disciples of Jesus? One of them was thought to be Cleophas or Alpheus. (Some think that Clophas, Cleophas and Alpheus are all the same name.) It has been suggested that Cleophas was wealthy and was one of the people who supported Jesus’ ministry financially. The name of the other is thought to be Luke the Gospel writer or possibly Nathaniel. Note: Bartholomew and Nathaniel is the same person. If the identities of the two are indeed Alpheus and Nathaniel, it is difficult to understand why at least one of them did not recognise Jesus, before He revealed Himself to them. If Luke was the second person, it would be interesting to note that Jesus actually walked with a Gentile after His resurrection! Luke, a native of Antioch, was a physician by profession. It is thought he became a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children; filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke died at the age of 84 years. So was Luke one of them? You tell me! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			29 But they begged Him, "Stay the night with us, since it is getting late." So He went home with them. Luke 24:29 NLT 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20 ESV 7 Please tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where does your flock lie down at noon? Tell me, or I will be considered a prostitute wandering among the flocks of your companions. SoS 1:7 GW 4 I had just left them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, into the bedroom of the one who conceived me. SoS 3:4 GW 16 Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. SoS 4:16 ESV 1 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love! SoS 5:1 ESV 19 I have not spoken in secret. I have not spoken from a dark place. I have not said to Jacob's people, "It is useless to look for me.' I am the LORD. I always speak the truth. I always say what is right. Isaiah 45:19 NIrV 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Mat 28:19-20 ESV 5 Don't love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, "I will never abandon you or leave you." Heb. 13:5 GW 20 And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." Mat 18:20 MSG 18 "I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. 19 In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. John 14:18-19 MSG	“What a mess!” he stated, “And after these three years! “I thought He would deliver us. But finally, the jeers, And mocking words they hurled at Him. Had we got it wrong? The wondrous things He did for us. I thought he had a strong, Claim as the Messiah. How could it end that way? To friends who said “I told you so”. To them what will we say?” “I wish I had an answer” the other man replied. “How could this man of miracles be flogged and crucified? I cannot understand it. It makes so little sense. He seemed to walk so close to God; Was that His recompense?” And then a voice behind them said, “What is it that you speak?” “We’re talking of the person. A young man at His peak. We thought He was Messiah. But all our hopes were dashed. The Romans flogged & murdered Him, all our trust was smashed.” “Perhaps I can explain it!” the voice behind them said. And then He started talking of things deep in their head. The prophets had predicted it. The Law showed it was true. The writings showed exactly what the people would all do. It wasn’t by an accident this man they loved had died. He showed them that their Scriptures said He would be crucified. What a Scripture study! I wish I had been there. To hear the Lord expounding and speaking of the care, That God had for all sinners; a love so deep and true. He’d come and He’d be crucified for folk like me and you. He’d come into His garden; the world forged by His hands. He’d come to reassure them He’d smashed the devil’s bands. He said He hadn’t spoken in secret, locked away. His words were very simple. They said to Him “Please stay”. But He had other purposes and when He broke the bread, He vanished from their vision before they all had fed. For forty days He stayed with them and He played “peek-a-boo”. “Now you see Me. Now you don’t. But I am still with you”. He said He’d never leave them, forsaken and alone. He’d send His Holy Spirit the way that He had shown. And so when they were gathered in groups of two or more, His presence would be with them to be worshiped and adored. And to this very moment, for some two thousand years, We know that when we gather, our words are in His ears. Jim Strickland  Written 23rd March 2012