THE TRAINING OF SAUL OF TARSUS

Saul on route to Damascus

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 20 April 2013

Hi all,

Apart from the Lord Jesus, two men stand out as exceptional Biblical thinkers throughout the ages. One is Moses. God went to great lengths with Moses’ training. Raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he was destined to become Pharaoh himself. He was raised in the traditions of the Hebrews having been instructed by his mother, masquerading as his wet nurse! He would have attended Egyptian University. It is also understood that he was one of the great generals of the Egyptian army. One day, Moses had a “light bulb” moment and killed an Egyptian, who was ill-treating a Hebrew slave. Moses fled to the land of Midian. While there, Pharaoh obliterated all reference to Moses from their historical records. Having been a leading figure in Egypt, Moses spent the next 40 years leading sheep! When he was 80, God called him to deliver the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Moses had been prepared by God to write, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Pentateuch; the first 5 Books of the Old Testament.

Moses at Burning Bush

The other man was Saul. (hereafter referred to as Paul) He went on to write, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, a large part of the New Testament. Paul had been well trained in Tarsus and in Jerusalem. His Jewish mentor was Gamaliel, one of the finest teachers of the Law among the Jews of that day. Paul didn’t murder an Egyptian. Instead he was largely responsible for the stoning of Stephen, one of the earliest Christian martyrs. Paul didn’t flee to Midian. Instead he pursued Jewish believers of “The Way”. He had them arrested sent to the Jewish authorities and executed. In the process of doing this, he had his “light bulb” moment on the road to Damascus. Then, after his conversion and a short spell in Damascus and Jerusalem with the apostles, he went to the Arabian Desert. He was there for some 3 years. There in the dry heat of the desert, He learned from Jesus and the Holy Spirit how to take care of Christ’s sheep.

JESUS RISES

It seems that those who are destined to do great things for God need to be highly educated and trained in the art of caring for sheep; of the human variety! You must be a “murderer” having died to yourself so that Christ can reign in you. You also need to spend time alone in the intense “heat” of a “desert”; a place where you can be moulded into a man of compassion and understanding. Do you qualify?

Paul

Today’s meditation looks at this in more detail.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 20 April 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE TRAINING OF SAUL OF TARSUS
What is the greatest miracle in Scripture? The obvious answer must be the resurrection of Jesus. I’ve deliberately excluded the initial acts of creation. Not because they are less important, because we have no means of quantifying what took place. God spoke and it was so. These were mighty miracles. However, in the resurrection, the voice of God is not mentioned. Not at that time. Jesus referred to it and spoke of it Himself. You find the record of this in Matthew’s gospel concerning Jesus baptism. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented. Mat 3:14-15 TNIV One of the aspects of “all righteousness” was a picture of Himself being raised from the dead. That’s exactly what John did. Jesus symbolically died and was raised from the dead in baptism. In fact this is probably the clearest reference to Jesus dying and being raised from the dead anywhere is Scripture. It’s exactly what takes place when believers are baptised. They die to self and are raised to new life in Jesus. Jesus would complete the event when He was raised from the dead. It’s only true for us if it was true for Him! The 2nd greatest miracle in the Scripture is the miracle of re-birth. Jesus referred to this in John 3. 3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." John 3:3 NLT Paul described it beautifully in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Cor. 5:17 ESV According to Jesus and Paul, every born again (born from above) believer has experienced this already. You may not feel any different. That doesn’t change the fact of our rebirth. As we are aware, the letters of Paul comprise a large percentage of the New Testament. His letters are instructive. A great deal of New Testament theology is derived from Paul’s letters. He didn’t “invent” a new theology. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul’s highly trained “Jewish mind” enabled him to “understand” what takes place in the hearts and minds of those who become Christians. From this point of view, Paul is surely one of the great “religious thinkers” of all time. God knew what humanity needed to take His Word, to all the world after Jesus ascended. God never leaves anything to chance. Furthermore, in God’s Kingdom, there are no coincidences. Thus at ± the same time as John the Baptist and Jesus were growing up into their ministries, He was doing the same with a man called Saul of Tarsus. That’s another miracle! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			15 "'Who are You, lord?' I asked. "And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. Act 26:15 NLT 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." Matthew 14:27 ESV 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 ESV 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (Meaning, God with us). Matthew1:23 ESV 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."  Matthew 1:20-21 ESV 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1 ESV 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? Romans 8:34-35 ESV	“Who are you Lord?” Saul asked Him! It was as dark as night. He’d only just been blinded by the brightness of the light. Saul was somewhat frightened. He’d not “seen” this before. But why had he been blinded and he could see no more? I’m sure I would be terrified under those circumstances. “Perhaps I’ll never see again. O Lord what are the chances Of finding out what happened? Just how had it been done?” He didn’t know for certain, the “culprit” was God’s Son. This was Saul’s “light bulb” moment. If you’ll excuse the pun. He knew, in spite of what he’d thought, this was God’s Holy Son! Right at that very instant, Saul’s mind made a U-turn. His heart was right behind him and he began to burn With passion for Christ Jesus. The “light” which blinded him, Gave him his one obsession, and smouldered deep within. No longer Saul of Tarsus. This was apostle Paul, Destined to write the letters which still inspire us all. We know now just what happened. Damascus lay before. Where Christ restored his vision and sent him out once more. He started as a Pharisee and had been highly trained. Knowledge of the Scriptures, in him had been ingrained. It was the Jewish method. He knew God’s law by heart. The young boys had to study it until it was a part, Of everything they stood for. He knew the Pentateuch. He knew the whole thing off by heart without consulting books. The writings and the prophets were also in his head. Thus, he could say precisely, just what God’s Word had said. He may have once been married. Rabbinical tradition, Suggests it may have happened. It’s not above suspicion. He would have married willingly, if it had been required, To be God’s faithful follower, he’d do what God desired. Here we have a thumbnail of perhaps the greatest mind, From that time in our history. His like is hard to find. God sent him to the Gentiles; which some regard as odd. But don’t decide too early, He’s an all knowing God. Paul needed all that knowledge, to help to see him through, The terrible resistance that sprang up from the Jews. So let’s give thanks to Jesus and praise His Holy Name. Take away Paul’s letters; our Bible’s not the same! Jim Strickland Written 20th April 2013

A WITNESS FOR JESUS

To be

Time with Jesus - Friday, 19 April 2013

Hi all,

“I promise that the evidence I give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God”. Familiar words from the much loved Springbok Radio show, “Consider Your Verdict” The show was on the radio for half an hour every Tuesday and ran from 1954 to 1985 (±31 years) when Springbok Radio was closed down. I can still remember the “tune” that went with it. I’m not certain, but I think the programme aired at 20h00

Or not to be

In the UK in the early 1960’s, Perry Mason was very popular. Perry was a US attorney who specialized in defending seemingly indefensible cases. With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul.Drake, it starred Raymond Burr, (Perry Mason) Barbara Hale (Della Street) and William Hopper (Paul Drake) You can still see some of the shows on the internet.

All this means. I cut my teeth on courtroom drama. I became aware of some of the permitted procedures in court. It also means that what goes on in a courtroom is not unknown.

That is

In today’s meditation, I’ve tried to clarify what it means to be a witness. Incidentally, Jesus commanded us to be a witness. He said nothing about our going out witnessing. If you have been told that you must go out witnessing, please be aware that our leaders have always taught us that. The command is to be a witness.

the Question

St Francis of Assisi put all this in its right perspective. He said to his followers, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Speak only when you have to!”

This advice applies to us today and is the topic of our meditation.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Time with Jesus – Friday, 19 April 2013
INTRODUCTION	DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	A WITNESS FOR JESUS
Before going any further, please be aware that I have no formal legal training and am not a lawyer. Having said that, please be aware that I’ve learned a little bit about the legal system and courtroom procedure. Any person who was an avid listener to “Consider Your Verdict” on Springbok Radio, knows something about what happens in court. When this is followed up by years of watching TV programmes like Perry Mason, Midsummer Murders, A Touch of Frost, Foyle’s War etc. it means I must have learned something. Even if it has been by osmosis through being seated. One lesson is that you do not volunteer information in court. When you are called as a witness, you are required to answer questions. To begin to talk about your Grandmother’s bunions would not be well received. You would be told, by whoever it is in charge of the court, to “shut up and answer the questions”. Very often the answer is “Yes” or “No”. No rambling on or irrelevant comments. It must be understood that the courts did not develop this fascinating procedure, in complete isolation. Much of it comes from the Bible! The term the courts use for those who give evidence, is usually “witness”. Biblically, a witness was someone who has/had seen or heard something relevant about a situation. Indeed, digging back into Biblical History, we will find that a witness didn’t necessarily have to be a person. Very often, people would set up a pile of stones as a witness; a testimony to what had taken place. For example, the Hebrews set up a pile of stones taken from the Jordan river. They erected them as a testimony to having crossed the river. Even today, we do much the same with grave stones. Have you heard a gravestone speak? It is a witness to the living. South Africa is littered with witnesses of the dead. They may have words chiselled on them, but they say nothing. It is high time Christians begin to realise, they should be like the Biblical or Courtroom witness. They should not volunteer information. They should only answer questions. In other words, don’t run round volunteering information about Jesus. That is not being a witness. It’s being a pain in the rear end and achieves just about nothing. People say anything, to get rid of such people. First you must earn the right to speak. You do this, by being a living testimony to Jesus, in every aspect of your life. When you begin to behave and look like a Christian, people will want to know more about you. Then you have earned the right to answer their questions. Yes, it’s hard. But Jesus commanded us to be a witness. When others have seen it in you, they will want to be His disciple! Jim & Phyllida Strickland	Sometimes I think, "I won't talk about him anymore. I'll never speak in his name again." But then your message burns in my heart. It's like a fire inside my very bones. I'm tired of holding it in. In fact, I can't. Jeremiah 20:9 NIrV If I proclaim the Message, it's not to get something out of it for myself. I'm compelled to do it, and doomed if I don't! If this was my own idea of just another way to make a living, I'd expect some pay. But since it's not my idea but something solemnly entrusted to me, why would I expect to get paid? So am I getting anything out of it? Yes, as a matter of fact: the pleasure of proclaiming the Message at no cost to you. You don't even have to pay my expenses! 1 Corinthians 9:16-18 MSG Once again the leaders called in Peter and John. They commanded them not to speak or teach at all in Jesus' name. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves. Which is right from God's point of view? Should we obey you? Or God? There's nothing else we can do. We have to speak about the things we've seen and heard." Acts 4:18-20 NIrV For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 2 Corinthians 5:14 ESV I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. Matthew 25:25-27 MSG As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn't let him. Jesus said, "Go home to your own people. Tell them your story--what the Master did, how he had mercy on you." Mark 5:18-19 MSG	Talking about Jesus. Do you think it is hard? When, with unbelievers, are you constantly on guard, In case you just might mention that Jesus is your Lord, Or people turn their noses up and look as though they’re bored? Do you get embarrassed when someone speaks His name? What about expletives? Is blasphemy the game, That people stumble into. Is His name used to curse! But everybody does it, and you are not their nurse. I’ve seen so many Christians who have fallen in this trap. If you are among them, don’t get into a flap. Let us have a little look at what is going on. Then say if you really think that I have got it wrong. First I have a question, for your consideration. Something to cause you to think; some needed information. Have you ever heard a peach ask “How are you today?” Have you watched a pineapple and listened to it pray? Apple or banana; have you ever heard them chat? Has a lemon asked you, what are you looking at? If you’ve ever heard them, then here’s what you should do. There is a place in “Tara” made especially for you. Of course, it’s very obvious that fruit don’t say a thing. How you recognise them, is not the words they bring. You know exactly what they are. You know them by the look. That’s what Jesus told us within God’s Holy Book. The same is true of Christians. It isn’t what they say. It’s watching their behaviour and how they look each day. We can train a parrot to say the Nicene Creed, But it is not a Christian by way or thought or deed. You recognise a Christian by the way that he’s behaved. It is by his lifestyle he shows that he is saved. Of course He loves Christ Jesus. He walks as Jesus walked. His “witness” is quite obvious and not the way he talked. That’s why I appeal to you, say nothing when you meet. Let him watch you love him and think, “The guy acts sweet! “He’ll ask, “Why do you do it?” ”Why do you live that way?” You’ve have earned the right to speak of Jesus on that day! It will be effective. He will not make a fuss. Very soon, that person will be at one with us! Jim Strickland Written 19th April 2013