ADVENT... The Journey TOWARDS Bethlehem...

The Journey Towards Bethlehem

Advent 2008
Meditations

As we begin Advent 2008, we do so with the ever-present hope of His+ Second Advent … The Second Coming of CHRIST JESUS

… when His+ feet touch down on the Mt. of Olives.
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Thus, at this point in time, during our Journey Towards Bethlehem… the House of Bread Divine… we have one eye on the ground and one eye on the sky.

Our spiritual journey is taken for one purpose: we NEED to get there, to that place. In other words, whatever is happening in Bethlehem is drawing our hearts to that place… to Someone+ Who is going to be arriving there. We don’t want to miss it.

But, as with all journeys, we must make preparation.

Therefore let us begin Advent 2008 with the SORE acknowledgement that we have fallen short of the Glory of GOD. Our Journey Towards Bethlehem is our craving to regain that glory… somehow, someway.

Seasons of the Year... of the CHURCH Year, that is...

Seasons of the Church Year,

The CHRISTIAN Calendar

We CHRISTIANS do differently.

We see the world develop and go after "holy-days" with all the money and gimmicks the world can offer. There is nothing holy about it all.

The best part is that all of society's worker-bees get to have some time off to rest, relax, play, visit, and see friends and family members. And, for that we DO give thanks.

Here at the Order, we try to redeem the time for The LORD'S purposes and for HIS+ Kingdom. Some of our friends are fasting during this time off. Some are in intense prayer.

We keep "holy-day" with Christian friends, and turn our thoughts and efforts towards The LORD instead of towards the world's parades, games, fashions, and activities.

We try to keep in mind the Church Calendar rather than the world's calendar for these days. Thus, we use our Thanksgiving time to start our Advent wreath and season of preparation for the remembrance of His+ first coming.

Advent, then, becomes a season when we focus on repentance MINGLED WITH JOY.... this joy being that our MESSIAH has come, so many years ago, to take away our sins, to always be with us, our EMMANUEL.

This year, we will be doing a small series of repentance Scriptures to prepare our hearts, as we remember His+ first coming. This is in hopes that we may truly be prepared for HIS+ SECOND COMING, Bless GOD !

Advent colors, by the way, are NOT red and green... but blue, which signifies the Birth of the CHRIST child. Thus, you will not find any red at our hermitage during this season.

For those of us with children, we like to use a Religious Advent Calendar to open a window and read a Scripture. Another activities is to have an EMPTY MANGER and put a straw in it for each kind deed, each charitable thought, each victory over temptation, and each repentance during this season. Thus we do something tangible to prepare our hearts as we "build" the bed of straw in the manger for the coming Christ child in our nativity set. It's a wonderful time, especially for young ones... or those young in heart.

Yes, we Christians do things differently than the world.

I pray you will join us in your hearts and home around the Advent Season of repentances and lighting the Advent Candles in the Advent wreath. May this time be most special to you, as you use it to draw closer and closer unto CHRIST, the only Light of this dark, dark world.

The ANGEL of The LORD ENCAMPETH...

The Angel of The LORD

encampeth round about

them that fear HIM+,

and

delivereth them.

Psalm 34:7

The BARN-BREAKER

A dear Brother in The LORD, a close friend, experienced a miraculous deliverance this week... and indeed, the miracle is STILL going on. Here is his true story:

Our Brother is an experienced pilot. He flies an ultra-light, a "flying parachute" for business and for fun. As he was flying this week close to his home, a living nightmare happened.

Unbeknownst to him, his chute caught a tree branch then quickly other things happened until... he was slammed at 30-plus miles per hour into the side of a barn!

He was conscious after the impact of the accident. He called his wife. He told her to come quickly, thinking he would be dead before she got there.

He said, " LORD, I think I may be gonna' die. If I am, I hope I'm ready. If I don't, show me what to say [ to others.] "

The medics came quickly, but had to wait on special equipment to extricate him from the side of the barn.

To one side were LARGE, LONG NAILS protruding from the barn... but he hit next to them. One foot higher was the eve of the barn roof. If he'd have hit that eve, he would have been DECAPITATED instantly.

As it was, he sustained a crushed sternum bone and 9 broken ribs, plus two small punctures in his lungs. The medical staff at the hospital was concerned about those punctures and worked on him to keep his lungs breathing at full capacity.

They sent him home from the hospital after being there for only 36 hours... possibly because they have no hospitalization insurance. He works independently as a home remodeler.

So, along with his injuries, came the cost of survival, a cessation of his immediate work, and a likely future of not-being-able to work for some time. He has a wife and toddler at home, whom they plan to home-school and indeed, have already started pre-K activities in a Christian setting in their home.

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WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THE LORD DID ?

HE+ had the spectacular accident televised on the evening news across the city. Then, HE+ had his wife's former employer notify them of a TRUST FUND set up to pay their medical expenses AND to sustain them until our Brother can return to some kind of work.

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WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THE LORD DID NEXT?

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HE+ had his wife's sister... a physician's assistant (right next to a doctor, in medical status) come to visit from hundreds of miles away. Thus, when our Brother got home from the hospital, THE LORD had somebody WELL-TRAINED IN MEDICAL THINGS there at home, ready and waiting, at no cost to them!

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NOW, WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE HAPPENED AFTER THAT ?

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As they were dressing our brother to come home from the hospital, they noticed that... with 9 broken ribs and a puncture in his lungs... HE WAS NOT BRUISED! Yes, the doctors WERE AMAZED!

And we were too, with tears in our eyes, at the great faithfulness of GOD the FATHER ALMIGHTY.

Later, his wife told us that the LORD showed her that HE+ came between that side of the barn and our brother.

Let us NEVER UNDER-ESTIMATE the power of the Risen LORD. Let us go on towards King JESUS, giving HIM+ the cream of our time, effort, and strength. We all know the signs of the times: the DAYS ARE NUMBERED for this current civilization.

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Let us walk WISELY, redeeming the time, for the DAY IS FAR SPENT; night is close at hand. Tomorrow is NOT PROMISED... for young and old alike.

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Blessing and honor

and glory and power,

be unto HIM that

sitteth upon the THRONE,

and unto The LAMB+

... FOREVER AND EVER.

amen.