Death Hath NO more DOMINION over HIM+ ... ALLELUJAH !

Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+

JESUS,
WHOM+ GOD hath raised up, 
having loosed the pains of Death; 

because 

it was NOT POSSIBLE
 
that HE+ should be holden of it ! 

Amen, 
Alleluia ! 

Since by man came death, 
by Man+ came also
the Resurrection 
from the Dead. 

For as in Adam all die, 
even so in CHRIST
shall all be made alive ! 

Yes, even so in CHRIST
shall all be made alive !  

Worthy is the LAMB+...
Worthy is the LAMB+....
Worthy is the LAMB+ 
that was slain
to receive  power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

O GOD our FATHER,
Who for our redemption
didst give Thine Only-Begotten SON+
to suffer death on the cross
and by HIS+ Glorious Resurrection
has delivered us
from the power of the adversary.

Grant us so to die daily from sin
that we may evermore live with HIM+
in the joy of His+ Resurrection.

This we ask,
through JESUS CHRIST our LORD,
WHO+ lives and reigns with THEE
and Thy Blessed HOLY SPIRIT,
ONE GOD,
now and forever to the endless ages.
Amen 

Can GOD FORSAKE His Own ?

Drawing by Anon Artist

Precious SAVIOR!

Crucified!

No death is so thorough. No shame is so complete.

First, there was the scourging.

The scourging post was two feet high. An iron ring, placed close to the top, projected from both sides.

Clothing was ripped away... 

from a prisoner so that he stood naked. Roman lictors were

professionals. They confined their labours to the fine, 

brutal art of scourging, and they could beat a victim until 

only the barest spark of life remained in the prisoner.

Wrists were firmly shackled to the iron rings. Then the victim was stretched, face down, with his feet pointing away from the post.

The Roman scourge was a flagra, a short-handled whip consisting of several thin iron chains which ended in small weights.

Scourging was called the "little death". It preceded the 

"big death": Crucifixion.

Even the tension of awaiting the first blow is cruel. The body is rigid. The muscles knot in tormenting cramps. Colour drains from the cheeks. Lips are drawn tight against the teeth.

As the whip descends, the chains fan out across the back, and each link cuts through the skin and deep into the flesh. The weights crash with bruising force into the ribs and curl tortuously around the chest.

When a man is scourged... 

there is pain beyond the memory of pain. 

Sweat bursts from the brow and stings the eyes. 

At each stroke of the flagra, 

a victim's body twitches 

like a beheaded chicken. 

The second stroke 

patterns the back and half of the chest 

with a V-shaped network of small cuts. 

Only the Son+ of God 

could hold back the high-pitched wail 

of unbearable agony.

The very juice of life is torn away with every lash. There is only the blinding, burning pain as cruel whips whistle again and again through the air and across the back and shoulders. The flagra can flay a man alive.

Under Hebrew law, the strokes were limited to 39. 

Roman punishment was not so limited. 

There was only one rule for the lictor who scourged a man about to be crucified: he must not die. A spark of life must be sustained for the agony on the cross.

Men have bitten their tongues in two under such beatings.

Only blessed unconsciousness could bring relief.

The limp body of a victim... 

was cut away from the post. His wounds were washed but 

not otherwise medicated. The next step was the parade to 

the execution ground.

Roman politicians always liked to make examples of condemned men. The long, slow parade along public streets was designed to serve as a warning to others that Rome dealt quickly and mercilessly.

A centurion usually served as the executioner or carnifex servorum.

While four soldiers held the prisoner, 

he placed the sharp five-inch iron spike in the center of the palm of the hand. A skillful, experienced blow would send it through to the wood. Four to five more strokes would hammer the spike deep into the rough plank, and a final blow turned it up so that the hand could not slip free.

A small projection, resembling a rhinoceros horn and known as the "sedile" is fitted solidly through the crotch. This was fitted in order to take most of the weight off the condemned man's hands. Then a nail was driven through each foot.

It was a death reserved for slaves, thieves and traitors.

The wounds in the hands send fire down through the arms.

Fainting only relieves temporarily.

It is darkness and pain; then pain and darkness.

The pain in the back, arms, hands, feet and crotch is a dull, throbbing, horrible, endless pain. The pain builds up. It multiplies. 

It is cumulative.  

There is not one moment of respite.

The cross is planted so that the greatest amount of sunlight will pierce the prisoner's eyes.

Below, the curious crowd wait, fascinated by the torture. The macabre scene is played out slowly. Dying should be a private thing, not a public spectacle. There is something obscene about having a mob of people standing around, waiting for you to die.

Then the thirst begins.

The lips are dry. The mouth is parched. The blood is hot. The skin is fevered. The greatest of all needs at this moment is a drop of cool water.

Water is denied.

At the foot of the cross the death-squad drinks in the presence of the dying man, to add to his mental torment. The sun shines directly into the eyes of the crucified. Even when the eyelids are closed a red glare penetrates. The tongue thickens. What was once saliva is now like unloomed wool. Swelling begins in the hands and the feet. The sedile digs deeply into the genitals. It is impossible to turn, or to change one's position. Muscles begin to twitch.

The real horror is only beginning.

What has happened up until now is child's play.

One by one the muscles of the back gather in tight, knotty cramps. There is no escaping them, no pulling out of them, no gentle massaging hands to ease them away. They move across the shoulders and the thorax. They move down into the abdomen.

After two hours on a cross, every muscle in the body is locked in solid knots and the agony is beyond endurance. Men shriek themselves into insanity.

The pain and symptoms are identical to tetanus (lockjaw or the state of a muscle when undergoing continued contraction).

Man, with all his genius, has never devised a more cruel or more agonising death than that of tetanus - the slow, steady contraction of every muscle. 

Death by crucifixion makes the agony last as 

long as possible.

Each hour is an eternity.

At times the cramps make the neck rigid and the head is held flush against the vertical beam. A man longs for death. It is his only desire.

There are flies, insects, and the yelps of dogs with the smell of blood in their nostrils. Birds of prey, scavengers of the skies, circle lower and lower.

Prayers seem to mock a man, but you either pray or curse.

As the hours pass, the tiny blood vessels which feed the nerves will be squeezed flat, and with the lack of blood circulation comes a numbing paralysis.

A new agony develops ... for those who linger 

on the cross. 

It is the agony of the mucous membrane.

During crucifixion, the mucous membrane 

- that thin, slippery tissue 

which lines and lubricates much of the human body - 

dries to the consistency of fine gravel 

and scrapes the tender tissues of the anus 

(the posterior opening of the alimentary canal).

The dried membranes 

tear at the tortured throat. 

They lie like stones in the sinuses. 

Layers of tissue are ripped from the eyes 

every time 

they are moved or blinked.

On the cross there is no end of suffering. It is only the manner of suffering that changes, and the degree of pain that changes.

As the hours passed, soldiers were inclined to hasten death. They began breaking bones. Standing on a ladder, a practised legionnaire would swing a mallet in a short arc and shatter the right femur (the thigh-bone) instantly. A second, sharp blow would shatter the left thigh. These were new pains.

Could there ever be more intense suffering this side of hell?

Most condemned men died naked.

JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED. HE+ died the most brutal death ever devised by man.

HE+ took my place. It was my sin that sent Him+ there.

JESUS died the most thorough death ever devised. It was designed to allow the slow death-erosion of cell, muscle, emotion, bone, tissue, mind, spirit, blood and heart-beat. 

CHRIST was crucified, states the Scripture. HE+ did it all for you and me...

Thus the victory 

of the Resurrection 

is the most complete victory 

ever recorded.

Up from the grave 
HE+ arose,

With a mighty triumph 
o'er His+ foes;

HE+ arose a VICTOR+ 
from the dark domain,

And HE+ lives forever 
with His+ saints to reign.

HE+ arose! 

HE+ arose!

Hallelujah! 

CHRIST arose!

No further sacrifice for my sins is needed.

JESUS paid it ALL.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:17-24

by C. M. Ward (Sydney)
www.cai.org

UNION with CHRIST JESUS

www.ancientsource.com

Stay in UNION 
with CHRIST JESUS !

Let the prince of this world find

NOTHING
in you.


Stay in UNION 
with CHRIST JESUS !

Do not scatter your strength.

Concentrate on ONE+. 

Be thorough. 

Be attentive.

Move away 

from the world 

NOW! 

Unify yourself with ME+. 

Practice bringing 
every thought

into captivity 
to My+ Word. 

Practice thinking

"whatsoever things are 

pure, holy, lovely, and of good report"

about one another. 

If you see a need, then pray and make supplication with as much zeal as if it were you yourself  standing in need of mercy.  

Intercede AGAINST the devil for the deliverance of that person, with the same cry for defense that you would wish for yourself, against the lying torments of satan. 

Remember: 

I+ will judge you

by those SAME STANDARDS 

by which 

you have judged others. 

To the merciful, 

I+ will show mercy. 

But, to the froward, 

I+ will show Myself+ contrary. 

Unify yourself with ME+; 

I+ will keep you. 

Troublous times are upon 

the face of the earth. 

Stay in union 
with ME+.  


Let the prince of this world find
NOTHING
in you.



Stay in UNION
with 
ME+...

for without ME+

you can do

NOTHING! 

" ... NOTHING in ME+"

Photo by www.ancientsource.com

Hereafter, 

I+ 

will not talk much with you:

for

the prince of this world 

cometh, 

and hath

NOTHING 

in 

ME+. 

John 14:30 

HOSANNA to The Son of David !

HOSANNA 

... O, SAVE ! ...

to The Son of David !

Photo by Karen Hanson
Healing As A Sacred Path blog
Holy Land Palm Sunday Processional 

Blessed is HE+ Who+ cometh 

in the Name of The LORD !

~ Palm Sunday ~
The Great I AM 

I AM the Resurrection.

Hosanna to the Son of David !

I AM the Life.

Blessed is HE+ that cometh

I AM the Way.

 in The Name of The LORD ! 

I AM the Truth.

they cast their garments upon the colt 

I AM the Bread of Life. 

And they sat  JESUS  thereon.

I AM the Light of the world.

...they spread their clothes in the way. 

I AM the Vine. 

...the whole multitude of the disciples 
began to rejoice

I AM the Door.

and praise GOD with a loud voice ...

I AM the Good Shepherd.

for all the mighty works that they had seen;

...I AM The SON+ of GOD.

John 10:36

Saying, 
Blessed be The KING+ 

that cometh 

in the Name of The LORD; 

peace in Heaven, 

and glory in Highest. 

Luke 19:38

PASSOVER Affirmations....

Affirmations of Faith

photo by www.flickr.com

for worship during Guided Meditations.

O Earth, Earth, Earth...

Hear the Word+ of The LORD !

JESUS said, 

I+ 

am

The Way, 

The Truth, and 

The Life; 

No man cometh 

to The FATHER

except by ME+.  

O Earth, Earth, Earth...

Hear the Word+ of The LORD !

Neither is there Salvation 

in any other;

For there is no other Name+ 

under Heaven

given among men, 

whereby we must be saved. 

O Earth, Earth, Earth...

Hear the Word+ of The LORD !

That at the Name of JESUS

every knee shall bow, 

of beings in Heaven, 

beings in earth, 

and beings under the earth,

And that every tongue should confess

That JESUS CHRIST is LORD

to the Glory of GOD The FATHER. 

O Earth, Earth, Earth... 

Hear the Word+ of The LORD !

Passover DISCIPLINE !

Photo by stsylvesters.org.uk

Dear Readers... I  STRONGLY advise you to develop and practice a DAILY DISCIPLINE of worship.... private, individual worship. 

You do NOT NEED a "group" to gather about you to do this discipline, nor do you need anything more than your Bible and a quiet, hidden nook where you will not be disturbed.... be it woods or barn, basement or attic. 

Don some sanctified garment that you have prayed over and sanctified for this use, asking The LORD to bless it. Head-coverings or hoods,  capelets or simple chasubles,  long dresses or skirts for the sisters; vests or tunics or a simple blanket-type chasuble or robe for the brothers. 

Change your position to standing, kneeling, bowing and even sitting, as you worship. Do the sign of the Cross in the air, on your forehead, across your heart, or from head to chin, or even over your mouth! Otherwise, do the "normal" sign of the cross at appropriate places as you are moved to do so when you pray. 

REMEMBER: The sign of the cross is ANCIENT and is not a sign of "group" membership in the high churches or low. The sign of the cross BELONGS TO EVERY CHRISTIAN. 

Obtain or make a simple wall cross and make a simple strand of Christian prayer beads to help you keep your place and memorize Scriptures as you go. Instructions are plentiful on the Internet. 

One person has made Christian prayer beads out of black and brown wooden beads from an old beaded car seat ! This involves 4 sets of 7 beads ( called "weeks' beads"), with 4 Cruciform beads to separate them.  

A string of smaller wooden beads, this time red beads and some green ones obtained for a dollar from a thrift store item, made the "opening and closing" beads and the Cruciform beads... where is said, 

• " Worthy is The LAMB+ !"  ... said at  the 4 Cruciform beads 

and at the 3 opening and closing beads: 

• "Blessed be The HOLY FATHER Who created us, 

• and His HOLY SON+ JESUS CHRIST our LORD Who+ saves us, 

• and The Blessed HOLY SPIRIT Who sanctifies us."

Follow some pattern of worship, like the OGS Guided Meditations: 

• Open with Worthy is the LAMB+! and some set but short Scriptures of praise. [ The idea is for these opening words to be repeated reverently every day, not simply impromptu praises. ] 

• Invitatory Bead... Come Unto ME+, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I+ will give you rest. 

• 3 verses of Supplications... asking The LORD to bless your worship, such as "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer+. "

• 3 verses of Repentances ... perhaps from Psalm 51 or the entire Psalm, or other verses that bring you into a spirit of repentance. The prayer beads are useful when doing an entire Psalm.

• 3 verses of Affirmations of Faith ... such as "Neither is there Salvation in any other; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" and "At the Name of JESUS every knee shall bow..."

• 3 verses of Exhorations ... such as "Be still and know that I AM the LORD."

• 3 verses of Exaltations ... such as "My soul doth magnify The LORD and my spirit doth rejoice in GOD my SAVIOR+." 

These verses need to be PERSONAL to you, verses that have "spoken" to you in times of need, verses that you can easily commit to memory as you worship through the Guided Meditation every day.  I list these verses as an example of what we do at the OGS daily, to give you some idea of the KIND of verses you might include. 

Then move on to pray through out-loud 3 Psalms. OGS does Psalm 27, Psalm 116, and Psalm 23... but these are able to be changed, as per your leading of The LORD. 

After these items are finished, continue on in worship by using the 

• Agnes Dei, 
• St. Patrick's Breastplate, or the 
• Te Deum.  

These are all very ancient hymns of the Christian church. The words are found on the Internet or on this blog in earlier posts. 

RENUNCIATIONS follow the ancient hymns.
Starting this section of worship with : 

"O earth, earth, earth ! 

Hear the Word of The LORD ! " 

 I John 2:15-17, Matthew 4:10, Matthew 16:23 are the verses which contain the very words of Our LORD when HE+ stood against the adversary. 

The last section involve 2 sets of ONLY the very WORDS of Our LORD ( as in a Red Letter edition of the New Testament ) .  The Beatitudes and John 14, using only His+ Words, are good places to start this section. They can be changed from season to season. 

We end this section with The prayer Our LORD taught His+ disciples, when the disciples said, "LORD, teach us to pray."

CLOSING:  A spontaneous prayer of Thanksgiving , by this time, will be pouring from  your heart and lips ! 

This worship through Guided Meditation is not long nor hard. It can be adjusted as per schedule needs, and can be done in parts at different times of the day.  It can be done morning, noon, or evening; late at night, or in the wee hours of the morning. 

It is IMPORTANT, however, that it be done meaningfully and individually. Groups or families can do it, but ...

 INDIVIDUAL, PRIVATE worship 

can never, ever be replaced 

by group worship. 

This is the cost of discipleship and friends, if you do NOT WANT to pay it you will not be ready for what is about to take place on the face of the earth. 

Terrible, un-thinkable tribulation is about to be legislated by the "civil" countries that will make being a Christian one of the most dangerous identities to have. 

Unless, of course, you take the mark of the beast in order to keep _____ : 
( anything you might name ... keep your possessions, houses, lands, bank accounts, credit cards, social security, disability, cell phones, internet, education, health care, car license, insurance,  children.... )

Then, you will indeed avoid the persecution and grief that The LORD has promised is coming for Christians... the last Great Persecution of the Christian Church.   

Yes, you may avoid it until you die... but then, you will stand before the Judgment Seat of CHRIST.  

Eternity lasts a long, long time.