HE+ did not call you to be monastic
in order to be with a group.
Rather,
HE+ called you to be monastic
in order to
be with HIM+.
HE+ has placed this call upon your life; you will not be happy until you embrace it. There is simply no way around it. And yes, you WILL feel alone in it... but you won't be because you have HIM+. Plus, many, many others have been called to a semi-hermetic, monastic life-style ... hidden from the eyes of the world... but you can't see them or find them. If you could, it wouldn't be monastic, would it ?
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Yes, you may attend a group from time to time or on Sundays for fellowship... but don't give them your heart. Meet them through JESUS. Keep in mind you are not going for you, but for them.
So, do what you can as a semi-hermetic Monastic.
If HE+ calls you to prayer stations throughout the day, DO THEM.
If HE+ calls you to get up in the middle of the night for time with HIM+, DO IT.
If HE+ calls you to read through the entire book of Psalms every week,
then DO IT.
How little these acts of obedience are
compared to what HE+ has done for us!
Furthermore, you don't need a group to do these
(or some such similar things.)
These are simply
individual acts of discipleship,
individual acts of worship,
individual acts of devotion
which HE+ has called you to do.
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And dear ones, reflect on the outside what HE+ is doing on the inside.
Search HIS+ will and don some kind of a habit.
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Sisters, cover your body in some kind of modest apparel: no cleavage, no thighs. Do what you can do to NOT APPEAR LIKE THE FASHIONABLE WORLD. No, you don't have to look frumpy; be dignified, as befitting an Ambassador of the KING+. Give NO WITNESS to the world and its capricious fashions. It won't kill you.
One way to do this is to dress in solids instead of prints or plaids or stripes. Solid colors give a more dignified, more somber appearance. In the hot summer, solid whites or solid beiges are fine, with tops and bottoms being the same or close to the same colors because that looks more monastic, more separated. Avoid colors which draw attention to your Self. It won't kill you.
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Sisters, seek HIS+ face and don a head-covering of some sort , coming into line with the Word in I Cor. ll. Be brave enough to wear it in public, also, so as to not deny HIM+ in public. It won't kill you. What it will do, though, is set you apart so that hungry, hurting hearts will make a bee-line for you when the coast is clear [i.e., when no-one is looking ] !
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Brothers should also dress in a separate way, covering their bodies with clothing that reflects modesty instead of today's fashions. Solid colors are simply more dignified. Vests are always good. Suspenders help. Shirts with collars (versus Tee's) lend more sobriety.
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The LORD does not want us to learn to cling to each other; that is something we must UN-learn. HE+ does not want us to cling branch to branch, but rather simply to the VINE+ HIMSELF+. Groups distract us; HE+ wants our UN-divided attention... at all times.
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Take heart, little flock. Be of good cheer.
Ye are of much more value than the little sparrows.
Do the Work I + have called you to do, without distress.
You will lack nothing meaningful.
+ + +
