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The Invitatory:
CHRIST the KING+ has suffered for us;
O Come, Let us Adore HIM+.
Old
Testament Lesson: Leviticus 17:12-14
Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com
12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of
you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat
blood.
13 And
whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that
sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be
eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with
dust.
14 For
it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore
I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of
flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall
be cut off.
QUIETUDE:
A time to Reflect about the BLOOD+
RESPONSE:
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!
Amen.
Lesson from
the Epistles: 2 Corinthians 5:10-11
Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com
10 For
we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of CHRIST; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of The LORD, we persuade
men;
but we are made manifest unto GOD; and I trust also are made manifest in
your consciences.
QUIETUDE:
A time to repent.
RESPONSE:
LORD, have
mercy upon us.
CHRIST, have
mercy upon us.
LORD, have
mercy upon us.
And let
not the enemy exact upon us,
for our
trust is in THEE+.
AMEN.
The GOSPEL
Lesson:
Mark 9:45- 46 ~ ~ ~
The Words of Our
LORD JESUS CHRIST ~ ~ ~
"And
if thy foot causes you to sin, cut it off:
it is better for you to enter into LIFE lame, than having two feet to be cast into hell,
into the fire that never shall
be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched."
The WORD of The LORD.
THANKS BE TO GOD !
Meditation
~ ~ ~
Running with the crowd, doing what "everybody else" is doing, having to run to the store to buy the up-to-date and latest item... reflect values not based on The LORD, nor the values of His+ Kingdom, nor ways that please HIM+, our Judge+.
Yet, running... doing.... having... consume most of our time and energies and thoughts.
We focus on JESUS our LORD during our 1 of prayer time, perhaps.... and on temporal issues during all the other 15 hours of our wakeful time !
So, we give HIM+ a crumb of our time, a nod each day.
Fasting? Yes. Let's try fasting our time... or better yet, our thought patterns, our focus.
Do we tithe our TIME?
HE+ grants each of us 24 hours every day. If we focused only on JESUS the LORD for a "tithe" of our day, we would be in FOCUS ( i.e., prayer, meditation, Bible reading,) for 2.4 hours each day. Powerhouse Christians!
If our focus is on JESUS as LORD, we would be much better equipped to avoid doing things displeasing to The LORD, like eating meat with the blood still in it.
( Remember: HE+ has not changed the rule; we have, in our casual, modern life-style. HE+ still regards the blood of any living creature as sacred. )
If our focus is fixed steadfastly upon JESUS the LORD, our only Mediator+ and Advocate+, then we will truly KNOW the "terror" of The LORD and be willing to pay the price to convince others of the terror of Judgment Day... and the Judgment Seat of CHRIST+ because...
It is there.
It is real.
It awaits each one
who professes
to follow JESUS.
The white throne judgment
awaits all those
whose names
are not written
in The LAMB'S +
Book of Life.
( Rev. 20:15 )
Let us
pray:
O Gracious
Heavenly FATHER, in the Name of Thy HOLY SON+ JESUS CHRIST, WHO+ for the joy
that was set before HIM+ endured the Cross, I come to THEE, confessing my negligence of my calling.
O LORD, THOU+ hast given me every help I need to walk well-pleasing with THEE+. I have Thy+ Holy Word; every word in it is GOD-breathed, yet I have taken your words casually and not laid them to heart.
I confess my negligence in persuading those around me of the terror that awaits a person who continually and persistently walks contrary to THEE+, O LORD.
THOU+ art clear when You judge and justified when You speak.
How can I thank THEE+ enough for providing me a refuge from Divine wrath through Thy+ HOLY BLOOD, as I confess my sins and sincerely amend my ways through the Help of Thy+ Countenance.
With Thy+ Help, O LORD, I will walk well-pleasing in Thy+ sight.
This I pray in
The Name of JESUS CHRIST our LORD, The Eternal SON+ and WORD+ of GOD our FATHER, through the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
