Showing posts with label Stained Glass window picture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stained Glass window picture. Show all posts

3/17/2013

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 !

2/23/2013

BEHOLD, the LAMB+ ... # 7 ... .... Preparing the CHURCH for SUFFERING

Photo by www.flickr.com  



ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SHABAQTANI

My+ GOD, My+ GOD, 
Why hast THOU forsaken ME+ ? 

Why art THOU so far
from helping me,
and from the words
of my groaning ? 

Three times I had this dream, three times in one long night. Big dormitories, with beds on cement foundations, had glaring lights beating down upon the sleeping inmates. Linoleum floors and unmovable beds with shallow mattresses and dark coverlets ... and unmerciful lady sergeants with shrill commands screamed their orders during  midnight inspection. 

+  +  + 

In sickness I awoke, grieving and hurting for the Church: How to prepare the church to suffer ?

How do I help prepare this church age of impotent activities that ALL is NOT WELL, in the eyes of HIM+ with Whom+ we have to do? 

How do I shake the Church loose from the distracting illusion that THIS society ... indeed, this civilization...  will continue on, as ever before ?

How do I convince the Church that men and women will eat, drink, marry, and be given in marriage as ever before... until The LORD rises up and says, 

"ENOUGH !"

and that THAT "enough" is right at the door ?

How do I convince the Church to prepare for suffering ? 

+  +  + 

To prepare for suffering, we look at Our Master+ Who+ suffered for us. What did HE+ do? What did HE+ NOT do

HE+ did NOT concern Himself+ with the affairs of this life: clothing Himself+ in the latest styles, eating fancy, well-prepared food, or involving Himself+ with any activities but those works of His+ Heavenly FATHER.

HE+ DID concern Himself+ with going to mountains and gardens alone to pray. 

HE+ spent much time alone with His+ Heavenly FATHER, when HE+ was much spent during ministry or after attacks by the enemies of GOD. 

HE+ did not have a continual diet of "interaction" with His+ fellow man. Instead, HE+ treasured interaction with His+ Heavenly FATHER, especially as His+ hour of sacrifice drew near. 

Being The Word+ HE+ knew The Word, in Spirit and in Truth, and prayed  The Word often. 

  +  +  +
Do not think to escape the hour of testing I+ have ordained for the Church: you WILL be tested. 

Now is the time to determine to STAND for ME+ as I+ have been tested for you. Now is the time of the preparation. 

You will not be able to hold on to your houses and lands nor those you love. But prepare ALL to stand for ME+ even in the face of suffering. 

QUIET DOWN; remove yourself from fruitless activities and frivolous interaction. LEARN to interact with ME+ first and above all. 

TEACH your children to trust ME+ with all of their hearts. TEACH your children to pray and to plant the Word into their hearts; they will need it to endure. TEACH them along with yourself to be still and seek MY+ FACE. 

Take on the sole identity of "Christian"  and live by The BOOK+. 

I+ will sustain you, even in a prison camp, away from loved ones. Prepare ALL for Heaven. I+ am coming soon . 

Let not your hearts be troubled; 
neither let them be afraid.

Trust ME+; 
I+ will wipe away all tears.

+  +  +    

2/21/2013

BEHOLD, The LAMB+ .... #6 ... Passover Meditation

A Meditation for the Passover Season ....


Photo by www.flickr.com

A Meditation from the Invitatory
from the Morning Guided Meditation Prayers...

Let us hear the Words of Our LORD CHRIST :

" Come unto ME+
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
and I+ will give you rest, 

For I+ 
am meek
and lowly in heart, 

And ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For My+ yoke is easy
and My+ burden is light. " 
Matthew 11 


HE+ is meek and lowly in heart, HE+ said. 

That very fact enables the least little trembling soul...  one who is "nothing" in the eyes of the world, "nothing" in the eyes of his friends or family, and "no-where" in regards to the values or standards or possessions of Middle-Class civilization...  to COME UNTO CHRIST JESUS.  

Little souls are afraid of the eyes of the world. They have felt first-hand the scorn of Middle-Class civilization who "have it altogether" and seem to have it ALL. The Little Lesser-than's cannot compete in any area at all, simply to even maintain their dignity. 

CHRIST JESUS, however, RECEIVES SUCH PERSONS !  HE+ is meek, just as HE+ said... so they have a Brother Who+ is ignored and trodden under foot, just like the world has done unto them. 

HE+ is lowly, just as HE+ said... so they have a Brother Whom+ the world has stripped of dignity, just like the world has done unto them. 

Those who are meek, down-trodden, and powerless in this world and at the mercy of others, are delighted to find the Savior+ of the World with them in their earthly struggles. 

Those lowly ones who are treated with contempt by clerks or officials or all with whom they must deal, are delighted to find the Savior+ of the World receiving them with love and joy, restoring to their hearts the dignity refused by this world. 

If we want to reach the little, hungering souls for CHRIST JESUS, then we too need to don the mantle of meekness, taking care that we do not make the little, unfortunate people of this society "afraid" of  unrighteous worldly judgment or  material standards which crush them and make them appear "value-less," robbing them of dignity.  

If we want to reach the little, struggling souls for CHRIST JESUS, then we too need to don the mantle of lowliness that Our LORD had and maintain a humble and low position of ourselves. We need to be convinced that our worldly standards are more despised in the eyes of Our LORD than any hapless poverty-stricken individual.

The little needy ones will flee from the successful, superior "Christian" and hide to protect their dignity. 

Let us therefore IDENTIFY with CHRIST JESUS in meekness and lowliness of heart so that we may BE LIKE HIM+ and win others to HIMSELF+. 

And, when we IDENTIFY with CHRIST in meekness and lowliness of heart on a continual basis, we will have communion with Our LORD on a continual basis. 

Let us pray: 

O FATHER, I am so, so little. I am so very helpless to change anything... even my own wretched self. 

Hide me under the folds of Thy+ Garments, O LORD, and receive me unto ThySELF+. 

This I pray for His+ sake, Who+ was meek and lowly and broken for me, that I need not be afraid of my welcome with HIM+... The LORD and SAVIOR+ of the World, JESUS CHRIST. 
Amen


2/17/2013

BEHOLD, the LAMB+ ... #5

Preparation for the Passover Season


Photo by www.flickr.com

Guided Meditations


Guided Meditations bring you into worship... private, individual communion with The LORD JESUS CHRIST.  If focused on The WORD and if the The Word of GOD is employed during the meditations, then you will enter into a closeness with The LORD that cannot be duplicated.  It is an intensely personal time... a time that exists between you and HIM+ alone.

Outline for Guided Meditations

Now, do remember that this is 
  • 1) not Bible-study time, 
  • 2) not Bible reading time 
  • 3) not simply "prayer" time, and 
  • 4) not even "quiet" time. 
Guided Meditation IS a time of worship, a time of LIVELY-THOUGH-QUIET (!) contemplation of The LORD:  Who+ HE+ is, His+ character, and Who+ HE+ is in relationship to you. 

In essence, through Guided Meditation time, you enter INTO HIS+ PRESENCE+. And there, you will be refreshed and have the restoration of your soul. 

Here is a schedule for a Guided Meditation. There are many ways to do it; this is only one schedule. 

1. OPENING PRAISES
(see previous posts for details)
  • Bless GOD: FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT, and blessed be HIS Kingdom both now and forever. Amen 
  • In the Name of The FATHER, 
    HIS HOLY SON+ JESUS, 
    The LAMB+ of GOD,
    And the blessed HOLY SPIRIT. 
  • Worthies: i.e., Worthy is the LAMB+
  • Psalm 93: The LORD reigneth ! HE is clothed with majesty... ( continuing to the end of it )
+ + +

2.  INVITATORY 
(see previous posts for details)
  • Come Unto ME+, all ye who labor and are heavy laden...
  • or... Psalm 95
+ + +


3.  SUPPLICATIONS*
+ + +
4.  AFFIRMATIONS*
+ + +
5.  THREE PSALMS

  • Psalm 23
  • Psalm 27
  • Psalm 116
+ + +

6. AGNUS DEI ( see previous posts for details)
+ + +
7. The BREASTPLATE of St. Patrick
+ + +
8.  The RENUNCIATIONS*
+ + +
9.  The BEATITUDES from Matthew 5
+ + +
10.  WORDS of CHRIST from John, chapter 14 
(all the words spoken by Our LORD but not the narrative spoken by others) 
+ + +
11.  The DISCIPLES' PRAYER ( otherwise known as The LORD'S Prayer or the Our FATHER... ) 
+ + +
12. THANKSGIVING*


During Guided Meditation time do these items of worship slowly and prayerfully, emptying your mind and quieting your soul. Refuse to think of anything else while you are with CHRIST JESUS The LORD during this time. I find I need to repeat each item 3 x in order for it to still my soul.

If you should not have the time to finish, DO NOT RUSH TO DO SO... just prayerfully end your meditation and proceed to the pressing demands of the clock; HE+ knows your schedule better than you do ! Plan to have more time to do them tomorrow.

And lastly, in between items, short LAUDS, such as "Worthy is the LAMB+" , O Come, let us adore HIM+, O Great is THY+ faithfulness!,  should be said. 

During the Passover Preparation ( LENT) season, we do not use HalleluJAH, Alleluia, or Glory in our praises. 

I will post the details of the verses for those items which are starred. 

In the Name of The FATHER, 
HIS HOLY SON+ JESUS, 
The LAMB+ of GOD,
And the blessed HOLY SPIRIT. 
Amen.