The PORTRAYED ONE+ ... Advent Meditations 2015

THAT PROPHET + .... HIM+ YE WILL HEAR ! 

Very early in the ancient writings, Scripture  portrays our Coming MESSIAH+, The LORD JESUS CHRIST, in power and authority.

That  PROPHET+....

... HIM+ ye will hear!

Deuteronomy 18:13-15

 Thou shalt be perfect 

with The LORD thy God.

For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy GOD hath not suffered thee so to do.

The LORD thy GOD will raise up unto thee a PROPHET+ from the midst of thee, 

of thy brethren like me; 

unto HIM+ ye shall hearken;

Deuteronomy 18: 18-19

I will raise them up a PROPHET+ 

from among their brethren, 

like unto thee [ Moses ],

and will put MY Words in HIS+ mouth;

and HE+ shall speak unto

them all that I shall command HIM+.

19 And it shall come to pass,

that whosoever will not hearken

unto MY Words

which HE+ shall speak in MY Name,

I will require it of him.

{8085} [m"v; — shama`, shaw-mah'; a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience)...

The Jews sought out John the Baptist to inquire of him why he was baptizing.

It seems that they were well aware of Who+ THAT PROPHET+ was Whose+ coming was imminent.

John 1:19-21

19 And this is the record of John,

when the Jews sent priests and Levites 

from Jerusalem to ask him,

Who art thou?

20 And he confessed,

and denied not; but confessed,

I am not the CHRIST.

21 And they asked him,

What then? Art thou Elijah?

And he saith, I am not.

Art thou THAT PROPHET+ ?

And he answered,

NO !

John 1:29

 The next day John sees JESUS

coming unto him,

and says,

Behold 
the LAMB+ of GOD,

WHO+ takes away

the sin of the world !

Let us pray:

O, Holy LAMB+ of GOD, WHO+ takes away the sin of the world, have mercy upon me.

Many times, O LORD, I have not heeded  THY+ call.  Many times. O LORD, I have ignored  THY+ Word.  I have no excuse, if THOU+ shouldest examine me.

Help me to walk softly before THEE+. Help me to listen for THY+ direction and to stop my Self, my head-strong will, and my mouth.

I renounce my self-will now and turn to THEE+.  With all of my heart, O CHRIST, I come to THEE+. 

Wilt THOU+ come to me ?

Yes, My+ child. Learn to listen to My+ Voice in everything you do. Go softly now, not head-strong, and await My+ direction even in little things.

Come unto ME+, follow MY+ leading, and My+ Will  gives  you rest and joy. For, My+ yoke is easy and My+ burden is light for everyone who forsakes his own will and follows ME+.

All glory, honor, and power be unto HIM+ that sitteth upon the Throne and unto The LAMB+ !  

Amen and Amen.  

The PROMISED ONE+ #3.... Advent Meditations 2015

HE+  was  PROMISED ! 

The LORD JESUS, 

The Promised ONE+,  

always keeps His+ Word.

Listen carefully to what occurred in the account recorded in Luke 10.

The Words of Our LORD:

LUKE 10:17 -21

And the seventy returned again with joy, saying,

LORD, 

even the devils are subject unto us 

through Thy+ Name !

18 And HE+ said unto them,

I+ beheld  the satan

as lightning fall from Heaven.

19 Behold, I+ give unto you

power (authority, Gk.)

to tread on serpents ..."ophis" ...

and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy:

and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not,

that the spirits are subject unto you;

but rather rejoice,

because your names are written

in Heaven.

21 In that hour JESUS

rejoiced in spirit, and said,

I+ thank THEE, O FATHER, 

LORD of Heaven and earth,

that THOU hast hid these things

from the wise and prudent,

and hast revealed them unto babes:

even so, FATHER;

for so it seemed good in Thy sight.

The "ophis" (Gk.) --- which is that same "serpent"  nachash ( Hebrew)  of Genesis 3:15 and the same "serpent" of Mark 16:18 ---   appears in this Luke 10 passage again when Our LORD JESUS CHRIST is telling His+ disciples about their authority over the spirits, after the 70 returned with astonished joy to HIM+.

Over and over again in His+ Holy Word, The PROMISED ONE+ tells us  that:

that ANCIENT serpent "ophis" , called the devil and satan ...

is going to LOSE THE FIGHT!

Revelation 12: 9 - 11

12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, 

that old serpent "ophis", 

called the Devil, and the satan, 

which deceiveth the whole world:

 he was cast out into the earth,

 and his angels were cast out with him.

12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven,

Now is come salvation, and strength, 

and the kingdom of our GOD, 

and the power of his CHRIST:

for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, 

which accused

them before our GOD day and night.

12:11 And they overcame him by 

the BLOOD of the LAMB+, 

and by the word of their testimony; 

and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Thus,  we see The PROMISED ONE+ stating the same Promise,  running  through Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

Furthermore, the "ophis" , called the devil and satan, is being put to flight RIGHT NOW... because The Promised One+ , our LORD JESUS CHRIST, holds true to His+ Promise to us... and to the satan.

HIS+ PROMISE to the satan, to bruise --- or more accurately --- to completely crush  his head, has been kept. 

HE+ always keeps His+ Promises... 

no matter to whom HE+ makes them

and no matter what the cost.

HE+ kept His+ Promise to Our FATHER in Heaven --- WHILE HE+ WAS IN HEAVEN --- to come to earth and be slain to rescue man from the satan. 

We know this is true because Scripture identifies The LORD as:

Revelation 13:8c

"...the LAMB+ slain from the

foundation of the world."

The LORD JESUS kept His+ Promise to the nachash and thrashed him soundly at His+ Crucifixion and at HIS+ subsequent ( and surprising ! ) powerful and glorious Resurrection.

As Scripture records:

Romans 6:9

6:9 Knowing that CHRIST being raised from the dead 

dieth no more; 

death hath no more dominion over HIM+.

Furthermore, our LORD JESUS keeps His+ Promises to us, granting us all the power over the wicked spirits that we need to overcome our sins and character faults in this life right now...

if we do HIS+ Will.

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST came to keep His+ Promises.

Do we keep ours ?

Let Us Pray: 

Our Heavenly GOD and FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST...

All glory, honor, and praise goes to THEE, O LORD, for Thy great and precious promises given to us, to me. 

These promises grant me strength to stand against the evil one during times of testing, during trials of endurance.

Now, I come before Thy Presence ashamed of the times I have not kept my word to others because I  chose my Self.

I  acknowledge that Thy Holy SON+ JESUS has granted me power over the sin which does so easily beset me.

Oftentimes, I have not kept my word... in  little ways and in big, both spoken and implied "promises" to be there, to do something, to give something or to provide support

I have let my co-workers, my friends and my family down; they could NOT count on me to be true to my word at all times. 

And worst of all, O Holy FATHER, I also have reneged, pulled back, and not with integrity kept my word to THEE, in my heart.

I have forsaken the spiritual discipline which THOU hast given me, which I committed myself to do. I sandwich my time with THEE in between all other "important" activities... including eating and sleeping.

I have said I would follow THEE, but I oftentimes follow my own thinking instead of doing what is written in Thy Word.

Thy forgiveness , O LORD, I ask of THEE , to cleanse me from these sins of my heart. Re-form my character into the likeness and image of Thy HOLY SON+ JESUS,

and in Whose+ Life-Giving name we pray, O  Gracious Heavenly FATHER.     

The PROMISED ONE+ #2 - Advent Meditations

HE+ Was Promised...#2

.

Guess where the very first PROMISE was given about the Coming MESSIAH+ ?

.

Most would guess correctly:

in The Garden of Eden.

.

Now, guess WHO was the very first one to hear the PROMISE of this pre-planned,  Coming MESSIAH+  ?

.

If you guessed Eve or Adam and Eve… 

you are wrong!

.

The first being to receive DIRECTLY to his face  the PROMISE from YHWH ELOHIM of the Coming ONE+ was ... the nachash... that wicked serpent !

.

Genesis 3:15 [ Here, in context,  YHWH ELOHIM ( GOD: The FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT ) is directly addressing the nachash which tempted Eve to disobey The LORD. ]

.

And I ( THE LORD)

will put enmity 
between thee ( the nachash)

 and the woman,

and between thy seed and her SEED+;

 *HE+ shall bruise thy head,

and thou shalt bruise His+ heel.

.

( Note: Hebrew Grammar has no "it";  Hebrew only uses he or she for independent pronouns, 3rd person singular,  as in this place in this verse.)

. 

 In Hebrew, nachash is the word translated as "serpent" in the KJV Bible. 

However, nachash does NOT mean the earthly animal we know of as a "snake" or reptile or the Greek “herpeton.” 

In Hebrew, an adder or an asp or viper are the words used to mean what we call a “snake” or “serpent”, i.e.,  copperheads, rattlesnakes, cobras, pythons, etc.

.

A nachash is a cunning, hissing or whispering, coppery-colored  being ... not a creature in the earth’s animal kingdom at all. Even the Hebrew word for "copper" comes from this root. 

.

The LXX ( Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament) tells us in Genesis 3 that this clever "being" who talked to Eve was an OPHIS, in the Greek language.

.

This "ophis" ( pronounced like "office" ) is NOT a reptile, an animal we find in the yard or zoo, but rather a "being" who is a "sharp-eyed" one !

. 

An "ophis" is that very same "serpent" found in Mark 16:18 which refers to the same satanic "being" which was in the Garden beguiling Eve. 

.

MARK 16:18

They shall take up serpents "ophis" ;

and if they drink any deadly thing,

it shall not hurt them;

they shall lay hands on the sick,

and they shall recover.

.

We see The LORD bruising something  in Romans... and once again, The PROMISE is stated:

.

Romans 16:20

And the GOD of Peace+

shall bruise  the satan under your feet shortly.

.

The grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST

be with you. Amen.

.

BRUISE, according to Strong's Concordance:

.

(4937) suntri>bw, — soon-tree’-bo; from (4862) (su>n) and the base of (5147) (tri>bov); to crush completely, i.e. to shatter (literal or figurative): — break (in pieces), broken to shivers (+ -hearted), bruise.

.

Thus, we see The PROMISED ONE+  coming to do a MIGHTY WORK… a DIVINE WORK which NO OTHER BEING IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH OR UNDER THE EARTH  could ...  or can … possibly do.

.

HE+ came to beat the satan !

.

This is why Abraham rejoiced to see His+ Day… and he saw it and was GLAD !

.

Let us pray:

.

Bless GOD: FATHER, SON+, and HOLY SPIRIT ! We thank THEE, O GOD, for preparing a way to deliver us from the satan’s power and influence in our lives.

.

Now we do not have to spend our lives serving the satan and his lies. We are no longer forced to follow our fallen Adamic nature, if we come unto Thy SON+ JESUS for salvation.

 .

We praise THEE for sending  Thy SON+ , both planned and slain from the foundation of the world to come, to bruise the satan at such a great cost to Thy Fatherly heart.

.

How can we possibly thank THEE enough, dear Heavenly FATHER ?

.

Help us so to live that we reflect our sincere thanks through our total obedience unto Thy Beloved SON+, our LORD and SAVIOR+ JESUS CHRIST, Who+ lives and reigns with THEE and Thy Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD, forever and ever, world without end to the ages of the ages.  Amen