HE+ Was PROCLAIMED #3 ... By an EMPTYING of Self... Advent Meditations 2015 for the Monastic-At-Heart

Luke 1:26-27, Greek

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel 

was sent from GOD 

unto a city of Galilee, 

named Nazareth,

To a virgin being espoused to a man 

whose name was Joseph, 

from the house of David; 

and the virgin’s name was 

Mariam.

Luke 1:35-38 , Greek

And the angel answered 

and said unto her,

The HOLY SPIRIT shall come 

upon thee,

and the power of the Highest 

shall overshadow thee:

therefore also the ONE+ 

being born of you HOLY

 shall be called the SON+ of GOD.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth,

she hath also conceived 

a son in her old age:

 and this is the sixth month

 with her, who was called sterile.

For with GOD nothing 

shall be impossible.

And Mariam said,

Behold the handmaid of the LORD;

be it unto me according to thy word.

And the angel departed from her.

Could young Mariam have refused to carry The Hebrew MESSIAH+ ?

Yes.

Mariam was not divine; she was simply Adamic, of the human line of David. She had as much free-will to obey or disobey the Word of the LORD to her as we do. 

At that moment in time, she yielded her entire being to GOD. Her life was instantly changed, and that, for all time.

Her purpose in life was instantly re-directed, instantly re-routed, with no going back.

We all know that Mother-Hood does indeed change a person. Now there is a tiny human being who is totally helpless except for the help Mother gives him. He is totally vulnerable except for the protection of Mother.

But, Mariam's change was greater.

She emptied her life 

in an instant.

Being well-trained in the Commandments of GOD, she knew her life --- as she had hopefully planned it --- was over. Hebrew girls were stoned to death if they were with child without a husband.

This particular young Hebrew virgin accepted GOD'S Will for her life,  turning her care and well-being over to GOD.  Her heart was in accord with Job's words: Even though HE slay me, yet will I trust HIM , Job 13:15a.

If GOD asked great things of her, could she not trust HIM to take care of her through it all ?

Likewise, if The LORD asks an obedience of us, are we willing to empty our lives for HIM+ ?

It is a sure thing that GOD will not share the throne with Self.

How do we come to such a state, where the LORD will ask us to empty our lives for HIM+ ?

We practice.

We practice individually, within the secret place of our hearts.

We practice daily and hourly, if need be.

We practice 

EMPTYING ourselves 

for HIM+.

  

We shun all leadings of Self to aggrandize itself. Rather, we turn to The LORD in humility, asking His+ help to forsake our natural Self-interest.

We practice by training ourselves to STOP OUR DAY in order to worship HIM+ throughout... be it 5 minutes on the hour or some other similar discipline.

We practice yielding 

to His+ Will

… in every SMALL matter, 

through the day.

That is how we monastic-at-heart train ourselves and practice obedience.

Little is written about Mariam's growing-up years or training. Little is written about her adult years that would warrant adulation.

Aside from her carrying The Divine Babe+ in her virgin womb, Sister Mariam's greatest gift to mankind is her example of yielded, total obedience to the Word of GOD, the WORD+ made flesh Who+ dwelt among us.

Let us Pray:

O Life-Giving LORD JESUS, I empty my life out for THEE+.

Fill me with Thy+ Blessed SPIRIT, so that I may learn to please THEE+ in every small matter, that I may be closer to THEE+. Prune away the warped areas, O LORD, and train me to go in the way THOU+ dost will.   

Here is my empty Self; take it for Thy+ good pleasure, O LORD JESUS.

I thank THEE+, O CHRIST, for even wanting me. I join myself  to THEE+ in love.

Holy, Holy, Holy 

LORD GOD ALMIGHTY

WHO+ is, 

WHO+ was, 

and WHO+ is to come.

Maranatha. 

Come, LORD JESUS.  

Amen 

HE+ Came to BE PROCLAIMED... By a MIGHTY ONE... Advent Meditations 2015... for the Monastic-At-Heart

Who was the first to PROCLAIM The LORD'S Coming ?

Luke 1:19

And the angel answering said

unto [ John the baptist],  him

I am Gabriel,

that stand in

the Presence of GOD;

and am sent to speak unto thee,

and to shew

thee these glad tidings.

An angel ! A "MIGHTY ONE OF GOD" was sent to proclaim the Coming of the MESSIAH+ !  Angel-to-man, face to face, Gabriel --- whose very name means "Mighty one of GOD" --- proclaimed these glad tidings to an astonished priest in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Gabriel, who IS    STILL   STANDING in the Presence of GOD, was specifically sent to announce this GOOD news:

NOW the appointed time had arrived for the advent of the Jewish MESSIAH+ Who+ was to Redeem Israel.

This news was the "GLAD TIDINGS" this Divine Messenger, Gabriel, was sent from before the Presence of GOD to bring to this earthly priest of the lineage of Aaron and Levi. 

Gabriel appeared to Zachariah (KJV: Zacharias), this humble and righteous priest as Zachariah performed his role in the Temple at Jerusalem to burn incense.

This Divine Messenger sent directly from the Throne Room of The LORD spoke to Zachariah about the role he, Zachariah, would perform in the Coming of the MESSIAH+,  our LORD JESUS.

 

Luke 1: 13-16

But the Angel said unto him,

Fear not, Zacharias: 

for thy prayer is heard; 

and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, 

and thou shalt call his name John.

And thou shalt have joy and gladness; 

and many shall rejoice at his birth.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, 

and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; 

and he shall be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, 

even from his mother’s womb.

And many of the children of Israel 

shall he turn to the LORD their GOD.

Luke 1:17

And he [ John the Baptist, the son of Zacahriah ] shall go before HIM+

in the spirit and power of Elijah,

to turn the hearts

of the fathers to the children,

and the disobedient

to the wisdom of the just;

to make ready

a people prepared for the LORD.

Gabriel faithfully performed the proclamation to Zachariah the priest of his role to prepare a People for The LORD, the Coming MESSIAH+. 

Zachariah, humble and righteous as he was (Luke 1:6) , met the Angel's  announcement with unbelief, which only lasted a few seconds until he was struck dumb and judgment was pronounced upon him for his lack of faith.

Now, we KNOW our Righteous and Holy LORD is totally all-knowing and totally fair in all His Ways. The LORD knew Zachariah was troubled and feared ( Luke 1:12) at Gabriel's announcement.

The LORD graciously allowed Gabriel to address those fears, showing Zachariah that his prayers had been heard and answered. 

Obviously, only The LORD could hear prayers of the heart; only The LORD could address them. 

Zachariah would also know full well the account of Abraham and Sarah having a child of the Promise when they were past the years of child-bearing.

Thus, our All-knowing and Always Fair LORD knew Zachariah  COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO BELIEVE  the Angel sent to him.   Zachariah had enough witness and comforting words to know this angelic being was Divinely sent by The LORD.

Zacharias CHOSE

NOT to believe.

The LORD knew what Zacharias chose.

HE+ knows 

what we choose, too.

Daily. Hourly. In every instance. With every thought.  In every conversation, HE+ knows our choice: The LORD... or ... Self,  faith ... or ... unbelief,  Righteousness ... or ... sin.   

Let us Pray:

O LORD  GOD, Ruler of the Universe, forgive me for my deliberate choices made apart from Thy+ Will.  I know better.

Thy+ Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I have no excuse for choosing Self, Sin, Un-righteousness in any form.

Cleanse me of my self-will; I do not demand more proof of Thy+ Love and Thy+ Care for me. I can walk rightly before THEE+, O  GOD,  with what I have at my fingertips: Thy+ Holy Word. 

In Thy+ Light, can I see LIGHT+. 

Help my eye to be single, that my being may be full of Light,  O LIGHT+ of the World, CHRIST JESUS.

In Whose+ Name and by Whose+ Grace I even exist.

Amen. 

  

HE+ Came to PROCLAIM... and to BE PROCLAIMED... Advent Meditations 2015

At the brow of the hill at Nazareth

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST came to prepare a People for Possession, a People HE+ could call His+ own, a People HE+ was not ashamed to call   "Brethren." 

Isaiah 61:1-2a

 The SPIRIT of the LORD GOD is upon ME+; because the LORD hath anointed ME+ to preach good tidings unto the meek; HE hath sent ME+ to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,...

This exact same PROCLAMATION was announced by Our LORD Himself+ when HE+ was given the scroll of Isaiah to read in His+ home synagogue in Nazareth.

This was His+ first public PROCLAMATION after the devil had tempted HIM+ for 40 days.

After reading these same words of Isaiah the Prophet to the congregation in His+ home-town, Nazareth, HE+ said:

And HE+ began to say unto them, 

This Day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Luke 4:21

Thus, Our LORD JESUS CHRIST publicly proclaimed that HE+ was indeed the MESSIAH+ of the Israel of GOD, a  proclamation which thrust HIM+ headlong and immediately into ... favor ?

NO.  

That proclamation thrust Our LORD into His+ first persecution by the public... that same "public" that knew HIM+ as a child full of favor among them!  (See Luke 4. )

Luke 2:52

And JESUS increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with GOD and man.  

His+ townspeople tried to cast HIM+ headlong over the cliff, the brow of the hill where their city was built (Luke 4:29).

They failed because His+ time was not yet come to die for the sins of the people... those very people whose sins wrought such hatred and violence against HIM+.

Why was this ?

His+ Words revealed their hearts, that they were dark and evil and ready to kill anyone who revealed them in truth.

When we proclaim His+ Word in SPIRIT and in Truth, the same thing happens to us,  a People for His+ Possession.

His+ Truth reveals the evil in a human heart. His+ Word has power to do this. HE+ knows which spirits are ruling men, just like HE+ knew the spirits ruling the men of Nazareth in the synagogue that day.

 The satan and his minions know they have been revealed for who they are and for whom they serve  in the LIGHT of His+ Word. 

They hate the LIGHT+ of CHRIST, just as the men of Nazareth hated it although JESUS had lived in wisdom, stature, and favor among them growing up.

Knowing this, do we stop proclaiming the LORDSHIP of JESUS CHRIST  unto this dark and dying world ?

Knowing this, do we stop proclaiming the LORDSHIP of JESUS CHRIST  through our lives, in this dark and dying world ?

NO, no to both.  

We proclaim His+ Death until HE+ comes again in power and great glory!

Let us pray:

O LORD JESUS, THOU+ Who+ proclaimed the Light+ to men hostile to THEE+, strengthen me to do the same.

Help me in my resolve to proclaim Thy+ LORDSHIP to both the seen and the unseen.

But first, O Knower+ of all that is in man, help me to live FULLY under Thy+ LORDSHIP myself.  Let the satan find nothing in me that he can claim as his own.

Rather, make me a person for Thy+ Possession, O LORD, for THOU+ hast said there is nothing too hard for THEE+.

So, I renounce the works of the satan in my life -- the fears and the family spirits -- in the Mighty Name of our RISEN LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who+ came to triumph over death, hell, and the grave... and HE+ did  triumph !

Thanks be to GOD for sending His+ Only-Begotten SON+ to rescue such sinners as myself and to make us a People for Possession, His+ Own.

Amen.

A PERFECTED POSSESSION ... Advent Meditations 2015

Now the GOD of Peace  that brought again from the dead Our LORD JESUS, that Great SHEPHERD+ of the sheep, 
through the Blood of the Ever-lasting Covenant

make you perfect in every good work to do HIS Will, 
working in you that which is well-pleasing in His Sight, 
through JESUS CHRIST; 
to Whom+ be glory for ever and ever.
Hebrews 13:20-21
  +  +  +

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST came to prepare a People for Possession, a People HE+ could call His+ own, a People HE+ was not ashamed to call  "Brethren."

How does HE+ prepare such a people? 

HE+ does it this way: 

HE+ calls us to walk the same path HE+ walked.

Hebrews 2:9-11

But we see JESUS, WHO+ was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that HE+ by the grace of GOD should taste death for every man.

For it became HIM, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain+ of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

For both HE+ that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause HE+ is not ashamed to call them brethren

This peculiar people, this holy nation, becomes a perfected people worthy of being possesed by CHRIST when they go through suffering ... that suffering which is ordained by GOD... just as it was ordained for Our LORD'S perfection.

His+ body and His+ mind and His+ spirit endured a tremendous onslaught of temptation for 40 days in the wilderness, in direct combat with the satan and His+ own flesh.

HE+ became perfected every time HE+ chose His+ FATHER'S will over the lures of the satan. 

We do too.

Let us pray:

O Perfect, Tried, and Tested LORD JESUS CHRIST,

I thank THEE+, O CHRIST, for coming in the flesh, for coming a little lower than the angels, for coming to suffer death for me.

I thank THEE+ for enduring the painful path of perfection, when THOU+ was Incarnate. 

O, HOLY ONE+, I need to be perfected. Help me, in my weakness, to choose perfection.

How could it be that THOU+, O CHRIST, needed to be tested ... except that THOU+ had to taste all temptation for every man and beat the satan in it ?  

Help me to remember, O LORD, that THOU+  walked through the valley of temptation for every man with great Victory.

So now, by reason of Thy+ Victory, I renounce my own flesh and my pride and my family spirits that lead me astray and I do this in Thy+ Name, O LORD JESUS CHRIST.

I repent of even listening to the lies and lures of the satan, telling me to choose the way of my flesh, my pride, my family, and the ever-present world,  to make me happy.

Deliver my ears from this death trap, O LORD. Deliver my heart from wanting the easy way.

In my strength and in my weakness, I choose Thy+ Will, O CHRIST, which is the perfect Will of GOD our FATHER.  

Perfect me --- no matter what path that takes ---  that THOU+ will not be ashamed to call me Thy+ "brother" ...

Thy+ brother in suffering, Thy+ brother in perfection.

In Thy+ Blessed and Holy Name, CHRIST JESUS our LORD, receive the meditation of my heart, I pray.

Amen. 

The PURSUIT of GOD... Advent Meditations 2015

The LORD JESUS came to pursue a people, a People for HIMSELF+.

HE+ pursues us from the streets to the dung heaps, from serving mammona to serving, serving, serving without choosing the better part, from the fisheries to the porkers --- HE+ pursues us.

Purposeful and persistent, The LORD JESUS didn't come here to lose what HE+ came for.

Like Asahel ( 2 Samuel 2), The LORD was purposeful in His+ pursuit, not veering to the left hand nor to the right once HE+ locks onto a person’s heart, in His+ eyesight.

HE+ pursues the heart of men like Paul. Paul --- previously called Saul --- was passionately intent on destroying GOD'S people. Paul mistakenly thought they were GOD'S enemies. 

However, in His+ Pursuit of Paul, The LORD soon showed Paul that he, Saul, was that enemy of GOD that he, Saul, was pursuing!

Our LORD was and IS capable of apprehending any person --- all the persons --- HE+ wants. HE+ knows exactly how to commandeer their attention.

HE+ came to build a PEOPLE, not a system.  

High church or low, formal or casual groups, Torah-keeping or SPIRIT-led, all systems are self-propagating. Insatiable, they draw away the People of GOD from The LORD. 

Siphoning away the very ones whom HE+ seeks out of every kindred, tongue, family, and nation, they consume them upon their own system.

These ones whom HE+ pursues, the religious systems confuse, putting the SYSTEM ahead of The LORD... although affirming all the while that serving the SYSTEM is "serving GOD." 

Thus the Pursued ones gradually falter and fail, growing deader and drier towards The LORD, becoming a people of a religious system.

However, Our LORD is a jealous GOD, zealous to complete the work HE+ was sent to do.

Thus, HE+ allows these religious systems of every stripe and color to exist for His+ purposes. 

HE+ uses them to sift His+ Pursued People, sifting, sifting, sifting them to find out who will remain true to HIM+ and who will not. HE+ discovers whose priority is found in HIM+... and whose is not.

The LORD JESUS does not need a religious system; a religious system put HIM+ to death. They all do. In one way or another, they adroitly mingle error with Truth and find some way to deny CHRIST before men.

HE+ came to Pursue a People who will separate themselves unto HIM+, not veering to the left hand nor to the right, a people who will hold lightly to the religious systems and tightly unto HIMSELF+.

If the system veers from The LORD, then His+ Pursued People veer FROM the SYSTEM; they cannot be moved.

His+ Pursued People follow JESUS, their first love, their top priority, their TOP MAN+.  

Let us pray:

O LORD JESUS, I have been so foolish. I have allowed systems of religion to have a hold of my heart. I have followed the associations of man more than my fellowship with THEE+.

Instead of focusing on THEE+, I have been utterly distracted with the workings of the religious systems.

I have allowed the religious systems to tell me what THOU+ hast said, instead of listening to Thy+ Words myself.  I know, O my SAVIOR, that Thy+ HOLY SPIRIT is capable of teaching me and leading me in the way which I should go.

Help me to pursue THEE+ like THOU+ hast pursued me... purposeful and persistent, in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.

For THOU+ only art HOLY; THOU+ only art the LORD. THOU+ only, O CHRIST, with the HOLY SPIRIT, art most High in the Glory of THE FATHER.

Amen