Pre-PASSOVER Meditation ~ ~ ~ The Perfect LAW of The LORD

Photo by THE ORDER OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD+

The Invitatory: 

CHRIST the KING+ has suffered for us; 

O Come, Let us Adore HIM+.

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 19: 7

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

The law of the LORD is perfect, 

converting the soul: 

the testimony of the LORD is sure, 

making wise the simple.

QUIETUDE: 

A time to Reflect about the Perfect LAW of The LORD. 

RESPONSE: 

Holy art THOU, 

LORD GOD of our fathers; 

THOU art worthy of praise, 

Holy art THOU. 

Lesson from the Epistles: Hebrews 10:26-27

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

QUIETUDE: A time to repent.

RESPONSE:

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LAMB+ of GOD, 

Who+ taketh away the sin of the world,

have mercy upon us.

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LAMB+ of GOD,

BEARER+ of our sins, 

have mercy upon us.

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LAMB+ of GOD, 

SAVIOR+ of the world,

grant us Thy+ Peace.

AMEN.

The GOSPEL Lesson: Luke 6:46

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

The Words of  Our LORD JESUS CHRIST ~ ~ ~ 

And why call ye me, 
LORD, LORD, 

and do not the things 
which I+ say?

+  +  +

The WORD of The LORD.  

THANKS BE TO GOD !

Meditation ~ ~ ~

Yes, The Law of The LORD is indeed perfect. It was perfect when it was given to Moses and perfect when The LORD JESUS CHRIST lived it, as our EXAMPLE+ set before us.

The LAWS were not established to benefit GOD, but for the benefit of man... so he could avoid the destruction besetting the human race from the fall of Adam. 

Nowadays, we cast away those LAWS as "restrictions" upon our modern life-style and we proclaim loud and long that "we can please GOD" by living freely, as we see fit. 

But reading carefully the New Testament, we find that the LAWS done away with by Our LORD were those LAWS dealing with the Blood Sacrifice for sins. 

Furthermore, the reason  the sacrifice LAWS are over is because The LORD JESUS CHRIST fulfilled those requirements for a Blood sacrifice for sins.  

The LAW, itself, is good ~ ~ ~ because by The LAW we gain a concrete knowledge of what constitutes SIN, what actions and behaviors are repulsive to GOD. 

How else would we know which of our actions and behaviors GOD records as our sin ?

Has GOD changed his definition of SIN ?  

Remember this: The LORD said yes to the tithing of little mint and rue and all manner of herbs when he chided the Pharisees ( Luke 11:42 ) for passing over judgment and the love of GOD.  HE+ reminded them NOT to forget the love of GOD and judgment... but to also do what was written in the LAW !

But woe unto you, Pharisees! 

for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, 

 and pass over judgment and the love of God: 

these ought ye to have done, 

and not to leave the other undone.

The LAW of The LORD, as seen throughout both the Old and New Testaments, is indeed perfect. It shows us what SIN is. 

Let us re-read it to find out what pleases ~ ~ ~ and displeases ~ ~ ~ GOD, and ask The LORD to show us how it applies to our lives today. 

Let us make our amendment of life after conviction falls. Then we will see how the perfect Law of the LORD converts the soul.    

Let us pray: 

Our FATHER Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name and holy art Thy ways. 

O LORD, I have cast aside Thy Words and have done what pleased me; I have substituted society's ways for Thy rules of Holy living. I have not laid Thy ways to heart. 

I repent for casting aside Thy instructions and commands. I repent for thinking they are not important "nowadays," and thinking I could please THEE living my own way, by my own standards, with my own values.  

I repent for not attributing to THY HOLY CHARACTER Thy loving-kindness and tender mercies towards mankind as the reason why THOU didst make those rules. Yes, it was Thy LOVE that determined those LAWS to protect us from the evil within... and the evil without.

Cleanse me, I pray, and grant me a renewed mind to do Thy Will... in all areas... as guided by Thy Holy Word.

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.   

Pre-PASSOVER MEDITATION ~ ~ ~ BEHOLD, the TREE+

Photo by The ORDER OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD+
Our GOD reigns from the Tree. 

The Invitatory: 

CHRIST our MEDIATOR+ 

ever liveth 

to make intercession for us; 

O Come, Let us Adore HIM+.

  

Old Testament Lesson: Exodus 15:21-26 

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

And Miriam answered them, 

Sing ye to the LORD, 

for HE hath triumphed gloriously; 

the horse and his rider hath 

HE thrown into the sea.

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, 

and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; 

and they went three days in the wilderness, 

and found no water.

And when they came to Marah, 

they could not drink of the waters of Marah, 

for they were bitter: 

therefore the name of it was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, 

What shall we drink?

And he cried unto the LORD; 

and the LORD shewed him a TREE 

which when he had cast into the waters,

the waters were made sweet:

there HE made for them a statute 

and an ordinance, 

and there HE proved them,

And said,

If .  .  .

thou wilt diligently hearken 

to the voice of the LORD THY GOD, 

and wilt do that which is right in HIS sight, 

and wilt give ear to HIS commandments, 

and keep all HIS statutes, 

I will put none of these diseases upon thee, 

which I have brought upon the Egyptians: 

for I AM the LORD that healeth thee.

QUIETUDE: 

A time to Reflect about the 

TREE+ that made the bitter sweet.

RESPONSE: 

HOLY is The LAMB+. 

HOLY is The LAMB+. 

HOLY is The LAMB+ that was slain,

Blessing , glory, honor and power 

be unto HIM that sitteth upon the Throne

and unto The LAMB+ 

Amen. 

Lesson from the Epistles: 2 Corinthians 4:6-10

 Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

For GOD, WHO commanded the Light 

to shine out of darkness, 

hath shined in our hearts, 

to give the light of the knowledge 

of the glory of God 

in the face of JESUS CHRIST.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, 

that the excellency of the power 

may be of GOD and not of us.

We are troubled on every side, 

yet not distressed; 

we are perplexed, 

but not in despair; 

Persecuted, but not forsaken; 

cast down, but not destroyed; 

Always bearing about in the body 

the dying of the LORD JESUS, 

that the life also of JESUS 

might be made manifest

in our body.

QUIETUDE: A time to repent of complaining and murmuring about "our lot" in life. 

RESPONSE:  

LORD JESUS CHRIST,LAMB+ of GOD, 

Who+ taketh away the sin of the world,

have mercy upon us.

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LAMB+ of GOD,

BEARER+ of our sins, 

have mercy upon us.

LORD JESUS CHRIST, LAMB+ of GOD, 

SAVIOR+ of the world,

grant us Thy+ Peace.

AMEN.

The GOSPEL Lesson: John 1:29

The next day John saw JESUS coming toward him and said, 

"Behold! 

The LAMB+ of GOD 

Who+ taketh away 

the sin of the world!"

The WORD of The LORD.  

THANKS BE TO GOD !

Meditation ~ ~ ~

Every heart knows sorrow and bitterness. Some sorrows come from the natural consequences of our own choices; some from the choices of others which affect our life in a troublesome and difficult way. 

Some sorrowful conditions we cannot avoid throughout life, like the loss of a limb, the loss of a child or spouse, or the loss of health.

When bitterness about our condition descends upon our hearts, it only deepens the sorrow. We must look for the TREE+ which changes that bitterness into something sweet.

That TREE+ is the Cross of JESUS. 

HE+ turns all sorrow and all suffering into something sweet, if we cast that Cross of HIS+ into the midst of our troubles and hurts. HE+ is able to turn the bitterness of life into blessings ... for us, for all those around us.... if we continually bring the situation hurting our hearts to HIM+ for His+ Touch.

And the key is this: BEHOLD, The LAMB+ of GOD. We are not told to look at ourselves or even at our problems and trials. 

We are instructed to look at the LAMB+of GOD and pray without ceasing!  

If we neglect to do those two things, then we will surely stumble into sin simply from the pain of the situation.

Our words will be sharp, our patience short. 

Our judgment will be irrational, and our decisions will be fraught with error. Fear and frustration will enter in as the mistakes mount up.  

And bitterness will continue to grow.

Self-pity will rear its ugly head and INCREASE the bitterness even more. 

We try to drown our sorrows and bitterness in a bottle of alcohol... or soda pop. We eat more chocolate and sweets than we ought. We go on shopping binges and NEVER stay home... or stay quiet when we are there. 

Busyness, food, social interactions, even ministry, DOES NOT TAKE AWAY sorrow nor does it deal with bitterness. 

Only coming unto The LAMB+ will heal us... laying it all down at HIS+ feet. Yielding to His+ will... and living to please HIM+, from now on, will bring healing to our souls. 

Just as the Word says. 

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, full of hurts and wounds, sorrows and bitterness.

Dear LORD, I have not run to Thy+ Cross when I am upset, angry, or hurt. THOU+ knowest  I have avoided dealing with my un-changeable situation in a Spiritual manner, and I have ignored your invitation to "COME to YOU" with it all. 

Help me to trust THEE+ to navigate me through these dark waters and dark days. 

And I am so sorry for complaining and murmuring about my situation ... to you, to others, and always in my heart. 

Change me by Thy+ Holy power. Help me to be thankful for the Cross+ in my life; I know it will draw me to THEE+... if I embrace it as I ought.

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.   

   

Pre-Passover Meditation ~ ~ ~ The LIFE of the Flesh

 Photo by The ORDER OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD+
The Way of the CROSS Leads Home

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.