Pre-Passover Meditation ~ ~ ~ The UN-distracted Mind of CHRIST

Photo by The ORDER of The GOOD SHEPHERD+
Crown of Thorns bush

The Invitatory

 CHRIST JESUS 

came into the world to save sinners,

Of whom I am chief. 

LORD, 

be merciful to me, a sinner.

O Come, Let us Adore HIM+ . 

Old Testament Lesson: Leviticus 26, 

selected verses ,
 courtesy of  www.Biblegateway.com

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I AM THE LORD THY GOD.

Ye shall keep my sabbaths, 

and reverence my sanctuary: 

I AM THE LORD.

If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them;
⁴ Then I will give you rain ...
⁵ And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage ... 
⁶ And I will give peace in the land ... .
⁷ And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
 ~ ~~ ~~ 
⁹ For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

¹¹ And I set my tabernacle among you: and My soul shall not abhor you. 

¹² And I will walk among you, and will be your GOD, and ye shall be My people.

¹³ I AM THE LORD THY GOD, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

¹⁴ But if ye will not hearken unto ME, and will not do all these commandments;

¹⁵ And if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but that ye break My Covenant:
~ ~ ~

¹⁹ And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

²⁰ And your strength shall be spent in vain... 
~ ~ ~ 


³² And I will bring the land into desolation ...

~  ~  ~

³⁴ Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

³⁵ As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

Epistle Lesson: Colossians 1: 19-23

Courtesy of Biblegateway.com

For it pleased The FATHER that in HIM+ should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the Blood of His+ Cross, by HIM+ to reconcile all things unto HIMSELF+; by HIM+, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath HE+ reconciled in  the body of His+ Flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His+ sight:

if ...if ... if ...

ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under Heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

The Gospel Lesson: Luke 10: 38-42

Courtesy of Biblegateway.com, NKJV

Now it happened as they went that HE+ entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him+ into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His+  word. 

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him+ and said, “LORD, do You+ not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? 

Therefore tell her to help me.”

And JESUS answered and said to her, “Martha! Martha! 

You are worried and troubled about many things. 

But ONE+ THING is needed, 

and Mary has chosen THAT GOOD PART+, 

which will not be taken away from her.”

Meditation ~ ~ ~

The Old Covenant was established to show Israel ... and thus, all mankind...  HOW TO PLEASE GOD. It was established to show us what things are acceptable to GOD and what things HE hates. ( HE still hates those things listed as "sin" in the Law, by the way.)

Breaking GOD'S laws under the Old Covenant brought certain, swift, and awful consequences. That was the way The LORD trained mankind to savor righteousness with HIM. 

When Our LORD JESUS walked the earth, HE+ did not "un-do" the laws, HE+ actually

extended them to encompass more.

Back then, adultery was punished by stoning to death the transgressors. Under the covenant of JESUS' BLOOD, adultery of the heart, done secretly was severely condemned. Our LORD JESUS HIMSELF said that if our EYE offended us... that is, made us to sin... to pluck it out.

HE+ was not joking. Under the New Covenant, once JESUS' BLOOD was shed to cover us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, the punishment for willfully-practiced sin IS... IS... IS... (!)  Eternal death.  

Unfortunately, sin occurs in the HEART of man. However, one is not able to pluck out one's heart.  

So, we flee unto JESUS our SAVIOR+ for cleansing and help against sin. 

One of the best strong-holds against sin is to focus on JESUS without distraction of thought, like Martha's sister Mary chose to do.   

Let Us Pray ~ ~ ~ 

Gracious Heavenly FATHER, I have forsaken following Thy Word meticulously. I have done whatsoever I have "thought" to be right... instead of following Thy Holy Words given and preserved for me at great price. 

Help me not to cast ANY of Thy words aside and establish my "interpretation" of what THOU dost require of me... instead of what is clearly written. 

O LORD our GOD, help me to stand firm against temporal values within me, values that focus on my own home, my own family, my own life constantly. 

Help me to strive for that undistracted mind, focused upon CHRIST, so that I may know what pleaseth THEE. Give me Singleness-of-Eye, that I become a GOD-pleaser and not a man-pleaser, that I learn to please THEE+, my LORD, and not myself. 

O, Help me to do this SO MUCH SO that even my undistracted focus upon THY HOLY SON+ JESUS becomes my only identity in this world... that I might choose the BETTER+ part, like Mary. 

So that, when I come face to face with our SAVIOR+,  I can honestly say, "I have loved THEE+ with my whole heart."

Grant these things, for Thy SON+'s sake, our only SAVIOR+ and MEDIATOR, the only name given under Heaven among men, whereby we must be saved... Our LORD JESUS CHRIST.  

Amen.

Pre-Passover Meditation ~ ~ ~ It is No Secret What GOD Will Do !

Photo by The Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+

 CHRIST our PASSOVER

ever liveth to make intercession

for us; 

O Come, Let us Adore HIM+. 

Psalm 68 

Let GOD arise, 

Let His enemies be scattered; 

Let those also who hate HIM

flee before HIM. 

Old Testament Lesson: Deuteronomy 4:23, 24 

Take heed unto yourselves, 

lest ye forget 

the covenant of the LORD thy GOD, 

which HE made with you, 

and make you a graven image, 

or the likeness of any thing, 

which the LORD thy GOD 

hath forbidden thee.

For the LORD thy GOD 
is a consuming fire, 

even a jealous GOD.

Epistle Lesson: Ephesians 2:1- 3

And you hath HE+ enlivened, 

who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Wherein in time past ye walked 

according to the course of this world, 

according to 
the prince of the power of the air, 

the spirit that now worketh 

in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had 

our behavior in times past

in the lusts of our flesh,

 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 

of the mind;

and were by nature 

the children of wrath, 

even as others.

The GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 6: 33-36

The Words of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, 
what thank have ye? 

for sinners also do even the same.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, 
what thank have ye? 

for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

But love ye your enemies, 

and do good, 

and lend, 

hoping for nothing again;

and your reward shall be great, 

and ye shall be the children of the Highest: 

for HE is kind unto the unthankful 

and to the evil. 

Be ye therefore merciful, 

as your FATHER also is merciful.

Meditation ~

 We see Our LORD being so merciful to us sinners, that HE+ loved us and died for us while we were yet dead in our sins!   

And through HIS+ death, we gained life. 

Furthermore, that was and is the ONLY WAY sinners could ever gain both life here and now and life Eternal.  

Our FATHER'S wrath waxes heavily against those who set themselves against HIM morally or spiritually.  

HE is a consuming fire to those who align themselves with 

• the course of this world, 
• the prince of the power of the air, or
• the spirit of disobedience. 

Our LORD'S words clearly show us how to be on GOD'S side.  The LORD JESUS clearly spoke to us about how to be a friend to GOD His FATHER.  

HE has not changed His Mind about what HE considers RIGHT... and what is WRONG .... for mankind to do .

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament contain words of truth which should bring conviction to us if we disobey the Written Word. 

It is no secret what GOD can do ! What HE'S done to others, HE will do to you ! 

Let Us Pray ~ ~ ~ 

O LORD of the Consuming Fire, we come before THEE now to ask of THEE mercy. 

We have done those things we ought NOT to have done. 

We have neglected doing those things which we know please THEE. 

Even worse, we have avoided Thy Face. 

We have avoided coming before THEE for correction. We have chosen to hide our hearts from conviction... because we do not want to change. 

Forgive us these sins. Help us to turn away from the course of this world.  Help us not to follow the lurings of the prince of the power of the air. Help us to forsake our own disobediences, once and for all times. 

Grant this we pray, through the merits of Thy Only-Begotten SON+, our LORD JESUS CHRIST, our ONLY MEDIATOR+ and ADVOCATE+, both now and forever. Amen.   

Pre-Passover Meditations ~ ~ ~ Turn Ye! Turn Ye! At MY+ Reproof ; Why Will Ye Die ?

Photo: Order of The GOOD SHEPHERD+

Say unto them, 

As I live, 

saith the LORD GOD, 

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; 

but that the wicked 

turn from his way 

and live:

turn ye, turn ye 

from your evil ways; 

for why will ye die, 

O house of Israel ?

Ezekiel 33:11

Courtesy of Biblegateway.com

What? ... 

Know ye not that your body is the temple of the HOLY SPIRIT which is in you, which ye have of GOD, 

and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a Price +: therefore glorify GOD 

• in your body, 
• and in your spirit, 

which are GOD'S.

Hear The WORD of The LORD: 

Not every one 

that saith unto ME+, 

LORD, LORD, 

shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; 

but he that doeth 

the Will of My+ FATHER 

which is in Heaven.

Many will say to ME+ in that day, 

LORD, LORD, 

have we not prophesied in Thy+ Name? 

and in Thy+ Name have cast out devils? 

and in Thy+ Name 

 done many wonderful works?

And then 

will I+ profess unto them,

I+ never knew you: 

depart from ME+, 

ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:21-23

Meditation ~ ~ ~ 

"Why do you say, "LORD, LORD," and set aside My+ Holy Words ? Are not My+ Words like a refiner's fire ? They are like a hammer that breaks the rock, that goes forth through all the earth.  

Do you have NO fear of ME+, the Creator of that Universe with those marvelous stars you watch with awe ?  

Identify yourself with ME+... and ME+ alone. That is the only way you will be able to escape the snare that is coming upon the whole earth. 

My+ friends... if you are indeed My+ friends... be assured I+ will keep you through the troublous times ahead. But, I+ will only keep those WHO IDENTIFY WITH ME+. 

Forsake your values, worldly goals, ambitions and train yourself to seek MY+ Face daily, to receive daily instructions from ME+.  

My+ Word is there: take it to heart. " 

+  +  +

Pre-Passover Meditation ~ ~ ~ But, Whom Do You Say that I+ am ?

Photo Courtesy of Astrophotographer Juan Carlos Casado,
3.10.2014 at 5:30 a.m., published on Spaceweather.com
Saariselka, North Finland
Aurora Borealis

The Invitatory:

CHRIST the KING+ 

has suffered for us; 

O Come, Let us Adore HIM+.

THOU+ art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for THOU+ wast slain and hast redeemed us to GOD by Thy+ Blood out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. 

Old Testament Lesson: Leviticus 18:6-25

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

⁶ None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I AM The LORD.

⁷ The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

^{Thou shalt NOT uncover the nakedness of: 
8}  thy father's wife 
⁹  thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, ...
¹⁰ thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, ...
¹¹  father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, 
¹²  thy father's sister: ...
¹³  thy mother's sister: ...
¹⁴ thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: 
¹⁵  thy daughter in law: 
¹⁶  thy brother's wife: 
¹⁷  a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, 
¹⁸ a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

¹⁹ Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

²⁰ Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.

²¹ And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I AM The LORD.

²² Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

²³ Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

²⁴ Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

²⁵ And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

QUIETUDE: A time to Reflect about the HOLINESS of GOD and His+ requirement of Holiness of mankind. 

RESPONSE: Psalm 24 

Who is this KING+ of Glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

The LORD mighty in battle !

Who is this KING+ of Glory? 

The LORD of HOSTS. 

HE+ is the KING+ of Glory! 

Lesson from the Epistles: 1 Peter 1:15-16

 ¹⁵ But as HE+ Who+ 

has called you is HOLY, 

so be ye holy 

in all manner of life-style;

¹⁶ Because it is written, 

Be ye holy; for I AM HOLY.

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: Mark 8:27-29  ~ ~ ~ 

Scriptures courtesy of Biblegateway.com

The Words of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST ~ ~ ~ 

And JESUS went out, and His+ disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way HE+ asked His+ disciples, saying unto them, 

Whom do men say that I+ am?

And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

And HE+ saith unto them, 

But whom say ye that I+ am? 

And Peter answereth and saith unto Him+, 

THOU+ art .... The CHRIST !

+  +  +

The WORD of The LORD.  

THANKS BE TO GOD !

Meditation ~ ~ ~

Whom do you say ... with your life-style, with your values... that The LORD is ? 

We are REQUIRED to walk in ways of Holiness. Holiness is precisely defined throughout Scriptures... doing those things that please GOD.  

Those ways show to the world exactly WHO+ CHRIST JESUS is. We are entrusted with being precise replicas of the character of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

HE+ has shown us EXACTLY what behavior pleases HIM, the HOLY FATHER, and what behaviors are repulsive to Our FATHER Who art in Heaven. 

The laws and rules established in Leviticus and other books of Scripture, both Old and New, define what holiness is, in exact terms, in concrete behaviors.  

The LORD JESUS has NOT changed HIS+ FATHER'S rules!  

Yes, Our LORD fulfilled all the sacrifices listed in Leviticus and other places: the sin offering, the burnt offering, the heave and wave offerings, the grain offering, the peace offering, and the libation offering of wine.

But, His+ Sacrifice did NOT remove from us the necessity for walking in HOLINESS. 

Now, we see, we CAN keep the holy ways of The LORD because of His+ Sacrifice. 

Yes, because HE+ sacrificed His+ Life for us, we NOW can receive the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT... Who helps us keep those Holy ways of The LORD. 

No longer are they merely a set of ancient rules and regulations put upon HIS people.

Because of Our LORD'S Sacrifice of HIMSELF+, these rules and laws are written on our hearts... 

... or should be.

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, in repentance for casting aside Thy ways.  

Help me to honor THEE, O FATHER, through obedience to Thy SON+ JESUS CHRIST in hallowing Thy Holy Words throughout Scriptures. 

I am sorry I have ignored thy Words. 

I am sorry I have lived by modern "standards" instead of  Thy ways. 

I am so, so sorry I have besmirched the character of THEE in front of the world, Oh my Precious GOD, and Thy Holy SON+ JESUS, Who+ died for me. 

I see and do acknowledge that my ways, society's "standards," and modern morals ( or lack thereof ) are SIN in your eyes, according to Thy Words. 

Cleanse me O LORD, and I shall be clean.  Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 

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.