11/29/2015

ADVENT MEDITATIONS 2015 -- The PROMISED ONE+


HE+ was Promised ! 



HE+ Was Promised in the Creation. 

Since the beginning of man, JESUS is there at the conception, the beginning, of each person's life...  touching EVERY man's existence . 

HE+ was there at the beginning of your life... my life... whether we knew it or not. We were MADE in HIS+ likeness and image, unbeknownst to us.  

GENESIS 1
26   And GOD said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness:

and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So GOD created man in HIS own image, in the image of GOD created HE him; male and female created HE them.

 The LORD, YHWH ADONAI, The ELOHIM, first touched man when GOD created him. Man was created in the very likeness of GOD HIMSELF.

Man knows GOD solely through JESUS CHRIST. HE+ is the one way --- and the only way --- through Whom+ we have access to the ELOHIM.

HE+ became Emmanuel+... GOD WITH US... to show us WHO+ we are created to be... a living being made in HIS+ likeness. 

That likeness reflects The ELOHIM: The FATHER, The SON+, and the HOLY SPIRIT.

Let us pray:

O Holy FATHER,

THOU Who lovest all that THOU has created,

THOU Who cherisheth every living soul as a dear child ..dirty, but dear...

THOU Who madest no mistakes in my formation, 

O Holy ONE,   I come to THEE in need of cleansing, 

trusting in Thy mercy granted unto me through Thy Beloved SON+ JESUS CHRIST. 

I repent and turn from my grumbling and dissatisfaction with my formation, discontent with my life. THOU doeth all things well.

Help me, O gracious Heavenly FATHER, to reflect THEE in all my ways and thoughts, and to not dim the reflection of Thy HOLY SON+ JESUS, in my life.

I thank THEE for making me into Thy image; help me to be true to it... no matter what the cost.

In The Name of Thy Beloved SON+ , our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST , I pray.

Amen




11/02/2015

The UNIQUE FELLOWSHIP of CHRISTIANS

What Makes CHRISTIAN Fellowship 
DIFFERENT from other fellowships ?

An Object Lesson from a Teapot






KOINONIAThe UNIQUE Christian Fellowship

A WORLD of difference exists between “normal” fellowship and CHRISTIAN fellowship. One is rooted in humanism; the other is CHRIST-centered. One is formed in and by the world; the other is created in and by The HOLY SPIRIT.  

The Scriptures use the Greek word, Koinonia. It  is from a Greek root word that means a sharer, a partner, a participant. Christian fellowship, then, is that unique togetherness that is shared IN CHRIST and OF CHRIST and WITH CHRIST and BY CHRIST.

This kind of Scriptural fellowship we are exhorted to develop is totally oriented in CHRIST JESUS Himself+.

Contrary to common opinion, Christian fellowship is NOT doing:
·                    the same activities
·                    in the same way
·                    in the same place
·                    at the same time
·                    for a common cause
·                    with the same people
·                    and / or, with goods held in "common."

Many worldly organizations incorporate these very characteristics and their members consider themselves to have "fellowship" with each other.  

They may indeed have a fellowship... but they do not have that CHRIST-centered unique Fellowship that is referred to in Scriptures.

1 John 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, SO THAT (Gk) ye also may have FELLOWSHIP WITH US; and TRULY our FELLOWSHIP is with The FATHER and with HIS SON+ JESUS CHRIST.

CHRISTIAN Fellowship will be found in the Church oriented in CHRIST JESUS, the one Apostolic, “Catholic,” Church out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation …  the Church Without Borders, the Church Without Walls.

Here is an object lesson from 1 John, chapter 1 to illustrate this fundamental truth.



Imagine a two-burner hot plate.  Turn the burners on HIGH and make them bright red. That is our power.


Secondly, feature a teapot on each burner, with the SPOUTS facing each other, close together BUT NOT TOUCHING.   The handles are each turned outward. 

Thirdly, picture clouds of STEAM rising from the two close spouts of the teapots. ... two separate columns of STEAM.


Q # 1  What happens to those two steam clouds when the water boils,  if the two spouts facing each other, are very close together ?

 The columns of steam combine or blend into each other, making one steam cloud out of two.  

Q # 2  Where  (or after ) the steam clouds combine, can you tell or discern one cloud of steam from the other ? In other words, can you tell WHICH pot is producing WHICH particles of STEAM ?   

NO  

Q # 3  There is now ONE thing that forms a CONNECTION between the separate teapots as they continue to boil. What is it? 

The STEAM 

The STEAM one teapot produces is the SAME kind of STEAM as the other teapot produces and the two steam clouds combine, merging seamlessly into one cloud of steam. 

In this object lesson, these teapots are filled with Living Water... so

·  #4 WHO are the teapots ?  You and me

· #5 WHO is the burner ?  The LORD JESUS 

· #6  WHAT is the STEAM ?  The HOLY SPIRIT

Let's think about the Living Water.
 
John 7:38 
He that believeth on ME+, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall  flow  rivers of Living Water.

Q # 7  From where does this LIVING WATER emanate ?

It comes from JESUS the LORD, when HE+ is LORD of our lives.

Since this LIVING WATER comes from JESUS, there is a constant supply flowing into those vessels, those "teapots," who live for HIM+. Notice that to be "living," the water is not static but must be flowing --- in and out.


Q # 8  What will happen to the water in a teapot if it is not refilled and sits static for a period of time? 

It will evaporate and be gone.

Now, let's think about the STEAM .

Q # 9 Can the teapots do ANYTHING on their own to produce the steam ? Can they do anything other than to CONTAIN the Living Water ?  

NO
   
Q # 10  Where must the teapot BE to have its Living Water boil to produce the steam ?  

On the burner or connected to the power source.

Since this power source is JESUS, the power is never, ever turned off. HE+ is always burning red hot and always burning on HIGH.

Matthew 28:18

JESUS said, ALL authority is given unto ME+ in Heaven and in earth.

Since " I " am this vessel -- this teapot -- I have the free will to move myself off the hot burner at any point in time. I have the free will to dis-connect myself from the power source whenever I want. 

Q # 11  What happens to my Living Water when I go off the burner or dis-connect from the power source?  

It stops boiling.

Q # 12 What happens when the boiling ceases? 

The steam stops.

Q # 13 What will happen if I sit off the burner or stay dis-connected ?
The Living Water will eventually evaporate.

Q #14 When the STEAM stops, is there ANY WAY I can CONNECT to any of the other teapots ?  

NO


1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the Light, as HE+ is in the Light, we HAVE fellowship one with another, and the Blood of JESUS CHRIST HIS SON+ cleanseth us from all sin.

Christian Fellowship is not formed from a selection of teapots sitting together on a counter top. Christian Fellowship is not even created by a collection of teapots once filled with Living Water but now is static, having gone stagnant.
 
Luke 8:18
 Take heed therefore how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he SEEMETH to have. ( See also Luke 19, Mark 4, Matthew 13, Matthew 25 ) 

Christian FELLOWSHIP occurs when those teapots filled with Living Water stay connected to JESUS on the hot burner... a burner hot enough to change that water into STEAM. 

Through the unity of the HOLY SPIRIT is Christian fellowship formed... not by power nor by might, but by MY+ SPIRIT, saith The LORD.   

We cannot --- we simply are NOT able ­­­--- to produce Christian fellowship by our own efforts:  there is no STEAM to unite us. We do NOT have the ABILITY to make our own STEAM. 

Hear John 15:5 …

I+ am the Vine+, ye are the branches: He that abideth in ME+, and I+ in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without ME+ ye can do nothing.

We must be attached to the Source+ of Power, our LORD JESUS CHRIST, in order to produce the STEAM which creates Christian fellowship. WHY?  Because CHRISTIAN Fellowship is a fellowship of the SPIRIT, not a fellowship of common or shared human efforts or activities. 

As the Scripture teaches us truly in 1 John 1:3:
  
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, SO THAT ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with The FATHER, and with HIS S0N+ JESUS CHRIST.

We might as well try to connect the cold teapots together by their handles and then try to "produce steam together" … if we try to produce fellowship WITHOUT EACH one of us staying lively on that hot burner, JESUS, our power source.

It simply cannot be done... not with teapots, not with Christian Fellowship.

·  Are you struggling hard to produce Fellowship ?
·  Are you on the Hot Burner ?
· Do you remove yourself from the Burner when the church meeting or cell group is over ?

If so... then the first step is to enter into FELLOWSHIP with JESUS .

This is easy. You do NOT have to labor at producing "fellowship," any more than the teapot "labors" to produce steam. You only have to stay attached to the Vine+, to stay connected to the Power Source, holding onto JESUS with all of your might. 

When you hold onto JESUS with all your might, 
HE+ will hold onto you... 
with ALL HIS+ MIGHT !

I John 1: 5-10
This then is the message which we have heard of HIM+, and declare unto you, that GOD is Light, and in HIM is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with HIM+, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

But if we walk in the Light, as HE is in the Light, we HAVE fellowship one with another, and the Blood of JESUS CHRIST HIS SON+ cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, HE+ is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make HIM+ a liar, and His+ Word is not in us.


CHRISTIAN Fellowship is Uniquely Formed

Christian Fellowship, then, is a fruit of our walk with JESUS.  We do not focus on making fellowship. Rather, we each focus on staying in un-broken fellowship with JESUS.

If there is no, little, or faulty Christian fellowship amidst the brethren, then we must FIRST FOCUS on the individuals' walk with CHRIST JESUS. When each person in the flock is growing in CHRIST --- no matter what their maturity level --- there will be the fruit of Christian fellowship growing also.

Now in 1 John, chapter 1, let us do a little statistical analysis of that chapter.

Out of those 10 verses dealing with Christian Fellowship, only two verses ( verse 3 and verse 7 ) discuss fellowship with one another within the Body of CHRIST. 

Thus, 80 % of that chapter deals with forming fellowship WITH the LORD.

That should tell us something about where our priorities ought to be when forming  "fellowship."  The majority of the flock's effort should be going towards staying attached to The VINE+, staying attached to JESUS.

That is the great responsibility when tending the flock: to see that each person is walking with JESUS, staying attached at the core to JESUS.

Problems in fellowship arise when one or two of the flock slide along, keeping a semblance of Christianity, but who have left their first love of CHRIST.

The Solution?  

Return unto the FIRST LOVE of The LORD. Seek HIS+ face when problems arise in the Fellowship.  The SPIRIT will be joined unto The SPIRIT when each person is “right” with GOD because there is no division when The SPIRIT meets Itself !  


The Invitation ~ ~ ~
Revelation 22:17
And the SPIRIT and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the Water of Life freely.

Matthew 11:28-30
COME unto ME+, all ye that are heavy laden, and I+ will give you rest. Take MY+ yoke upon you and learn of ME+; 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.

John 3:17
For GOD sent not HIS SON+ into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through HIM+ might be saved.




10/26/2015

The UN-CLAIMED PROMISE


The Martyrdom of St. Timothy


Of more value than gold in the bank, the "Promises" from the Bible are well-known by most Christians. We have heard them proclaimed repeatedly whenever problems and troubles arise which plague the human heart.

Great they are, too, and exceedingly precious to the hearts of all Believers. They are TRUE words, as is the constant testimony for those who follow The LORD JESUS CHRIST, The Most Beloved SON+ forever.

These promises of GOD bolster our faith.

However, there is one UN-claimed Promise that no-one seems to claim for himself.

This one, UN-claimed Promise --- for those who recognize its worth --- is faith-stretching. It carries within its very essence the means for us, Followers of JESUS CHRIST to measure our walk.

Using this UN-claimed Promise, we can readily see the answers to these questions; 
·                     Are we truly attached to the TRUE VINE+
·                     Are we operating directly within HIS+ Will ?
·                     Are we compromising His+ Truth?
·                     Are we indulging ( and kidding ) ourselves in "friendship evangelism" and thus, hiding the TRUE LIGHT+ ... which is able to save souls ... under a bushel basket ?      

WHAT is this Precious, UN-claimed Promise, the one that is ASSUREDLY as PRECIOUS as all the other promises of GOD ?

It is the Promise that makes us all shudder, and hence, avoid it at all costs. 

Here it is:

"And indeed, all those desiring 
to live GODLY in CHRIST JESUS 
will be persecuted." 
2 Timothy 3:12, Jay P. Green's Greek Interlinear.

 A Peek At the Greek...

In English, "persecution" is commonly understood as life-threatening harrassment or imprisonment or torture.

In Greek and Hebrew, however, it has the BASIC meaning of being driven out.

"Persecution" in the New Testament stems from the root of two Greek words, one of which means "to flee" and the other one "to pursue." ( See 1375 and 1377 in Strong's Concordance. )

Interestingly enough, the ONLY time "persecution" in the New Testament comes from a different root word  is in Acts 11:19, and that word accurately means "tribulation." (See Strong's # 2347.)

"To chase out or pursue hotly after" is the consistent meaning of persecute / persecution in the Hebrew language ,with all word forms stemming from a Hebrew root word which means "to pursue."  (See Strong's, #7291 and Young's Concordance for persecution.

Now, then, herein lies a problem... a BIG problem.

No-one LIKES persecution and no-one WANTS it as a daily companion. No-one chooses to be persecuted !

Scripture indicates, however, that persecution was the Daily Cup put before the Followers of JESUS. 

That Daily Cup worked many good things:
·                     The Gospel spread across the inhabited world through these persecuted Christians.
·                     Many received the Martyr's Reward, sealing their testimony with their blood.
·                     The persecuted Followers of JESUS founded many churches... with the blood of the martyr's becoming the seed of the church.
·                      The Gospel was translated into languages and tongues for all to have.

In today's world, the persecuted Followers of JESUS become the strongest Christians on earth.

Their cries, pleas, supplications, and intercessions are ANSWERED, as they endure the persecutions as Followers of The LAMB+ of GOD.

They are humble, knowing how to pray for their enemies, loving them and requesting their enemies to be delivered from the father of lies. 

These STRONG Christians have lost all, for the most part, even family members. They know full well that at any moment they could seal their testimony for CHRIST JESUS with their blood.

Some of them live in despair, barely clinging to life from the blows of loss of loved ones, home, health, and income. Our LORD sees their LIVING sacrifice: after all, they did not DENY HIM+ and turn to the world or pagan, demonic religions to avoid their plight. They stood the TEST.

Yes, when they recover from shock, these persecuted Christians become STRONG Followers of CHRIST.

Search out the testimonies of the church in North Korea, established in the midst of prison camps. Read about the Sudanese Christians living in the Nubian Desert, clinging solidly to The LORD and to each other. The Syrian Christians who have been ousted from their homeland are bearing the LIGHT of CHRIST to the muslim world.

What are WE DOING for the Kingdom of GOD, in comparison to these persecuted Followers of JESUS CHRIST ?

Yes, we all do what we can, but we have not been TESTED through the fires yet.


 JESUS said: 
Mark 9:49 ...
For every one shall be salted with fire and every sacrifice salted with salt.

Matthew 5:13 ...
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.


 Dear Salt ... let us NOT LOSE our Savor... and thereby lose our SAVIOR+.

Now is the Day of Preparation. We prepare for Persecution by drawing closer and closer to Our LORD JESUS CHRIST... now !

Now is the time --- when all is quiet (on the surface ) to spend QUALITY QUIET TIME with HIM+. Now is the time ( in relative safety ) for each individual to learn to hear His+ Voice ... UNMISTAKABLY.


If we are diligent to do these things, HE+ will guide us into Spiritual exercises that will help us retain the Salt HE+ has given to us. Hours of prayer, fasting, reading or reciting of Psalms, of our LORD’S Words, of the Apostles writings. Seeking to never be out of HIS+ Presence.

When the fire of persecution comes, then we will not be in shell-shock, but rather we will have our faces "set like flint" --- as HE+ did --- to determinedly go to Jerusalem and face the fire.


JESUS said, 
" Behold, I+ give unto you AUTHORITY to tread on opheON, sharp-eyed ones ( serpents ) and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall by any means hurt  you. " 
Luke 10:19

JESUS said, 
"All AUTHORITY is given unto ME+ in Heaven and on earth." 
Matthew 28:18

Will the fire of persecution hurt us? 
Only... only... only if we fail 
to Follow our LORD JESUS to the cross.

Pleasant to the flesh? NO... But the rewards are INESTIMABLE and  the fruit lasting unto Eternity.

+  +  +