WHAT Does Our LORD Hear? ... Passover Meditations for the Monastic-At-Heart ... Ephesians 1:15

 Our LORD Hears...

Meditations  for Pascha

(The Passover Season, 2016)

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Meditations for the Monastic-At-Heart

Now is My+ soul troubled;

and what shall I+ say ...

FATHER,

save ME+

from this hour ?

but for this cause

came I+ unto this hour.

FATHER,

Glorify Thy Name.

Then came there a Voice from Heaven, saying,

I have both glorified IT,

and will glorify IT again.

John12:27-28

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Meditation Verse 

Ephesians 1:15

Wherefore I also,

after I heard of your faith

in the LORD JESUS and

love unto all the saints…

The literal Greek:  For this reason , I also hearing the faith concerning you all in The LORD JESUS and the love towards all the saints,

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Meditation

Reports came to the Apostle Paul regarding the Followers of JESUS in Ephesus.

Here, then, were the reports:

The Ephesian Followers of JESUS were KNOWN for their faith in CHRIST.

They were also KNOWN for the AgapA love they issued toward all the saints... their fellow brethren in CHRIST.

Can this be said of us?

What kind of report about us would the Apostle Paul hear if he were alive on earth today ?

Are we supportive of the Brethren in CHRIST whom we know ? Are we supportive individually as well as collectively ?

Do we love the Brethren enough to warn them when they go astray from the Narrow Way that leads unto Life Eternal?

Do we kindly and gently, with support, issue correction when Brethren walk or talk against Scripture ?

Or rather, do we play at love and try to keep everybody "happy" with that  "warm and accepted" feeling …  at the expense of CHRIST ?

Do we indulge in "friendship evangelism" ... i.e., "just come to our church and we will love you into the Kingdom of GOD"... while not requiring true repentance and conversion and amendment of life ?

Are we known for our faith in CHRIST when the presses of life occur ?

Is our faith of SUCH depth that we can stand firm in the face of depression and oppression    ?

Is our faith dependant on wealth? On our health ? On others ? On our family being intact ?

Hard times, troublous times, turbulent times --- beyond those normal things that come upon all persons --- are at the door.  They have already descended in horror upon many in the rest of the world.

It is a living nightmare what the Followers of JESUS are enduring in North Korea, Syria and the Middle East, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Sudan, and other African nations…  and now it is beginning in Europe.

Persecution is coming closer to home.

It is reported that one well-known Western nation's current leader covers the Cross of JESUS if he must enter into a building or room where it is hanging.

It is a fact that that same leader refused to attend the funeral of a Supreme Court judge because the funeral service was in a Church and the LORD JESUS CHRIST was proclaimed.

There is an abundance of politicians vying for leadership who openly, proudly, and stridently support ungodly life-styles and Agendas, including the killing of babies in the womb and "harvesting" their "valuable" organs. ( An unthinkable, grotesque form of humanity trying to play "god." )

As a matter of fact, KILLING HUMANITY is the hidden but primary Agenda of most of these programs... from GMO seeds to enforced "health care" from the cradle to the grave.   

Any one who refuses to personally participate in any of these unrighteous programs that go against GOD'S WORD  will make himself a target.

One report from a reputable ministry stated that the Agenda is to remove all Christian witness from the public eye.   This has already taken place in some countries in Europe; it is only a matter of time before it occurs closer to home.

Take HEED, Church:

We CANNOT correct

SPIRITUAL problems

with political solutions,

so guns and voting

and civil "movements"

are NOT the realm

for Followers of JESUS. 

There are
NO POLITICAL solutions
to SPIRITUAL problems. 

JESUS is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. HE+ alone is able to correct the spiritual sickness engulfing this world.

Instead of standing for guns, voting rights, civil movements, and weeping over the flag, we must stand for JESUS.

We must weep

over this Sin-Sick World. 

And the Sin-Sick Worldlings,

both in control and out-of-control, 

are not going to like that.

Will our faith stand in the face of persecution ?

Will our faith stand when the enemies of JESUS CHRIST make us choose to conform to their ungodly programs and accept un-holy life-styles ... or face persecution ?

Will we love the Brethren… or turn them in if they preach a righteousness based on Scripture instead of the ever-changing societal norms ?

What will

our LORD and SAVIOR

JESUS CHRIST

be hearing about us ?

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Let us pray:

O, LORD JESUS, we need help. YOU+ know what is coming before YOU+ arrive to re-claim the earth.

We are weak and shallow; we have not been tested as our Brethren have across the sea.

We think if we don't have the right food at the right time or the right house we are bearing a cross.

We know the Refiner's Fire is determined upon all the earth.  Help us to grow solid in YOU+.

LORD JESUS, I say I love YOU+; help me to pick up the Cross of discipleship before the Cross of Persecution comes.

Help me NOT to shy away from spiritual discipline; I will not be ABLE to shy away from persecution.

Show me, O LORD JESUS, how to stand against my own flesh and submit myself unto Your+ Word.

I accept that the Time of Preparation is NOW to train myself to deny my flesh... so that I do not deny YOU+ when my hour of testing comes.

YOU+ went to the Cross -- alone --- so that I would not have to go through ANYTHING without YOU+.

Help me, LORD JESUS.

For Thy+ Name's sake, I pray. Amen.

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Worthy is the LAMB+.

Worthy is The LAMB+

that was slain.

Worthy is the LAMB+,

slain

from the foundation

of the earth.

Revelation 13:8

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PRAISE and THANKSGIVING

be to The FATHER,

and to HIS Beloved SON+

JESUS CHRIST,

and to

the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.

ONE GOD:

FATHER,

SON+,

and HOLY SPIRIT,

both now and forever,

world without end.

Amen.

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EARNEST of Our Inheritance ... Passover Meditations ... Ephesians 1:14

Meditations  for Pascha

(The Passover Season, 2016)

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Meditations for the Monastic-At-Heart

Now is My+ soul troubled;

and what shall I+ say ...

FATHER,

save ME+

from this hour ?

but for this cause

came I+ unto this hour.

FATHER,

Glorify Thy Name.

Then came there a Voice from Heaven, saying,

I have both glorified IT,

and will glorify IT again.

John12:27-28

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Meditation Verse 

Ephesians 1: 14

WHO is the earnest

of our inheritance

until the redemption

of the purchased possession,

unto the praise of HIS glory.

Note: WHO is referring to the HOLY SPIRIT , keeping in context with the previous verse. REDEMPTION is "loosening away" in the literal Greek.  Followers of JESUS are the "purchased possession."  HIS may be understood to be the GODHEAD.

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Meditation

This special earnest, the deposit, the down-payment ( as it were ) has been given to us, to secure or hold our promised inheritance in the Kingdom of GOD.  This DIVINE DEPOSIT or Pledge to us  is the HOLY SPIRIT Who indwells within us at our conversion to CHRIST.

Then Peter said unto them,

Repent, and be baptized

every one of you

in the name of JESUS CHRIST

for the remission of sins,

and ye shall receive

the Gift of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Acts 2:38

This Divine Guarantee-or has marked us as legal RECEPTORS for an inheritance in the Heavenlies with our name on it. No-one can steal that inheritance from us. No-one can cheat us out of our inheritance, nor do we have to share our portion with another.

However, there is a Divine characteristic of this DIVINE Earnest or down-payment which makes it different than the usual legal transaction of goods or money given for a down payment:  This Divine Earnest  happens to be LIVING!

HE is ALIVE !

  But when the COMFORTER is come, WHOM I+ will send unto you

from The FATHER,

even the SPIRIT of Truth,

WHO proceedeth from The FATHER,

HE shall testify of ME+:

John 15:26

Now, this Living "Breath" from GOD has another Divine characteristic: HE does not speak of Himself, but of JESUS CHRIST. 

Howbeit when HE,

the SPIRIT of Truth, is come,

HE will guide you

into all Truth:

for HE shall not speak of Himself;

but whatsoever HE shall hear,

that shall HE speak:

and HE will shew you things to come.

John 16:13

Now, it is true that no-one can steal our inheritance from us because of this Divine Deposit of The HOLY SPIRIT living within us.

However... we can lose it.

What?

Know ye not

that your body

is the Temple of the HOLY SPIRIT

WHO is in you,

WHOM 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.

I Corinthians 6:19-20

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Let us pray:

O LORD, we have been so foolish. We have played the harlot with the world.

We have desired things  ... and persons... who have drawn us away from THEE+.

We are finely tuned to our distractions but barely able to discern Thy+ Voice when we need it. 

We are led about by our bodies, our flesh, our earth-centered minds instead of by our Divine Earnest WHO is to lead us into ALL Truth.

We have NOT given to THEE+ Thine own: our body and our spirit. Rather, we have squandered THY goods. We have not been good stewards of what is rightly Thine.

Standing in sore need of cleansing, we ask that THOU wouldst be pleased to restore us unto THEE and take not Thy+ blessed HOLY SPIRIT from us.

We commit anew our bodies and our spirits unto THEE+ , to be filled with Thy+ SPIRIT and used for Thy+ purposes. 

We accept the call to Quietness and Separation from this world and its values and its ways and its activities... distractions, all.

Grant us this cleansing, this renewal, that we may bring praise to Thy+ Glorious Name... and not lose our inheritance.

These things we ask of THEE+, in Thy+ HOLY Name, O CHRIST. Amen.

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Worthy is the LAMB+.

Worthy is The LAMB+

that was slain.

Worthy is the LAMB+,

slain

from the foundation

of the earth.

Revelation 13:8

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PRAISE and THANKSGIVING

be to The FATHER,

and to HIS Beloved SON+

JESUS CHRIST,

and to

the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.

ONE GOD:

FATHER,

SON+,

and HOLY SPIRIT,

both now and forever,

world without end.

Amen.

SEAL of CHRIST .... Passover Meditations... Ephesians 1:13

Meditations  for Pascha

(The Passover Season, 2016)

+  +  +

Meditations for the Monastic-At-Heart

Now is My+ soul troubled;

and what shall I+ say ...

FATHER,

save ME+

from this hour ?

but for this cause

came I+ unto this hour.

FATHER,

Glorify Thy Name.

Then came there a Voice from Heaven, saying,

I have both glorified IT,

and will glorify IT again.

John12:27-28

+  +  +

Meditation Verse

Ephesians 1: 13

In WHOM+ ye also trusted,

after that ye heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation:

in WHOM+ also after that ye believed,

ye were sealed

with that HOLY Spirit of Promise,

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Meditation

ALL of us were SEALED...

·                   "ALL"  being those who trusted in JESUS CHRIST

·                   ALL being those hearing the Word of TRUTH in JESUS and about JESUS

·                   ALL being those who trusted in HIM+ as the First Followers did

·                   ALL who personally repented, trusting that The LORD would NOT destroy them if they confessed their sins to HIM+

·                   ALL who personally received the "good news" of the plan of Salvation through JESUS for mankind

SEALED...

In ancient days, important and official documents were sealed with drops of hot, melted wax and then stamped with an engraved implement, oftentimes a ring. This was called a signet ring.

These days, a notary public will stamp official documents oftentimes with an impression in the paper itself as well as the ink stamp for signatures. 

The seals, both then and now, place the LEGAL AUTHORITY of the State, the one in charge, upon that document.

In Ephesians 1:13,

the document being sealed is

... us !

We Followers of JESUS become the letter of CHRIST, the Epistle written by the SPIRIT of the Living GOD , known and read of all men. ( See 2 Corinthians 3:2-3).

WAX...

The properties of WAX vary according to the degree of heat put to it.

When melted, wax can become a runny,  fluid liquid if the heat is too hot or too much.  No-one can stamp an insignia in hot, liquid wax; like water, liquid wax is not solid enough to receive the seal.

If the wax becomes too cold, it hardens and likewise will not take the stamp. The wax simply breaks away, if the stamp is too forceful.

But, when melted to the correct temperature, the wax can be masterfully handled.

At this point when the conditions are right, the melted wax can be dropped or placed upon the scroll or document and stamped with a signet ring or engraved seal... and it will receive the insignia properly.

 RECEIVING the Insignia...

Our conversion to CHRIST is sealed by the HOLY SPIRIT of Promise. We receive HIS+ Insignia upon our spirit... if the conditions are right.

We cannot receive that Divine Seal, 

however, 

if the conditions are not right.

Are we willing to become PLIABLE in Our LORD'S hands, letting HIM+ do with us as HE+ wills ? 

Or... do we tell HIM+ , " Yes... to a point" ... and harden ourselves after a season of yieldedness,  against His+ calling to discipleship  ?

Do we tell HIM+, "Yes..." , but never sit still with HIM+ long enough to learn to recognize His+ Voice over the clamor of our flesh and other "worthy"  distractions ? In our constant running about, we will not be able to receive His+ seal.

Soft, teachable, pliable in His+ Hands... these are the conditions needed to receive the Royal Insignia.

How pliable are we , in Truth ?

If we want to receive the HOLY SPIRIT'S seal of Promise, then we must meet those conditions.

We, alas, will not make it Home without it.

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Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly FATHER, we see we are un-pliable and un-yielded to going deeper with CHRIST.

We say we want to do Thy Will, but we want it only as far as is comfortable for us, only as far as "we" can handle.

Help us, O LORD, to yield the controls to Thy SON+ our LORD.

We do not want to hear those words: "Why do you call ME+ 'LORD, LORD'... but do not do the things I+ say ? "

We yield to THEE+, O CHRIST, all those areas we have with-held from THEE+.

Teach us to say, "Not my will, but THINE+, O LAMB+ of GOD."

In the Name of JESUS CHRIST, the Sacrificial Passover LAMB+ Who+ died for me, I pray.  Amen.

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Worthy is the LAMB+.

Worthy is The LAMB+

that was slain.

Worthy is the LAMB+,

slain

from the foundation

of the earth.

Revelation 13:8

+  +  +

PRAISE and THANKSGIVING

be to The FATHER,

and to HIS Beloved SON+

JESUS CHRIST,

and to

the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.

ONE GOD:

FATHER,

SON+,

and HOLY SPIRIT,

both now and forever,

world without end.

Amen.