Advent #6 -- The Warning from the LIGHT-HOUSE

In the beginning, was  The WORD+

 And The WORD+ was with GOD

And The WORD+ was GOD.

John 1:1

 BECAUSE The LORD JESUS has the same identical character as Our Heavenly FATHER, we have this confidence:

HE+ will never leave us nor forsake us, as Scripture tells us.

+  +  +

Advent # 6

Our Heavenly FATHER never left HIS SON+ alone because The FATHER recognized HIMSELF in JESUS, HIS SON+.

NEVER could The FATHER deny HIS own character

which was embodied in HIS SON+.

The SON+ will not leave us alone because it is HIS+ character to be faithful; HE+ cannot --- is not even able to --- deny HIMSELF+. 2 Timothy 2:13. 

HE+ cannot deny WHO+ HE+ is.

HE+ will ALWAYS be faithful to the sinner who walks in repentance throughout his life. 

So then,

WHY do we “feel” alone ,

 at times ?

We feel alone because SOMEWHERE , somehow, inside of us our faith wavers  . . . and we have cast ourselves upon our own resources to “handle” our need or our distressing situation. 

Somewhere in our Will, we have chosen to go our own way. 

At that point, we have moved away from HIM+.  Somewhere in our thoughts, our motives, our values, our time, or our plans we have turned to our own resources to accomplish OUR will. 

SOMETIMES we have hastily turned to our own resources to accomplish  the revealed Will of The FATHER ! 

Scripture faithfully records  a Righteous man of GOD --- indeed, a Friend of GOD ( James 2:23) ---  doing this very thing not once, but TWICE !

Genesis 12 tells us the chilling account of Sarai , being taken by Pharaoh to wife following her husband Abra(ha)m’s scheme to introduce her as his “sister.”  Abra(ha)m took matters of safety into his own hands and nearly lost his wife. 

Abra(ha)m did not WAIT upon The LORD until he heard HIS VOICE and determined HIS WILL before he took his family and entered dangerous Egypt. Then, facing the danger, he embarked upon a natural-minded plan for survival. 

After that incident, the noble Patriarch did it again.

Abraham took matters into his own hands, listened to the natural-minded advice of Sarah his well-meaning wife, and by his own actions caused a tremendous upheaval in his home and later, in the whole world !  

Let us ALWAYS remember Abraham and Sarah’s efforts to accomplish the Will of the LORD in a natural-minded way. 

Let us NEVER forget the grief entailed as they tried to work out a natural way to have a son to receive their inheritance and to become a multitude of GOD’S people. The entire human race is PAYING FOR THAT misbegotten action to this very day. 

They simply did not WAIT upon The LORD, once again, for the fulfillment of HIS WORD to them.

Neither time , is it recorded, did they seek HIS FACE, HIS VOICE, HIS DIRECTION  nor did they  wait upon HIS WILL to be accomplished HIS way ! 

If we allow The LORD to direct us, in complete honesty within ourselves and before CHRIST, The LORD JESUS will never leave us nor forsake us.

If we WAIT PATIENTLY upon The LORD for His+ Will to be accomplished HIS+ WAY, His+ character will be formed within us.

 

The opposite is also TRUE:  HIS+ CHARACTER will NEVER be formed in us if we persist in “doing things our way” to obtain what we want.

The LORD JESUS CHRIST will not abandon those

in whom His+ character is formed.

HE+ may call some of us to become His+ Confessors and Martyrs indeed, but HE+ will walk with us through our suffering and  death for His+ Sake, for HIS+ Glory and our greater Reward. 

The problem comes when WE leave HIM+ and forsake HIM+ ; HE+ does not move away from us; we have moved at that point AWAY from HIM+.

We are the ones who need to search our hearts to see where we have moved in a direction outside of His+ Will.

Remember the Lighthouse upon the ROCK :

The Lighthouse Keeper signaled  the stubborn and proud captain of the ship, who although so directed, would not change his course. His course was in direct collision with the huge rock upon which the lighthouse was built.

Repeatedly , the Lighthouse Keeper signaled the captain to CHANGE HIS COURSE IMMEDIATELY.

The captain responded: “ NO, you change yours. “

The Lighthouse Keeper finally signaled to the captain who was about to make shipwreck:

“I AM the Lighthouse;

you change.”

It is certain destruction if we do not move away from our own Self Will. 

The course HE+ has chosen for each one of us is HIS+ WILL for our lives.  

If we move away from HIS+ Course, we are ON OUR OWN. We will remain on our own until we repent, and that will be a DEEPER REPENTANCE than we have ever  had to face before, for having left His+ Side. 

After Repentance, The LORD will again help us, but this time, HE+ will be helping us to bear the consequences of our wayward choices, for the consequences are not automatically lifted away. 

But, HE+ never leaves us alone if we repent.

Let us Pray: 

O Holy FATHER, The ONE WHO loves me even more than my own earthly father, I have gone my own, natural-minded way so many times. 

I have refused to ask counsel of YOU , at times. At other times, I have asked but I refused to WAIT for Your counsel and plunged ahead with whatever I thought best to do.

O LORD GOD, please forgive me !

Help me never to do that again. 

Help me to heed the warnings given to me through Your WORD.

 

Help me to receive the cautions offered to me by wise counselors YOU have sent specifically to help me.

Help me to LISTEN to the checks and hesitations within my heart coming from the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT.

O FATHER, YOU sent Your SON+ to set the pattern of obedience for me to follow , a pattern that will keep me safe from my own character flaws.

Help me, O LORD; I am in desperate need of Your character being formed within me.

Then, and only then, will I be able to glorify YOU, O FATHER, like Your SON+ JESUS CHRIST glorified YOU, in Spirit and in Truth.

In the Name of the Only-Begotten SON+ of GOD, begotten of His+ FATHER before all worlds, our LORD JESUS CHRIST,  do I pray.

Amen.