Advent Meditation #23

Behold... The Lord, Whom+ ye seek...

shall suddenly come to His+ Temple...

Even the Messenger of the COVENANT
Whom+ ye delight in...

HE hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich HE hath sent empty away. 

HE hath holpen His servant, Israel,

in remembrance of His mercy; 

As HE spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham,

and to his seed forever. 

Luke 1: 53-55

Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.

Bless GOD that HE has made a way to fill up the hungry of heart !  HE knows   who calls upon HIM in hunger, in thirst, in anguish of heart.  HE knows  ... and thus, HIS Holy SON+ JESUS knows.  His Beloved SON+ JESUS comes to those who call upon HIM+ in Spirit and in Truth, for The FATHER seeketh such to worship HIM.



What CHILD+ is this ?

GOD, Who at sundry times

and in diverse manners

spoke in time past

unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days

spoken unto us by

HIS SON+,

Whom+ HE hath appointed

heir of all things,

by Whom+ also

HE made the worlds;

WHO+,

being the brightness of HIS glory,

and the express image

of HIS ESSENCE,

and upholding all things

by The WORD of HIS power, 

When HE+ had by HIMSELF+ 

purged our sins,

sat down on the right hand

of the MAJESTY

on High, 

Being made so much better

than the angels,

as HE hath by inheritance

obtained

a more excellent Name

than they. 

Hebrews 1: 1-4

The promises of The GOD Who cannot lie are more solid than anything our senses can experience or hearts imagine. 

Those promises are found in His Word and are made true by the Living WORD+ of GOD made flesh, Who+ dwelt among men, at the exact season appointed by The FATHER. 

Since only man is locked into a time frame on planet earth, The LORD's promises to Abraham were and are as living and valid as the day HE made them ! 

Meditation

O Great and Magnificent LORD of HOSTS, we praise THEE and thank THEE for providing a way out of sin and darkness since the beginning of the transgression in the Garden of Eden. 

O LORD, my Life+, help me to trust in Thy fore-knowledge in things concerning my life on planet earth. 

Let my trust become so great that I lose all fear of the loss of everything... except the loss of THEE+, O Great SAVIOR+. 

Come and fill this little temple of my soul with THEE+ , Precious REDEEMER+, and make me ready to meet the last great struggle on planet earth... the world-wide persecution of  Christians.

Grant me Thy+ Grace ... enough Grace to look upon the Promises of GOD and to KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that Thy+ Kingdom will certainly be established by the power of Thy Right Hand ... that same Right Hand+ which hath gotten THEE the Victory ! 

Amen. Maranatha.

Come, LORD JESUS. Come.   

Advent Meditation #22

To this end was I+ born

and for this cause came I+

into the world...

...that I +  should bear witness
unto The Truth.
Every one that is of
 the Truth heareth My+ Voice.



HE hath shown strength with HIS arm;

HE hath scattered the proud

in the imagination of their hearts.

HE has put down

the mighty from their seats,

and exalted them of low degree.

Luke 1: 51, 52

Amen and Amen !

Listen to the Word of The LORD, from the Prophet Obadiah, chapter 1:3,4 ...

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou, who dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground ?

Though thou exalt thyself like the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, from there will I+ bring thee down, saith The LORD.

And from the Prophet Joel, chapter 3: 

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His Voice from Jerusalem, and the Heavens and the earth shall shake; but The LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 

And from the Prophet Zachariah, chapter 12... 

And in that day will I+ make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it. 

And it shall come to pass,in that day, that I+ will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 

And from the Prophet Malachi, chapter 3...

But who may abide the day of His+ Coming? And who shall stand when HE+ appeareth?  For HE+ is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap. 

MEDITATION

Come, O  come, and fill this temple with the Glory of The LORD!

We are hungry for Your+ Touch; we love YOU+ very much. We delight to proclaim the Name of JESUS.

 Forgive us, LORD,  for grieving YOU+ and make our hearts anew with the fire and power of Pentecost.

Come, YES, COME... and fill this temple with the Glory of YOU+ , LORD !  

Advent Meditation #21

Behold, The LAMB+ of GOD!

The soldiers... plaited a crown of thorns
and put it about HIS+ Head...

And the mercy of HIM is

unto generations of generations,

to the ones having feared HIM.

Luke 1:50 ( literal Gk)

Fear is the assurance that GOD is bigger than I am. Fear is the assurance that I cannot hide my thoughts or motives from HIM.

Fear is the absolute assurance that HE is not going to excuse my disobediences just because HE loves me !

My parents loved me, but they exacted disciplinary measures when I needed to be corrected and WORDS were not bringing forth the desired obediences. 

HIS WORD does not always change us,

does it ?

His WORD will not change us if we refuse to be corrected by it. 

• If we refuse to line up our lives according to HIS WORD...
•  
• if we set at naught the instructions HE has written in His inspired Word...
•  
• if we think HE will set aside His written Word and not hold us to obeying it...
•  
• if we think HE will excuse us from following the words of The Living WORD+ made flesh...

... then we are headed for disciplinary measures.

Those measures will not be comfortable nor will they stop until the corrections are thoroughly in-grained in us and we have developed the proper fear of GOD. 

As a matter of fact, every facet, every group, in the entire Christian church system will not be excused for teaching as doctrines ANY THINGS that go against HIS WORD or HIS SON+ 'S Words. 

And, there are many. 

JESUS said, " .... Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 

" But I+ will forewarn you WHOM ye shall fear:  Fear HIM Who, after HE hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I+ say unto you, fear HIM."

Luke 12: 4, 5 and Mt. 10:28 

MEDITATION

Gracious and Most Merciful GOD, Our FATHER, extend Thy mercy unto me.

I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.

I have ignored Thy Word and refused to apply it to myself. I have refused to be changed by Thy Word and lightly tossed it aside.

I have done the things I ought not to have done and did not do the things I should have done, and there is no righteousness in me.

Behold, THOU desirest truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part THOU shalt make me know wisdom, which begins with the fear of THEE, O GOD.

O LORD, I call upon Thy mercy to wash me so that I shall be whiter than snow... then the bones which THOU hast broken may rejoice.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy SPIRIT from me. Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within me.

These things I pray in the Name of the Un-Blemished LAMB+ of GOD, Who+ taketh away the sins of the world.

Behold, The LAMB+ of GOD!

+  +  +

Advent Meditation #20



And she... brought forth her firstborn son
and wrapped HIM+ in swaddling clothes
and laid HIM+ in a manger...

and when HIS+ hour had come...
the whole band of soldiers...
stripped HIM+ 
and put on HIM+ a scarlet robe...


For The MIGHTY ONE did for me  great things and HOLY is HIS Name.

Luke 1:49 ( literal Gk)

Blessed are the poor in spirit;

for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Are we seeking first the kingdom of Self... or of GOD ? Do we clamor and fight for "our rights" when we are stepped upon... or do we yield, yield, yield at every  opportunity... in order to bring about GOD'S Kingdom ?

[ No, we do NOT yield our members unto sin, and if forced to participate in actual sin, we YIELD NOT and prepare to take the hate, rejection and opposition.]
  

Are we SO poor in spirit, so lacking in Self-seeking, that GOD can do great things for us , to us, and with us ?

If not, then we are not low enough to be used by GOD.

We will never be able to echo The Hebrew virgin Mariam's song:

For HE that is MIGHTY hath done great things for me and HOLY is HIS Name.

MEDITATION

O Gracious LORD of the Poor in Spirit,  I praise THEE+  for being poor in spirit but rich in Grace when THOU+ walked the earth as a man.  Help me to go and do likewise. Amen.  

Advent Meditation #19

This is My+ Body,
Which is given for you...

For HE looked upon the low estate [ humiliation ] of HIS maidservant  for behold from now on all generations shall declare me blessed.

Luke 1:48 ( Gk.) 

 Indeed, all generations shall declare us blessed also, who receive humiliation now when we obey JESUS CHRIST. 

Humiliation is the portion we should expect to receive on earth, before being glorified.

If Our KING+ was rejected, why should we expect any different treatment from the enemies of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST ? 

MEDITATION

O LORD our GOD, KING+ of kings and LORD+ of lords, I bless Thy+ Holy Name... The WORD+ of GOD made flesh.

O Great KING+ Who+ didst don a robe of common flesh to dwell amongst your subjects, look upon my lowliness with compassion and mercy.

My heart, O Sovereign KING+, is needful and pitiful... yet with a hard pride do I cover myself before the eyes of man. I also know my pride is at the root of my anger; I cannot please THEE+ with pride in my heart.   

Help me to exchange this covering of pride and replace it with a quiet ... and deep .... humility.

LORD JESUS, I want nothing to come between me and THEE+... especially this proud bearing.  

I do choose to follow THEE+, my MASTER+ and KING+, Who+ received rejection and humiliation at the hands of high and low, polished and base, Jew and Gentile, strangers and even family. 

I thank THEE+, O blessed REDEEMER, for loosening the grip of pride from my heart, the foundation of my anger. 

I thank THEE+ for Thy+ magnificence... which will be extended unto me ... yes, even to me... if I steadfastly embrace the Cross of my humiliation here on earth. 

My soul doth magnify The LORD and my spirit doth rejoice in CHRIST my SAVIOR ! For HE+ that is mighty hath done great things, and Holy is HIS+ Name ! 

Blessed be GOD: FATHER, SON+ , and HOLY SPIRIT. And , blessed be HIS Kingdom, both now and forever. Amen. 

+  +  + 

Advent Meditations 2012



JOY+ to the world...



MEDITATION 12

And Mariam arose in those days

and went into the hill country with haste,

into a city of Judah;

and entered into the house of Zacharias,

and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass that,

when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mariam, the babe leaped in her womb;

and Elisabeth was filled

with the HOLY SPIRIT.

Luke 1: 39-41

Do we leap for joy when we hear the name of JESUS .... when we hear someone exalting HIM+ ?

Do we rejoice so much that we are filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, as Elisabeth was ?

O House of Joy ! For even the babe in Elisabeth's womb knew when to leap for joy!

Meditation

O LAMB that was slain.... for the joy that was set before THEE+ , THOU+ didst endure the Cross, despising the shame.

Me, I am lacking endurance, O LORD , as THOU+ knowest. Instead of enduring, I run and hide. I turn my attention to "other important things". I hide in books, DVD's, duties, and even fellowship.

Increase my steadfastness, O MIGHTY ONE+, and help me to engage the battle against my flesh, to endure until the victory is sure and certain. Keep me from avoiding the Cross THOU+ hast chosen for me.

When I have endured, Thy+ Joy will be my portion and THEN, my joy will be full. 

I thank THEE+ for enduring the Cross so that I, when I endure my little cross, I may have JOY, also. 

Joy to the World!  Yes, JOY cometh by the means of the Cross. Yes indeed, JOY+ to the world!

In the name of JESUS I pray. Amen. 

Advent Meditations 2012

Whom are they seeking?

ADVENT MEDITATIONS 2012

~ ~ ~ The All-Encompassing GOD ~ ~ ~

Luke 1:26-55

Meditation 3

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

The Hebrew virgin Mariam ~ Bitterness and Grief ~ was visited by the Angel Gabriel, a mighty warrior angel.  Mariam was peculiarly greeted as an honored person.

Not even Daniel was greeted like this when Gabriel visited him, twice! Neither was Zachariah so greeted.

Indeed, this was VERY strange that a simple, "rustic" Galilean young virgin would be addressed so honorably.

"Hail" is used in place of an honorable greeting like, "Cheer!"  or "Health!" or "Be Well!" 

Good news it is indeed when a great and mighty warrior who stands in the Presence of GOD  ( Luke 1:19) greets a little human being like that ! 

It is the ONLY place in Scripture that an Angel so addresses a human being in those terms. The young Hebrew virgin Mariam had HIS divine approval ! 

Meditation:

O GOD Who is the LORD of the most powerful, most divine armies in the Universe, be pleased to look upon this little human being... me.

Gracious ONE Who sent forth Thy mighty Angel to little Mariam, send, I beseech THEE, Thy ministering spirit to encamp round about little me, also.

Return to me an innocent trust, a pure faith,  like Thy chosen Hebrew virgin had, which won Thy approval to bear the CHRIST CHILD...  that approval which was so strongly placed upon this young Hebrew virgin that even the Angels knew it.

Help me with purity, O LORD. Purity of thought, purity of motive, purity of love.

With thankfulness unending, for receiving me, O LORD, I pray this in the Name of JESUS, Thy HOLY SON+, Our LORD.

+  +  +