Showing posts with label Authority. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Authority. Show all posts

3/27/2017

CHRIST Our PASSOVER







PASSOVER MEDITATION
for The Preparation Season
to commemorate
The Great --- and Final --- Passover
~ 2017 ~

 " CHRIST our PASSOVER
is Sacrificed for us,
therefore,
let us keep the feast... "
Romans 5
+  +  +

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




LET US PRAY:

O GOD our Heavenly FATHER, I thank THEE and praise THEE for sending us a SAVIOR+ Who+ is CHRIST the LORD ... the ONE+ Who+ saves me from my Self.

Forgive me, O LORD, for not yielding to Thy+ Authority. In so many ways --- starting with food and drink, to sleep times, and even dress --- I have not followed Thy+ leading, O CHRIST.

My ear has been deaf, my eye turned elsewhere, my feet chose my own way  when I wanted to indulge Self.

I have not yielded my tongue to THEE+ many times. And worse, the thoughts of my heart have oftentimes not come under Thy+ Authority.

I cry to THEE+ to come and rule and reign over this world, yet I  myself push away Thy+ Rule over me... even in these little, inconsequential matters that have nothing to do with the state of the world.

Or... perhaps, DO these matter
more than I realize,
O LORD ?

Therefore, I humble my Self to Thy+ LORDSHIP, even in these small matters that affect my soul and spirit.

Grant me cleansing from my Self-indulgent ways.  Help me to focus my entire being on pleasing THEE+ now. 

Then perhaps, in due season, it may be said of me also, " The effectual , fervent prayer of  a righteous man availeth much." 

+  +  + 

THOU+ hast turned for me
my mourning into dancing:

THOU+ hast put off my sackcloth,
and girded me with gladness;

To the end that my glory
may sing praise to THEE+,
and not be silent.

O LORD my God,
I will give thanks unto THEE+ for ever.
Psalm 30: 11-12


JESUS CHRIST

" WHO+ gave Himself+ for our sins,
that HE+ might deliver us
from this present evil world,
according to the will of GOD
and our FATHER. "
Galatians 1:4

3/08/2016

A MAN+ WHO+ Told Me All Things I Did ! .... Passover Meditation for the Monastic-At-Heart... Ephesians 1:21


Primacy... Authority... Power... Lordship

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 1:21


[ Verse 20..."... which HE ( The FATHER) worked in the CHRIST, raising HIM+ out from the dead ones
and seating HIM+
at HIS ( The FATHER’S)  Right Hand
in the Heavenlies."  ]
  
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

The literal Greek:

[The LORD JESUS is seated... ]

... Far above ...  in status in
·                  all PRIMACY ---  first in time and position both --- and
·                  AUTHORITY and
·                  DYNAMIC, supernatural POWER and
·                   LORDSHIP and
·                  (  far above ) every name having been named
·                  not only in this AGE but also
·                  in the one coming.
+  +  +

Meditation

The ENORMITY of the immense power and rule The FATHER has placed onto HIS Beloved, Obedient SON+ JESUS CHRIST ... should make us afraid.

It should make us afraid to sin, even in thought, much less in word or deed. 

We should be saying to others:

"Come see a Man+ Who+ told me
all things that ever I did ! "

The woman at the well in Samaria, John 4:29 ) , a woman who had 5 husbands and who was living with a man not her husband, had only one testimony:

  COME SEE
a MAN+ Who+ told me
all things that ever I did.

Would not we be scared to meet such a person ?

If we met a holy man for the first time who not only knew our name before we told him but could also list our secret sins, would not the FEAR of GOD descend upon us ?

It should ! 

Like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, who lied to the HOLY SPIRIT, fear fell upon them and all those about them when the Apostle Peter confronted them with their sin.

How did the Apostle Peter know ?

He knew because the HOLY SPIRIT told him.  The HOLY SPIRIT revealed this knowledge to the Apostle Peter.

Do we think the HOLY SPIRIT --- Who is sent by CHRIST from The FATHER --- does NOT know our very thoughts before we even speak them ?

Our GOD, The ELOHIM: The FATHER, HIS Beloved SON+ our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT have no need for men to tell them anything.

 But JESUS
did not commit Himself+ unto them,
because HE+ knew all men,
And needed not that any
should testify of man:
for HE+ knew what was in man.
John 2:24-25

Indeed, Psalm 139 itself should be enough to strike fear into our hearts:

:
 O LORD, THOU hast searched me,
and known me.

THOU knowest my downsitting
and mine uprising,
THOU understandest my thought afar off.

THOU compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue,
 but, lo, O LORD, THOU
knowest it altogether.
Psalm 139 : 1-4

Do we have ENOUGH belief in GOD that we are sure and certain that HE knows us, inside and out ? ... that HE knows what we are going to say before we say it ? ... that HE knows what we are going to do before we do it?  ... that HE knows our mind-paths and our very personal habits ?

If we believe even the Old Testament Scriptures, we should have a healthy regard for WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT US, individually.

That Our LORD knows what is in man  becomes even MORE APPARENT in the New Testament !

We judge ourselves so that HE+ does not have to judge us. ( I Cor. 11:31).

And when we realize how thoroughly JESUS knows each one of us, it brings us in stark HUMILITY on our faces to I John 3:


Behold, what manner of love
The FATHER hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called
the children of GOD:
therefore the world
knoweth us not,
because it knew HIM+ not.

Beloved,
now are we the children of GOD,
and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be:
but we know that,
when HE+ shall appear,
we shall be like HIM+;
for we shall see HIM+ as HE+ is.

And every man
that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself,
even as
HE+ is pure.
1 JOHN 3: 1-3

+  +  +
Let us pray:

O pure and holy LORD JESUS, help me to become pure too. 

Help me never yield the thoughts of my heart unto the satan.

I repent of allowing my thoughts to follow the dictates of my Adamic flesh; I know better. O forgive me and cleanse me, Most Holy JESUS. 

In the Name of JESUS CHRIST I renounce the Self-centered, self-righteous thoughts I have allowed to be in me. By all the authority the BLOOD of JESUS gives unto me, I cast them behind me and put them out of my life.

Help me never let the evil one use my lips again. 

Cleanse me, O Cleanse me thoroughly,  inside and out... I'm standing in the need of prayer, O Holy ONE+.

YOU+ know me better than I know myself, for YOU+ know what is in man.

Yet... YOU+ said YOU+ love me... and that also, better than I love myself.

I cannot live without THEE+, O LORD. Cleanse me from my waywardness and sin, that I might draw closer to THEE+... in Spirit and in Truth.

In the Holy Name of JESUS, which is above every name, I pray. Amen.

+  +  +
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.



11/10/2013

Fussing About Our Circumstance(s)...

Or

~ The "Grace" We Never Consider ~ 

The LORD our GOD tailor-makes each circumstance in our individual lives. 

DO we believe that? 

We credit The LORD with bringing good things to us. Do we thank HIM+ when hard, frightful, and grievous things to be borne come our way too? 

Many... yes, even most... of those grievous and injurious things come about due to our own head-strongness and our own fault: 
  • for ignoring HIS+ Word, 
  • for running after the world,
  • for indulging ourselves with foods that are not good for the human body 
  • for indulging ourselves with "good" distractions of this life which actually work a distance between us and GOD,
  • for ignoring His+ Truth in all areas,  
  • for not listening to His+ still, small voice. 


We ignore the checks in our spirit that HE+ sends telling us to quit eating ( etc.), or not go out to the store, or quiet down with HIM+ ... instead of filling our hours with endless "good" activities.   

We refuse to deal with our pouting spirit, our self-pity, our tiny secret grudges... and they eventually show up in our words and attitudes. 

Of course, we may not PLAN to talk in a derogatory way about him/her... but it pops out of us unexpectedly when someone gives us the least amount of sympathy, or shows us any concern.  

Thus, we end up in a mess of our own making. 

Some of these circumstances can be altered; some cannot and are irrevocably in place for as long as we live on planet earth. 

But, do we realize that these "circumstances" are permitted to occur ... for weal or for woe ... SO THAT The LORD can bring our attention to the areas in which we ourselves are weak ?.

If we wallow in self-pity and smart at being rejected, The LORD ... in HIS+ Divine GRACE...  allows that to happen to us to show us our weakness in HIM+. 

HE+ uses this to show us WHERE we are weak  and vulnerable to the enemy. 

HE+ wants to show us WHERE to focus "our work" in the inner man, to become strong in CHRIST

 It is not pleasant. 

THAT is GRACE 
that we receive from HIM+ 
which we never consider as "grace" 
... because we do not like it.

HE+ allows these messes to occur in our lives UNTIL... when  ?

  • UNTIL we learn to respond in a CHRIST-like manner to that particular besetting circumstance. Loving. Kind. Gentle. Teachable, teachable, teachable.   


  • UNTIL we learn to respond to the Adamic nature in us ( that nature which should have died out in the waters of Holy Baptism ) by refusing to wallow in the "old man's" way of responding. 


  • UNTIL we learn to fight against our OWN NATURE instead of somebody else's behavior and nature.

  •  
  • UNTIL we learn to face the family spirits that have controlled each of our family lines for years and RENOUNCE THEM SOUNDLY, saying, 

"NO, you wicked spirit, I do NOT belong to you; I belong to CHRIST JESUS.  I will NOT listen to your lies any longer. I am free to be controlled by the Spirit of CHRIST JESUS and NOT by you . "  


These irritating, vexing, grievous, un-ending trials of rejection, hatefulness, and even sickness are allowed to beset us UNTIL we learn to overcome them. 

By faith? 

Yes, but not the "rev-yourself-up-to-believe-it" type of faith. 
.
Rather...
.
the faith that comes from STANDING against our own ways, our own paths of thinking, our own paths of self-indulgence, our "pet" comforts... and fighting the GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH in the Spirit against our own, old Adamic nature. 

Not one of us 
should be the target 
of the spirits of rejection. 


Yes, we may   
indeed be rejected,
   
but it should not affect our inner man. 
It should NOT change 
our Christ-like manner 
or affect our thinking...
about ourselves or others.  

We MUST fight the GOOD FIGHT of FAITH and stand on HIS+ Truth: HE+ loves each one of us dearly. 

HE+ will fight the enemy for us ... and has already done so... and WON !  

We only need to stand in this Truth:
 "nothing shall by any means hurt us." 

That TRUTH will set us free. 
Free to be CHRIST-like.

Hear the Words of JESUS our LORD: 

All authority is given unto ME+ 
in Heaven and on earth.

Behold, I+ give unto you 
authority to tread 
on serpents 
(opheOn = sharp-eyed ones, not snakes, the reptiles)

and scorpions 
and over ALL the power 
of the enemy, 
and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you. 
~
LORD, I believe; Help THOU+ mine unbelief.
~
JESUS said: Woman, thou are loosed 
from thine infirmity. 
~
Rise up and walk !