REBELLION and STUBBORNNESS ... YEARNING for the UN-CLEAN

The Prophet SAMUEL

REMEMBER:You are dust, 

and to dust you shall return.

Therefore... 

REPENT, and believe the GOSPEL+. 

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Most HOLY and Most Merciful ABBA... 

We confess to THEE and to one another and to the whole communion of saints in Heaven and on earth and before Your Heavenly Host... 

that we have sinned

by our own fault

in thought, word, and deed; 

by what we have DONE

and by what we have

LEFT UN-DONE. 

 As it is written:

Thou shalt love The LORD thy GOD, The ELOHIM, with ALL thy heart, with ALL of thy soul, and with ALL  thy mind, and with all of thy strength.  

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 

On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. There is no commandment greater than these.

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ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS...

Hang ALL the Law and the Prophets.

ALL of The Mosaic LAW ?  ALL of the words of the Prophets?

Did our Righteous+ SAVIOR The LORD  Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA --- Who+ never broke the LAW of Moses --- state this ?

Yes, HE+ did. Matthew 22:40 and Mark 12:31 both record this stunning fact.

If we love The LORD our GOD with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength ...

·                   THEN we will not have anything left over to YEARN AFTER other things , events, activities, or persons.

If we love The LORD JESUS CHRIST with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength ...

·                   THEN we will not yearn after imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself AGAINST --- as the enemy of --- the knowledge of GOD.

Casting down imaginations,

and every high thing

that exalteth itself

against the knowledge of GOD,

and bringing into captivity

every thought

to the obedience of CHRIST;

2 Corinthians 10:5

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Now herein does the difficulty lie:  We hide our YEARNINGS under a cloak of righteousness. 

For instance, The LORD has told us to leave that un-redeemed person alone. The LORD has told us to stop yearning over him ( a son, a brother, a friend, an uncle, and even a Dad), desiring his friendship, desiring his closeness.

Does The LORD do that because HE+ is "hard-hearted" ?  NO. There is more love in His+ heart than in ours for ANY abject sinner.

HE+ tells us to "leave them alone"

and STOP YEARNING for them

because our yearning is UN-CLEAN. 

That person has heard the Word.  That person has received the witness clearly. That person has rejected the Witness and the Word and is going to live life  "his way," come what may. 

Every one of us has someone whom we hold dear

--- a son or daughter, a brother or sister,

a Mother or Father,

a dear friend or close relative ---

who has heard the Word. He HAS learned of the Love of The LORD JESUS for his soul and has heard that he must repent of his sins in order to get right with GOD.

He refuses to do so.

We over and over again tell him of JESUS'S LOVE.  We gently and clearly write to him that sin will keep him out of Heaven; he must repent. In great desperation, we beg him to change. We all but do it for him.

Yet, he stubbornly refuses to yield

to what he knows is right.

He is in REBELLION

against the Truth

that he knows.

The eyes of GOD are upon his stubbornness and rebellion against what he knows is right.  That becomes offensive to The LORD. Here is how The LORD evaluates our rebellious friend or relative... no matter HOW DEAR that person is to us. 

For rebellion

is as the sin of witchcraft,

and stubbornness

is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because

thou hast rejected the Word of the LORD,

HE+ hath also rejected thee

from being king.

I Samuel 15:23

Now hearken to another truth:  the eyes of GOD are ALSO UPON US as we yearn over that person.  ( See 1 Samuel 15 and 16.) 

Was The LORD pleased with Samuel's continual  mourning over Saul’s apostasy ? NO.

Well, would we keep company

with a WITCH in our family?

NO, of course not !

We would say to that WITCH:

"Enough is enough. You have been warned. You know that I love you.  You know enough to choose right from wrong. You are stubbornly choosing to sin.  Let me know when you want to come clean before The LORD. Good-bye."

Furthermore, if we were MORE IN LOVE WITH THE LORD, we would be angry at the willful sin being practiced ! We would refuse to eat with , meet with, be in the same room with our loved one who turned to witchcraft.

We definitely would NOT be yearning over that person to call us, to write to us, or to come to see us ... until that grievous SIN of WITCHCRAFT had been dealt with.

The LORD would be pleased with us, for HE+ has heard our prayers and seen our tears for the salvation of that sinner. We can trust that HE+ will give them a bed of thorns until they either repent or leave this earth in their sorry state because HE+ has heard our prayers.

Taking this to another level, are we yearning after something else that The LORD has said "NO" to us having ? 

Perhaps that dream job, a career, a degree, a position, a reputation, a "finer" dwelling place, to be married, to develop a "perfect" physical body ... even a ministry we desire ?

That yearning is un-clean.

Our yearning needs to be yielded unto The LORD; we let HIM+ decide what we "need" as we seek FIRST the Kingdom of GOD and His+ righteousness.

Once HE+ has said "NO" about a matter, we must obey and CLOSE THE DOOR to it, giving it no secret glances of desire for what is inside of it. We must LOCK that door and give HIM+ the key ... and be about Our HOLY FATHER'S business. 

During these tumultuous end of days, we are seeing persecution on every side and a destruction of Institutions which we have trusted in heretofore.

Some Followers of  JESUS may have  indeed moved on from personal and temporal yearnings, but  NOW they are distraught because "their culture, their country" is dissolving into chaos and war. The countries are being eaten up with the evil of their collective sins. 

But the prayers of the Christians ?

      " Oh, GOD, save my country! Save my life-style … home, land, bank account, material possessions! Save this culture handed down to me by my forefathers ! 

“Oh, GOD, if only things were like they used to be; don't let the ( leaders, politicians, war-machines, left-wingers, right-wingers, women’s libbers, etc.) destroy our land ! " 

No-one wants their land destroyed.

After 9-1-1, even the thieves, thugs, and ruffians in New York City had tears in their eyes as they saw "their culture" being destroyed. No-one was mugged that day.

When the "un-clean" have ignored

the repeated calls to repentance,

the YEARNING over the "un-clean,"

becomes UN-CLEAN itself.

Peoples through-out Europe ...  Germany, Great Britain, France, and in the United States ... have received SOME kind of witness of The LORD.

For decades the Word of GOD has gone forth via the radio and television, billboards, magazines, newspapers, movies and music, books, and now the internet.

Nations in Central and South America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Islands and all points in-between are generally aware of the GOSPEL of CHRIST ... aware enough of IT+ to persecute its Followers.

Have the nations, like ungodly Ninevah, repented for their killing, stealing, and satanic, evil ways against CHRIST ?

NO.

Instead, we have Christians and Jews JOINING IN with the evil, portraying the character of The ELOHIM as approving of un-godliness in the name of "tolerance " or, GOD forbid, "love."  

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ... as Isaiah the Prophet told us ( 5:20 )

Thus, GOD is clear when HE judges and justified when HE speaks.

 For verily I+ say unto you,

Till heaven and earth pass,

one jot or one tittle

shall in NO wise

pass from the law,

till all be fulfilled.

Matthew 5: 18

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We set ALL of our yearnings upon The LORD, with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We veer not to the left hand nor to the right. We love our neighbor as ourselves.

On these two commandments

hang all the Law and the Prophets. 

There is NO COMMANDMENT

GREATER THAN THESE.

 Heaven and earth shall pass away,

but My+ Words

shall not pass away.

Matthew 24:35

Thus saith The LORD.

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 Create in me a clean heart, 

O GOD and renew a right spirit within me. 

Cast me not away 

from Thy+ Presence; 

and take not Thy HOLY SPIRIT 

from me. 

Restore unto me 

the joy of Thy+ SALVATION; 

and uphold me with Thy free spirit.

Psalm 51

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Ashes to Ashes,

Dust to Dust

in sure and certain hope

of the Resurrection

unto Eternal Life

through

JESUS CHRIST

our LORD.

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The LAW of the Blind ... As Seen through the Eyes of The MESSIAH+

O, HOW I LOVE THY LAW+ !

ADVENT MEDITATIONS

2016

JESUS CHRIST / Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA+

The LAW+ , Incarnate+

… Versus …

[ "Now I'm saved; I can sin all I want to." ]

GOD FORBID!

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Thou shalt not curse the deaf,

nor put a stumblingblock 

before the blind,

but shalt fear thy GOD: 

I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:14.

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Leviticus, the Book of the Law, shows us CHRIST / M'SHIKHA+, the LAW INCARNATE+. We all know the righteousness written in The Law of Moses:  we are NOT to put a stumbling block before a blind person. 

He cannot see it. He will hurt himself and would be helpless to keep from it. It is hurtful ENOUGH to be blind; he does not need yet another hurt in his life.  The blind are helpless to protect themselves in this world.   

If we do such a thing, The LORD will look upon us as a great transgressor of HIS Law. In other words, the Law of not putting a stumbling block before the blind cannot be broken; it stands forever, for everyone. It is unchanging and universally applicable. 

How do we know that ?

Undoubtedly and regardless of our great position in life, The LORD will see to it that an UNFORESEEABLE stumbling happens unto us, should we break this UNBREAKABLE, Divine Law. 

That Divine Law is also immutable and universally applicable no matter who we are or where we live or what culture we inhabit:  the Law of sowing and reaping.  If we make the blind to stumble, HE will bring an unforeseen stumbling upon us that will hurt us.

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Now then, there are OTHER applications of this Law found in Leviticus 19: 14, and the New Testament is full of them. Here is one of them.

But [ we ] have renounced

the hidden things of dishonesty,

not walking in craftiness,

nor handling the Word of GOD deceitfully;

 .

but by manifestation 

of the Truth

commending ourselves

to every man’s conscience

in the sight of GOD.

 .

But if our Gospel be hid,

it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom the God of this world

hath blinded the minds

of them which believe not,

 .

lest the Light

of the Glorious Gospel of CHRIST/ the M'SHIKHA+,

Who+ is the image of GOD,

should shine unto them.

 .

2 Corinthians 4: 2-4

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Are we so living...

 that the spiritually blind ones may see The LORD ?

 .

Yes, there are WAYS to shine the Light of CHRIST / the M'SHIKHA+ into dark, blinded souls.  Scripture tells us they are blinded by "the god of this world." 

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But, when The Light+ of CHRIST / the M'SHIKHA+ shines, the darkness comprehends it NOT ! The tiniest match lit in the darkest cave SHINES !  All can see it.

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Usually, to bring forth the Light+ of CHRIST to the "blind" requires us to go to the Cross. When we take our Selves to the Cross --- dying to Self, living for CHRIST JESUS --- in the normal duties of life, the DEAD and DYING worldlings do something:  they notice. 

 .

They NOTICE someone who is NOT running with the crowd, using filthy language, living an unholy life-style.  .

They notice someone who is wearing a Christian habit.  They notice someone who is reading The Word instead of an "unclean" magazine on the plane. 

 .

The spiritually blind notice someone who is separating himself to remain CLEAN.  They notice someone who will not "take a drink" of alcohol. They even notice someone who is eating "kosher" food !

 .

For blind ones, they "see" quite a lot, don't they ? 

 .

Are we putting a stumbling block

before the eyes

of the spiritually-blinded ones

by our own, comfortable, blended-in,

worldly life-style ?

.

Are we putting a stumbling block

before the eyes

of the spiritually-blinded ones

by our behavior,

.

our foolish jesting

or harshness of spirit when shopping

or complaining spirit,

when in public ?

 .

When we raise our children ( and grand-children), are we putting a stumbling block to CHRIST before their dear... but blind ...little eyes ?

 .

Are we outward Christians ... until the dinner is not cooked right or on time ? Do we pout or throw muted "fits" of anger  when things break or do not go our way, at home ?

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Let us, therefore, take heed.

 .

Our LORD is the LAW+ , made flesh and blood, made in the likeness of men.  HE+ is the LAW INCARNATE +.  The ELOHIM does not destroy HIS Law; HE+ fulfills it.

 .

Our LORD expands the Law, moving it from merely outward observance to INWARD APPLICATION.  And, that application is always of a Spiritual nature ... an application of the heart.

 .

His+ Divine Laws are immutable

... just like HE+ is.

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Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly FATHER,

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Hallowed be Thy Name, O HOLY FATHER, and the Name of Thy HOLY SON+ , The LORD JESUS / Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA+. 

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I thank THEE+ for Thy Law, for giving forth the Divine Standard of Right, for teaching me what is wrong, and that Thy Standard does not change.

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Forgive me for making the spiritually blinded ones to stumble. I should have been a Light+ to them. Forgive me for dropping my witness to the blind, that Silent Witness that requires a change of attitude and behavior to bring myself in line with THEE+, O LORD JESUS / Y'SHU+ , and with Thy+ Cross.

 .

Help me to change, to pick up my Cross daily, so that even without a word spoken, I reflect Thy+ Light, that Light+ which the darkest of soul cannot refuse to see... whether he turns or not. 

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In the Name of The FATHER,

Who created us;

And HIS HOLY SON+ 

JESUS / Y'SHU+.

 .

Who+ saves us;

And The Blessed HOLY SPIRIT / RUACH ha KADOSH,

Who sanctifies us.

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