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| The Standard of Nathaniel ( Nathanael ) |
Meditations
for the Pascha Season
(The Passover Season, 2016)
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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
JESUS saw Nathanael
coming to HIM+,
and saith of him,
Behold an
Israelite indeed,
in whom is no guile!
John 1:47
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MEDITATION
Guile: deceitful cunning,
duplicity, stratagem, trick ( bait), decoy, wile.
Not making a pretty picture of
one's character, guile is something NOT wanted in a friend.
Nathanael ( or rather,
Nathaniel, in the Aramaic of that day ) is a Hebrew name meaning, "gift of
EL, gift of GOD."
Indeed, Nathaniel had a gift
from GOD: he had no guile in his
character. He did not simulate.
He did not pretend nor feign to
be something he was not in order to persuade others to think a certain way
about him. Nathaniel was who he was. Period. Nathaniel did not change to ward
off someone's bad reaction to him.
Guile ? He had none of it. So much was he
lacking in this character flaw that The LORD JESUS pointed it out when HE+
first saw Nathaniel coming to HIM+.
Would the LORD JESUS be
able to point to us in the same way, as a man without guile?
Are we a person who does not
pretend we are someone we are NOT when we want something... either a good
opinion or a favor or to ward off a bad reaction?
Let's make this practical. Let's apply the Standard of Nathaniel to some
of life's situations.
GIFT-GIVING is a good place to
examine ourselves for guile.
Do we dislike
"anonymous" giving ? After all, the gift would still be going to the
same person. The same needs would be met in the recipient.
Do we give gifts for a return?
Maybe we do not want a gift in
return, but maybe... we crave attention and that is a good way to obtain it. Do
we crave thanks ? Maybe we want a good opinion of ourselves in the eyes of
others?
Or... in our OWN eyes ?
Do we give gifts as an insurance
policy... because we do not want any guilt bothering us if we do NOT give that wedding
or shower or birthday gift?
Maybe we give to gain interaction
with someone, a foot in the door, so to speak ? Do we give in order to buy
friendship, in order to have someone like us ?
Now, let's look deeper at our
interaction with others.
Do we long for and crave interaction with others so that
we feel good about ourselves ?
Do we like interaction because it fills up that emptiness inside of
us... instead of allowing the LORD JESUS to fill us ?
Do we do "ministry" and
/ or "fellowshipping" because we are so led to pour out Life to
others... or because we cannot become still before The LORD ?
Does life become "dull"
for us if we have no interaction with anyone except The LORD for a few days?
Do we befriend a person for
them... or for us ?
GUILE: pretense, feigning,
cleverness used to obtain what we want,
behavior not truthfull ... in short, a lie.
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LET US PRAY:
O LORD CHRIST, I have been
weighed in the balance and found wanting. I have used my skills of
communication to obtain what I want, guile-fully.
I have not lived like
Nathaniel.
Instead, YOU+ would say of
me, "Beware! A person with
guile... a person who fakes his way ... he is not who he appears to be ... be
on guard when he smiles or speaks ! "
In the Name of The LORD JESUS
CHRIST, today and from now on, I
RENOUNCE all guile in my life
I am sorry for giving gifts
looking for a return ... in thanks or interaction. I am sorry for using interaction with others
for my own self instead of for their good.
Help me to listen to YOU+, O
LORD.
Help me to run to YOU+
instead of to others when I am empty.
Convict me when I am really
wanting to take instead of give... gifts, fellowship, or ministry.
Help me to give gifts at
YOUR+ bidding instead of mine. Make me to stop giving out of guilt, but only
out of sincerity of heart.
Most of all, help me to be
stark honest in all areas before YOU+. Then show me how to live without guile
before others so they may see YOU+ and not me.
So, Dear SAVIOR+, I commit to
wait until YOU+ lead me before I give a gift. I commit to wait for YOUR+ leading
before barging ahead with interaction or "fellowship" get-togethers.
I commit to wait in my prayer
closet until YOU+ bring the interaction with others that YOU+ want me to have.
Thank YOU+, O LORD, for helping me see this. Help me to stand firm.
In YOUR+ Holy Name, O LORD JESUS, 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 the 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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