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.   

TAKING CARE of MY HEART...

Friends are like flowers...

They take care of

My Heart.

Thank you Sister Diane, Sister Martha, Sister Barbara...

Thank you Brother Milton...

May our Dear LORD+ bless

each of you today

with as much joy

as you have

blessed me.

Today is Sister Judith Hannah's 62nd birthday. She rejoices to have been blessed by The LORD JESUS CHRIST for 62 years. HE+ indeed doeth all things well.

HE+ loved me 'ere I knew HIM+;

now, ALL my love is due HIM+.

HE+ plunged me to Victory

in His+ Redeeming Blood.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

+ + +

In the name of the FATHER, Who begot thee;

And, His+ Holy SON+ JESUS, Who+ saves thee;

And the HOLY SPIRIT,

Who baptizes thee with Spirit

and with Fire.

<(((><

SO... WHAT WAS HE+ DOING DOWN THERE?

So,

what was HE+ doing

way

down

there?

Scripture says HE+ was 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.

So... what was HE+ doing down there ?

PREACHING!!!

What was HE+ preaching?

HE+ was preaching the Good News !

What was the Good News?

There was LOTS of Good News !

1. Death has no more dominion over HIM+.

2. HE+ is the firstborn from the dead.

Who did HE+ preach to ?

1. the dead

2. to the captivity

3. to the Patriarchs

4. to the righteous dead who died in the Covenant of Abraham

For it was impossible for Death to hold HIM+ !

HE+ broke the bonds of sin...

DEATH...

the curse laid upon all of us sons of Adam due to sin.

The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the [Mosaic] law. Adonai, The LORD JESUS CHRIST, was the fulfillment of the Law. HE+ , a man had no sin of Adam: HE+ was the 2nd Adam ! But HE+, a man, was born under the curse of death. HE+ would die as all human flesh dies.

But, HE+ won the battle and "Death" died ! That old enemy, "Death," was swallowed up in Victory !

Death, the ultimat curse, couldn't hold HIM+ because it had no claim on HIM+ even though he was the son of man... because HE+... yes, HE+ alone... had no sin!

The Good News ?

Death

cannot

hold

HIS+

people

either!

... His+ people who have entered His+ covenant and are walking... dead to sin... but alive unto GOD, through CHRIST JESUS, our Risen LORD!

"Death" was .... and IS... swallowed up in Victory... even for the smallest, tiniest Christian.

Do not be afraid of those who would kill the body... but be afraid of the ONE+ Who has the power to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna... the second death!

+ + +

Bless GOD! FATHER, SON+ , and HOLY SPIRIT!

And blessed be HIS+ Kingdom, forever and ever.

Amen.

Beating the strongman... step 2

The Epiphany of 2009
[ The Epiphany Season continues to the Passover Season on the Christian Calendar ].
The Manifestation of the CHRIST Child to the Gentiles
or, Wise Men Seek HIM+

Beating the Strongman
Step 2


Our LORD JESUS CHRIST
gives us the power
to attain spiritual fruits;

it is our part to embrace the labor.
This is what Scriptures mean when it says to
“walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing…”
Col. 1:10.

This labor is not “legalism;” it is a labor born out of love for our SAVIOR. Sometimes, similar to any earthly union, this labor can lose the “honeymoon effect.” Then simply out of duty we do those things necessary to KEEP THE UNION TIGHT.

Yes, that works in a pinch. It is not the best thing to do with our friends and families AND IT IS NOT OPTIMAL WITH Our LORD, either. Duty-work soon turns into obligation. Obligation soon turns into legalism. Legalism turns into resentment, bitterness, and anger. These lead to division and separation… the opposite of the TIGHT UNION necessary between a person and The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Thus, step 2 in beating the strongman is to TIGHTEN UP our obedient-love-faith relationship (quoting Bro. David Bercot of Scroll Publishing) with The LORD. This is done when we are closeted in with HIM+.

O GRACIOUS SAVIOR,
we ask for Thy+ Light upon our hearts.
We do love THEE+.
We proclaim Thy+ Goodness.
We delight in Thy+ Victories.
We marvel at Thy+ Grace towards the ungrateful
and Thy+ Great Patience with the stumblers
… of whom I am chief.
Bless this offering of love,
Gracious SAVIOR,
and multiply it until our hearts burst
with Joy in Thy+ Presence.
Amen.
+ + +

Resurrection Day - Day 10~ ~ The Victory

Resurrection Season ~ ~ ~ Day 10
for the Year of Our LORD, 4.1..2008




For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 16:10

Our LORD came out of the tomb victorious… so victorious that had they known what was going to happen, the wicked ones would never have crucified the King of Glory+.

HE+ accomplished more than one victory. One thing HE+ did to strengthen His+ beleaguered Brethren was to open their eyes and explain His+ coming and going which was written aforetimes in the Prophets and Psalms and other places in the Old Testament. For 40 days HE+ showed Himself+ alive to them. At least once it is recorded --- perhaps there were other times, unrecorded--- HE+ ate with them. HE+ taught them many things during this time, according to the old Christian records. Luke’s account in Acts 1:3 confirms this:

To whom also HE+ shewed himself alive
after His+ passion
by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days,
and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of GOD:
and also opening up to them

and explaining the scriptures from the Law

and the Prophets concerning Himself+.


Now, let us lay to heart these words of the Apostle Peter, who was delivered of his fear and denial of CHRIST JESUS.


Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you,

as ye yourselves also know:

Him+, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken,

and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:


Whom+ God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death:
because it was not possible that he should be held by it.


For David speaketh concerning HIM+,

I foresaw the Lord always before my face,

for HE+ is on my right hand,

that I should not be moved:

Therefore did my heart rejoice,

and my tongue was glad;

moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 2: 22-27

The Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST
… the most life-changing event in human history.

We will see why as we explore what happened
during those 3 nights and 3 days
HE+ spent in the heart of the earth.

(To be continued)

LENTEN MEDITATION 32 To Train for the Fight

Lenten Meditation 32 ~ ~ ~ Train for the Fight

Through circumstances I could not control, I got involved in watching a ROCKY movie... the prize-fighter. Of great interest was Rocky's massive training program. It was intense. He pushed his muscles and endurance literally to the limit. I winced.

I could hardly take the boxing ring scenes. I watched in horror as Rocky received a brutal beating, blow after blow. He got up from each knock-down and lunged full force into the fight. Why?

Rocky endured both the rigorous, unrelenting stringencies of his training so that he could WIN THE FIGHT. Getting beat up during the fight was simply a by-product, a minor hindrance (as Rocky saw it), to the process of WINNING.

Now why would I, a slight bit of a person, need to see that movie? I thought. I'm certainly NOT interested in training for the arena... or any fight.

So... that is when The LORD started speaking to my heart about it... about training for the fight.

HE+ pointed up the intensity of Rocky's training. Massive, enduring, all-consuming training. Rocky did nothing and ate nothing except what was conducive to building up his boxing skills... his boxing strength... his endurance in the arena. All fluff was removed from his life while he CONCENTRATED 100 % on his training. He focused on one thing and one thing only: THE BIG FIGHT. Rocky was single of eye.

"Now," The LORD said, "that's what I want you to do."

I became instantly sobered and ... gulped. I am not a fighter. This kind of fight entails putting to death the Self, big-time. No more petting myself. No more allowing myself treats. If Rocky could do this for his prize, why cannot I do this for mine?

The Apostle Paul did it. We have the same HOLY SPIRIT. We have the same LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. We have the same amount of victory allotted for us as the Apostles and other martyrs and confessors had.

There simply is no excuse. We do not want to fight the biggest battle, the biggest hurdle in walking with CHRIST JESUS... ourselves.

Let us fight the GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH. Let us join our hearts with the Apostle Paul and learn to live this out:

But what things were gain to me,

those I counted loss for CHRIST.

Yea, doubtless, and I count all things loss

for the excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS my LORD:

for Whom+ I have suffered the loss of all things,

and do count them dung,

that I may win CHRIST,

and be found in HIM+,....

That I may know HIM+,

and the power of His+ resurrection,

and the fellowship of His+ sufferings,

being made conformable unto His+ death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Philippians 3: 7-11, excerpts