Do we enter The LORD’S Temple, worship and serve Him+, then . . . QUESTION His+ Word ?
ADVENT MEDITATIONS
to remember the Incarnation of the LORD JESUS CHRIST,
EMMANUEL ~ GOD with us.
HE+ came unto His+ own,
and His+ own received HIM+ not.
John 1:11
+ + +
What have we done with HIM+?
+ + +
Have we done as Zacharias ?
Do we enter The LORD’S Temple,
worship and serve Him+, then . . . QUESTION His+ Word ?
Do we QUESTION His+ Word when it conflicts with our own natural-minded
"know-how" , like Zacharias did?
We have many helping us to QUESTION
His+ Word . . . the devil, the world, and our flesh.
Of all these nefarious
"helpers", our OWN FLESH - - -
our earth-bound MIND - - - is the hardest one to combat.
Do we venerate
our own ability to think as SUPERIOR to the Holy Word of GOD ? Some theologians do. Some entire religious systems
do. Some individual pastors do.
Some Bible translators do, also.
They blatantly disregard the Holiness of the Sacred Deposit and twist it to say
whatsoever they WANT it to say, according to their own wit and doctrinal bias.
Some treat The Holy Word of GOD
like it is a book of "suggestions" or sayings to comfort the
down-hearted.
Let's look at some of the words
which Zacharias rejected and received NOT.
"For he
(John the Baptist, Zacharias's coming son )
shall be great in the sight of The LORD,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with
the HOLY SPIRIT,
even from his mother's womb. "
Luke 1:15
+ + +
Notice that the Angel Gabriel
did NOT say that John would follow his father's calling and be a priest,
according to the course of Abia.
Notice that the Angel DID say
that John would be great in the sight of The LORD , for he would be FILLED with
the HOLY SPIRIT from his mother's womb.
In Zacharias's day, individuals
did NOT receive the HOLY SPIRIT because CHRIST was not yet crucified and
resurrected and glorified. Pentecost had
not yet occurred.
To be filled with the HOLY
SPIRIT was indeed out of keeping with Zacharias's life and experience. For a
man to be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT as a babe, from his mother's womb, was
beyond the experience of all the Jews.
It was a new thing entirely.
Could not Zacharias simply RECEIVE the Word of GOD
through the Angel Gabriel ?
NO.
It was an entirely new thing
which his mind had never encountered.
Therefore, Zacharias WOULD not
receive it because he did not venerate the Word of GOD above
the natural-minded thoughts of his own finite mind. It had
never been done so before . . . so it could
NOT be done NOW.
Zacharias forgot one thing: He would not have even been here if The LORD
had not performed an entirely NEW thing at the Red Sea Crossing !
His+ own received HIM+ not ...
+
+ +
O Emmanuel
!
Show me how to receive
THEE+, O CHRIST, when I pray. Help me to humble myself to be lowly . . . lowly
enough to find favor in Thy+ Sight, O LORD JESUS.
The helpless babe in
Elisabeth's womb received the HOLY SPIRIT.
Help me to become as lowly, as poor in spirit, as that tiny babe and
receive with a baby's meekness the engrafted Word . . . which is able to save my soul.
O FATHER !
I am so sorry for
questioning Thy+ Word, doubting it, skimming over it, neglecting it . . .
refusing to let it change
me.
I repent, and am sorry for
casting it aside and not applying Thy+ Word to my own heart honestly and as
rigorously as I measure others by it.
Create in me a clean, clean
heart and take not Thy HOLY SPIRIT from me.
Blessed are THOU+ O LORD;
teach me Thy+ statutes.
This I pray in the Life-giving
Name of The KING+ of kings, and LORD+ of lords, our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Amen.
How shall we escape,
if we neglect so great Salvation;
which at the first began to be spoken by The LORD,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard HIM;
Hebrews 2:3
+ + +
Come unto ME+,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I+ will give you rest.
Take My+ yoke upon you, and learn of ME+;
for I+ am meek and lowly in
heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For My+ yoke is easy, and My+ burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
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