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139
GEMS OF TRUTH
Early Morning Meditation
Extracts from a collection of early morning meditations given at breakfast time in Zion to members of the Holy Order. These are spontaneous comments made by the Patriarchate on randomly selected passages of scripture.
1. Masters & Servants
"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hands of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that He have mercy upon us" (Psalm 123:2, AV).
The master-servant relationship has all but disappeared in the modern world. There is little desire to serve, only to be served. People want their "rights" only. Patience is in short supply. Is it any wonder that most of the modern Christian groups are of the "get salvation quick" type? Is it any wonder that they prefer to stand or sit in worship rather than kneel? Is it any wonder that religion has become more like entertainment than worship? Is it any wonder that the heavens remain closed and that what they are served are counterfeit manifestations of the spirit, from the lord of the "fix-it-quick" Gospel, Satan? Not until there is a true Master-servant relationship with God again will the Lord reveal His mercy to His people; not until the spirit of male chauvinism and feminism in the conservative and liberal churches, respectively, has been crushed will a true relationship with the True God be established.
2. Trust as as a Mountain
"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever" (Psalm 125:1, AV).
How often have you put your faith in something and then doubted it? The result is always restlessness and uncertainty, and perhaps disappointment, frustration and anger. Every Christian is called to have a rock-like faith in God because He promises them that if they are upright and do good, He will always surround them with His protective arms no matter how hostile our external circumstances may be (vv.3-4). It is impossible to have trust in these promises without a Master-servant relationship. A master has absolute power and his word is law. So is it with our Heavenly Master whose power is absolute and His Word is our Law. He has said it: "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth and for ever" (v.2). The mountains are still around Jerusalem several thousand years later, and the Lord is still around those who love to do good and obey His commandments. So what do the righteous have to fear? Nothing. "
3. The Churches of Men and of God
"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalm 127:1, AV).
Many churches in the last few decades have suddenly sprouted up and then ignominiously withered away or been absorbed into others. Just the other day a friend wrote to me and told me that the church he belonged to disorganised when a new minister was appointed. Not only was the pastor a woman (for which scripture makes no provision) but she began to express new non-scriptural ideas which offended many. Here in Oslo the largest church in the country was almost non-existent a few years ago. It is teaching many heretical doctrines and will become totally extinct in a few years or be absorbed into another church. The Lord always grants time for growth and exploration but if, having searched the scriptures diligently, a church deliberately rejects any part of His Word, then the Lord leaves them, and their work is in vain. The worst is that souls coming to that church in faith become disillusioned not only in the church but in God too. But the Church of God, true in every age, is like a mountain, unchanging, firm and dependable. Things on the surface change but the core doctrines are fundamental and immutable. We as people are constantly changing as we edge daily closer to perfection but the Word of the Lord is the same forever. "
4. A Word of Wisdom on Sleep
"It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2, AV).
Like it or not, we are humans and not supermen or superwomen. It is possible to subject the body to great deprivation in the form of stress, physical exertion, or a lack of sleep. It is capable of enduring much. But there is always a day of reckoning, a day when we must pay back what we have borrowed. Our body is not an unlimited source of energy. It is finite. We are not God. All too often misguided Christians have taken God's promise to supply strength to the faithful to mean that they can become immortal while on earth. This is not so. We are mortal so long as we are in this sphere. He promises us that if we are true to the commandments that we can enjoy the peak of health and enjoy, from time to time, supernatural energy, in order to carry out His will. Like it or not, we need sleep for health. Though scripture does not mention any fixed period of sleep, it is generally accepted in medical circles that the average man or woman needs 8 hours of sleep daily. Some, it is true, manage on less. A few need more. What is important is to take regular sleep. The body is a highly sensitive mechanism that runs on an inward clock. The man or woman who has a regular routine is likely to be far healthier than one who does not; businessmen jet-setting around the world in and out of different time zones get stressed and stress-related illnesses. Those who swop between night and day shifts at work experience the same. The last Norwegian Foreign Minister, shuttling about on diplomatic missions, suffered such a fate and died young. German General Guderian in the last war aged ten years in just two because of the pressures of leadership in warfare. There was a time I suffered terribly because of irregular sleep; it crushed my health. So be sensible and do as the Lord says: don't get up early and stay up late. Get up early and go to bed early. This is the Word of the Lord to His people. Amen.
This page was created on 17 April 1998
Last updated on 17 April 1998
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