Today’s Devotional – September 3rd (Noble Bereans, Part 2: True Bereans)

By admin On August 13th, 2014

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Today’s Devotional – September 3rd

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Noble Bereans,

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Part 2:

“True Bereans”

To read part 1, click here…“September 2nd (Noble Bereans?)”

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So, yesterday, this subject of those noble Bereans was introduced. And today, it is still worthy of a little more exploration.

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Let’s look at the key Bible passage… “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming there, went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:10, 11

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St Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael, 1515) Wikipedia US public domain

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AN OPEN-MINDED SPIRIT IN BEREA

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Okay, so these in Berea were more noble, because they: 

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_bible.jpg

1. “…received the Word with all readiness of mind.” 

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2. And they “…searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

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And so, these Bereans were ready to receive new teachings, which no doubt, conflicted with the so-called, “orthodox” teachings of that day. Thus, there was an open-mindedness which permeated their minds.

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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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they “…searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

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And secondly, they searched the Scriptures daily, to see whether those things were so. In other words, these were not just mind-controlled followers of the popular teachers of that day.

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No, but rather, they were noble enough to entertain this ill-reputed and much-maligned and despised renegade, Paul, who was bringing a very new and different angle on the Scriptures.

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Yes, Paul was really teaching some incredibly new-sounding doctrines! And yet, these noble people were willing to hear him out, and actually hoping he was correct! They searched the Scriptures, “to see if these things were so”! They weren’t just searching to find the first flaw, so that they could quickly reject Paul, and everything he had to say!

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St Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael, 1515) Wikipedia US public domain

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CLOSED-MINDED SPIRIT TODAY

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No, they weren’t just trying to find the first flaw, so that they could quickly reject Paul!

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But that’s how it’s done today, to a great degree!

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Sad to say, today, we have the same closed-mindedness of most of those people back in Paul’s day. Yes, most of them merely suffered Paul to say what he had say, only listening to him with narrow eyes, and a skeptical heart.

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But if they heard even one little thing that they disagreed with, they quickly dismissed everything he had to say, and began throwing rocks at Paul!

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Well, we don’t throw rocks today. Not literal rocks, anyway! But we certainly have the same narrow-minded skepticism that they had back in those days! 

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Paul persecuted by Pharisees & Sadducees – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain

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MANY BEREANS BELIEVED!

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So one can just imagine how refreshing it was for Paul to preach to these noble ones, who were completely open-minded to the seemingly new and often contradictory teachings that they were now hearing. And one can just imagine how wonderful it must have seemed to Paul, as he watched them doing their own personal Bible study, hoping to confirm what Paul was now teaching! And as a result of their noble open-mindedness,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaulT.jpg many of them believed!

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Listen… “Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.” Acts 17:12

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Okay, so here were many Greeks, both men and women who studied their Bible, with open minds and a desire to get to the truth, even if it meant giving up their former cherished doctrines. They merely wanted truth. And Paul had given them enough Scripture to assure them that he wasn’t just some wild-eyed spiritualist, bringing in some new non-biblical doctrine!

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No, Paul was, no doubt, patiently teaching them, “line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.” Isaiah 28:10. 

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Paul was giving them the Bible only, and not some man-contrived, theological jargon.

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Paul the Apostle – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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WHAT DO MY LEADERS SAY?

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If only the people of God today would have this same spirit which pervaded those noble ones in Berea. But the response today might rather be… 

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“Well, I’m going to have to ask my pastor about this new teaching, and see what he has to say.” 

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…or we may say…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pied_Piper2.jpg

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“I’m sorry, your teachings just don’t agree with what my church teaches!” 

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In truth, the vast majority in the Church today, are merely clinging to our comfortable religion, not willing to entertain anything which our “spiritual authorities” do not approve of. Neither do we want anything to do with any seemingly contradictory teaching that will “rock our boat!” 

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Listen… “O My people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Isaiah 3:12

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Very sadly, those who merely follow their leaders, instead of being “Noble Bereans” and doing our own personal homework, will lose the true Way.  

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Pied Piper – Wikipedia – public domain

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A FAITHFUL REMNANT

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-06831.jpg

But alas, God has a faithful remnant within the ranks of the “great congregation” (see Psalms 22. 25, 40)! And though they may be scattered here and there, yet they will be prompted by God’s Spirit to search day by day, with an open mind. And they will not let some supposed discrepancy cause them to quickly reject the messengers, but will set those things aside, for a time, while they keep studying and studying!

 

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Because, the truth is all they really want!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TO READ PART 3, CLICK HERE…

OCTOBER 19 (Noble Bereans, Part 3: Re-thinking Harold Camping)

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to be an open-minded seeker of truth, even if it means giving up a very highly regarded Church doctrine! I just was to know everything that Scripture has to say on the subject, and not merely the passages which align with orthodoxy and tradition…

Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “February 27th (Love Is Not A Pick-N-Choose Buffet)“or you can also read… “July 31st (Most Misquoted Bible Verse Award!) “

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

 

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THE END

.Soldiers of the Cross - Armor-Up!

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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BIBLE VERSES PICTURED IN THE HEAVENS

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“With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.” Ezekiel 26:12

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Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation

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THIS STAR-CHART: This is a Wikipedia star-chart, in which this site’s editor has sketched in these three constellation (without the Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation). Notice how the right front hoof is trampling on the tail of the Dragon. Also notice his eye is a star.It’s best seen when in the western half of the sky. It is found in mid-sky traveling from east to west. In January, it is in the west after midnight. As winter progresses, it can be seen earlier and earlier in the evening. a dark sky with good star-visibility is best, but not absolutely necessary to see this constellation. It is found on the opposite side of the Dragon Constellation from Orion. And as already stated, this Goodly Horse Constellation can be seen best in mid-winter when it is in the western side of the sky, and you are looking at it while you are facing west. The nose and head of this horse is partly made from the Perseus Constellation. The tail and rear end is partly of the Cassiopeia ConstellationThe hind-leg is made partly of stars from the Andromeda Constellation.

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THE MILKY WAY RUNS THROUGH THIS HOLY-GHOST-RIDER

winter Constellations in the east

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Now one thing that is noticeable and makes this constellation even more dramatic, is the fact that the Milky Way runs right through it. And the question that must be asked is, “What biblical implications does this constellation/Milky Way connection have?” Well, very simply put, if stars represent Believers, then this rider works in the world through His True-Worshippers, to a great extent.

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WHY IS THIS CONSTELLATION SO INCOMPLETE IN APPEARANCE?

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So why is this constellation merely an outline? Well it does show his back, rear end and leg…and arm. But unlike, say, Orion, this constellation is very vague, even mysterious in appearance. Almost vacant in appearance. Yes this horseman represents Christ.

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But even more than this, it represents the Holy Spirit of Christ. And as we all know, the Holy Spirit is very, very, un-intrusive, almost impossible to detect His presence. Hence, this constellation is perhaps the most faint of all the constellations of Signs Of Heaven!

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation”

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TOMORROW:

“September 4th (Christian “Cool”!)”

skateboarder Jesus in Jeans by Peter Royle – cropped image – WIKIMEDIA – SHARE-ALIKE LICENSE

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. 

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THIS IS STUDY #244 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on the provided links below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo. 

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