Today’s Devotional – April 30th (Man In The Iron Cage!)
By admin On April 30th, 2014.
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Today’s Devotional -April 30th
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Man In The Iron Cage!
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“If ye continue in My word…
ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free…
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin…
If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.”
John 8:31, 32, 34, 36
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In John Bunyan’s wonderful allegory, “Pilgrim’s Progress”, the Pilgrim went with the man named, The Interpreter, to view living tableaus (object lessons).
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And among these numerous object-lessons, was a “Man in an Iron Cage”.
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This man was symbolic of all those who have spurned the gift of Salvation.
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Pilgrim’s Progress 15 p. 45 – There Sat A Man In An Iron Cage – wikipedia – public domain
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“SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE”
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Now does the Bible support this idea of humans being in a cage?
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Yes, it absolutely does!
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Listen to the very words of Jesus… “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me…to preach deliverance to the captives…” Luke 4:18, 19
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So here is seen that Jesus came, “to preach deliverance to the captives”.
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SATAN, THE PRISON-MASTER
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Yes, to Lucifer was granted power to hold Mankind in his prison-house… “How art 
thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!…that opened not the house of his prisoners….” Isaiah 14:12, 17.
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Now there are other passages which further confirm this truth.
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And so, we can see that this selfish world has become Satan’s prison-house.
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Martin, John – Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – 1824 – Wikipedia – public domain
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THE PRISON-HOUSE OF SIN
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But just how are people held in bondage to Satan?
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After all, the people of this world seem to be free!
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We seem to go where we want and do what we please!
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So how are we in some sort of a prison?
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The short answer is, of course, we are held in bondage to sin, and to the gross spiritual darkness that blinds us to the truth and brings us to our ultimate sentence…eternal death!
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Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license
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THE BONDAGE OF OUR LUSTS
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But if we look around at the people of the world, it is not difficult to see just some of the ways in which people are held captive.
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For instance, isn’t it obvious that “we the people” seem to be prisoners of our desires?
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Yes, the average person is quite often a slave of various desires and affections.
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And there are multitudes who are taken captive by Satan in the form of drug and alcohol addiction.
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Others become slaves to computer games, and TV watching.
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Still other become slaves to gluttony, pornography, or related perversions.
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Internet addiction prisoner – cropped image – Wikipedia – Creative Commons lic.
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SIN NOT ALWAYS THE UNCLEAN SINS
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Now just because a person becomes a slave of our own lusts and affections, does not necessarily mean that all our lusts and affections are innately evil.
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No, rather many are actually slaves to things that aren’t even considered evil.
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And that is the focus of today’s devotional.
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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“HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS…FROM SUCH TURN AWAY!”
2nd Timothy 3:5
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Just look around, and it is not difficult to see that many are prisoners of desires which are even considered good.
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For instance, some are addicted to certain sports and hobbies.
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A few even rise to “the top of their game”, as they say, becoming famous because of their obsessive passion.
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Others become willing slaves to their career, even becoming very successful.
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And there are many who become servants to, either performing, or listening to certain types of music.
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And still others become bondservants to their wanderlust, having an inordinate affection to constantly go places.
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Fans music festival in Germany – cropped image – Wikipedia – share-alike license
Music – photo-psychic – Ganzfeld – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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INORDINATE AFFECTIONS BRING GOD’S WRATH!
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Now the question becomes, “Well what’s wrong with such harmless things?”
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Okay, that’s a fair question.
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The Bible speaks to this, in such passages as this… “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, INORDINATE AFFECTIONS, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:” Colossians 3:5, 6.
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The fact is, a person can make a god out of just about anything! And inordinate affections become idols in our hearts!
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So, when God commands the world… “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”, this also includes whatever inordinate affection which finds a preeminence over the true God of Heaven. And thus, we become servants of our selfish desires and lusts, and thereby, enemies of Heaven’s unselfish government! We remain in league with Lucifer’s selfish character, and footmen in his vast army of rebels!
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PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! – Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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LUCIFER, THE PRISON-WARDEN
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And so, when we consider the world, being prisoners of Satan, we must also realize that even supposed good things can become our taskmaster.
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And let’s face it! Satan doesn’t care if a person goes to Hell as a drug addict or as a king!
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He’s only concerned about keeping us very busy in the world, until our probation ends at death!
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And this is the essence of our prison cell, in Satan’s kingdom of darkness!
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US public domain
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CRUCIFYING SELF
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The life of the Christian should be devoted to purifying our hearts, and freeing ourselves from all worldly affections and lusts, which will eventually destroy our relationship with God, unless we overcome them.
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Listen again to the words of Paul… “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
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Yes, this is the greatest commission given us by God: to overcome our fleshly desires and become transformed into the likeness of our unselfish and loving Lord, Jesus Christ!
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KEEP THE MIND STAYED UPON CHRIST
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And the Lord commands us to be contemplating His Word, both day and night!
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And needless to say, those who are held fast in bondage to earthly pleasures and pursuits are too absorbed in earthly thoughts to ever contemplate God’s Word, day & night!
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Jesus said… “Then said Jesus…If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32, 35, 36.
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As this passage reveals, we must continue in God’s Word if we truly desire to be free from sin, forevermore!
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And a life of seeking that wisdom and knowledge will ultimately lead us to a joy-filled victory over every inordinate affection!
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Braet von Überfeldt – woman with bible 1866 – Wikipedia – US-public-domain
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“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”
Philippians 2:13
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Of course, all these Christian duties and goals do not come to us naturally. On the contrary, they go against our fallen, selfish, human nature!
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But God is very willing to give us “A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you”. Ezekiel 36:26
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This is the essence of what it means to be “born again”. John 3:7
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And with this brand-new heart, our likes and our desires will become radically changed!
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Thus, we will increasingly and joyfully follow in the footsteps of our loving Lord, as His disciples and goodwill ambassadors to this lost and dying world!
Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me freedom from every besetting sin and addiction. Let me not be deceived into thinking that my so-called “good” habit must be an asset. But give me a love for studying the Bible, so that I can properly discern good from evil, according to Thy loving Word…
Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…April 27 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 5: “Name Your Prison!”), or you can also read… “January 6 (When A Good Thing Becomes A Bad Thing!)“
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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“By His (God’s) Spirit
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he has garnished
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the heavens;
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His hand has formed
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the crooked serpent.”
Isaiah 26:13
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LOCATING THE DRAGON
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REVELATION 12 DRAGON IS NOT DRACO!
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First, let it be stated, that this Dragon Constellation is not the same constellation commonly referred to as “Draco” (photo to right is Draco, AKA Ursa Minor).
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This Revelation 12 Dragon from Signs Of Heaven, has not been previously recognized. But you will discover that it is a very intricate and complex constellation, once you are comfortable locating it.
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Draco, Ursa Minor Wikipedia share-alike license
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LOCATION…
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The Revelation 12 Dragon Constellation can be located by finding Orion in winter months. The Dragon is to Orion’s left, and the Dragon’s mouth is right next to Orion’s shield. This Dragon’s mouth is the V-like constellation The Hyades Cluster, which is also known as the head of Taurus the Bull. The Dragon’s tail-tip is Pleiades and the lower shaft of his tail is partly of Aries and Pisces. Then with aid of a dark and starry night, you may begin to connect the mouth and the tail with a very long body in an oval shape. The front and back legs are made of a few stars: the front legs partially of stars from Taurus . The back legs and rear fin are made of 6 stars from the Cetus Constellation.
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BODY HARD TO SEE
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The long oval-shaped body has relatively few stars, but can been seen, howbeit with a dark, starry night. The four stars of the front fins are made partially of Taurus .
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW:
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“May 1st (Dinosaurs & Nimrod)”
Dinosaurs – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 
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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 STUDY #120 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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