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Today’s Devotional – May 22nd

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TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

THE FOLLOWING DEVOTIONAL IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE… “’7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’”

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“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who…humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,

even the death of the Cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him…

that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:5-11 (condensed).

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This above verse not only proclaims the self-denial which Jesus lived, but also shows us what God expects out of us: to have the mind of Christ within, as also is proclaimed in 1st Corinthians 2:16… “But we have the mind of Christ.”

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US Navy – Chaplain Lt. Jason Gregory reads Bible on weather deck – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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“GO AND SELL… “

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The Church of God…His elect…has been chosen to follow Him. We are to take up our Cross and follow Jesus!

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But to a great degree, we have become like that “Rich Young Ruler” in Matthew 19, to whom Jesus lovingly bids… “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, ‘One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, TAKE UP THE CROSS, and follow Me.'” Luke 10:21, 22 .

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Yes, that rich young ruler didn’t want to forsake all!

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He merely wanted to perform some good works, while still hanging on to his carnal life in this selfish world.

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Rich Young Ruler – Hoffman – wikimedia commons – US public domain.

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FORSAKING ALL IS DENYING ‘SELF’…

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The Rich Young Ruler had just too many talents and attainments and desires to give up for Christ! 

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But not so for the disciples of Jesus! 

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Just listen… “And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him.” Luke 5:11.

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This verse speaks of Christ’s disciples, who, upon receiving the call to follow Jesus, forsook all this world and followed Him.

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In essence, the forsaking of this world with all its seductive enticements is akin to taking up the Cross. 

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Christ calling His Disciples by Edward Armitage – 1869 – courtesy Wikigallery.com – Public Domain

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JOHN IMITATES CHRIST

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“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1st John 2:6

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God has given us a wonderful example of what a Christian can become! And that example is the Apostle, John!

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John was not at all the product of higher education. He was not even trained in the school of the Pharisees, as was Paul. Being a lowly fisherman indicates that John probably had not even read books on history, or philosophy, or theology, or science.

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No, the secret to John’s success was his burning desire to imitate his Lord Jesus, in every way!

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(And in this old painting of John, the artist seemed to really ‘get it’, concerning John’s desire to be Christ-like. This painting depicts John as very much like the typical paintings that we normally see of Jesus.)

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John The Apostle by Alonzo Cano 1635-1637 – wikipedia – public domain

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“LET US LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT”

Hebrews 12:1

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And like John and the other disciples, we also have the great privilege of taking up our Cross and following our Lord! But we can’t follow Him while trying to drag along a hoard of earthly treasures…

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“And he that takes not his Cross, and follows after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.” Matthew 10:38, 39.

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When we receive the “New Heart”, we receive also a “Brand New Life”! No longer do we desire to go after the things of the world. We have left the world behind us!

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We now desire to be faithful followers of Jesus…just like John and James and Peter…and Paul!

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ABOVE PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – companys-coming – revised

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“TO THE MOLES AND TO THE BATS!”

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And so, the question of the day is just this: “Will we cast away our idols to the moles and to the bats?”

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Listen… “In that Day (today – Ed.) a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isaiah 2:20, 21.

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This prophecy of Isaiah is speaking of this very moment in history!

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The False Prophet (the Devil, as he comes through unsaved people, both in the world but also in the churches), has filled our society with all types of materialism, careers, amusements, and aspirations.

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But now more than ever, God’s people must cast off these heavy burdens, and flee to the clefts of the ragged rocks of God’s Word and prayer-unceasing.

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“Cast Idols to Moles”_mole by Michael David Hill, cropped photo – wikipedia – share-alike license

Big-eared-townsend-fledermaus – cropped photo – Wikipedia – public domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me that whole-hearted desire to follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “’7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’” or you can also read… “The 7 Stars Constellation”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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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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THE CROSS OF ORION

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This constellation is the same as Orion, but can also be seen as this cross on a hill. It is best seen in mid-winter, traveling east to west through the night in mid-sky. Orion begins to appear in August, in the pre-dawn hours. However, Orion does not look like a Cross, until it stands upright, later in the season, in pre-dawn hours.

Go out in the clear dark night and behold Orion in his four offices! Then show a friend!

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NOTE: The three stars at the top of the cross, are fainter than the other stars that make up this cross. So if you are in the city, you will have to look carefully to observe them.

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The Cross of Orion Constellation Wikipedia star-chart. Cross and hill sketched in by editor of this website.

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And so the great message written in the heavens, which God is now revealing to us, is a wonderful message.

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It is the message of the Cross of Christ. It is the Gospel of self-sacrificing love for a planet in rebellion.

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And it is an encouragement to those who have been called and chosen: an exhortation to cast off this present world and follow Jesus, as He leads us up a Pathway to a heavenly city: a city built on a foundation of selfless love for fallen humanity and a holy reverence for a wonderful God.

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ThomasCole-Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey – wikimedia – US public domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “’7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’” or you can also read… “The 7 Stars Constellation”

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TOMORROW:

“May 23rd (Who’s In Your Mirror?)”

Girl with round mirror – Wikimedia – US public domain

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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 #140 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

 

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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

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