.

.

Today’s Devotional – November 15th

.

.

.

.

Alice In Wonderland Christianity

.

.

.

.

.

“And take heed to yourselves,

lest at any time your hearts be overcharged

with surfeiting, and drunkenness,

and cares of this life,

and so that day come upon you unawares.

For as a snare shall it come

on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Watch ye therefore, and pray always,

that ye may be accounted worthy

to escape all these things that shall come to pass,

and to stand before the Son of man.”

Luke 21:34-36

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

In this above passage, God is warning us to not let the things of this selfish world absorb too much of our time and thoughts.

.

And like never before, we are being bombarded with “other things” in the very day that we should be watching and praying and vigilant.

.

Satan is a worthy foe! And he is very wily and sophisticated in his deceptions.

.

And there is one thing that this archenemy of Christ’s Church hates above all else: to see a Christian fully engaged in the process of purifying the heart and mind (see 1st John 3:3).

.

.

.

.

.

“AN ANGEL OF LIGHT”

.

And so, the Devil goes about, inventing new ways in which to divert the unsuspecting Christian from performing the greatest and most critical of all Christian duties: to become transformed into the image of Christ.

.

First, he will attempt to lead the Christian back into a worldly lifestyle, thus keeping that Christian pre-occupied with world-loving endeavors.

.

.

.

.

.

LEADS US DOWN RABBIT TRAILS

.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15, 16

.

But if Satan cannot lead the Christian back into a worldly lifestyle, he will then attempt to lead the Christian down some “rabbit trail”, as the old saying goes.

.

Perhaps he will get that Christian to become pre-occupied with Christian side-issues.

.

Now these may come in the form of inordinate music-listening, often to the neglect of personal, daily Bible study and hourly contemplation on God’s precious promises.

.

Or perhaps another inordinate affection might be expending excessive hours pursuing physical health ministries.

.

Another look-alike “rabbit trail” might be to become interested in conspiracy theories, or politics, or science books, or Creation-Evolution controversies, or even Bible prophecy seminars, which focus on world politics instead of Christ.

.

Juvenile Alice in Wonderland White rabbit1 believed-to-be public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

INORDINATE AFFECTIONS

.

Now perhaps, a little of these side-pursuits might be okay.

.

Some sacred-music listening might be a very good thing.

.

A good knowledge of physical health is very beneficial, and time should be set aside to study about the optimal care for one’s body and mind.

.

And a Christian should have a good knowledge about Creation, enough to defend the Bible to doubters.

.

The problem begins when one or more of these and other side-issues begin to eclipse one’s personal pursuit of heart-purification, which comes through daily Bible study, Bible-contemplation, and prayer.

.

(For a full explanation of this, please read “The Dragon, The Beast & His Image & His Mark”).

.

Juvenile Alice in Wonderland White rabbit1 believed-to-be public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

ALICE-IN-WONDERLAND CHRISTIANS

.

Now, the Bible warns against being overwhelmed by “inordinate (out of control) affections” (see Colossians 3:5).

.

But far too often, the Christian becomes like that story-book character, Alice In Wonderland.

.

Yes, far too many Christians are being led down rabbit trails, just like Alice was: fully engaged, and even obsessed with such pursuits.

.

And as a result, the work of overcoming the world gets put on hold, while these Alice-in-Wonderland Christians become lost in some netherworld pursuit of an allusive rabbit.

.

Juvenile Alice in Wonderland White rabbit1 believed-to-be public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

KEEP THE MAIN THING, THE MAIN THING!

.

Now the warning in today’s devotional is all about not letting Satan lead me down a rabbit trail.

.

Years can be wasted by such worthless endeavors. And those of us who have been duped in the past on this point, can testify of just how much precious time we wasted, going down such rabbit trails.

.

Christians must keep the main thing, the main thing!

.

Juvenile Alice in Wonderland White rabbit1 believed-to-be public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

BIBLE STUDY, CONTEMPLATION & PRAYER

.

Read the whole Bible: Psalms, Proverbs, the four Gospels, the Epistles, etc., with the desire to know more and more about Christ.

.

To stay in prayer throughout the day.

.

To meditate on Scripture, and apply it to our everyday life.

.

This should be the main thrust of our daily pursuit!

.

This must be our all-consuming desire, if we are truly on the highway to Heaven! 

.

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public-Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“Let thine eyes look right on,

and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Ponder the path of thy feet,

and let all thy ways be established.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:

remove thy foot from evil.”

Proverbs 4:25-27

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER:

“Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face…O let me not wander from thy commandments… O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day….by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” Psalms 5:8 & 119:10, 97 & 17:4, 5

Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

If you wish to go deeper into this study, please read…“May 5 (Ants: Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing!)”, or you can also read this next article…January 2 (This Vanity Fair Dream-Machine! Part 2: It’s A Disneyland World!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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

 

.

.

.

FLEEING WOMAN OF REVELATION 12…

.

This Revelation 12 Woman is made of the constellation, named by the pagans the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major ) which contains the 7 Stars Constellation also commonly referred to as the Big Dipper, .

.

“And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness…from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.” Revelation 12:14, 15. So this Revelation 12 Woman Constellation gives a heavenly portrait of a woman fleeing from the Dragon, who is spewing water in her pathway.

.

.

Now in winter, this constellation appears as a “fleeing” woman. And if you will go out into the country away from the city lights, you might just see that her upraised arms begin to appear as wings. And she appears to be running, and eventually flying. In this heavenly scenario, this woman is fleeing from the ‘Dragon’ of Revelation 12 Constellation. However, “fleeing” is mentioned many times in Scripture. It may refer to fleeing from apostate shepherds (John 10:5), brethren or apostate congregations (Psalm 26:5). Or fleeing from sin and (1st Cor. 6:18). Or from enemies. It is likewise speaking of fleeing to the mountains. And as you can see, the Dragon is spewing water out of his mouth. And it is amazing that this water is always going in the direction of the woman. The water stands for false doctrines. False brethren. Persecutions and temptations. See the article on the Dragon for further insight. Click here…”The Dragon”.

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To read more about this constellation, please read the article… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Flees to the Wilderness)”

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW:

“November 16th (Look For The light At The End of the Tunnel! Part 3: “Judging Others”)

Job rebuked by his friends – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

.

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. 

.

THIS IS STUDY #317 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

.

Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

.

Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.