Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 6 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 6: “Though He Slay Me, Yet I Will Trust Him!”)

By admin On January 22nd, 2016

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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 6

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In Every Thing Give Thanks!?!

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Part 6:

“Though He Slay Me, Yet I Will Trust Him”

To read Part 1, click here… February 1st (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?!)

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“In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1st Thessalonians 5:18

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In the Book of Job (pronounced with a long, “o”), the Devil had brought Job down to a wretched condition in hopes of getting Job to curse God.

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But though Job’s trials were far greater than most of us have had to endure, Job remained faithful to God, exclaiming the following…“Though He (God) slay me, yet will I trust in Him:” Job 13:15

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Though this above verse is only ten words, it has been a giant encouragement to many thousands, through the ages, who have had to endure painful illnesses and sufferings as they could just narrowly cling to their faith and to their trust in God!

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Job (oil on canvas) by Bonnat, Leon Joseph Florentin (1833-1922) – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE

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So very often, we Christians make plans and have dreams about the future in this world. And God will often give us times of rest, refreshment, and enjoyment.

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But we must keep in mind that the great purpose of God is to crucify the Old Man within. And so, when at various times, our plans and dreams seem to go awry, we must keep in mind that God is allowing us to suffer for our own good!

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In Genesis, God revealed to the disobedient pair…“cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” Genesis 3:17-19

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God pronounced the curse on Mankind for the ultimate benefit of Mankind. Because it is through disappointment and even through tragedy that Mankind seeks to return to God.

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Prayer at Day’s End – Angelus by Jean-François Millet – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

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In that well-known parable In Luke 15:11-32, it tells of a wayward son who only returned back to his father’s house when all his other options ran out!

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And only in his misery and affliction was he inspired to go back and become an obedient son.

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Brooklyn Museum – The Return of the Prodigal Son – James Tissot – Public Domain

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PROSPERITY GOSPEL MISSES POINT

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Today’s so-called “Prosperity Gospel” that has enveloped the Christian community completely misses the point of what God’s purpose is for His people!

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God is not desiring for us to have a nice and peaceful cornucopian dream-life. Just the opposite, God is crucifying our “Old Man” of the flesh! And God will work through the various events and circumstances of our life to accomplish His eternal purpose within us.

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STOP TRUSTING MY OWN SELF

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And so, we must ultimately come to the point that we no longer try to muscle our way through life according to our own understanding!

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Listen to the Wise Man, Solomon…“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil…” Proverbs 3:5-7

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Here is a passage which is worthy of memorization, since it presents a concept which flies in the face of conventional wisdom! We must learn to walk by faith and not lean on our own human wisdom. And this is so contrary to our former way of thinking! Yes, it is opposed to the ways in which we once handled the affairs of life, prior to our Salvation!

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We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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THE GREAT TIME OF TROUBLE, NOW!

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If you or I have been called to become warriors in God’s Army, then we need to get this notion out of our head, of living a life of peace and prosperity.

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Oh yes, we can have perfect peace. But that perfect peace may be ours while standing in the fiery furnace of afflictions!

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Because, as never before in history, God is working through each of His Elect and Chosen ones to cause each Christian to, “purify himself, even as He (Christ) is pure”! (1st John 3:3)

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And He is molding us into Christ’s image, so that we will “walk, even as He (Jesus) walked”! (1st John 2:6)

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PAUL’S ATTITUDE ON SUFFERING

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And if our chastening comes in the form of great illness, we must ask for the grace to have the same degree of faith that Paul had…“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2nd Corinthians 12:10

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Wow! What an attitude! Paul actually took pleasure in his own infirmities! But Paul had nothing that we cannot also obtain. And we must plead for this same unwavering faith, so that we also might take pleasure in our own personal infirmities, knowing it is for both our temporal and eternal benefit!

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Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain

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But what possible good does it do to suffer?

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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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JESUS LEARNED OBEDIENCE BY SUFFERING

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Listen to Paul’s commentary of Jesus’ suffering…“Though He (Jesus) were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered;” Hebrews 5:8

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And so, Jesus learned obedience through suffering!

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Brooklyn Museum – What Our Lord Saw from the Cross – James Tissot

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PARTAKING OF CHRIST’S SUFFERING

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Now listen to Peter’s commentary on our own suffering… “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1st Peter 4:12, 13

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So here we see that our present suffering will be for our future glory and joy!

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Munch – Det Syke Barn – 1896 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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OUR LIGHT AFFLICTION?

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And finally, listen to Paul’s encouragement concerning our present sufferings…“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2nd Corinthians 4:16-18

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So here is another passage worthy of memorization! God calls our afflictions, “light”. Oh yes, they are terrible! But compared to what they will joyfully accomplish throughout eternity, they are light by comparison!

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Second Coming – Return – Resurrection Morning – Jan Luyken – Bible – Wikipedia – US Public Domain (2)

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KEEPING OUR EYES UPON JESUS

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And so, the whole trick to having perfect peace in the midst of life’s storms is found in Isaiah 26:3…“Thou (God) wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because He trusteth in Thee.”

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Here is the great goal of the life of every true worshiper of God: to keep our mind fixed on Jesus! This is the only way to have perfect peace, whether in times of calm, or in times of storm!

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Perfect peace! What an incentive to continue on in the way of the Lord! Perfect peace! Even in our infirmities and afflictions and sufferings…“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

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However pressing his duties STM2-c James Lee Frazer always finds time to read a few chapters from his Bible each day. I – NARA – 520675 – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TO READ PART 7, GO HERE…

July 27 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 7: “Careful What You Wish For!”)“

Birthday Cake – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to fully grasp this concept of giving thanks in both the good as well as the bad things that happen. Help me to understand that nothing can happen to me, either good or bad, unless You allow it to happen…for my benefit…

Family Prayer Before Meal – Wikimedia – US-Govt. – Public-Domain

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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 FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE… “THE ARMOR OF GOD”

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“PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD”…

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I didn’t understand all that Ephesians 6 was talking about. “What does it mean to put on ‘the breast plate of righteousness'”? This was very puzzling to me… “How does a person just put something like that on?” This was a concept above my comprehension.

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***“And how does a person ‘put on the helmet of salvation'”,* I thought to myself… *“especially while Satan is condemning and accusing every moment?”***

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“And how do you put on the shoes, with the gospel of peace’?” I couldn’t understand these concepts. I was too new in the faith.

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ONE CONCEPT THAT DID MAKE SENSE…

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But there was one thing I could understand. I knew what it meant to take the “sword of the spirit, which is the word of God”. Now that I got! Read the Bible! That’s a simple concept! Yeah!

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The sketch above is Orion the Soldier and the Dragon of Revelation 12. They begin to rise in the east in the fall and gradually move westward, finally sinking in the west in the spring. Find Orion first. Look for his 3-star belt. Then find the 4 bright stars of his shoulders and feet. Then locate the Dragon’s mouth (AKA Hyades).

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TOMORROW…

DECEMBER 7 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 27: “Oh, We Love The Bible!”)

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this small 30 minute sampling (Open Forum # 24) of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year-long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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

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