Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JANUARY 22 (Enduring Afflictions)

By admin On November 9th, 2014

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Daily Devotional – JANUARY 22

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Enduring Afflictions

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“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, ‘Mhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaulT.jpgy son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.’ If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Hebrews 12:5-7 

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The above passage was penned by the Apostle, Paul, as he quoted the words of the “Wise Man”, King Solomon. And the concept which God wrote to us through Paul’s hand, presents a huge truth which must not be overlooked! 

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Paul the Apostle – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – public domain

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THE DIVIDE BETWEEN SHEEP AND GOATS!

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And why is this such a huge concept?

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Because here is the great divide between those who will be redeemed and those who will not be saved!

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fra_Angelico_009.jpg

That’s right! It says in the above passage that, “…whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons;”

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And so, if I am willing to endure all the trials and tribulation, and all the fiery darts of the wicked one, then this is the confirmation that I am truly one of God’s sons!

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Judgment of Sheep & Goats Fra Angelico – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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NOT TO MURMUR 

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For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 3:14, 15

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As this above passage reveals, the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against God!

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

And so, this day’s message is for both you and myself, to not get discouraged because of our many trials! We need to get into the habit of thanking God for His chastening! For this is the means whereby we must be cleansed!

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Listen… “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 4:17, 18

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And so, this above passage reveals two things:

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1. That our light afflictions will ultimately multiply our heavenly riches in glory!

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2. And the secret to success is to look not at the things of this world, but to keep our eyes fixed upon Heaven and upon Heaven’s Jesus! 

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Tissot – Moses Smites the Rock in the Desert – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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DAVID’S MANY AFFLICTIONS

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David was a man who well-knew of His father’s chastening hand! His life seemed to be composed of onehttp://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_198722/William-Brassey-Hole/The-sorrow-of-king-David chastening after another!

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And yet, David accepted his lot in life! And he did not become weary because of his chastening! And this was the great secret to David’s ultimate victory!

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And this is how God kept David close to Himself! Yes, without this constant chastening, David would have strayed from God!

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But it was only during a time without that constant humbling, that David committed his most grievous sin of adultery and the murder which followed!

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And yet, after that, David accepted the constant chastening which followed him the rest of his life! David knew it was for his eternal welfare!

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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain

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JOB’S DISCOURAGEMENT

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Or what about the man, Job? Job (pronounced with a long “o”) endured the afflictions brought on by Satan. And Satan purposely tried to discourage Job to the point of causing him tohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bonnat02.jpg curse God!

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For instance, it was Job’s custom to pray for his children after each of their birthday celebrations, in which they gathered together for feasting and merriment, if perchance they had sinned during the celebration!

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But when the hour came for Satan, he caused them to perish right in the middle of one of their celebrations, before Job even had a chance to pray for them!

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And no doubt, Satan came to Job and whispered in Job’s mind something like this…“Look how God has spit on you, Job! God didn’t even give you a chance to pray! Tell God that you hate Him!”

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Job-Wikipedia-US-public-domain.jpg

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HIDING GOD’S PRECIOUS PROMISES!

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Well, this is likewise a common way in which Satan tries to discourage us in life’s little situations! Yes, Satan makes his http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Girl_with_a_Bible_(Faith_of_Our_Fathers).jpgassaults seem like God is being petty and insulting! And then Satan whispers in our mind… “Look how God has treated you! He is being petty and insulting! Tell Him, ‘I hate you, God!'”

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And so, as we continue to hide God’s Word in our heart, we must hide as many of God’s “exceeding great and precious promises” as possible! And then, when Satan begins to discourage us, we can draw from our well-spring of heavenly wisdom, and use those promises to strengthen our shield of faith!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:6tag_250316-124351.jpg.

And so, my dear chastened soul, lose not heart! Endure the trials which God has prepared for thee! It is for thy health and Salvation!

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And as we consider how Christ bore His Cross on behalf of His wayward human family, so too, we must allow Him to continue to bear that Cross, as He works in us and through us, causing us to bear our daily Cross on behalf of our own human family.

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Girl with a Bible – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

Cross of Jesus Christ – cropped photo – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Saint_James_the_Less_(Saint_Jacques_le_Mineur)_-_James_Tissot.jpg

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Keep me from murmuring against you! But give me an appreciation for my many trials! Complete the work within me, so that all the world might not see me, but might see Jesus…

Prayer – Brooklyn Museum – Saint James the Less – by James Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… May 24th (A Suffering Church is a Strong Church!), or you can also read… February 1st (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

.picture - 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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GLORIOUS CROWN CONSTELLATION… 

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& THE REVELATION 12 WOMAN

(Click here to read more!)

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Let us meet our first host: The Glorious Crown of Revelation 12 Constellation!

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This Glorious Crown Constellation looks like a wreath at first glance. It has 7 stars, plus another star in the middle. This Glorious Crown Constellation is commonly referred to as the Corona Borealis Constellation. This wreath reminds us of the victory wreath given to athletes who won races in the ancient cultures. This was spoken of by Paul as he compared those ancient races to the race that Christians must run…  “Know you all not, that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that you all may obtain.” 1st Corinthians 9:24 (see also Hebrews 12:1) 

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Corona Borealis – Wikipedia – Taken from software called Perseus (crown drawn in by this website)- All rights by Roberto Mura 

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“A CROWN OF 12 STARS UPON HER HEAD” …

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lorbeerkranz_Zypern_rem.jpg

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But upon a closer examination if you have access to a very dark sky out in the country; if you watch this wreath, you will eventually see 5 more very faint stars, making a total of 12 stars, plus that single star in the middle. This wreath now becomes a crown of 12 stars. This goes along with Revelation 12, which tells of a crown of 12 stars upon the head of the Virtuous Woman of Revelation 12.

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Just listen to Revelation… “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman…and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:” Rev. 12:1.

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But this crown is not yet upon the head of the Virtuous Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (also known as Ursa Major). It is just above her head, as if she has yet to attain it. Of course, the 13th star in the middle would represent Christ (Who is our true Crown of our rejoicing). Ok, so we have a picture of Christ and His twelve tribes of Israel. But also we have a picture of Christ and His twelve apostles, which is a picture of His Church. So this heavenly crown is a multi-faceted concept.

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Laurel Wreath Lorbeerkranz_Zypern wikipedia pub. dom.

ABOVE STAR-CHART – Summer Constellations w/ark & Rev. 12 Woman – www.theheavensdeclare.net

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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 12-Star Crown Constellation of Revelation 12” 

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fuchs.margin_(MMW10F50_f6r)_detail.jpg

TOMORROW…

“JANUARY 23 (Take Us The Foxes, The Little Foxes!)”

Fox reading wikimedia commons public domain

 

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20 MINUTE+ AUDIO BIBLE 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 #387 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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