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Daily Devotional, year 2 – OCTOBER 27

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Thou Art Weighed in the Balances!

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Part 2:

“Thou Hypocrite!”

To read Part 1, click here…October 29th (Thou Art Weighed in the Balances…)

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“Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,

neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows:

for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer,

and every mouth speaketh folly.

For all this His anger is not turned away,

but His hand is stretched out still.”

Isaiah 9:17

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Scale of justice – by Wikimedia & user-DTR – Public Domain

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In the Book of Daniel, is that infamous story of King Belshazzar, King Nebuchadnezzar’s son (some say grandson).

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Yes, on that fateful night, as Belshazzar hosted a grand feast, Belshazzar saw, “the hand-writing on the wall”.

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And right in the middle of the party, a hand wrote on the wall, “Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting (lacking).”

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God had judged the king, finding his sins inexcusable when compared to the light given him. And so, these frightful words of condemnation were merely the beginning of Belshazzar’s night of terror, as the enemies of Babylon were just about to break right through those so-called, “impregnable” Babylonish walls!

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Belshazzar’s Feast – Rembrandt – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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WE TOO WILL BE WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES!

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And this story stands as a frightful warning to all Christians, that our Judgment Day is, likewise, not slumbering!

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And we must strive to improve upon our present daily circumstances, to expel our earthly ways, and become transformed into the likeness of Jesus!

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Listen… “And every man that hath this hope in Him (to meet the Lord in peace), purifies himself, even as He (Jesus) is pure.” 1st John 3:3

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And so, this devotional will attempt to spotlight a very common sin, which is so grievous to the Lord, that when weighed in the balances will only condemn us on our night of reckoning!

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NO MONEY FOR ADDICTIONS?

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Have you ever passed by someone standing by a street with a sign, begging for a hand-out? And then, as you considered whether or not to stop and give some money, you said to yourself, “Why should I give him money? He’s just gonna go spend it on alcohol!”

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Drunk Panhandler – Wikipedia – Public Domain

Scale of justice – by Wikimedia & user-DTR – Public Domain

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AM I JUST A HYPOCRITE?

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But God is the searcher of hearts (Jeremiah 17:10). And He knows every thought and intention of our heart! And whether or not we realize it, we are being weighed in the balances of the scales of justice!

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And so, before we deny others some little financial help, perhaps we need to ask ourselves the question: “Am I being a hypocrite, by refusing to give to this person? Am I really so concerned about this person’s alcohol problem? Or is this just a convenient excuse?”

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The fact is, many of us who get self-righteous on behalf of those alcoholics, begging for a drink, need to consider how much we spend for our own addictions!

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Scale of justice – by Wikimedia & user-DTR – Public Domain

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WHAT ABOUT MY OWN ADDICTIONS?

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Don’t I spend money for my love of junk food? Don’t I indulge myself with various unhealthy treats? Am I addicted to coffee, tea, or soft drinks…or sugar?

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Or do I habitually frequent expensive restaurants?

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Or how about my TV remote? Do I spend hundreds of dollars each year for cable TV, and movie rentals, etc.?

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Or am I a compulsive shopper?      

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Or do I lavish money on my pride, in the form of showy cars, clothes, or expensive homes and gardens?

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Or do I spend money on my addiction to sports or other amusements?

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Crab cakes, sweet potato french fries, cole slaw, tartar sauce, Cola – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

TV icon novela svg. – Wikimedia –

Rolls Royce 200EX ‘Ghost’ – Flickr – The Car Spy – cropped image – Wikimedia Share-alike license

Super Bowl XLIII Thunderbirds Flyover Feb 1 2009 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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LAVISHING MONEY ON MY OWN ADDICTIONS

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Yes, addictions come in many forms. And to deny some poor street person some small pittance, to “save him from his addiction”, while lavishing money and time on my own addictions and affections is slightly hypocritical, don’t you think?

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As a Christian, wouldn’t it be more righteous to help out that drunkard with a dollar or two, considering the thousands I spend on my own addictions each year?

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Highbrow drunkard – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License

Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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AWAKENING TO MY UNDONE CONDITION

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The Good News is that it is still the day of Salvation! And just like old Ebenezer Scrooge, we can awake from our death-like slumber, and begin to turn our lives around!

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Yes, we can carry around some spare dollars (and begin to stop and give to those in need, just like old Ebenezer!

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And just pray to God for that drunkard’s Salvation, and for his deliverance from his alcohol habit!

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Scale of justice – by Wikimedia & user-DTR – Public Domain

Ghost of Christmas Future – John Leech, 1843 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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TO READ PART 3, GO HERE…

March 7 (Thou Art Weighed in the Balances! Part 3: “Judge Nothing!”)

Belshazzar’s fateful night – Rembrandt -Belshazzar’s Feast – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to judge my own life, and change whatever is displeasing to Thee…

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…“July 9th (Examine Yourselves!)”, or you can also read… “September 30th (How To Spot The Biggest Sinner!)”

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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GOSPEL INSCRIBED ON THE MOON

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The Bible states… “It (God’s Covenant) shall be established for ever as the Moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven (sky). Selah.” Psalm 89:37

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God’s Covenant (The Gospel) has been inscribed in the sky. In the night sky, predominantly. It has been established “as the Moon, and as a faithful witness…”.

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That there would be  “signs in the Sun… moon, and…stars” (Luke 21:25) just before the end, was a promise made by God.

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But we didn’t know exactly what those signs would be (although many thought they knew).

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Nor did we realize that these signs would be pointing us to present Bible truths!

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Lunar Eclipse – by Jiyang Chen & Wikipedia – share-alike license. Click for link.

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“THE SCORNER (THE PHARISEE)”

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“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, AN EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:18-23 

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Please tilt your head to the left. Do you see a man with a very long pointed nose. (Obviously, the sketch to the right is just an exaggeration in order to help you find the face in the photo to the left.)

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Do you see an angry look? His right eye-brow is raised as if he is judging.

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This second face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox. Or maybe a wolf. Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox? Maybe even a dog. Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn. Unlike the  first Moon-man’s sad shock and awe; this ‘man/fox/wolf/dog’ appears to be that of anger and scorn. As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below.

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He is very moral, you see!

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Moon – Public Domain – 2nd face Pharisee Scorner – by Cezar Popescu for Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain – cropped, highlighted & rotated photo

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… 2nd Moon Face (The Pharisee Scorner)…

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TOMORROW:

OCTOBER 28 (Upward, Into the Promised Land! Part 3: Promised Land of My Heart)

Moses Viewing the Promised Land – Frederic Edwin Church – WIKIMEDIA – PUBLIC DOMAIN.

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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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 IS STUDY #665 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc….