Today’s Devotional January 30th (“The Nebuchadnezzar Syndrome”)

By admin On January 29th, 2014

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Today’s Devotional January 30th

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“The Nebuchadnezzar Syndrome”

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This world is full of pride.

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Yes, pride is literally dripping from every pour and crevice of this rebel-planet!

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You name it! In whatever area of life, it seems to be a source of pride for those who turn the machinery wheels of this society.

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Young business people – Cropped Photo – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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“THE PRIDE OF MAN”

Psalm 31:20

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We humans get proud of our accomplishments: our talents and abilities, our outward beauty, our charismatic personalities, our good work-ethics, our genius, our inventive ideas and discoveries, our physical strength, our good morality.

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Yes, these are only just a few of the many areas in which we humans are filled with pride.

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

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“ALTOGETHER BRUTISH & FOOLISH”

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But for those who place their trust in God’s Word, they soon discover that God does not give us such a glowing report-card.

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No, quite the opposite!

You see, the Bible plainly lays bare the stark reality, that mankind is not nearly as bright and clever as we credit ourselves as being.

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For instance, the Bible says…“But they (the so-called wise men of all nations) are altogether brutish and foolish…”

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“Brutish (perhaps meaning, ‘stupid’) and foolish”: not a very flattering description, wouldn’t you agree?

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Pilgrim’s Progress – Then Atheist fell into a very great laughter – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S FOOLISH PRIDE DEMOLISHED

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The story of King Nebuchadnezzar makes a fitting example of how people take credit for their accomplishments, instead of realizing that it is the unseen powers who are actually responsible for much of this world’s accomplishments.

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Listen, “…they shall make thee (King Nebuchadnezzar) to eat grass as oxen…until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will…And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? …and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.” Daniel 4:32, 34, 35, 37

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Yes, after having lived for years as a dumb animal, ol’ King Nebuchadnezzar finally realized that he wasn’t so smart after all! He ultimately understood that his wisdom and might, and strength and accomplishments were only possible because God permitted him to have those qualities.

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William Blake Nebuchadnezzar – Wikipedia – public domain

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“THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR”

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But we shouldn’t think that this wicked King Nebuchadnezzar’s abilities were necessarily gifts from Heaven.

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No, but rather, the Bible reveals to us the following source of mankind’s supposed abilities…“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:2

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Here is revealed that mankind is indwelt by the, “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

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And if Satan is working within the children of disobedience, then we can just imagine what kinds of things he’s doing through fallen mankind!

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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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“THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH & THE SPIRIT OF ERROR”

1st John 4:6

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We humans aren’t nearly as moral, as clever, as talented, as hard-working, as witty, as we are led to believe. No, just like ol’ king Nebuchadnezzar, our abilities and talents are most likely just the result of the inner-workings of unseen spirits which indwell the people of this world.

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Listen again…“O LORD I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23

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Mankind does not have the ability to walk according to his own intelligence. We are led by unseen spirits: some by the Spirit of Truth, but most by “the spirit of error”. Oh yes, God is ultimately in control of all things. But before we think that we are responsible for even our daily labor, and our daily accomplishments, let’s consider the verses presented here today in this devotional.

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Pilgrim’s Progress – Then Atheist fell into a very great laughter – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“WITHOUT ME YE CAN DO NOTHING!”

John 15:5

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And truth-be-told, without the daily workings of one of those two spirits (either the Holy Spirit, or the Antichrist spirit), we would actually discover that we might rather be called “uninspired”, or “low-intelligence”.

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And, there is little doubt that the dark days ahead will only prove these things to be true.

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Yes, at some point in the near future, God may just remove all spiritual prowess from working within us, so that we may discover just how unintelligent and unimaginative we really are!

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Demon & angel with Tamara’s soul – Wikimedia – US Public Domain (2)

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“DAY OF THE LORD…UPON…PROUD & LOFTY”

Isaiah 2:12

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Listen to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the great day of God’s wrath…“For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:” Isaiah 2:12

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**Yes, the Day of the Lord (which has already begun) will finally reveal to us just how foolish and unintelligent we really are!**

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ABOVE PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – a party tonight – signsofheaven.org

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GET ON BOARD THE ARK OF SAFETY!

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But there is a way of escape from all this!

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Yes, it is still the day of Salvation.

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And all are invited to jump ship from this sinking Titanic planet, and climb aboard the Ark of Salvation, which is leaving this doomed world, for the wonderful Promised Land: a land of joyful song and innocent laughter.

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A land in which we will never grow old, but be forever young!

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Titanic – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to prepare for the crisis which is now coming upon this world. Graciously allow me to hide Thy great and precious promises in my heart, that I might stand in this evil day which is already beginning…

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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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A STAR & SCEPTER ARISES IN THE NIGHT SKY

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“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.” Psalms 45:6

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Now, this 3rd brightest star in the night heavens, Arcturus, seems to very nicely fulfill the prophecy, “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel” Numbers 24:17. But where would the scepter be in this prophecy? After all, it speaks not only of a star rising, but also of a scepter.

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Sceptre and Orb and Imperial Crown of Austria – Wikipedia photo by Michal Maňas – US public domain

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NOT THE NORTHERN NOR THE SOUTHERN CROSS

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This is not the Northern Cross, nor is it the Southern Cross. This cross is made of stars from both the Serpens Constellation and the Ophiuchus Constellation. Here is a star-chart from Wikipedia, in which the editor of this site has sketched in this Cross/Scepter Constellation. The stars in this star-chart are accurately placed, and this Cross/Scepter Constellation stands out in brilliance, among the other stars in the night sky.

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The sketch below is the Summer Constellations, as seen when looking west. Well, if you look just to the south (south is to the left in this sketch) of Arcturus, you will see what appears to be a scepter. But this scepter also appears as a Cross. And this constellation has been named, the Cross/Scepter constellation. It can be seen in January, in the pre-dawn hours. Each night, it appears a little earlier, as it slowly inches its way westward. Finally this constellation dips below the western horizon, in the fall, not appearing again till January, back in the eastern sky.

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Now, as earlier stated, this wonderful prophecy (“there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel”) has its greatest fulfillment in the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus is represented by that glorious Star. And His death on the Cross is truly His scepter of authority. Jesus died to save a world of rebellious sinners.

ABOVE STAR-CHART – Cross-Scepter Constellation – Also known as the Ophiuchus and the Serpens Constellations Website has taken liberty of drawing in this Cross-Scepter Constellation upon a star-chart found on Wikipedia

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TOMORROW:

January 31st (You Can’t Fix Hell!)

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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 IS STUDY #30 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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