Today’s Devotional – December 22nd (O Come Let Us Adore Him… and More!)

By admin On December 20th, 2013

.

.

Today’s Devotional – December 22nd

.

.

.

.

O Come Let Us Adore Him…and More!

.

.

.

.

.wise men follow star

“behold, there came

wise men from the east

to Jerusalem, Saying,

‘Where is He that is born King of the Jews?

for we have seen His star in the east,

and are come to worship Him.”

Matthew 2:1, 2

.

.

.

.

.

.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_071202-N-0413B-002_The_Naval_Support_Activity_Bahrain_Chapel_Choir_performs_at_the_Christmas_tree_lighting_celebration.jpgThe above passage tells of those wise men from the East, who followed that star, which ultimately led them to the Savior.

.

And of them, the following song was inspired… “O Come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him. O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!”

.

Yes, those wise men came following that star, to not only find the Savior, but also to adore this newborn King, didn’t they? 

.

Chapel Choir performs at the Christmas tree lighting celebration – wikimedia – public domain

.

.

.

.

.

IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:At_a_loss.svg

But is that all there is, my friend? Should we simply adore Him? Maybe erect some statues in His honor? Pay tribute to Him several days a year?

.

Or is there something more?

.

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

.

.

.

.

.

“COME AND FOLLOW ME”

.

Yes, yes! There is more!

.

Jesus calls to each and every one of the human family… “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come and follow Me.” Matthew 19:21. Yes, Jesus calls us to follow Him.

http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_65895/Edward-Armitage/Christ-Calling-the-Apostles-James-and-John--1869

.

But why do we follow Him? What is the purpose of following Him?

.

Well, we follow Him, so that we can be His disciple. And the word “disciple” is from the word, “discipline”.

.

To learn of Him.

.

To walk in all His ways.

.

Jesus Calls Disciples – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

THE BIBLE, OUR CONNECTION TO HEAVEN!

.

And of course, we cannot follow Him, like those disciples of old!

.

But we need not despair! God has provided another way. Yes, the Bible is our connection to Heaven. This is how we follow Him, today.

.

And obviously, if the Bible is our textbook, then we need to study it as such.

.

And like any good college student, we need to memorize it, as far as possible. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” Colossians 3:16

.

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

.

.

.

.

.

“YE OUGHT TO BE TEACHERS”

.

Paul gives the Church a gentle scolding… “Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PaulT.jpguttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” Hebrews 5:11, 12.

.

But though this passage is written for our admonition, the fact is, not too many churchgoers take this passage seriously!

.

After all, a survey shows that most churchgoers believe that “God helps those, who help themselves” is a verse from the Bible!

.

Isn’t that a startling revelation!?! 

.

Paul the Apostle – cropped & brightened photo – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

WE ARE TO BE TEACHERS

.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PS_Kr%C3%B8yer_-_Hip_hip_hurra!_Kunstnerfest_p%C3%A5_Skagen_1888.jpgWith this rebuke from Hebrews, it just might be said, that any Christian who has been in the Church for several years or more, should have already arrived at teacher status!

.

But we’re living in the era, which Paul also prophesied… “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2nd Timothy 4:3, 4.

.

Yes, from this above passage, and the survey just quoted, it would seem that we’ve arrived at that day in which the vast majority of those who take the name of Jesus are greatly unknowledgeable of the Bible.

.

PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

A WORLD FULL OF DIVERSIONS

.

And to be fair, a great amount of credit for this sad condition must be given to “the god of this world”, the enemy of our souls! (see 2nd Corinthians 4:4)

.

Yes, that wily old serpent, Satan, has filled this society with so many “other things”.

.

And to a great degree, he has successfully derailed Christians from the work of regeneration of the life; the cleansing of the soul, and the replenishing of the heart with the knowledge of God’s Word. 

.

New York Times Square – terabass – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

.

NEW YEAR, NEW PURPOSE

.

So this coming year, O come let us adore Him!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_040327-N-1261P-058_Navy_Chaplain,_Lt._Marc_Massie_assigned_to_Naval_Mobile_Construction_Battalion_Seventy_Four_(NMCB-74)_studies_his_Bible_for_an_upcoming_service.jpg.

But let us come and follow Him too!

.

Yes, let us learn of Him, and take His light burden and easy yoke upon us.

.

Let’s begin to adjust our schedule, so that we may take time to hide Him in our heart, whether at work, or at rest or at recreation with our family.

*Keep that little Bible in our back pocket, and take it out whenever possible, to commit a verse to memory.

*Use our lunch hour more wisely.

*Load a book or epistle onto our MP3 player, instead of merely listening to music.

*Spend time studying, instead of watching TV or listening to radio.

*Pray when walking or working or lying in bed.

.

Let’s show the world that we really mean business about our faith!

.

Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

.

.

.

.

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

Let’s make this new year, a year of spiritual victories!

.

Marines at Prayer by Alex Raymond – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rezando.jpgTODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Please bring me along on this heaven-ward sojourn. Help me to study the Bible as if my very soul depended upon it! Let me be like that honor student at college, who studies day and night…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

.

.

.

.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svgREAD MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Martha, the “Doer” & Mary, the “Hearer””, or you may also read this shorter article…February 4th (Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work?)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

THE END

.Orion Constellation at Eagle Ridge

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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

.

.

Then Job answered and said

but how should man be just with God?…

Which alone spreads out the heavens…

Which makes Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades,

and the chambers of the south.

Which does great things past finding out;

yea, and wonders without number…

Can you bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades?

Or loose the bands of Orion?”

Job 9:2-10 & 38:31

.

.

.

.

.

.pleiades_gendler-e1358291561622

The photo is the Pleiades Cluster. Does it appear to you like an angel? Well, if it does, then you are encouraged to keep reading.

.

The above two verses concerning the Pleiades is what the Bible has to say about the Pleiades. But if you will read this article, you will discover that the Pleiades represents concepts which span much of the Bible. This is partly because Pleiades is a constellation within a constellation. And this double-entendre constellation is perhaps the greatest truth regarding the Church, found in the Bible. And The Heavens Declare.net will attempt to unravel this mysterious phenomenon in the night-sky, and will, hopefully, also interpret these two verses to show just what all this means, and how it might apply to our lives.

.

The Pleiades (Above constellation can be seen in colder months in mid sky, traveling east to west through the night. With the eyes alone, it would appear much smaller than this. But with binoculars, it would appear more like this photo). NASA photo by Robert Gendler

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Pleiades: The Captive Angel & Mystery Harlot Constellation”

.

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW:

“December 23rd (Only Three Wise Men?)”

Jesus – Giotto-Scrovegni-Adoration-of-the-Magi-wikimedia-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 #354 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.

Leave a Reply