Today’s Devotional – January 8th (Was Blind, But Now I See!)

By admin On January 7th, 2014

.

Today’s Devotional, January 8th

.

.

.

.

Was Blind, But Now I See!

.

.

.

.

.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found!

Was blind, but now I see!”

Amazing Grace

.

.

 

.

.

.

John Newton, born in 1725, received some Christian instruction from his mother.

.

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

And yet, he followed his father into the ship trade, eventually working on a slave ship, while still a young man.

.

But during a terrible storm while at sea, he remembered his Christian mother’s instruction, and prayed for deliverance. And his sinking ship corrected itself, seemingly miraculously!

.

And from that time forward, Newton’s Heavenward pilgrimage began…

.

John-Newton-courtesy – Wikipedia – Public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

A MIRACULOUS DELIVERY?

.

Listen to Wikipedia’s account of Newton’s conversion…

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Our_day_in_the_light_of_prophecy_and_providence_(1921)_(14797165893).jpg.

“During his 1748 voyage to England after his rescue, Newton had a spiritual conversion. The ship encountered a severe storm off the coast of Donegal, Ireland and almost sank. Newton awoke in the middle of the night and, as the ship filled with water, called out to God. The cargo shifted and stopped up the hole, and the ship drifted to safety. Newton marked this experience as the beginning of his conversion to evangelical Christianity.”

.

And so, Newton became a Christian, a minister, and finally left that slave-trading ship, and ultimately began to crusade against the hideous practice of carrying slaves to England.

.

And just a few days prior to his death, Newton lived just long enough to finally witness slave-trading abolished in England, his home country!

.

Ship & Lighthouse – Our day in the light of prophecy and providence – 1921 – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

AMAZING GRACE!

.

But Newton was not just a gifted minister of God!

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

And he was given the gift of music composition! And during his ministry, he wrote lyrics to a number of hymns.

.

And one hymn which came from his pen was the song, Amazing Grace!

.

Yes, that great hymn by that slave-ship-captain-turned-minister-of-Christ, Amazing Grace, has had countless converts singing those infamous words, “…Was blind, but now I see!”, for over two centuries now!

.

Amazing Grace – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

NEWTON NOT THE ONLY BLIND ONE!

.

Now, the great exclamation mark on John Newton’s life-story was that he came from being a merchant of human misery, but was ultimately given spiritual eyes to see Jesus!

.

Once he was blind, but now John Newton could finally see!

.

But even though most of us are appalled at that horrible practice of slave-trading, nevertheless we live in a world which has blinded our spiritual eyes! 

.

Listen… “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2nd Corinthians 4:3, 4

.

The fact is, the “god of this world” has blinded the minds of men. Yes, Satan has filled us with the spirit of Antichrist.

.

And even though we would never dream of being such a merchant of human misery, as was Newton, yet we are every bit as blind as Newton was!

.

John-Newton-courtesy – Wikipedia – Public-domain

.

.

.

.

.

THE BOOK OF JOEL

.

But God, in His great mercy, has given His Son to die in our place, so that we who were once blind, but now can see the wonderful God and Savior, which gives us the gift of everlasting life!Joel the Prophet www.wikipaintings.com public domain

.

Now the reason for bringing all this into today’s devotional, is to relate it to the Signs which are now being revealed in the Sun, Moon, and Stars!

.

The prophet Joel foretells in his fiery little book… “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” Joel 2:10, 11

.

Joel the Prophet – www.wikipaintings.com – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

A DOUBLE FULFILLMENT!

.

Now that Book of Joel has been given especially for us, “upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1st Corinthians 10:11.

winter four constellations

.

And God reveals in Joel, that “the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:”

.

But though this passage speaks of the spiritual condition of the lost ones, it nevertheless explains that the Signs which God is just now revealing, cannot be seen by many!

.

Oh yes, there are many who would love to see these heavenly signs, and yet, cannot!

.

They are simply blinded from seeing these incredible signs!

.

ABOVE STAR-CHART – Early Winter in the east – Orion, Revelation 12 Woman (AKA Ursa Major) – Revelation 12 Dragon (AKA Hyades, Pleiades, etc.) – Goodly Horse in Battle with Rider (Camelopardelis, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, etc…) – www.signsofheaven.org – Not for profit use!

.

.

.

.

.

SIGNS GIVEN TO BE WAYMARKS

.

But the fact is, there are many who cannot see these, for the simple reason that they do not have the desire to understand the spiritual truths connected with these heavenly waymarks!

.

The big problem is, that God does not give signs, merely to scratch our itching ears! These signs are given as signposts, to guide us safely up the Heavenward pathway, shining their light upon our trail!

.

But there are many who want to see a sign, for the mere sake of seeing some miracle of nature! 

.

Something spectacular!

.

As if these signs are some 5-minute YouTube video, designed to make us tingle for a few minutes!

.

.

.

.

.

ENLIGHTEN OUR PATHWAY

The Strait Gate is the Narrow Way and the broad way is the Wide Gate

.

But the Good News is, that God has given these signs and their accompanying messages, in hopes that all will turn and cry out for eyes to see, and a heart to understand those messages!

.

And so, dear-soul-for-whom-Christ-bled-and-died, please begin reading this wonderful message! And simply look for these signs in the heavens, as signposts given by God, to guide us safely into the Narrow Gate of Heaven!

.

And so, let each of us say, along with the Psalmist…

.

“Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Psalm 119:18

.

And as this website proclaims, God’s Law is indeed written in the heavens!

.

ABOVE PICTURE – The Narrow Gate & Wide Gate – Late winter – www.signsofheaven.org- non-profit sources may use with credit

.

.

.

.

.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-100506-M-2360J-038.jpgTODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Open Thou mine eyes, that I may see these heaven signs, but also the truths that they point to…

Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

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

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation” or you can also read… February 24th (The Valley of Dry Bones!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

THE END

.picture - soldiers of the cross - armor up!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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

 

.

.

LOCATING THE DRAGON

.

(REVELATION 12 DRAGON IS NOT DRACO!)

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

 

First, let it be stated, that this Dragon Constellation is not the same constellation commonly referred to as “Draco” (photo to right is Draco).

.

This Revelation 12 Dragon from Signs Of Heaven, has not been previously recognized. But you will discover that it is a very intricate and complex constellation, once you are comfortable locating it (picture below, right).

.

Draco, (Picture right) Ursa Minor – Wikipedia – Share-alike license

.

.

.

.

 REVELATION 12 DRAGON  

Revelation 12 Dragon w/text

.

 

The star-charts below (below, right) are from Wikipedia and are combined into one chart to show these three constellations, which the editor has sketched over with these three constellations, as they appear when in the west. Hopefully, this will be an assist in locating these constellations in the night-sky.

.

.

.

.

.

.

LOCATION…

Wikipedia star-charts winter constellation in West

.

The Revelation 12 Dragon Constellation can be located by finding Orion in winter months. The Dragon is to Orion’s left, and the Dragon’s mouth is right next to Orion’s shield. This Dragon’s mouth is the V-like constellation The Hyades Cluster, which is also known as the head of Taurus the Bull. The Dragon’s tail-tip is Pleiades and the lower shaft of his tail is partly of Aries  and Pisces. Then with aid of a dark and starry night, you may begin to connect the mouth and the tail with a very long body in an oval shape. The front and back legs are made of a few stars: the front legs partially of stars from Taurus . The back legs and rear fin are made of 6 stars from the Cetus Constellation.

.

BODY HARD TO SEE

.

The long oval-shaped body has relatively few stars, but can been seen, howbeit with a dark, starry night. The four stars of the front fins are made partially of Taurus .

.

.

.

.

.

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation” 

.

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW…

January 9th . . . . Forever is a Very Long Time!

sand – desert – Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dali – Wikigallery – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

. 

http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html

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 #8 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

.

 

Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

Leave a Reply