Today’s Devotional – July 31st (Most Misquoted Bible Verse Award!) 

By admin On July 23rd, 2014

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Today’s Devotional – July 31st

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Most Misquoted Bible Verse Award!

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Every year, the movie industry presents awards for the best movies produced that year.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:81st_Academy_Awards_Ceremony.JPG This has been going on since 1929. And in these awards, various aspects of movie production are also given awards. 

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Now this gala event gets plenty of promotion and publicity, so that it is a highly anticipated event!

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Of course, like so much of what Mankind attempts to do, rumor has it that there is a great deal of politics, personal prejudices, and political correctness mingled into these awards, thus giving them a somewhat tarnished reputation. 

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Academy Awards Ceremony – cropped image – Wikipedia – GNU Limited Use License.

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MOST MIS-QUOTED BIBLE VERSE AWARD!

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But this is not the reason for bringing up this subject. No, the reason for even mentioning this, is http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Full_Book_of_Isaiah_2006-06-06.jpgto suggest that perhaps an award presentation should be given to various Bible productions.

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Yes, and one of the awards might be for the following category: “The Most Mis-quoted Bible Verse.”

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So, what verse would you nominate, as the most mis-quoted Bible verse?

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Book of Isaiah – cropped image – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License

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THE WINNER! 2nd CORINTHIANS 5:8!

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How about this verse, a statement by Paul… “To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord”? Yes, this verse is perhaps the most mis-quoted of all Bible verses! Have you ever heard this verse accurately quoted by a Bible teacher?

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Actually, the correct quote is… “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2nd Corinthians 5:8

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Yes, this verse is almost always misquoted by Bible teachers! But why? Why do they always seem to mis-quote this verse?

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

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PUSHING CHURCH DOCTRINES

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The answer is simple! It is because the correct Bible verse quote does not confirm the long-held traditional church-doctrine that current Bible teachers are trying to hold on to. Yes, the great traditional understanding in Christendom is, that when a Christian dies, he or she goes immediately to Heaven, and is in a conscious state-of-being up there!

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But the problem is, there is no verse in the Bible which makes that exact statement. And so, Bible teachers take this verse from 2nd Corinthians, and purposely mis-quote it, so that they can have a stronger verse to make an irrefutable confirmation regarding the traditionally held church doctrine, that Christians go straight to a conscious existence in Heaven, the moment they die!

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2nd Corinthians 5:8 NOT PROOF OF INSTANT CONSCIOUSNESS IN HEAVEN

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_bible.jpgNow, you can hardly blame these modern-day teachers for mis-quoting this verse to support their church-doctrine. They instinctively understand that this verse does not definitevely prove of an, “instant, conscious existence in Heaven” upon the moment of the death of a Believer. For example, the following statement, “I would rather be absent from the South Pole, and present in Hawaii”, does not necessarily prove that absence from the South Pole necessitates being in Hawaii. No, it simply means you’d rather be out of one place and present in another place, even if it takes time to get to that new place. 

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As a matter of fact, Green’s Interlinear Greek/English New Testament translates this verse something like this: “we are fully assured, then, and are pleased rather to go away from home out of the body, and to come home to the Lord.”.

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And so, according to Green’s Interlinear Greek/English New Testament, this verse actually demands an intermittent traveling time between one place into the other place! 

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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HONESTY MORE IMPORTANT THAN DOCTRINE

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Now this daily devotional is not so concerned as to whether or not Christians actually go straight to a conscioushttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teachings_of_Jesus_38_of_40._the_rapture._one_in_the_field._Jan_Luyken_etching._Bowyer_Bible.gif existence in Heaven when they die. And yes, there are a number of verses which seem to suggest that Christians do go straight to a conscious existence in Heaven, the moment of death.

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But on the other hand, there are far more verses that seem to suggest that Christians remain in an UN-conscious state of being, until they are resurrected on the Last Day!

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And so, the real point of today’s devotional is not to prove one school of thought or the other, concerning this question. But the point of today’s devotional is to ask the questions, “Why not just quote this verse correctly? Why is it so important to prove one’s own personal interpretation? Why not just quote this verse correctly, and “let the chips fall where they may”, as the saying goes?”

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Second Coming – by Jan Luyken – Wikipedia – Public domain

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WRESTLING WITH SCRIPTURE

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“As also in all (Paul’s) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2nd Peter 3:16

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God has purposely made some things hard to be understood, as this above passage reveals! God has purposely written the Bible as a test for us. And so, it is far more important to be totally honest and forthright, than it is to convince others of my own personal viewpoint on what the Bible says! 

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The fact is, there are many Bible truths which God has not made clear! And this is one of those! Yes, God has written about this in such a way, that it is not perfectly clear. There are just far too many verses which seem to confirm that Christians sleep in the dust of the earth until Christ returns. But theologians try too hard to wrestle with the Bible in attempt to prove their own personal biased viewpoint!

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POLITICS & PERSONAL PREJUDICE

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But really, why get so dogmatic about it? Why not just say, “I don’t know”? or to say, “There are two schools of thought on this topic”.

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And what does it matter anyway, exactly how and when Christians are to be resurrected? Either way, it will seem like we close our eyes in death, and open them up, in the twinkling of an eye! Even if a person spent a thousand years in the grave, he or she wouldn’t be conscious that any time had passed, till they opened their eyes in the resurrection!

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Yes, the Academy Awards is not the only presentation corrupted by politics and prejudices! Bible teaching presentations are also quite often tainted by the same politics and personal prejudices!

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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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EXERCISING STRICT INTEGRITY

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-06831.jpgAnd so, the real critically important thing is, that we exercise total integrity, when teaching Bible doctrines! And instead of saying, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”, it would be far safer to merely quote the verse correctly. Just say, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2nd Corinthians 5:8. 

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Paul here, is merely trying to convey his preference between the two choices of where he would like to be! And so, we just cannot let our politics and personal prejudices, or even age-old Church traditions cause us to set aside strict integrity, when teaching others!

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Or perhaps you might simply say, “In my opinion, the Bible seems to suggest…this idea or that idea.”  Whenever the Bible is unclear, and has verses that seem to contradict each other, we need to make that perfectly clear to our listeners. The best and most honest thing to do, would be to present all the related verses, and simply let the hearers make up their own minds!

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USMC prayer before study Wikimedia Public-Domain

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JUDGMENT DAY

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Yes, just quote this verse correctly, and let people make up their own minds, as to just what God is trying to tell us!

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And then we won’t have to hang our heads in shame on Judgment Day, when God calls us to account for our integrity in these matters! And He will!

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“My brethren, be not many masters (teachers), knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” James 3:1  

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Global Warning – cropped image – Judgment – Christ Coming by Julian Osley – Wikimedia – Share Alike License

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“GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY!”

Proverbs 25:25

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The very good news is, that God is graciously granting us the opportunity to make any necessary changes in the way we teach others!

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And so, we all just need to back up, and ask God to help us correct these errors, while we’re still in the Day of Grace! 

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“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 

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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain

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“Marvel not at this:

for the hour is coming,

in the which all that are in the graves

shall hear His voice,

 And shall come forth;

they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;

and they that have done evil,

unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 5:28. 29 

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rezando.jpg

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me a love for truth. Keep me from all dishonesty. Let me be faithful in the least of matters…

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

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “April 2nd (Add Thou Not!)”, or you can also read… November 22 – (The Greatest Jig-saw Puzzle Ever!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END 

.Orion Constellation at Eagle Ridge

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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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“THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN”

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“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30 

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Orion Logo Signs Of HeavenWhen God promised that “there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;” Luke 21:25, we didn’t remember that, “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 4: The Signs Of Heaven were already created from the foundation of the world. But as we have learned in the past, God often works in ways we aren’t expecting, or looking for. For instance, at the first Advent, Jesus came in a way that nobody was expecting. There was a general consensus amongst the theologians in those days, that the Messiah would come with conquering armies to overtake the enemies of the Jews. And of course, the quiet and gentle manner in which Jesus did actually come took everyone by surprise.

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LOOSING THE BANDS OF ORION 

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God spoke several times of Orion, in Scripture. His question to Job was a very mystifying question, to say the least… “Canst thou…loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31. Such a strange question, indeed! How could a constellation have its bands loosed, much less, even have bands? Puzzling, puzzling!

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But now, He is revealing this bright and beautiful constellation in a way that has never before been seen. God Himself is loosing Orion’s bands, as He is just now unraveling this age-old mystery. And we are beginning to understand that this most infamous of all constellations is nothing less than a remarkable metaphor concerning Jesus.   

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ABOVE PICTURE – winter constellations – Orion & Revelation 12 Dragon (Hyades, Pleiades, etc…) seen at Eagle Ridge – Signs Of Heaven.org – Not for profit use!

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THE 5 OFFICES OF ORION

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But like most of the other Signs which this website reveals, Orion too, has much more to say as he changes his position in the sky.

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And this Soldier in the Heavens puts on different garb, as he presents the five awesome aspects of his various offices. From ‘Orion the Soldier’, and ‘Orion the Reaper’and ‘Orion the Archer’and ‘The Cross of Orion’, and last but certainly not least, “Orion, The Good Shepherd”. This amazing constellation presents a very complex revelation of the God’s magnificent love for a fallen planet.

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ABOVE PICTURE – winter – Orion the Good Shepherd – www.signsofheaven.org

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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 Orion Phenomena”

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TOMORROW:

“August 1st (The War Against The KJV)”

King James Bible – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO 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 #210 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.

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