Today’s Devotional – March 3rd (Who Lowered the Bar? Pt. 1)
By admin On March 2nd, 2014.
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Today’s Devotional – March 3rd
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Who Lowered the Bar? Part 1
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Most of us, when back in school, took part in sports of one kind or another.
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But of all the sports, the one sport that didn’t get many takers was the sport of pole-vaulting.
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Most of us instinctively knew that there was no future in pole-vaulting, at least, no future for most of us!
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Now of course, if someone would have lowered the bar, then just about any one of us could have been a pole-vaulter.
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Exclamation Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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BAR HAS BEEN LOWERED
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And so what has this got to do with Christianity?
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Simple! Somebody has lowered the bar in Christianity!
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Yes, an unseen foe has crept in unawares and has stealthily and silently lowered the bar of Salvation.
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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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HOLY SPIRIT “TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY (OUT OF THE MIDST)”
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Yes, now it is so low, that the Spirit of Holiness has vacated Himself, as is written… “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now lets (allows) will let (allow), until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:” 2nd Thessalonians 2:7, 8.
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This above passage appears to be saying that God’s Spirit will allow this apostasy within the church-world to continue, until the day that God’s Spirit is finally taken out of the way (midst) of the church-world.
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Then, when the Spirit has been removed, that Wicked One shall be revealed within the church-world, but will eventually be destroyed with the brightness of the Coming of Christ.
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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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BIBLE CONFIRMATION
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And what gives impetus that this interpretation of 2nd Thessalonians is indeed referring to the Holy Spirit being taken out of the midst of the churches?
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Listen to the following passage… “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.
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Here in this passage, is a description of the end-time church-world, in which the congregations will no longer tolerate sound doctrine.
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They simply clamor for itching-ear gospels!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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THE TRUE HEIGHT OF STANDARD
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But the great problem is, that most of the church-world doesn’t understand how far we have fallen!
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We have been bombarded with the false standard for so long, that we are not cognizant of what the true standard of Church righteousness should actually be!
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And so, in order to understand just how far the bar has been lowered in the Christian world, it is necessary to understand just what was the correct standard. Just where was the bar supposed to be?
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So right at this point, passages will be offered, as just a hint at where the bar should actually be.
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Question Marks At a loss svg – Wikimedia-Commons – share-alike-license
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FORSAKING ALL, A PREREQUISITE
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“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33.
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These are the very words of Jesus!
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But do they sound like the words one would expect to hear during a church service? Is the Church being told we must forsake all this selfish world, in order to become a disciple of Jesus?
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And even if this is sometimes preached, doesn’t the behavior in the Church preach just the opposite, as we see so much of the Church enthusiastically seeking after the pleasures and ambitious pursuits of the world?
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Listen… “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:5.
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Yes, we might be fooling ourselves, but we’re not fooling God, as this verse from James plainly reveals!
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WORLDLY AMBITION FORBIDDEN!
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And here is another passage… “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1st Timothy 6:8, 9.
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Paul’s life was a testimony that he practiced what he preached.
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And Paul traded away all of this world’s goods, in order to win the spiritual treasures of Heaven.
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But is this passage being followed by today’s Church? In this day of incredible opulence, are we casting away our idols of silver and gold, as the Bible commands? (see Isaiah 2:20, 21)
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Paul Shipwrecked Acts 27:41-44- www.lavistachurchofchrist.org –public domain
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TOTAL DEVOTION TO CHRIST, A MUST!
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Here is another… “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.
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This is the standard that Paul lived by. But is it the standard of today’s Church? Do I have this kind of attitude and commitment to Jesus? Do I actually believe that “to die is gain”?
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Am I so committed to the Gospel, that everything else in life pales in comparison? Do I go to work each day, successfully letting others see Christ and not “me”? Do my family members see my gentle, loving, warm reflection of Christ? Or are they afraid of my satanic temper?
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Does my lifestyle reveal to the world, that I do not covet gold or silver?
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Paul in Trouble www.thebiblerevival.com US public domain
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FULL VICTORY, OUR GOAL!
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Here’s one more… “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2nd Cor. 10:5, 6.
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When was the last time that a sermon was preached on this subject?
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Has anybody today told me that I must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? Well, if there was such a sermon preached, it’s hard to recall when!
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And even if there was such a sermon preached, do I really imagine that Christians are seriously following this command from God? Is the Church striving to overcome every sinful thought which Satan casts into our mind?
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Or is the Church rather, taking a Laissez-faire approach to the commission to purify our heart from every spot and trace of defilement? (see 2nd Peter 3:14 & 1st John 3:3)
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WELL, JUST WHO LOWERED THE BAR?
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Now, beside these above four passages, one could easily pull many other similar passages out of both Testaments to prove just where the bar of Salvation should be properly set.
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But these four passages give enough evidence and concern that the bar of standard in the church has been set considerably lower!
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Now at this point, one will ask, “Well, what does Satan hope to gain by lowering the bar, if Salvation is a free gift, not dependent on works?”
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Well, this website has many devotionals concerning this issue.
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US public domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help my heart to search out the true standard for God’s people to live by, and help me to live by that standard…
Pray for Our Nation sign – Wikimedia – Share-alike-lic.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Fleeing to the Mountains: The Abomination in the Church, Part 1”, or you may also read…March 9th (“Free-will? What Free-will!?”).
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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WHY IS THIS WOMAN RUNNING SO FAST?
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(THE FLEEING WOMAN OF REVELATION 12: (The Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 sketch above can be seen in winter in the northern sky. It is Ursa Major, AKA The Great Bear, and her right leg and her torso is commonly known as the The Big Dipper . She appears like this in the early fall in the pre-dawn hours, and is running westward. The pathway with Bible books of course, are the artist’s embellishment)
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Running The Christian Race (Part 1: Paul & John: Our Role Models)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW:
March 4th (“It’s a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World!”)
Mad world poster – Wikimedia – Fair Use Rationale
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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 #62 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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