Today’s Devotional – September 19th (Dawn of the Dead, Part 4: Earthly Mammon!)

By admin On August 23rd, 2014

.

.

Today’s Devotional – September 19th

.

.

.

.

Dawn of the Dead,

.

Part 4:

“Earthly Mammon!”

To read Part 1, click here…September 16th (Dawn of the Dead! Part 1: Music)

 

.

.

.

.

.

.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dawn_of_the_dead.jpgAre you old enough to remember that startling movie, “Dawn of the Dead”? 

.

Being one of the first of its kind, it had a stunning effect on movie-goers. That is, to see dead people slowly sleep-walking through a giant, abandoned shopping mall, surrealistically going through the motions of shopping, while silky violin strains of “elevator music” echoed through the empty corridors, was a giant shock to movie audiences back in those days!

.

Dawn of the Dead – Wikipedia – Copyrighted – Fair-Use Rationale

.

.

.

.

.

.

“for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.” Jeremiah 7:32

.

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

Now the premise of that movie was that some apocalyptic holocaust had killed off the bulk of Mankind, leaving no more room in Hell. And this is loosely based on Jeremiah’s prophecy… “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.” Jeremiah 7:32

.

Thus, the world was now mostly populated by these half-dead zombies, who continually sought to cannibalize the few surviving humans left on earth! And that infamous shopping mall became the dark, frightening and macabre backdrop for that movie!

.

Dawn of the Dead – Wikipedia – Copyrighted – Fair-Use Rationale

.

.

.

.

.

DEAD-MEN-WALKING TRULY EXIST!

.

Now this devotional is not promoting the idea that we should be watching movies. No, but rather, the intent is only to provide an earthly analogy for biblical ideas! After all, Paul quoted a line from a secular poet, when trying to make sense with a group of potential converts. (see Acts 17:28)

.

And of course, the Bible declares our pre-Salvation condition in the following manner… “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 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 2:11, 12

.

Yes, the Bible repeatedly pronounces our condition as being walking-dead souls, prior to Salvation! That is, without the life-giving Holy Spirit indwelling our hearts, we are merely enjoying the selfish pleasures of Satan’s Dark Kingdom of the Living-Dead!

.

Yes, spiritually speaking, we, being a world of lost souls, are merely all, the “living dead”, prior to our Salvation!

.

Zombies Night of the Living Dead – Wikipedia- Public-Dom.

.

.

.

.

.

WALKING-DEAD SHOPPERS

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

.

Now this 1970’s shocker has been the backdrop for the previous three devotionals (To read, click here).

.

But this current “Dawn of the Dead” devotional will finally deal with those walking-dead ones who continued to shop at the mall. Oh well, they were just going through the motions of shopping!

.

But it was very surrealistic and macabre to see these half-dead ones, as they lurched through that post-apocalyptic mall, as if they were still alive!

.

Toronto zombie walk – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

WALKING DEAD CHURCH-GOERS

company's coming

.

But there is somewhat of a parallel analogy that could be drawn from that aspect of the movie. Yes, in a way, one might compare that strange phenomenon to what we see in today’s Church! Because, for those of us who claim to have been buried with Christ in that watery grave called baptism, it seems as if, perhaps, we might have been buried alive! And now we are merely like half-dead zombies, going through the motions of our pre-baptismal existence!

.

And why does it seem as if we were buried alive? Well, so many of us still behave so much like the walking-dead, as we come up from the baptismal pool, and begin to live like we did when we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (this miserable wretch included)! (See Ephesians 2:2)

.

 

.

.

.

.

RETURN TO THE DEAD

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PS_Kr%C3%B8yer_-_Hip_hip_hurra!_Kunstnerfest_p%C3%A5_Skagen_1888.jpg

Yes, so many of us Christians continue to pursue the earthly Mammon, without giving it a second thought! We buy and sell just like we did before we supposedly died-to-self! We pinch out our 10% into the offering plate, and think that’s all that God expects!

.

And then we spend the rest on whatever suits our fancy! We buy our expensive cars and boats and big-screen TV’s and high-end hotels, and bigger homes and whatever else catches our eye! We max out our credit cards, overeat, exhaust our time-schedule, deplete our brains with worldly thoughts, and then wonder why our spiritual life is so thin and anemic! And we cannot understand why we easily lose our temper! And we cannot understand why we still cuss under our breath. And why we laugh at crude jokes! And why we would rather watch TV than study our Bible!

.

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

.

.

.

.

.

WE’VE NOURISHED OUR HEARTS IN THE DAY OF SLAUGHTER

.company's coming

“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

.

This above verse from James really says it all, concerning today’s Christian culture! Yes, we who represent the last Church on earth, prior to Christ’s Coming, have been enveloped by a sort of hybrid culture: partly Christian, partly the World. So many of the pleasures and pursuits of the world have found their way into the Christian community. 

.

But God will have no part in such a compromised Church! Over and over and over again, the Bible warns us, “Wherefore come out from among them (unbelievers), and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you…” 2nd Corinthians 6:17

.

Yes, we have nourished and whetted our carnal appetites, by embracing so many of the selfish pursuits of this hedonistic society! Not realizing that “behold, the Judge standeth before the door.”! (James 5:9) 

.

.

.

.

.

OUR ROLE-MODELS ARE LEFT BEHIND!

.

The problem is, we have left Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John, and everyone else, way back there, still standing at our baptismal pool, waiting for us to join them in the upward heavenly sojourn! Yes, while these God-given role-models are left behind, and we are not even aware that it was our great commission to diligently conform our lives after the pattern which they left us!

.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Rich_Young_Man_Went_Away_Sorrowful_%28Le_jeune_homme_riche_s%27en_alla_triste%29_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg

And so, in essence, we have become like the Walking-Dead in that movie, “we shop till we drop”, as the saying goes! No, this article is not about literally shopping, and yet there is an eerie resemblance to those zombies as they walked through that post-apocalyptic mall!

.

Nevertheless, it is actually about the fact that we lust after all those luxuries and finer attainments and hedonistic pleasures: the very things that the world runs after!

.

But if we would only look back, we might see that our heavenly role-models are praying, and studying, and contemplating God’s Word, as they go about, spreading the Gospel far and near!

.

Oh well yes, maybe we do a 30-minute Bible study each morning! But as soon as we close our Bible, we walk away, rarely giving another thought to spiritual things!

.

The Rich Young Man Went Away Sorrowful – James Tissot – Wikimedia – Brooklyn Museum – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

BABYLON ALL AROUND US!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ebenezer_Newman_Downard_Morning_prayer_1860-61.jpg

.

Well of course, if we have a family, we must care for their needs! And if they are yet worldly-minded, then we must care for the things of the world, how we might please them!

.

But even in this case, we can still pursue our heavenly Prize, while going about our daily duties! Silent prayers can be breathed. Spiritual hands can be lifted up in the secret sanctuary of our heart! A pocket Testament can be read on a break, and a verse committed to memory! A personal pleasure can be sacrificed upon the altar to the attending Angel of the Lord, even as we provide a worldly happiness for our unsaved loved-ones!

.

Morning Prayers – Ebenezer Newman – Downard – 1860 – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

LIKE DANIEL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Poynter's_Daniel's_Prayer.jpg

.

In other words, there is a secret hiding place for those of us who have families, but must “go it alone”, so to speak! Yes, when our family refuses to walk that upward pilgrim’s pathway, we often find ourselves in spiritual servitude! And in a very real sense, we are like faithful Daniel, as he went about doing his many daily duties as a servant in the courts of Babylon! Yes, we will be very busy, providing the things of the world for our family, while trying to serve the Lord at the same time!

.

But all of us must continue to live in this Babylonian world, in a civil sense. We still need to work, and shop, and to enjoy time with our family! Nevertheless, God is calling us to, “Come out of her My people”, in a spiritual sense!

.

And in order to come out of spiritual Babylon, we must plead with God to take away our love for this Babylonish world! And we must also plead with God to replace that former love with a new love for Jesus, and a burning desire to walk joyfully in all His ways!

.

Poynter’s – Daniel’s Prayer – 1865 – public domain

.

.

.

.

.

THE FLESH-EATING ‘OLD MAN’ MUST DIE! 

.

And yes, we have to kill that Zombie! Yes, that old Zombie within must die! The Bible speaks of him as that, “Old Man” with all his fleshly desires (see Ephesians 4:22), and begin to empower our inner “New Man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

.

And so, there is a battle to be fought, and a war to be won! But the Word of Christ has promised us… “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

.

.

.

.

.

.

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Cannibalism_1571.PNGTO READ PART 5, CLICK HERE…

March 25 (Dawn of the Dead! Part 5: “Cannibalizing Our Children!?”)

Cannibalism in Russia and Lithuania 1571. – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to cast away the vain idols of this world, that I may run toward Thy Holy Zion! Help me to fix my gaze on the things that are not seen…

.

.

.

.

.

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “’7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’”  or you can also read… “The Crown of Revelation 12: What Is “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”?”

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)

 

.

.

.

 

THE ARK IN THE HEAVENS

Two Turtledoves birds & Flower Of The Field Constellations

.

So what importance to us is all this information? Well, if a person goes out at night, beginning in April (earlier in southern-most latitudes, and later in northern-most), in the pre-dawn hour, they just might locate the constellation commonly referred to as theSagittarius Constellation . It is located in the southern sky. (Each night it appears a little earlier, slowly inching westward, through the summer, until it finally disappears below the western horizon in November.)

Ark of the Covenant Constellation

.

At first, it simply appears as two twin birds flying westward. But if you look once again, it just might appear as a long box-like figure, with one star on the right, as you face it, and two stars on the left. The box, of course would be the Ark, and the stars on either side would represent angels, which are sometimes referred to as stars in the Bible (for instance, “the seven stars are the angels…” Revelation 1:20). To the right is a star-chart from Wikipedia, in which the editor of this site has sketched in this Sagittarius Constellation, to show how God created it to appear.

.

Star-chart to right is from Wikipedia. Editor has sketched over Sagittarius to show this Ark Constellation.

.

.

.

.

.

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

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Ark of the Covenant Constellation”

.

.

.

.

.

https://theheavensdeclare.net/castor-pollux/

TOMORROW:

“September 20th (Don’t Miss The Boat!)”

ABOVE PICTURE: The Gospel Ark (ship) of Salvation

.

.

.

.

.

.

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 #260 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

.

Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

.

Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on the provided image credit 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. 

Leave a Reply