Today’s Devotional – September 27th (The Chrysalis Christian, Part 4: “From Sinner Into Virgin!”)
By admin On August 29th, 2014.
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Today’s Devotional – September 27th
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The Chrysalis Christian,
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Part 4:
“From Sinner Into Virgin!”
To read Part 1, click here…January 7th (The Chrysalis Christian!)
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“Oh, I’ve made such a mess of my life!
I’ve ruined my body with drugs and alcohol!
I’ve defiled my heart with many sins!
I’ve defiled my body countless times,
and in ways that I just don’t even care to mention!
It’s just too late for me
to ever hope to become something
that I haven’t been for such a long time!”
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Well, these kinds of discouraging words, in the above paragraph, are probably the very sentiments that so many people are afraid to even speak, much less even dwell upon!
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And besides that, many people look at the life of a Christian and hopelessly say to themselves…
“I can’t do those things!
I have no heart for those kinds of things!
I love my sin and my selfish life!
I love all the night-life!
I could never become like them!”
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Hands Toasting Drinks – Cheers! – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”
2nd Corinthians 5:17
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But God is more powerful than any of us can possibly comprehend!
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Why, in 2nd Corinthians 11:2, God even calls His followers “chaste virgins” if you can believe that!
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How could sinful humans, who have utterly defiled themselves, ever hope to be referred to as a “chaste virgin”?!
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Five Wise Virgins – Matt 25 – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain
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“10,000 TEACHERS IN CHRIST”
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Well, God has written his love throughout nature. We can learn many valuable lessons from watching the things of nature: both living things as well as inanimate things.
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The Bible says that we have “ten-thousand teachers in Christ.” 1st Corinthians 4:15
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Yes, all of nature is filled with, what is commonly referred to as, “object lessons”! From the tiniest atom to the greatest galaxy, and everything in between, we can learn valuable lessons: lessons about life and about Heaven’s love!
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Stylised Lithium Atom – Share-alike Lic. – Wikimedia Commons
Andromeda Galaxy – Adam Evans & Wikipedia – Share-Alike License
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THE LOWLY CATERPILLAR IS OUR TEACHER
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For example, just look at the lowly little caterpillar, who crawls through the grass or spends his earth-bound existence just eating and eating some little green leaf.
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And he spends his days on earth, slowly waddling through the world, looking for that which will make him happy.
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And isn’t this our condition too?
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Don’t we all just want to be happy…in a sad and hopeless world?
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But God has given the lowly little caterpillar to teach us a great big lesson about what He can miraculously do for us!
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caterpillar – Papilio machaon caterpillar – cropped image – Wikipedia – Public Domain
Child boy face with butterfly – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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“Ye must be born again”
John 3:7
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Yes, God gave us the lowly little caterpillar to teach a lesson about becoming “born again”. (Read John, Chapter 3)
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Because after a time, this little worm grows tired of his earthly situation.
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And he finally decides it’s time to call it quits!
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And so, he goes up into a tree and creates a little shell for himself called a chrysalis. And there, he goes into hiding for some days or weeks.
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And inside that little safe-haven, this little worm dies.
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Chrysalis (Pupa) of a Common Crow Butterfly – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License
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“He hath made every thing beautiful in His time”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
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But lo and behold! After the fulfillment of its days, breaking forth from its shell, emerges a brand-new creation!
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And a very beautiful creation at that!
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No longer is this new creature earth-bound! No longer does he live for this world!
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“But they that wait upon the LORD…shall mount up with wings as eagles”
Isaiah 40:31
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But now, with two beautiful wings, this marvelous little metaphor (symbol) begins a brand-new life, cruising through the summer skies, sipping on the sweet nectar from every correct flower!
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And this colorful little Metaphor-of-Salvation is presented by God to show us what we too can become: a brand-new creature in Christ! A follower of Jesus! And just as zealous as Paul! And just as holy as John!
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South American Butterfly – Wikipedia – Share-Alike License
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WALKING UP A NEW PATH
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Yes, even though our wretched past makes us cringe whenever we remember, we can, through God’s miraculous re-creative power, be reborn into an absolutely new creature: now with new thoughts and now with fresh desires and now with lofty new hopes, too!
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Women Walking at Sunset – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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“Thou art my Hiding Place and my Shield: I hope in Thy Word”
Psalm 119:114
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So, whether we are a godless atheist or even a 4th generation church-attendee sitting a dedicated-family-owned-bought-and-paid-for-pew, we can still cast our needy soul at the feet of merciful Jesus!
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And then we can plead for Him to help us create our own Christian-Chrysalis in which we can go into hiding (spiritually speaking, of course!) and begin the rebirth process in our own life!
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Spiritual Virgins!
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Brand New Creations in Christ, constantly drinking in the honey-like nectar of God’s Word!
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Girl Praying – Wikimedia – Public Domain
Five Wise Virgins – Matt 25 – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to become a new creature in Christ…
Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…May 5 (Nature’s Witnesses, Part 14: “Butterflies: God’s Little Witnesses In Nature”), or you can also read…JANUARY 19 (George Whitefield, Ye Must Be Born Again! Part 3: How Do I Become Born Again?)
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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SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS = “COME FOLLOW ME”
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This whole scenario paints the portrait of just what it means to become a disciple of Jesus. We are all called to “go and sell all you have, and give to the poor…and come follow Me”. And so the new Christian begins his or her heavenly sojourn. Oh yes, we’re still here on Earth. But we now begin a spiritual pilgrimage, as we follow Jesus in our hearts, and learn of Him. The Woman Constellation giving birth to the Christ-child typifies the Church (all true worshippers) as we struggle to rightly present Christ to the world. “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” Galatians 4:19. So Paul was using this idea of child-birth as way of illustrating how a Believer is in spiritual labor pains, waiting for Christ to be formed within.
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Remember the parable of ‘the Sower who went forth sowing seed’ (Matthew 13:3-9)? Hopefully our hearts are made of good soil into which the gospel seed can be sown. The Gospel is only planted as a little seed. The seed must grow. But if we are true worshippers, then our desire is to be co-laborers together with Christ, to purify our lives, in order that the world can look at us, and see Christ in us. “And every man who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He (Christ) is pure.” John 3:3. Such a condition would be what the Bible speaks of, as seed planted on good soil.
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TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE
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RECEIVING THE CROWN… We have now arrived at that day, which the Bible refers to as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (see Jeremiah 30:7). Like this woman, we too are grasping for the Cross/Scepter. And just like that crown not yet on her head, we have yet to receive that crown of life.
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“Blessed is the man that endures temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord has promised to them that love him.”
James 1:12
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But the sins of the Church are great. God’s people are ashamed at how un-Christ-like we are before the onlooking world. We pray that Christ would be formed within us, that we might glorify Him in all that we do. But we fail so often. With family. With friends. With seemingly everyone! Prayers seem unanswered. Characters still roughly hewn. We can certainly say along with Paul… “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:24.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Woman in Travail)”
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TOMORROW:
“September 28th (2nd Commandment & Images, Part 2: The Holy Kiss & Footwashing)”
Judas Betrays Jesus – courtesy Wikipedia – Public Domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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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 IS STUDY #268 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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