Daily Devotional, Year 2 – May 5 (Ants: Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing!)
By admin On January 24th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – May 5
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Ants: Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing!
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When you were a child, did you ever stamp your foot upon the pathway of busy ants?
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Well, as you may remember, they simply continued on with their mission, didn’t they?
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They merely went around your foot, and kept laboring on their appointed work of gathering food…
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Listen…
…”Go to the ant…consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provides her meat in the summer,
and gathers her food in the harvest.”
Proverbs 6:6-8
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Leaf Cutter Ants – Butterflyworld – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Share-alike License
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NATURE’S WISDOM
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Yes, the ants are a very focused and determined little community!
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They have their “marching orders”, and nothing seems to deter them from accomplishing their appointed mission.
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Worker ant carrying leaf – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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KEEP THE MAIN THING, THE MAIN THING!
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Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from the ant is that they always seem to, “keep the main thing, the main thing”!
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But the question to be answered is, “Just what is the main thing?”
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Well, listen to Paul’s testimony…
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,”
Philippians 3:7, 8
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And from this above statement, Paul obviously considered the knowledge of Christ Jesus above every other consideration or endeavor of his life!
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Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain
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INTO HIS LIKENESS
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And Paul lays out a wonderful encouragement in 2nd Corinthians…
“But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same Image, from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2nd Corinthians 3:18
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Here is perhaps, the greatest encouragement found in all of Scripture, concerning how we might become changed into the Image of Jesus!
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By beholding Jesus, through the contemplation of His Word, we will become imperceptibly changed into His wonderful likeness!
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What could be a happier and more wonderful promise than this?
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Transfiguration – Bloch – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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MANY DIVERSIONS
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But alas, the Devil well understands that this is, “the main thing”!
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Think of it this way…
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We Christians are like the industrious little ant, doing our diligence to complete the task before us: busily gathering the Bread of Life, and becoming changed into His glorious likeness.
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And Satan is like the giant person, who stamps his foot in front of our pathway, hoping to stop us from accomplishing our mission!
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And Satan will throw obstacles across our pathway, just about anything he possibly can, in attempt to divert us from, “keeping the main thing, the main thing!”
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Christian and Apollyon – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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DANGEROUS DETOURS
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Yes, you name it!
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Whatever he thinks will divert us: whether it is some busy-busy ambitious career, or some selfish pleasure, busy-sports-activities, or hearing all the day’s political wranglings, or some time-
consuming hobby, or social club, or an all-consuming romance with some marginal Christian, or inordinate music listening, or any combination of various earthly endeavors.
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And if all else fails, Satan will even try to divert us, by getting us sidetracked into some Christian mission, or humanitarian project, or perhaps some study of science, history, or health books, Creation and prophecy seminars!
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Anything to keep us from, “keeping the main thing, the main thing!”
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Yes, the one thing that Satan hates above all else, is to see a person prayerfully studying our Bible, in attempt to hide its “great and precious promises” into our heart!
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Detour Sign – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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FAR TOO BUSY!
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Oh yes, the Christian, like everyone else, has everyday duties, which must be performed.
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But Satan will attempt to get our minds so absorbed in our everyday duties, that we leave Christ behind…
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Listen… “And take heed to yourselves,
lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting,
and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that Day (of the Lord) come upon you unawares.”
Luke 21:34
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This above verse warns against allowing even the cares of life to take precedence over our, “keeping the main thing, the main thing!”
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Multitask – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License
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PAUL ONLY WANTS TO WIN PRIZE
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And so, the next time I see these busy little ants 
doing their diligence to accomplish their appointed work, I must remember that God has given His people the same commission as Paul had…
..”Brethren…this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13, 14
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Paul knew what the main thing was, and he kept it as the main thing!
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to keep on the right track. Show me where I’m weak, and help me to shore up the wall of God’s protection….
Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…APRIL 2 (Honeybees & The Law)…
…or you can also read… November 15th (Alice-in-Wonderland Christianity)
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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“Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
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an adder in the path,
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that biteth the horse heels,
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so that his rider shall fall backward”
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Genesis 49:17.
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THE HOLY GHOST RIDER CONSTELLATION
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This newest Signs Of Heaven Constellation (Fall, 2013) is by far the faintest of constellations, but is a very incredible and awesome one in a number of ways (which this article will explain).
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It is primarily comprised of the Camelopardalis Constellation (head and upper back), plus about 5 stars from the Cassiopeia Constellation (his leg), plus some random stars.
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It appears as an outline of a rider.
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Only the back of his head is detailed.
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And his back and the back of his legs are also detailed.
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Both sides of his arm are visible, and his hand is gripping the horse’s mane, and that is detailed by three stars (which are also part of the horse’s mane).
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The rider is in a position vaguely similar to a race-horse jockey.
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The two brightest stars in this constellation, are from the Cassiopeia Constellation, and are part of his leg.
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All the rest of the stars are very faint, and must be viewed on a very starry night.
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Since this constellation has just been revealed, there may be more to this constellation in the coming months.
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But if you can locate the Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation, then you shouldn’t have too much trouble locating this Rider Constellation, provided you have excellent star-watching conditions.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW…
“MAY 6 (The Great Babylonian Dream-Machine!)”
ABOVE PICTURE: Dream Maker of Babylon – Signs Of Heaven.org
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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 #491 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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