Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 14 (The Christian’s Mite!)

By admin On April 26th, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 14

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The Christian’s Mite!

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“And Jesus sat over against the treasury,

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and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury:

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and many that were rich cast in much.

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“And there came a certain poor widow,

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***and she threw in two mites,* *which make a farthing.***

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“And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them,

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Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in,

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than all they which have cast into the treasury:

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“For all they did cast in of their abundance;

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but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

Mark 12:41-44

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Tissot – Jesus and The widows mite – Brooklyn-Museum

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DOLLAR AMOUNT NOT IMPORTANT

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**Now this story of the widow’s mite has held a prominent place among the many accounts of Jesus’ three-and-one-half-year ministry.**

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And the obvious lesson in this historical account is that God is not so impressed with dollar amounts as He is with percentages.

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Yes, the rich ones in this story gave just a little portion out of their abundant wealth, while the widow gave all.

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The rich still had most of their wealth intact, while the widow, perhaps, didn’t even know where her next meal was coming from.

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And yet she gave all she had!

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Tissot – Jesus and The widows mite – Brooklyn-Museum

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EARTH: A LESSON-BOOK

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Now this story, while at face-value concerns the issue of money.

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And yet it transcends the obvious lesson and goes right to the heart of what it means to be a Christian!

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Jesus said in a different place… “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

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By God’s love and grace, this one and only selfish planet exists in an entire universe which operates on the principle of unselfish brotherly love.

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And the only reason that we haven’t yet exterminated ourselves, is that God wants us to learn the lesson: that living to love our neighbor as our self, is an infinitely better way to live.

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Day-by-day, we learn the hard way about just what are the terrible results of our selfish ways on this Rebel Planet, called Earth.

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Tissot – Jesus and The widows mite – Brooklyn-Museum

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FALSE LOVE HOLDS BACK

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One problem with Christians, however, is that we somehow think we can give a portion of our life to God, while keeping back large reserves of selfishness for the rest of our time.

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It’s almost as if we think that being Christ-like is a part-time venture, or perhaps a water-faucet we can turn on and off at our own will!

.

But this great error in our thinking is the very root of false religion: doing something to please God, while still holding onto much of this selfish world!

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And so, this little account of those rich men and this widow, is actually a microcosmic portrait of false Christianity and true Christianity.

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False Christianity only wishes to give a portion, while true Christianity, symbolized by the poor widow, yearns to give all!

And truth-be-told, God is not so interested in our money!

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He wants our heart…all of it!

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Tissot – Jesus and The widows mite – Brooklyn-Museum

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“And ye shall seek Me,

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and find Me,

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when ye shall search for Me

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with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to be like that widow, and give all to Thee. Take away my love for selfishness, and give me the very heart of Jesus…

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED SIGN

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“THE SCORNER (THE PHARISEE)”

“For from within, out of the heart of men,

proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,

murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness,

deceit, lasciviousness, AN EVIL EYE,

blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Mark 7:18-23

Please tilt your head to the left.

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Do you see a man with a very long pointed nose?

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(Obviously, the sketch to the right is just an exaggeration in order to help you find the face in the photo to the left.)

Do you see an angry look? His right eye-brow is raised as if he is judging.

This second face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox. Or maybe a wolf.

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Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox? Maybe even a dog.

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Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn.

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**Unlike the first Moon-man’s sad shock and awe; this ‘man/fox/wolf/dog appears to be that of anger and scorn.**

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As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below.

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He is very moral, you see!

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Moon – 2nd face Scorner – highlighted photo – Blue moon of 31.08.2012 – by Cezar Popescu – Wikimedia – Creative-Commons – CC0-1.0-Universal-Public-Domain-Dedication

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TOMORROW:

*August 15 (Sodom Rising, Part 7: “Planet Earth: Earthly, Sensual, Devilish!”***)

Singer – 8 musicians motion blur experimental digital photography by Rick Doble. – Wikimedia – C.C. GNU License

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TITHES & OFFERINGS</strong></span></h1>
<h3><strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>.</span></strong></h3>
<h3><strong><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3jaJ7igyhc” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS 13-MINUTE TALK ON TITHES AND OFFERINGS – – 5T-32-05 – Tithes and Offerings (youtube.com)

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 14

.

.

.

.

The Christian’s Mite!

.

.

.

.

.

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury,

.

and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury:

.

and many that were rich cast in much.

“And there came a certain poor widow,

.

and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

.

“And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them,

.

Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in,

.

than all they which have cast into the treasury:

.

“For all they did cast in of their abundance;

.

but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

DOLLAR AMOUNT NOT IMPORTANT

.

.

And the obvious lesson in this historical account is that God is not so impressed with dollar amounts as He is with percentages.

.

Yes, the rich ones in this story gave just a little portion out of their abundant wealth, while the widow gave all.

.

The rich still had most of their wealth intact, while the widow, perhaps, didn’t even know where her next meal was coming from.

.

And yet she gave all she had!

.

.

.

.

.

.

EARTH: A LESSON-BOOK

.

Now this story, while at face-value concerns the issue of money.

.

And yet it transcends the obvious lesson and goes right to the heart of what it means to be a Christian!

.

Jesus said in a different place… “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

.

By God’s love and grace, this one and only selfish planet exists in an entire universe which operates on the principle of unselfish brotherly love.

.

And the only reason that we haven’t yet exterminated ourselves, is that God wants us to learn the lesson: that living to love our neighbor as our self, is an infinitely better way to live.

.

Day-by-day, we learn the hard way about just what are the terrible results of our selfish ways on this Rebel Planet, called Earth.

.

.

.

.

.

.

FALSE LOVE HOLDS BACK

.

One problem with Christians, however, is that we somehow think we can give a portion of our life to God, while keeping back large reserves of selfishness for the rest of our time.

.

It’s almost as if we think that being Christ-like is a part-time venture, or perhaps a water-faucet we can turn on and off at our own will!

.

But this great error in our thinking is the very root of false religion: doing something to please God, while still holding onto much of this selfish world!

.

***and she threw in two mites,* *which make a farthing.***