Daily Devotional, Year 4, December 23 (The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel, Part 3: “The American Dream”)

By admin On October 1st, 2024

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Daily Devotional, Year 4, December 23

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The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel,

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Part 3:

“The American Dream”

To read Part 1, go here…June 23rd (The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel)

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After many bloody centuries of tyranny and persecution by the European church/state system, the New World offered hope for Christians.

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And a great company of pilgrims set sail from shores of the greatly depleted European soil, enroute for the newly discovered land across the ocean…

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…a land which promised opportunity for peace and prosperity along with freedom of political/ religious speech.

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THE AMERICAN DREAM: GOOD, BAD, or UGLY?

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**This website appears to speak negatively about “The American Dream”.**

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**As a matter of fact, this website lumps “The American Dream” together with the so-called “Prosperity Gospels”.**

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“The American Dream” and “The Entrepreneurial Spirit” are spoken of as the conservative form of the “Health & Wealth” gospels which are so prevalent in today’s Christendom.

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Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

Proverbs 5:6

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But the fact is, nobody actually knows exactly what the American Dream is.

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It has never been precisely defined.

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To some, it is to attain financial independence.

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To others, it is to achieve peace, prosperity, and health.

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For many, it is to be able to own a car, a home, and to have a happy family.

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Curveball – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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“Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more”

Proverbs 31:7

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So, what could be wrong with such a dream?

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Well, actually, probably nothing is wrong with such a dream.

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And for the unsaved people of the world, such a dream might be a very good thing!

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Especially considering that this fallen world will be the closest to Heaven that the unsaved world might ever experience!

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And so, for all who decide to not follow Jesus as one of His Disciples, one might encourage to merely, “let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die”. 1st Corinthians 15:32
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Ivy Covered Door – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

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“…but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

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But for those who have responded to the call, “And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

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Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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“And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away”

1st Corinthians 7:31

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Now, does such an all-consuming devotion to Christ forebear owning one’s own home…or having a family…or taking vacations…or enjoying family get-togethers…or making a sustainable income…or operating one’s own business?

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Absolutely not!

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“And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away”. 1st Corinthians 7:31

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So, in this verse is the proper balance a Believer is to maintain.

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And so, the true Believer must always be mindful to maintain a proper balance between Heaven and earth.

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Barbecue – Dutch family – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

Family eating meal – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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In other words, by the prayerful power of the Holy Spirit, and through the experiential wisdom from walking in God’s Word, a Christian realizes how to have his or her priorities straight.

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And the very first priority is to strive to Love God supremely.

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And the second priority is to strive to encourage family, friends, and neighbors on the heavenward sojourn out of this world.

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And the closer we become changed into the likeness of Christ, the greater will be the victory we achieve in these goals!

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And this, dear souls is the greatest dream one might ever achieve!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Let me not be deceived by the deceitfulness of riches. Let me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, and pattern my life after His glorious life…

Family Prayer Before Meal – Wikimedia – US-Govt. – Public-Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN

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THE ARK IN THE HEAVENS

So, what importance to us is all this information?

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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 the Sagittarius Constellation.

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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.)

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At first, it simply appears as two twin birds flying westward.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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TOMORROW:

May 26 (Eternal Torment? Part 21: “The Impossibility of Eternal Torment!”)

Buddhist Hell – Wikipedia – public domain

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<img class=” wp-image-40517 alignleft” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ellen_G_White.jpg” alt=”https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellen_G_White.jpg” width=”85″ height=”118″ /></a><a href=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Prayer-for-USA-Wikimedia-300×192-1.jpg”><img class=” wp-image-54152 alignright” src=”https://theheavensdeclare.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Prayer-for-USA-Wikimedia-300×192-1.jpg” alt=”” width=”101″ height=”118″ /></a>Maranatha!: “The United States in Prophecy”– By Ellen G. White</strong></span></h1>
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<h3><span style=”color: #a4c4f4;”><strong><a style=”color: #a4c4f4;” href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–Bln5TbOH4&t=1s” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS 5-MINUTE DEVOTIONAL – – Maranatha!: “The United States in Prophecy”– By Ellen G. White</a></strong></span></h3>
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<span style=”color: #808080;”>Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

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