Daily Devotional, April 1, Year 4 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 1)
By admin On April 11th, 2021.
Daily Devotional, April 1, Year 4
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Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets,
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Part 1
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“For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.”
2nd Timothy 4:3, 4.
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In this above passage, the Lord is foretelling of a day when the churches will no longer tolerate the true and uncompromised Gospel.
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And there are many today who believe that we have already come to demand an “itching ears”, prosperity-filled gospel.
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We merely want our ears tickled with a non-condemning, non-threatening, and entertainment-filled gospel!
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Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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JEREMIAH’S DAY
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So, what happened?
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Why has the church-world come to the same fate as the Old Testament people of God?
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Listen…
“Then Hananiah the prophet…spake,
saying, Thus saith the LORD…
I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
from the neck of all nations
within the space of two full years…”
Jeremiah 28:10, 11
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You see, Jeremiah was warning God’s people that they would soon be taken captive in Babylon for 70 years.
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But the false prophets were prophesying just the opposite!
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They were prophesying “peace and safety”! (1st Thessalonians 5:3)
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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PROPHESYING SMOOTH THINGS
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And in this above passage, the false prophet, Hananiah, was likewise misleading God’s people, telling them that Jeremiah was the one who was lying!
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They were telling the people what they wanted to hear!
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Yes, the people were listening to an “itching ears” gospel by those prophets prophesying “smooth things”!
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And as you can see in this picture, Jeremiah was devastated by the eventual destruction of Jerusalem!
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Cry of prophet Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem – Wikiart – US Public Domain
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ENTERTAIN US! DON’T CONVICT US!
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To die with Jesus is totally unacceptable, when there’s so much to enjoy in this self-focused world!
We want happy things!
Things that will not condemn us!
Soothing things!
Pleasant things!
We desire to hear “peace & safety”! (1st Thessalonians 5:3)
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Yes, today’s audiences demand clever speakers, emotionally charged music, repetitive chants, and well-timed jokes and quips!
And instead, we want exotic prophecies about black helicopters and prognostications about future political events!
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Certainly nothing that will make us uncomfortable and wound our egos or condemn our selfish lifestyles!
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Yes, it sadly seems that we’re much like those rebels who complained to Jesus…“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it’?” (John 6:60)
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Rock Music Christian CHURCH STP 2010 Pomona – Wikimedia – public domain
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WAKE-UP CALL NEEDED!
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On the other hand, God takes no pleasure in giving us such a harsh rebuke!
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And yet, if God only presented us with a nice, poetic, and smooth message, then nobody would prepare for war! Oh yes, everyone would like that smooth message!
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But we would not be alarmed out of our slumber!
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Listen… “But though He (God) cause grief,
yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies…
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD”
Lamentations 3:32-34, 40, 41 (Condensed)
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Here is a revelation of our merciful God knows that our present troubles and distresses will hopefully wake us up, back to the glorious ways of Heaven!
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Seven sleepers – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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THE WISE DON’T MIND REBUKES!
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Listen… “rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Give instruction to a wise man,
and he will be yet wiser:
teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
Proverbs 9:8, 9
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Yes, a wise man doesn’t mind a rebuke!
He (or she) knows that it will only make one wiser to hear constructive criticism!
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Now a fool is a different story!
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Listen to this proverb, as it speaks of scorners… “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:” Proverbs 9:8
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High and Mighty Trailer Screenshot – 1954 – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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OUR JOY-FILLED DESTINATION!
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Yes, we live in a very unhappy world!
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And we need to be honest and NOT be like the proverbial ostrich, hiding her head in the sand.
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But we also must fix our gaze on that happy and joyful Land just ahead!
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And once we cross that Dark River, we will hear the distant sounds of innocent children, laughing as they play!
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And then we’ll hear the joyful songs of the Redeemed, as they happily stroll through those ever-winding meadows of lush green grass, in that Beulah-Land, that is ‘Fairer than Day’!
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Study for The Cross and the World…… Brooklyn Museum Thomas Cole – US public domain
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TO READ PART 2, CLICK HERE…
SEPTEMBER 12 (“Absalom The Great Flatterer! Part 2”)
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Absalom-www.freebibleimages.org-2
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, help me today, to appreciate correction! Let me not be misled by all the smooth preaching of today’s teachers. But lead me in the way of truth, though it may cause grief at times…
Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…January 2 (The Gospel According to Pollyanna, Part 1), or you may also read… June 23rd (The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel)
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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“FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND”
Proverbs 27:6
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You will notice a big bruise on this “Man in the Moon”.
His right cheek looks like it has a big bruise on it.
That reminds us of the following verse…
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil:
but whosoever shall smite thee on thy RIGHT CHEEK,
turn to him the other also.”
Matthew 5:39.
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And just as this verse says ” turn to him the other also”, so too, our nocturnal friend likewise is turning his other cheek.
This is a big statement that God is making about how important is this Bible principle of “turning the other cheek”!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Moon Into Blood Trilogy: 1st Face: The Night Watchman
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW
April 2: (ABC Christianity)
Chewed gums wikimedia share-alike license
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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE
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This is a chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.
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Chapter 47 – Ministry
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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM 
QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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This recording #141, is a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry, and includes caller’s questions regarding his teachings on “the end of the church age”…
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible -cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons