Daily Devotional – FEBRUARY 4 (The World’s Worst Human!)
By admin On January 19th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – FEBRUARY 4
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The World’s Worst Human?
Adolph Hitler – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by Him,
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 7:25
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Do you remember seeing the video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein? Well, it was not a very nice thing, was it?
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Or maybe we rather enjoyed seeing Saddam getting his just reward?Â
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And what about all the other wicked despots and villains through history? How do we feel about them? Such men as Adolph Hitler, or Stalin, or the Boston Strangler, or Ted Bundy, or Jeffrey Dahmer?
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Well, it would be difficult to feel any love for these evil men! That’s for sure!
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Saddam Hussein Statue – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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DID CHRIST DIE FOR ADOLPH?
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But what about Jesus Christ? Did He love those desperately wicked individuals? Did He also die for their sins?
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There is a popular saying in Christendom, which says… “If you were the only sinner on earth, would Christ have come to die for you?”
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And the obvious answer is that “Yes, if you or I were the only sinner who ever lived, Christ would have given His life for you or me!”
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Well then, what if Adolph Hitler was the only sinner, would Christ have given His life for Adolph? Or what about Osama Bin Laden? Would Christ have given His life for that evil man?
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Or did Christ merely give His life for we who are not considered to be so bad?
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So then, if Christ did give His life for the Bin-Laden’s and Ted Bundy’s of the world, then what should our position be, concerning such evil men?
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PAUL, THE CHIEF OF SINNERS!
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Listen to Paul, the Apostle… “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1st Timothy 1:15
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Well, Paul (who was a mass murderer prior to his salvation) here is calling himself, “the chief of sinners”! This means that Paul considered himself to be the worst of the worst!
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But remarkably, Paul likewise says that this saying is “worthy of all acceptance”! In other words, you or I can also say along with Paul, “I too, am the chief of sinners”!
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WELL, I’M NOT SO BAD, AM I?
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But how can this be? After all, I live a highly moral life! I pay all my taxes, and go to church and pay my tithes! “No, no, no, I am definitely not the chief of sinners! No way could I be compared to Adolph Hitler! No way could I be in the same station with such men as Osama bin-Laden or with those cut-throats over there in the Middle East!”
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But the Bible makes this statement about you and me… “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9, 10
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GOD LOOKETH UPON THE HEART
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You see, while we judge according to outward appearances, the Lord looks upon the incredible wickedness which exists deep within our hearts!Â
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And the fact is, God could have easily allowed the Devil to use you or me, instead of Adolph Hitler, if we had lived back then in Germany!
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Yes, we have that much wickedness in our hearts! None of us can hold our head up!
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And none of us will hold our head up high on Judgment Day, when God reveals the hidden things of darkness, and the secrets of men’s hearts, that exists in each one of us!
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WHAT DO WE OWE SUCH WICKED MEN?
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And so, now that we are Christians, we must ask ourselves the following questions: if Christ gave His life for such wicked men as Hitler, and Stalin, and bin-Laden, then what do we owe all the wicked men and women who are still living their evil lives in today’s world?
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Do we owe them our prayers for God’s mercy and grace?
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Should we pray for their Salvation?
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Should we have Christ’s love for them?
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And do I truly believe that I am the, “chief of sinners?”
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Brooklyn Museum – What Our Lord Saw from the Cross – James Tissot
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IMAGE IN THE MIRROR
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The longer that a man or woman serves the Lord, truly serves the Lord, the greater becomes our painful awareness of just what great sinners we really are!
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And the more we gaze into the mirror of the Bible, we begin to see ourselves against the image of Christ’s majesty and supreme righteousness! And the more we look into that mirror, the brighter becomes that glorious mirror-image of Christ!
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And through our many trials, God reveals to us our inner wickedness! And gradually, we grow more painfully aware of just what dirty rotten sinners we really are!
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Girl with round mirror – Wikimedia – US public domain.
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OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AS FILTHY RAGS
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And then, as we look out into a world full of murderers and rapists, and child-molesters and sodomites, and whoremongers, and thieves, and kidnappers and extortionists, we realize that we are no better than they! And though we have never outwardly committed such heinous crimes, yet the capacity to do so, exists within each and every one of us!
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Now don’t think that such knowledge and realization of our own latent wickedness is a bad thing! No, the more that God reveals our inner evil, the greater will be our willingness to bow down to the only truly good and righteous Personage in the universe, God!
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And we will then be able to say along with Job… “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5, 6
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Yes, God allowed the Devil to sift Job as wheat is sifted. And even though Job was outwardly flawless, yet through that sifting process, Job became painfully aware of his own inward wickedness!
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And now that we are at that Day which will try men’s souls, God’s people must remember that the coming tribulation will ultimately purify their hearts, and conform their lives into Christ’s glorious image, so that they can also say along with Job… “But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
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And this is the purpose for which God sends His people through these various humbling trials: to purify their hearts and conform their lives into the glorious image of our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus!
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Job – Wikipedia – US public-domain
Goldkey logo removed – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to understand that a world of evil exists within my own heart! And give me a Christlike love for all mankind; even those who commit heinous acts of wickedness, praying sincerely for their Salvation…
Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “‘7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’”, or you can also read… “January 16th (How To Love Your Enemies)”Â
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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7 STARS IMITATE THE CROSS OF ORION
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LOCATING THESE TWO CONSTELLATIONS
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 This phenomenon begins in late October, in the pre-dawn hours. It then begins a little earlier each night.
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This Wikipedia star-chart to the left, has this Orion Constellation sketched in. You must locate Orion, when it is mid-sky, between east and west. You’ll be facing southward most likely, unless you are far south. Try to imagine it as a Cross on a steep hill. The 3-star belt of Orion becomes the crest of the hill. The 3 very faint stars that make up Orion’s head become the very top of the Cross.
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Next, locate the 7 Stars Constellation. This 7 Stars Constellation is seen by facing northward. It stands upright a little later in the night. Eventually, Orion will lay down and no longer be seen as an uplifted Cross! Beginning in November, the 7 Stars (AKA Big Dipper) can be seen as a Cross a little bit later in evening.
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When you are comfortable in locating Orion & The 7 Stars Constellations, then show a friend. This can be a great witnessing tool!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “‘7 Stars’ Imitate ‘The Cross of Orion’”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW…
FEBRUARY 5 . . . . Whose Name Is Engraven On My Heart?
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20 MINUTE+ AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAHÂ
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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 #400 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