Daily Devotional – FEBRUARY 8 (Free-will? What Free-will? Part 2: “Little Jack Horner Christianity”)
By admin On January 19th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional – FEBRUARY 8
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Free-will? What Free-will? Part 2: “Little Jack Horner Christianity”
To read part 1, click here…March 9th (“Free-will? What free-will!?”, Part 1)
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Little Jack Horner
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Sat in the corner,
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Eating a Christmas pie;
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He put in his thumb,
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And pulled out a plum,
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And said ‘What a good boy am I!’
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This above nursery rhyme seems to be a good metaphor concerning Sal
vation by good works!
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In other words, there are many who are under the notion that they have merited Salvation by some good work! They did some good work, just like Little Jack Horner!
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But listen to what God says… “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9.
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Here we see that Salvation is by grace alone, and nothing can be added to that grace!
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
(The Full Project Gutenberg License in Legalese (normative):
This Picture from the eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net)
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OUR GOOD WORK MUST BE ADDED
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Nevertheless, we humans insist on a religion which requires some good work on our part.
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For some, it is the good work of water baptism.
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For others it is the good work of law-keeping, or starting some ministry, or living a moral life.
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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WHO CHOSE WHO?
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Now there are many who are led to believe that they first chose to follow Jesus.
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For these, it is the good work of choosing Jesus.
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And so, all such feel that they can boast that “I chose Jesus”.
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Of course, all this is complete and utter nonsense!
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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NOTHING GOOD IN MAN!
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After all, if there are some who chose Jesus and many others who didn’t choose Him, then this would have to be considered as some little spark of innate goodness within those who chose to serve Jesus!
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Think about it! There must be something in me that caused me to choose Jesus: some little spark of goodness that other people do not possess!
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But listen to Paul’s testimony… “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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WE’RE UTTERLY & HOPELESSLY WICKED!
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And listen again to Paul’s testimony… “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one…” Romans 3:9-18
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But for some reason, it is nearly impossible for us to give up the false notion that, “God sees something good in me!” And so, the Devil capitalizes on this false notion, and draws me into a counterfeit gospel which requires me to exercise “that little spark of goodness” which supposedly unlocks the doors of Salvation!
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And all who are under this erroneous notion are under a works/grace gospel, which is no gospel at all!
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This, in essence, is a Little Jack Horner religion! “I did that one good work! I signed on the dotted line! I have done something that others did not! Oh what a good boy am I!”
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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GOD CHOOSES US!
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Oh yes, God asks us to choose whom we will serve! The Bible makes that clear!
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But the fact is, nobody will choose to serve Christ!
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Listen… “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44
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So here it is made clear, that no man can come to Christ, except the Father draws him! We all love the darkness. Salvation is the total gift of God! It is only when His Holy Spirit indwells the human heart, that we then can choose to serve Him.
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But that is the work of God, by grace alone!
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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A TINY SPARK OF HUMAN GOODNESS?
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And so, according to this faulty theology, there are the Little Jack Horner Christians, and then there are all the rest, who refused to pull out the plum!
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Or there was no plum in their pie! Or they were just not lucky enough to find the plum! Or they did not have that little spark of goodness to even want to pull out the plum!
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And this kind of Little Jack Horner Christianity is embraced by many who have never become born again! They are still living by the flesh.
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Their hearts are still seeking after the things of the world!
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But Christ says… “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,” John 15:16
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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CONTINUED TOMORROW… ” FEBRUARY 9 (Free-will? What Free-will? Part 2: Little Jack Horner Christianity, Continued)”
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Little Jack Horner – WW Denslow – Project Gutenberg
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
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“Dear Lord, Keep me from adding my own good work to Christ’s all-sufficient grace. And though I don’t fully understand all facets of truth concerning these things, give me a fear of adding my own self-righteousness to what Christ alone has accomplished…
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READ MORE…
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To explore deeper into this subject, please read… January 1st (Good Shepherd Finds Us”), or you can also read… “January 30th (ABC 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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“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD”
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“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
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By the infallible pen of Divine inspiration, God has forever connected Himself with the concept of a shepherd with his sheep. The above verse from John’s Gospel portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd. With His sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus truly fulfilled the above prophecy, giving His life for His lost sheep.
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LOVE STORY IN THE STARS
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But Scripture isn’t the only place where God has presented this concept of the Good Shepherd, Jesus. God has written His heavenly love story in the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as well, as is written… “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the Earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25. And these Signs Of Heaven are a second witness to what the Bible declares.
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ORION THE GOOD SHEPHERD
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And this concept of the Good Shepherd is portrayed in the night sky, in this 5th personality of the Orion Constellation (see “The Orion Phenomena”). And it is a concept which the Lord would have His own people learn and live. God’s people are likewise to become good shepherds too, in our own little sphere. That is, we are to seek and to save the lost, just as we see our Lord doing so. This is part of what it means to follow Jesus. We become imitators of our Lord, the true Good Shepherd.
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ORION, THE GOOD SHEPHERD
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This star-chart from Wikipedia, has Orion sketched in by the editor of this website. With the addition of a single star, Theta Geminorum (the left hand of the Castor twin of Gemini), the sickle in Orion, the Reaper’s hand (sketch to left), now extends the blade, thus transforming that sickle into the hook of a shepherd’s rod and staff. And so now this little Gemini star becomes the tip of Orion’s Shepherd’s rod & staff. Thus with this additional star, Orion the Reaper Constellation now becomes the 5th personality of Orion: The Good Shepherd (sketch below right). Theta Geminorum is a class A3, 4th magnitude star, which means it is much fainter than either of the stars, Castor or Pollux. But faint as This little star may be, it nevertheless presents a giant concept, turning Orion’s sickle into a shepherd’s rod. And this is a very wonderful and beautiful Bible truth: namely, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, as is written…
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“As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.” Ezekiel 34:12
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And so God has placed this Starry Shepherd in the winter-night heavens to remind us of His great love for a planet which has wandered away: just like sheep that wandered to where the grass looked greener.
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READ MORE…
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To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Orion, The Good Shepherd”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
