Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 14 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 5: “God’s Foreknowledge”)
By admin On January 31st, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 14
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In Every Thing Give Thanks!?!
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Part 5:
“God’s Foreknowledge”
To read Part 1, click here…February 1st (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?!)
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“In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1st Thessalonians 5:18.
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All in a 24-hour period, three calamities happened in a certain town:
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Ashley got into a terrible car accident, and “totaled out” her car.
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Nissan Sunny car accident – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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Carl’s daughter revealed to him that she had decided to quit Christianity and begin to live a pagan lifestyle.
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Burning Man – 2013 -Chapel – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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Christina’s babysitter arrived very late, making Christina late for work.
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Now just why does a loving God let so many bad things happen, both big and little? And why in the world would I ever want to give thanks for these kinds of bad and frustrating things which come my way?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE
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Well, as to the first question, it cannot be fully answered in this little devotional, as to why so many bad things happen.
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Sufficed to say that God is working out a grand plan much bigger than this little world.
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And He is preparing a people to stand loyal for all eternity, in a Heaven in which a third of the angels lost faith in God.
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The New Jerusalem – Gustave Dore – www.wikiart.org – US Public Domain
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BIBLE ANSWERS ALL QUESTIONS
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But as to the second question about whether or not I should give thanks even for the evil things which come my way, both great and small, the Bible gives great insight to this question!
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Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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KING HEZEKIAH
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The story of King Hezekiah is a true historical account which speaks to this question. You see, King Hezekiah became terminally ill at a relatively young age. And God sent Isaiah the prophet to tell Hezekiah to prepare to die.
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Well, Hezekiah went to the Lord with tears and prayers, pleading for his life. And God heard Hezekiah’s prayers, granting him 15 more years of life.
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Hezekiah – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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JERUSALEM TAKEN CAPTIVE
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But what transpired after Hezekiah’s recovery reveals why God often removes even
righteous people, like Hezekiah, from the world in their early years.
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You see, God’s foreknowledge is infinite. He knows all possible outcomes in every situation. And God knew that Hezekiah would commit a grievous sin after his recovery which would bring Israel to its eventual captivity. Yes, by proudly showing that King of Babylon’s messengers all the vast treasures of Jerusalem, Hezekiah was unwittingly insuring the eventual overthrow of Jerusalem by Babylon some years down the line.
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This was one reason why God wanted to spare Hezekiah from committing that grievous sin!
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James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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MANASSEH WAS BORN
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But there was a second reason for God wanting to remove Hezekiah. You see, after his miraculous recovery, Hezekiah produced a child, named Manasseh. And Manasseh grew up only to become the worst and most evil king throughout the entire history of Judah and Jerusalem!
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King Manasseh – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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If only righteous King Hezekiah had accepted God’s will for him to die, the entire fate of Judah would have turned out better, much better!
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Hezekiah – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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ASHLEY SPARED FROM DEATH
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So, maybe, just maybe Ashley’s terrible wreck may have caused her to drive decidedly more carefully in the future, eventually sparing her from an early death somewhere down the line.
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Nissan Sunny car accident – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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CARL & DAUGHTER BOTH SAVED!
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And maybe God saw that Carl was headed for apostasy from Christianity, and God brought Carl’s daughter into her own apostasy, to bring Carl to his knees, begging for God’s mercy upon his daughter.
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And so, Carl renewed his vows to the Lord, and eventually rejoiced to see his daughter return to the Lord!
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Burning Man – 2013 -Chapel – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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CHRISTINA ALSO SPARED!
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And what Christina didn’t realize, was that God allowed her babysitter to arrive late, because He was sparing Christina from getting into a fatal car wreck, had she left for work on time!
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INFINITELY WISE GOD
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Yes, we really need to realize that God is a very good and loving and infinitely wise God.
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And He knows what’s best for each and every member of the human family.
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Jesus – Woman why weepest thou – Jesus – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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GIVING THANKS FOR ALL THINGS!
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And so, let’s each begin to give thanks for the things which happen each day, great or small. Because we just don’t know the various reasons why God allows certain “bad things” to happen, from time to time.
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This is the essence of what it means to trust in the Lord, “in every thing, give thanks!” 1st Thessalonians 5:18.
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Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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“Then said Jesus unto Peter,
‘Put up thy sword into the sheath:
the cup which My Father hath given Me,
shall I not drink it?'”
John 18:11
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TO READ PART 6, CLICK HERE…
DECEMBER 5 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 6: “Though He Slay Me, Yet I Will Trust Him!”)
Crucifixion of Peter – Caravaggio Martirio di San Pietro – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to fully grasp this concept of giving thanks in both the good as well as the bad things that happen. Help me to understand that nothing can happen to me, either good or bad, unless you allow it to happen…
Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Crown of Revelation 12: What Is “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”?” or you can also read… “Signs In The Sun (Part 2: The Return of Christ & The Dawning of the Day)”
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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GRASPING FOR SCEPTER AND A CROWN…
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This page however just deals with the Woman travailing in child-birth. When she is in labor, she appears to reach out her hand southward to grasp a The Cross/Scepter, which is coming from the South, out of an ark-like box. There also is a Crown of 12 Stars (13 counting a star in the center). But the Crown (the Corona Borealis Constellation) is not yet on her head. The crown is to the south of her. So she is grasping for the Cross/Scepter. She doesn’t yet wear the crown. This reminds us of that well-known passage in Philippians which states…
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“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, 14
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And also another verse of the apostle Paul… “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8. So this woman with child is grasping, either for that Cross/Scepter, or perhaps that crown, or both. This is such an incredible scenario in the heavens! But this is a very complex concept. Because this headless woman-with-child, which turns upside down in winter to become the “Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12”; and combine this with that Crown and that Cross/Scepter, of which she appears to be grasping for in summer, and these various aspects present a great portion of what the Bible is about.
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SKETCH WITH JOSHUA TREES…The above sketch are the Summer Constellations .as they appear when in the western half of the night sky. The box-like constellation is the The Ark of the Covenant (AKA Sagittarius Constellation) is in the south. To the right is both the Flower of the Field Constellation and above the flower is The Cross/Scepter Constellation. Further to the north is the Crown of Revelation Twelve (AKA Corona Borealis ) and the star, Arcturus . Farthest to the north is the Woman of Revelation 12 part one (Woman in Travail) (AKA Ursa Major). Of course, in this sketch is the desert with several Joshua Tress and some mesas, and a few other plants.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Woman of Revelation 12 (Woman in Travail)”
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TOMORROW:
AUGUST 15th (The Commandments of God, Part 2: Rethinking The Removal of The 10 Commandments)
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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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 IS STUDY #591 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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