Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 17 (Planet Earth: Devil’s Island! Part 3: “Which ‘Normal’ Will You Choose?”)
By admin On February 9th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 17
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Planet Earth: Devil’s Island!
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Part 3:
“Which ‘Normal’ Will You Choose?”
To read Part 1, click here…March 13th (Planet Earth: Devil’s Island!)
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“Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience:”
Ephesians 2:2
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What’s your conception of normal? Is your conception of normal, according to the dictates of this present world? Does this world look normal to you?
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Well, the above signature verse from Ephesians speaks of the people of this lost world, and how they live according to, “the course of this world.”
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Yes, for the people of this world, there is a normal way of living and a normal way of doing business. And the Bible here in Ephesians 2:2 refers to this as, “the course of this world”.
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Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license
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THE BIBLE: A NEW ‘NORMAL’!
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But in the fulness of time, God gave His Word to the people of the world. And this 
Word, which we refer to as, the Bible, is a book which explains what, “normal” is, according to Heaven! And if that was not sufficient, Jesus, the eternal Son of God came down from Heaven, to walk among sinful men, giving us a living, walking example of what “normal” is, according to Heaven.
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And so, you could say, there are two “normals”. The first, “normal”, is according to the dictates of the “god of this world”, Satan.
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But as already stated, the other “normal” is what Heaven considers as “normal”! And all Heaven lives by that “normal”.
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RENEWED & TRANSFORMED…
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Now, in many places in the Bible, God commands us to live according to His “normal”…
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Listen…“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
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Okay, so here it says that God has called us to no longer be conformed to the ways of this present world. But instead, we are to become transformed by the renewing our minds. And how is this accomplished? Simple! We renew our mind, by hiding God’s Word in our heart!
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OUR WORK NOT COMPLETE!
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But the great problem in today’s Christianity, is that most church-going Christians do not make a complete transformation in their mind. In other words, we Christians have neglected to make a total purification and restoration of our minds into His likeness!
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Oh yes, we have hidden a portion of the Bible in our hearts. But only a small portion! And also, we have neglected to completely remove the old, “normal”, which has been thoroughly ingrained in our heart, from baby-hood and up!
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And as a result, we are still very worldly-minded…“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:5
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As this not-so-funny cartoon shows, we have been at ease, but our Day of Judgment has not been slumbering!
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A COUNTERFEIT GOODNESS!
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One big problem is that “the god of this world” has designed his “normal” to have the appearance of godliness. And this counterfeit goodness has deceived many Christians, thinking that his “normal” is pretty OK!
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And this deception becomes even more deceptive, because we Christians must abide by many of the standards of society. Because we have to work, and abide by the laws, and obey many customs to a certain extent.
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And so, it becomes a very complex situation, in obeying the Bible while at the same time, trying to co-exist in this Babylonian world.
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People on Times Square – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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LIVING HERE, WHILE HATING IT!
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But the main point of this devotional is, that while we must put up with and live in this present selfish world, we are not to love this present world! 
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In other words, while we work and live and abide in this present world, we, by no means, are to love the present, “normal”, which this ‘rebel world’ has established…
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Listen…“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” John 12:25
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By this above verse from John’s Gospel, we understand that the Spirit within us, gives us a hatred for this present order of things!
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We are to sigh and cry for the day when we can leave this present “normal”, and enter into the Promised Land, which will be our eternal home!
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The Pilgrim’s Progress – by Byam Shaw – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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HATING THIS SODOM-LIKE WORLD!
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Listen to God’s description of Lot, Abraham’s nephew…“And (God) delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For 
that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)” 2nd Peter 2:7, 8
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So here is seen that while Lot lived in Sodom, by no means did he love that place! No, Sodom became His daily torture chamber, so to speak, as he witnessed the immorality and selfishness all around him!
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And like Lot, we too, should be daily vexed as we behold the same immorality and selfishness in this modern-day Sodom-like society!
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The Sodomites are smitten with blindness – wikipedia – US public domain
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LIVING BY HEAVEN’S, ‘NORMAL’
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But just because we must live here does not prevent us from living by God’s 
“normal”, to a great extent! Yes, the more we hide God’s Word in our hearts, the greater will be our conformity to the ways of Heaven!
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And the more we refuse to pollute our heart and mind with ungodly influences, the more consistently will be our imitation of Christ, as He lives out His life in us and through us!
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And one of these days, we will simply walk upward and out of this world completely, into a glorious Promised Land, that lives and rejoices and thrives by that completely new, “normal!”
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Thomas Cole – Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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TO READ PART 4, CLICK HERE…
January 14 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 4: “Mental Disorders”)
Human worry & stress & depression – by Becky Wetherington for Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to not love the miserable idols of this horribly unhappy world. But rather, help me get excited about the prospects of seeing my family, happy and healthy in Thy everlasting Promised Land. Let me trade in this miserably selfish world, for that wonderfully unselfish and joyful Promised Land…
Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “December 9 (It’s a throw-away world!)”, or you can also read… “January 27th (It’s a Brand-X World)”
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
LOCATING THESE TWO CONSTELLATIONS
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This phenomenon begins in 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’”
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TOMORROW:
DECEMBER 18 (Come Out of Her, My People, Part 30: “When the World Hugs The Church!”)
ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who now in these last days destroys the churches via a world-loving prosperity-driven false gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM 
QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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This Open Forum #34 is a small 30-minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50-year long series of 90-minute nightly talk shows…
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.
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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.