Daily Devotional, Year 2 – OCTOBER 14 (Chief of Sinners, Part 4: “O Wretched Man That I Am!”)
By admin On February 6th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – OCTOBER 14
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Chief of Sinners,
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Part 4:
“O Wretched Man That I Am!”
To read Part 1, click here…SEPTEMBER 6 (Chief of Sinners, Part 1)
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“But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
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Leaves blowing in the wind – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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That great Apostle, Paul, was a very proud person, by nature!
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Yes, prior to his conversion Paul worked harder than every other person, that he might achieve greatness above all others in his nation!
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CHIEF OF SINNERS!
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And yet, when the light of Heaven shone down on Paul, he suddenly realized just what a great sinner he truly was! As a matter of fact, Paul came to discover that, “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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Yes, this great Apostle realized that his heart was, in reality, merely a cesspool of sin! And Paul knew that only the grace of God could clean up that cesspool and make it pure and holy, so it might become a fit house for the indwelling of Christ!
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Paul Converted – www.thebiblerevival.com
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THIS, OUR CONDITION TOO!
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But this above statement by Paul was a testimony to all of us!
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Paul said… “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,”
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In other words, each and every one of us can likewise make the same judgment about our own self: I too am the chief of sinners!
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I too am desperately wicked and in need of the purifying work of Christ upon the cesspool of my own heart!
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A SURE SIGN OF PERSONAL APOSTASY
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But one of the surest signs that we have taken our eyes off of Jesus, is when we begin to think that we are doing pretty well, as far as living the Christian life.
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Yes, many faithful churchgoers are under the notion that their heart is pretty clean!
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Never would they consent to Jeremiah’s assessment of the heart… “The heart is desperately wicked, and deceitful above all things…” Jeremiah 17:9
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Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license
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MY GOOD DEEDS ARE DEFICIENT
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There is nothing like focusing upon the life of Jesus, to take away any notion 
that we have attained to any degree of righteousness! Because, compared to the righteous and spotless life of Christ, our best works are but a miserable imitation of Christ!
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Just think about it! My prayer-life does not even come close to the prayer-life of Christ! My Bible study and hourly contemplation doesn’t even compare to that of Christ’s daily study/meditation! And my deadness-to-self certainly falls far short of Christ’s selflessness! And my faith? Well, it’s a joke, when compared to the faith of Christ! And on and on it goes! Even the best of Christians are a poor imitation of Christ!
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I can truly say, along with that self-abasing publican in Luke 18:10-14…“God be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)
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Transfiguration – Bloch – Wikimedia Commons – US Public-Domain
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MISPLACED PRIORITIES
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The problem comes in when Christians become too focused on the world, thus placing our Christianity on the proverbial “back burner”.
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But instead, our earthly livelihood should come secondary to our daily salvational endeavors!
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For instance, the Apostle, Paul made his occupation as a tent-maker just another part of His ministry for Christ.
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Paul Tentmaking – La Vista Church of Christ – Creative Commons License
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LETTING CHRIST LEAD ME
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Oh yes, as providers for our family, we must work and take care of all necessary obligations each day.
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But when our lives are fully consecrated to Christ, our eyes will no longer be focused earthward. No, but instead our eyes will be continually looking upward, and our thoughts will constantly be upon His Word!
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And whether at work, or at play with our family, we will be secretly fulfilling our great commission to be fully engaged in the purification of our heart! And all the while, silent prayers will be ascending Heavenward, no matter where we are, or what we are doing!
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This is what it means in Isaiah…“Thou (God) wilt keep him in perfect peace, (the person) whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3
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“Perfect peace!” What an incentive to follow Jesus and live fully for Him!
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Family – Children’s Playground, – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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PERFECT PEACE & JOY
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Yes, when we are lazar-focused on the Bible, is when we have that perfect peace!
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And now that this consecrated Christian has his or her mind fixed upon Christ’s righteousness, the awareness of their own sinfulness will be painfully present!
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But we must not think that such a self-awareness is too sad. No, because a spiritual focus Heavenward is the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, causing there to be an overflowing joy springing out from within the Christian’s heart! And though the world cannot understand such joy, the true worshiper realizes that it is the gift which manifests itself because of God’s Spirit dwelling and abiding within us!
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Woman with Bible – Braet von Überfeldt – 1866 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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An ongoing repentance which is, “sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing”
2nd Corinthians 6:10
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Now if the Christian finds it impossible to perform these aforementioned Christian 
duties, then there must be a relentless pleading for God’s blessing…“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?…
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God…
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” James 4:4, 8-10
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This above prescription for spiritual renewal and health should become an ongoing (tearful but also joy-filled) repentance until the Day in which I discover that the Book of James no longer condemns me.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to fully understand that Heaven looks down upon this ball of confusion and sees us as desperately poor and in great need of mercy. Help me to see myself for what I truly am: a beggar in rags with nothing to boast of! Give me the true riches of heaven, that I may boast of Christ’s mercy toward a miserable sinner such as I…
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…” May 23rd (Who’s In Your Mirror?)”, or you can also read this article…” April 18th (Getting Slapped!)”
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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NARROW GATE STARS LOCATION
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This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter. Although it can be observed most of the winter, it is seen best when it is the western part of the sky, at winter’s end (The end of winter being the final scene of this heavenly Gospel story). Orion , the Dragon, and the Glorious White Horse are beginning to descend into the western horizon (sketch to right is Winter Constellations descending into western horizon. This can actually be seen as early as December, in the pre-dawn hours).
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And at this point it is apparent that the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation is veering toward the two bright stars, known as Castor and Pollux (sketch to below left). But the Wide Gate Stars are composed of the two brightest stars of the Auriga Constellation, known as the star, Capella, and the star, Menkalinan. The two stars, Castor and Pollux, make up the concept of the Orion’s Narrow Gate Stars.
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This can even be observed into June in the western sky (for a short time just after dark). While a dark night is best for seeing the Woman Constellation, the 4 stars which comprise the Narrow Gate/Wide Gate Stars can be seen even under mediocre conditions. It begins with the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (AKA Ursa Major) going towards these two doors.
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The sketch to left shows, the two doors are each composed of two bright stars. The two bright stars that comprise the Narrow Gate are the two brightest stars of the Orion the Reaper’s sickle. The two stars that comprise the ‘Wide Gate’ Stars are the two brightest stars of the wave of water that comes out of the Dragon Constellation’s mouth (for explanation of “Wave of Water”, just click here). The stars that make up the ‘Narrow Gate’ are about half the width of the Wide Gate (see sketch to right).
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(For more information on Orion’s sickle, just click here, “Orion The Reaper”.)
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Editor’s note: These sketches on this page are merely sketches. The stars are not in their exact place. However, they are close enough to find them in the night sky. But as with most stars, it takes persistence to finally locate them.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… September 11th (Narrow Gate Stars, Part 1)
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TOMORROW…
OCTOBER 15 (The Time of Trouble! Part 2: Gideon’s 300 & Our Soon-Coming Battle!)
Gideon and His Three Hundred (Bible Card) www.thebiblerevival.org – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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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 #652 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on the provided image credit link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo.