Daily Devotional, Year 2 – SEPTEMBER 10 (Chief of Sinners, Part 3: “Cesspool of My Heart!”)
By admin On February 5th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – SEPTEMBER 10
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Chief of Sinners,
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Part 3:
“Cesspool of My Heart!”
To read Part 1, click here…SEPTEMBER 6 (Chief of Sinners, Part 1)
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“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,”
Philippians 3:8
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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!
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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 hard-hearted Pharisee-turned-Apostle now 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, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief”, was a testimony to us all!
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And yet, Paul added these words…“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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BUT DUNG!
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But Paul knew another painful truth. And this truth is revealed in today’s signature verse…“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Philippians 3:8
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Here again is a similar statement that Paul makes concerning his past life: that all of his past worldly glories, and all of his former earthly accolades were, “but dung!” In other words, Paul realized that all of his former good works and his noble birthright were but, “human feces, floating on the cesspool of his formerly unconverted heart!”
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This is because Paul came to understand, that the motives of the human heart are so deceitfully wicked, that any supposed “good work” is mingled with our very own corrupt and selfish motives!
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Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain
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“THE HEART IS DESPERATELY WICKED!”
Jeremiah 17:9
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Well, such a statement as this almost takes one’s breath away, doesn’t it? And yet, this is the condition of my heart, prior to my conversion! And this is the condition of the entire human race, prior to their conversion, should they have one!
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The Apostle John reveals the condition of the entire world…“the whole world lies in wickedness.” 1st John 5:19,
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Worker in filled sewer – altered image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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“NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO NOT ONE!”
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Yes, John’s testimony about this wicked world agrees with the rest of the Bible…
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“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.
Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:10-18
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Now this above assessment from Romans is not just about the abject evildoers of this world! No, this speaks of all of us! Whether I am the most well-respected and moral humanitarian, this applies to me too! “There is none that doeth good, no, not one!”
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THE UNSAVED ARE INCAPABLE OF DOING GOOD
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But there are many who look to their supposed good works, such as humanitarian efforts, and secretly pat themselves on the back. But the Bible reveals,“…the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10
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The tender mercies of this wicked world are cruel? How could that be!?!
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You see, any unsaved person who attempts to do good, automatically joins the deceptive ranks of Satan, as his co-deceivers, as he merely sugar-coats this, the Devil’s world with a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2nd Timothy 3:5). In other words, unbelievers who engage in humanitarian good works only make this dark and evil kingdom of Satan appear to have some semblance of goodness and light. Hence, this wicked world becomes even more deceptive and more wicked!
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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THE HUMAN CONDITION: AN OPEN SEWER!
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Well, let’s stop for a moment and consider just what implications this has, concerning 
our past glories and accolades.
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Well, if this is true, then I really don’t have anything to boast about, do I?
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My glamorous career? Just dung floating on the cesspool of my heart!
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My nicely appointed home? Just dung!
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My fashionable car? But dung!
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My big fat bank account? But dung!
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My admirable work ethics? But dung!
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My former good looks? But dung!
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My charismatic personality? Dung!
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My incredible intellect? Dung!
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My wonderful sense of humor? Dung!
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My commendable history of public service? Dung, dung, dung!!!
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Yes, All these things (and all my other accolades!) are merely dung floating upon the cesspool of my heart!
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Woman gazing into mirror – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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GOOD NEWS!
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Well, the very Good News is just this! The door of mercy is still just barely open! And it is open just wide enough for you and for myself to squeeze through! And considering the lateness of the hour, it is no time to be loitering on the street-corner of earthly-desires! Let’s all get into the ark of Salvation, before the door forever closes!
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And let’s all begin to fully devote ourselves to the work of purifying our heart! Let’s flush out all the filth and scrub off all the worldly graffiti inscribed upon the walls of the Most Holy Place of our heart!
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And let’s not despair because of the enormity of this task at hand! God promises to be right there alongside of us in the cleansing of our heart sanctuary!
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Listen… “For it is God which works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13
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And so, my dear darling soul, with such a promise as this, how can we ever fail?
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ABOVE PICTURE: The Gospel Ark (ship) of Salvation
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TO READ PART 4, CLICK HERE…
OCTOBER 14 (Chief of Sinners, Part 4: “O Wretched Man That I Am!”)
David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – 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 myself…
Family Prayer Before Meal – Wikimedia – US-Govt. – Public-Domain
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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…
September 11 (The Straw Man Ploy, Part 9: “Imagine There’s No Heaven!”)
Straw man (or lady) – Wikipedia – Share-alike or GNU Free Documentation License
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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 #618 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.