Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 24 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 8: “Loving The Devil’s World”)
By admin On February 13th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 24
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The Devil Made Me Do It!
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Part 8:
“Loving The Devil’s World”
To read part 1, click here…October 13th (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 1)
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Back in the 1970’s, a certain saying was popularized…“The Devil made me do it! The Devil made me do it!”
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And this was merely mocking Christians, who were seemingly obsessed with pointing the finger at the Devil.
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Then this unbelieving world could all mock “the silly and absurd notion”, that Satan is a very active and powerful force controlling the world, by laughingly saying…“The Devil made me do it! The Devil made me do it!”
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Flip Wilson – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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SATAN, “THE GOD OF THIS WORLD”
2nd Corinthians 4:4
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But the horrifying fact is, the Devil does indeed cause the vast percentage of the world’s inhabitants to do a great number of things!
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After all, the above signature verse reveals a truth that practically nobody realizes nor accepts! It is perhaps the most egregious truth in all of the Bible!
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And this above verse from Ephesians reveals that Satan is indeed… “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
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And let’s face it! To admit that the entire world’s inhabitants are filled with this evil spirit is more than anybody is willing to accept, much less even admit!
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“LOVE NOT THE WORLD…”
1st John 2:15
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Now this little series, “The Devil Made Me Do It!”, highlights the various aspects of how, “the god of this world”, works within mankind.
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And today’s devotional will put forth the stark reality of why nearly everyone loves this selfish world so much.
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People on Times Square – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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A THEME-PARK WORLD!
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And let’s face it! “The god of this world”, Satan, has given this world-of-sin, a complete make-over in these last decades, turning much of the sin-filled planet into a veritable theme-park!
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There are so many things to do, as far as the earthy pleasures and proud, ambitious pursuits now available and possible!
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Just look around! There are so many more places we can go, via modern transportation! And there are so many new amusements to enjoy!
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Theme-parks, vacation resorts, movie theaters, bowling alleys, shopping malls, museums, operas, clubs, distant-and-exotic places, political parties, racetracks, sporting events, television, radio, Internet, health centers, hobbies, homes and gardens and lands and livestock, bars, dance halls, video games, amusement halls, gambling casinos, and so much more to absorb our time, energy, and means…
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Castle of Disney – Wikipedia – Public Dom
Mall – Fashion Centre at Pentagon City – Wikimedia – Share-alike license
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A FUN CHURCH ENVIRONMENT!
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Even the churches of the world are much more fun to attend, now featuring exciting music, charismatic speakers, comedians, singing idols, sports heroes, various social events and excursions, movie nights, banquets, luncheons, sporting events, carwashes, holidays, campouts, picnics & potlucks, parties, dances, weddings, baby showers, concerts, and yes, even Christian theme parks!
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Yes, today’s churches have a great worldly appeal!
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They have pretty much become a social/fraternal club, howbeit with an outer veneer of religiosity.
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Church music – Singers & Dancers – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License
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NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN”
Ecclesiastes 1:9
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But all these pleasures and pursuits are nothing new!
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Why, even back in the days of Jesus’ earthly sojourn, the world was filled with tantalizing possibilities!
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Delicious foods, and beverages, places of social comradery, etc…
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Rich Young Ruler – Hoffman – Wikimedia Commons – US Public-Domain
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NOT LIKE TODAY!
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Oh no, things back 2,000 years ago were not like today’s world!
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Nothing has even come close to the possibilities available in today’s world!
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Times Square – New York City – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons 2.0
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“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish his work!”
John 4:34
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But when Jesus arrived on the world stage, He didn’t seem to be the slightest bit interested in those pleasures and ambitious pursuits of the world!
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Oh yes, He faithfully performed His daily duties.
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And He no doubt enjoyed working with Joseph in their profession of carpentry.
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Listen…“But He (Jesus) said unto them (His disciples), I have meat to eat that ye know not of…My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” John 4:32, 34
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Here is a revelation of what gave Jesus pleasure: it was the things of Heaven: prayer, praise, Bible contemplation, saving souls, ministering to those in need, and even dying for the lost souls of this fallen mankind!
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Jesus the Carpenters Son – by www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – US-public-domain
ABOVE STAR-CHART (constellations found on Wikipedia and Bible constellations drawn in by this website) – Sign of the Son of Man – www.theheavensdeclare.net – Not for commercial uses
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TRUE CHRISTIANITY IS “THE SAVOR OF DEATH!” TO THE WORLD
2nd Corinthians 2:16
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Now, to the average worldly-minded person, all these spiritual pursuits which Jesus enjoyed, seem like the “kiss of death”, as the saying goes!
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And someone might say…“Well, perhaps if Jesus was on earth today, He would enjoy snow-boarding, or house-flipping, or pizza parties, or fine-dining, or going to the opera, or listening to some good jazz, etc…”
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No, the Bible tells us the following…“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
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Jesus is the unchangeable One!
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Transfiguration – Bloch – Wikimedia Commons – US Public-Domain
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PAUL’S TOTAL DEVOTION
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Now, let’s turn our eyes upon a mere mortal such as the Apostle, Paul.
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Listen to Paul…“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21
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Yes, Paul had the exact same devotion that Jesus had!
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Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain
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WHY AREN’T WE LIKE PAUL TODAY?
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And so, why are we professed Christians still so enamored by so many things of the world?
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Why don’t we have the very same spirit which Paul had? Why don’t we enjoy the things of Heaven as Paul, and the others enjoyed them?
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Well, perhaps it’s because we still are not truly baptized into Christ!
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PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – company’s-coming – revised
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A WORLD-LOVING CHURCH IS A DEAD CHURCH
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And sadly, this is the undone condition so prevalent in today’s church-world!
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Listen to John…“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1st John 2:15
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The Church is literally teeming with those who profess to love Jesus, and yet are still vigorously and enthusiastically pursuing the things of the world!
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Evangelist Preaching – Church – Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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FILLED WITH, “THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD”
1st Corinthians 2:12
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The sad fact is, these deceived ones are still under the delusion of the “prince of the power of the world, that spirit which now works in the children of disobedience!”
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And the pleasure we derive from the things of the world are perhaps derived from that Antichrist spirit of the world!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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ANY GOOD NEWS?
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So, with these things in mind, is there any Good News?
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Yes, much!
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The wonderful news is that Jesus is still calling out new disciples to, “Come and follow Me”
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But to truly become a disciple and follower of Jesus requires us to forsake ALL and follow Him!
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Listen…“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33
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Yes, as this above verse reveals, to truly become a disciple and follower of Jesus requires a total forsaking of this present world.
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Christ calling His Disciples by Edward Armitage – 1869 – courtesy Wikigallery.com – Public Domain
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“THE WORLD GROWS STRANGELY DIM”
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And this kind of total commitment is only possible through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
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But once this is accomplished, the new disciple will no longer be enamored and mesmerized by the pleasures and proud, ambitious pursuits of the world.
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Instead, he or she will begin to love the very same things that Paul loved, that John and Peter and James loved, that Jesus loved!
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And every true disciple will be able to wholeheartedly sing that old song…“Turn your eyes upon Jesus! Look full in His wonderful face! And the things of the world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!”
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Prayer – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TO READ PART 9, GO HERE…
(The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 9: “When Beautiful Is Devilish!”)
End of Guitar – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to be wise as a serpent regarding this very deceptive world. Let me not be ignorant of Satan’s devices, nor of his power over this world…
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… November 23 (The Two Spirits In The World) or you can also read this shorter article…“March 13th (Planet Earth: Devil’s Island!)“
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 HEADS, 10 HORNS, & 7 CROWNS OF THE DRAGON
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“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Revelation 12:3
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In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7). And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10). So we have this 7 and 10 numbering. And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent. Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Flood Waters of Satan-Introduction
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
