Daily Devotional, Year 3 – February 21 (Flee To The Mountains, Part 13: “How To Be Like John the Baptist: Separation”)
By admin On February 10th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – February 21
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Flee To The Mountains,
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Part 13:
“How To Be Like John the Baptist: Separation”
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One of the most interesting of all Bible heroes was John the Baptist.
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Jesus Himself made the following comment about John…“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:” Matthew 11:11
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Away from society in the desert, and living an extremely self-denying lifestyle, John the Baptist was a standing rebuke to the licentious lifestyles of God’s professed people of that day.
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Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees – James Tissot – Wikipedia – Public-Domain
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JOHN’S AUSTERE LIFE
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And isn’t it true, that we all admire John the Baptist for his disregard for all the creature-comforts which we take for granted, today?
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Nevertheless, most of us are not able to emulate the life of John, if for no other reason than it is now against the law to merely live out on the desert or in the wilderness.
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And let’s face it! Not too many of us could live on a diet of locusts and wild honey, either!
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Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees – James Tissot – Wikipedia – Public-Domain
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MAYBE WE CAN DO MUCH!
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But in the interest of overcoming the world, the flesh, and the Devil, let’s take a moment to examine the life of John, to see if we can’t implement some of John’s trade-secrets, in hopes of our own selves winning the final victory over sin and selfishness.
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Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees – James Tissot – Wikipedia – Public-Domain
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SEPARATION
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But also, like John, we must separate ourselves, as far as possible from beholding the corrupting influences of this sinful world.
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But even though we might not be able to live in the wilderness, we can do much to shelter ourselves (and our children) from the corruptions of Satan’s Kingdom, this world!
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2nd Corinthians 15:33 tells us, that…“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”
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John the Baptist by J. Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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“COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM”
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Yes, we must not be deceived into the absurd notion that we can behold wickedness with impunity.
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The Bible repeatedly warns us against evil influences…
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?…
Wherefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean [thing];
and I will receive you…”
2nd Corinthians 6:13, 17 (condensed for brevity)
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SEPARATE FROM CORRUPTIONS VIA T.V.
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And so, the very first thing the Christian would want to do, would be to prayerfully consider ceasing from watching television, and any other corrupting influence or device or association!
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And many Christian women have fallen into an adulterous relationship, merely because those Christian women have daily partaken of sensual music and television and reading materials!
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What these women didn’t realize was, that by consuming these licentious publications themselves, has only opened the door for Satan to tempt themselves into an adulterous relationship (or at the very least becoming disenchanted with their marriage)!
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And conversely, many husbands who have indulged themselves with sensual reading, sensual music-listening, have ended up in a similar situation!
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SOCIETY INCREASINGLY LEWD
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For instance, in today’s paganistic society, many young women dress very lewdly.
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And for unbelievers, this is no big problem. But for Christian men to behold this kind of sensual imagery, can be far too stimulating! Many good Christian men have fallen into adultery, merely by allowing themselves to continually behold the alluring dress which is so common today among women!
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And so, just as John the Baptist removed himself from these kinds of temptations, so too, those who must live in society need to re-arrange their lifestyle to avoid these great temptations, as far as possible.
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Maybe just to avoid shopping during busy hours, or avoiding crowded malls, might be a great help. At the very least, it’s something we might pray about for wisdom.
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“HIDE THYSELF!”
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Isaiah 26:20 tells us…“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.”
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Yes, God is now pouring out His wrath on a disobedient Church, by allowing Satan to flood us with sights and sounds especially designed to overwhelm us to the point of destroying our souls!
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And the very best place we can hide from the overwhelming tide of evil is to take refuge in the hiding place, the secret pavilion of prayer and Bible contemplation!
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Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – Inspired by Tornado-Over-Kansas by John Curry
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“FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME!”
Matthew 3:7
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And like never before, it is time for God’s people to “flee from the wrath to come”, and to flee to the fortress strong-holds of the spiritual mountains of God!
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And though we may not be able to fully imitate John’s lifestyle, we can nevertheless go a long way toward finding that same safe-haven. In other words, we cannot now come all the way out of the world. But we sure can come a good way out, if we so-choose!
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And by showing God that we mean business in our endeavors to, “come out from among them, and be ye separate”, perhaps the Lord will take pity on us and leave behind a blessing in our pathway!
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What do you think? “Consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.” Judges 19:30
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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
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INSPIRED BY JOHN
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Well, this little devotional cannot go into every detail.
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But hopefully, this tiny glance at John’s life, and how it applies to us today, can set in motion our imagination in the area of separating ourselves from the ever-increasing evil influences which the Enemy of Souls is flooding our society with.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TO BE CONTINUED IN TOMORROW’S DEVOTIONAL
John the Baptist by Harold Copping www.wikigallery.com US public domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to move away from the overwhelming tide of sensuality, whether in society or in the Church…
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… (Television: Enchanted Ground!), or you can also read… (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 6: The Sensual Church!)
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
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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… “Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW…
February 22 (Flee To The Mountains, Part 14: “How To Be Like John the Baptist: Diet”)
John the Baptist by Harold Copping www.wikigallery.com US public domain
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90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM
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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM, A QUESTION/ANSWER CALL-IN, TALK SHOW.
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Harold Camping January 14, 2010 (youtube.com)
above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain