Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 8 (Watchmen On Zion’s Walls, Part 5: “The Devil’s Detours!”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 8
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Watchmen On Zion’s Walls,
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Part 5:
“The Devil’s Detours!”
To read Part 1, click here…OCTOBER 9 (Watchmen On Zion’s Walls, Part 1)
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“And take heed to yourselves,
lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness,
and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares.
For as a snare shall it come on all them
that dwell on the face of the whole earth.”
Luke 21:34, 35
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This above passage from Luke’s Gospel is a stern warning to all Christians, to not allow the everyday things of the world to begin to take precedence over the things of Heaven.
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Detour Sign – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“THE MAN OF GOD & THE OLD PROPHET”
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There is a very unnerving story found in 1st Kings, Chapter 13, regarding the “man of God” who came to the town of Bethel and prophesied against the apostasy amongst God’s people.
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And the man of God was warned expressly, “Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.” 1st Kings 13:9
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Tissot – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“BRING HIM BACK!”
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But on his way back home, an “old prophet” came to him and persuaded the man of God, by telling him a lie…“an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD”‘, said the old prophet, “saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'” 1st Kings 13:18
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And so, the man of God went back with the old prophet, to eat and drink with him.
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Detour Sign – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“A LION MET HIM BY THE WAY”
1st Kings 13:24
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But in the midst of the meal, the old prophet prophesied to the man of God, saying, “Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee…thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.” 1st Kings 13:21, 22
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Well, after the man of God left the old prophet’s home, a lion met the man of God, and killed him.
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The Man of God, and the Lion – by G. Dore – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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NOT TO GET TOO SETTLED IN THIS WORLD!
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Now contrary to popular opinion, all those “musty” Old Testament stories are as up-to-date and as relevant as today’s newspaper!
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nd this one is no exception!
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You see, we too have been commanded by God to proclaim Salvation to this lost and dying world.
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And God has given us ample warning against getting too settled down in this world.
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We are called to become, “strangers and pilgrims”, traveling through this foreign land!
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He wants us to get ourselves up the Heavenward pathway and on to our eternal heavenly home!
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HASTENING TO THE DAY!
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The Apostle, Peter gives us a very solemn warning…“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2nd Peter 3:11, 12
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Could there ever be a more fearful warning than this one by Peter?
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Detour Sign – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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DEVIL’S PURPOSE TO DIVERT!
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Yes, it is the first and foremost commission of God and His angels to help Christians get themselves to their heavenly home without delay.
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But it is “the god of this world’s” great purpose to divert Christians from such a single-minded mission, by any means possible!
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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TO BE WATCHMEN
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And so, each and every Christian must be “sober and vigilant”!
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Yes, as Peter warns in 1st Peter 5:8…“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
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And just as that man of God was killed by the lion who met him on his way back home, so too, Satan now comes, “as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour!”
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Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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MANY DIVERSIONS & DETOURS!
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And so, we must be alert to the dangers on every hand: road-blocks and detours that the Devil and his angels cast along the way, to divert us from our heaven-bound sojourn, and back into the world!
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Yes, just like the “man of god’s” meal with the “old prophet”, so too, Satan tries hard to get us to turn back and take our ease, and eat, and drink, and enjoy some of the more “innocent” pleasures of this world.
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These devilish detours come in the form of such things as television, secular radio, newspapers, magazines, novels, clubs, social gatherings, plays, sports, homes & gardens, pleasure vehicles, hobbies, sight-seeing excursions, politics, energy-sapping-time-consuming-careers, and a variety of other similar worldly pleasures and pursuits!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Dream Maker of Babylon – Signs Of Heaven.org
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A WORLD OF SELFISH DESIRES!
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Yes, the Devil has given this old world a complete make-over, turning it into somewhat of a theme-park of selfish pleasures, and proud, ambitious pursuits!
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And there are so many intriguing and exciting things provided: empires to build, mountains to conquer,
islands to discover, treasures to uncover, theories to explore, careers to pursue, romances to embrace, abilities to perfect, projects to finish, curiosities to intrigue, friends to meet, novels to read, dramas to captivate, singers to encore, pleasures to enthrall, engagements to attend, appointments to keep, malls to 
wander, holidays to prepare, restaurants to frequent, games to play, teams to support, things to buy, things to sell, and on and on and on the list goes!
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Super Bowl XLIII Thunderbirds Flyover Feb 1 2009 – cropped image – Wikipedia – Public Domain
Weddingring – JH – Wikipedia – cropped image – share-alike license
Harbour City front entrance stairs Christmas trees – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike Lic.
Hands Toasting Drinks – Cheers! cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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AS LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER!
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And what is the Devil’s goal in providing all these interesting diversions and ambitious pursuits?
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To keep us so busy that we lose our watchful vigilance?
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Oh yes, and to keep us so focused on, and preoccupied with these earthly pursuits, that we, unknowingly, pass beyond our appointed time of probation: even as the proverbial “lambs led to the slaughter!”
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SATAN VERY PROACTIVE!
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Now, perhaps, engaging in “a little” of these more benign pursuits might not be so bad.
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The problem is, as far as Satan is concerned, “a little” is never enough!
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Yes, don’t imagine for a moment that once Satan has strewn his deceptive entrapments in our pathway that he just sits idly by to see what we will do with them!
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No, Satan and his vast legions of evil-angels are extremely proactive, working 24/7/365 to ensnare the world (and especially God’s people), in as many of those time-consuming, energy-sapping, Spirit-quenching entanglements as possible!
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And we must not be so naive as to think that Satan cannot inspire, intrigue, excite, and obsess Christians who go after these earthly endeavors! Those who go after these pleasures, treasures and ambitious pursuits will quite often become hopelessly obsessed with these gratifications, unaware that the invisible powers of darkness are at work in their minds! (see Ephesians 2:2)
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Gustave Dore – Paradise Lost illustration – Lucifer becomes Satan – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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STUDY, PRAY & MEDITATE
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And so, each and every day, we must pray, and study and contemplate God’s Word!
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We must hourly plead with the Lord to keep us from losing our watchful edge!
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If ever there was a time for Christians to enjoy the world, this is NOT that time!
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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WATCHMEN ON ZION’S WALLS!
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We have been called to be watchmen on the walls of Zion!
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We must have our heavenly armor on, and with sword in hand, cut away any earthly tendrils that begin to entwine themselves around our feet!
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A GOOD WORK IN US BY GOD!
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The Good News is, that God is our divine Helper.
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And He promises that, “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
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“Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” Mark 13:35-37
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WLA metmuseum – Bronze statue of Eros sleeping – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License
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TO READ PART 6, GO HERE…
July 22 (Watchmen On Zion’s Walls, Part 6: “Cutting Away The Tendrils!”)
Ivy Covered Door – Hawthorne Hall – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Make me a watchman. Help me to be sober and vigilant. Let me not sleep, but be awake and watchful…
Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…“APRIL 20 ( Wake-up Call, 911)”, or you can also read this article…OCTOBER 5 (How Shall the Moon Be Turned Into Blood? Part 3: Mark of the Beast in the Moon!? 1st Face: The Night Watchman)
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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“Watchman, what of the night?
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Watchman, what of the night?
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The watchman said, The morning cometh,
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and also the night:
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if ye will inquire, inquire ye:
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return, come.”
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Isaiah 21:11, 12
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THE 1ST FACE IN THE MOON: “THE NIGHT WATCHMAN”
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“Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me… for I have seen violence and strife in the city…mischief 
also and sorrow are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.” Psalm 55:5-11
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Doesn’t this above passage seem to have special meaning today, with so much wickedness going on in today’s world? But this above verse by David is speaking of the sinfulness among God’s people! This “Man in the Moon” is a fittin
g symbol of the watchfulness that we must have in order to resist the sin and deception that assails God’s Church…from without and from within… “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.” Psalms 141:3, 4.
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But this night watchman does not keep silent. No, he cries to the Lord over the atrocities he must witness each night… “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence.” Isaiah 62:6.
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So too, this 1st-face appears as if to, “sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof (of God’s City, Jerusalem).” Ezekiel 9:4
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Bad Moon Rising – by Makelessnoise – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike-license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The Pleiades: The Captive Angel & Mystery Harlot Constellation
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TOMORROW…
July 9 (Lucifer’s Music Solo, Part 8: “Lucifer’s Lullabies”)
Violin Lullaby – Satan – Tartini’s Dream – by Louis-Léopold Boilly 1761-1845 – Devil’s Trill Sonata – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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