Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 30 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 3: “Smooth Sermons & Soft Devotionals!”)
By admin On February 10th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 30
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Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets,
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Part 3:
“Smooth Sermons & Soft Devotionals!”
To read Part 1, go here...April 1 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 1)
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“That this is a rebellious people, lying children,
children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Which say to the seers, See not;
and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,
speak unto us smooth things,
prophesy deceits:”
Isaiah 30:9, 10
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Someone made the complaint that some or many of the devotionals on this website are too direct, and not nearly soft enough.
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And this is a valid complaint. Many or perhaps most of the devotionals do not “pull any punches”, as the saying goes, but plainly lay out bare, the sins of God’s people, often listing them, one-by-one.
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ABOVE PICTURE: soldiers of the cross – armor up! – Orion & The Revelation 12 Dragon constellation (comprised of Hyades & Pleiades and other constellations) – www.signsofheaven.org
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“THOU HYPOCRITE! FIRST CAST THE BEAM OUT OF THINE OWN EYE”
Matthew 7:5
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Well, it’s not a very pleasant task to do this, especially considering that none of us can hold our head up high!
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No, but rather, we are ALL guilty of the sins enumerated in these devotionals.
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And to write such scathing rebukes as this website often does, is rather hypocritical, to say the least!
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Well, having said this, it must be added that this website is hopefully the 100% product of Heaven, with not the slightest taint of any hellish deception.
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Yes, hopefully and prayerfully the Devil did not get his fingers in the writing of these devotionals, to some degree, and cause it to be too harsh at times!
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NO SHORTAGE OF SOFT SERMONS!
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But on the other hand, just consider for a moment all the nice pleasant sermons that are out there, being preached each week all over this society.
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You don’t have to search very far to hear a nice encouraging sermon on family values, do you?
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And don’t you constantly hear that “God is Love”, and that He has a wonderful plan for your life? (And let’s face it! Today’s church-world mostly likes to keep their “Eternal Torment” doctrine well-hidden, in the proverbial “back-closet”)
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And you don’t have to search very long to hear a nice loving non-offensive sermon being preached on television or radio. No, those kinds of sermons are literally everywhere!
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And there is no shortage of nice, flowery daily devotionals! You can even find those in secular book stores!
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Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE CHURCH IN A SAD STATE
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And yet, where is the fruit of their harvest? Are these euphemistic and encouraging sermons and devotionals having a positive effect upon the Church? Are they causing the listening multitudes to turn from our selfish ways?
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No, rather, statistics present a dismal picture of today’s Church.
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Alcoholism, divorce, adultery, Bible illiteracy are at an all-time high in the church-world. Most Christian children attend public schooling. Even Christian academies have mingled much of the ways of the secular world into their daily activities. (And tragically, we are totally ignorant of the fact that back in the Reformation era, young school-children committed to memory, large portions of the Bible!)
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As a result of all these things, young adult Christians are renouncing their faith at alarming rates! And many or perhaps most Christians are not warned by their leaders against embracing the amusements and ambitious pursuits of the world.
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And churches do not properly warn parishioners to separate from freely mingling with unbelievers, to the poverty of their soul, in spite of the Bible warnings against this sinful practice!
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High School, football field – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
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CRITICISM, AN UNPLEASANT TASK
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It’s never pleasant to have your particular sins pointed out. And no matter how this is accomplished, there will be hurt feelings.
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Listen to Proverbs 15:10…“Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:”
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There’s just no nice way to offer correction to those who have fallen away from the Lord.
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But hopefully, the one being criticized will eventually be humble enough and honest enough to respond to such criticism with meekness and repentance.
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A ‘DON’T JUDGE ME’ WORLD, TODAY!
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But today, we are living in a “Don’t Judge Me” world!
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Mostly no one wants to be corrected, it seems!
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And this phenomenon is seen in the church-world in the form of very soft, euphemistic, even humorous non-threatening sermons.
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Even the more honest among today’s pastors will often admit that their parishioners will no longer tolerate the straight unvarnished truth, to any degree.
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Billy Sunday preaching – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“ITCHING EARS” GOSPELS TODAY
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Listen to this prophecy concerning our present-day condition…
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.”
2nd Timothy 4:3, 4
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Today’s Christians living in the western nations (the very nations which once embraced the Christian Reformation), have now become greatly intolerant of the straight truths of the Bible.
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Evangelist Preaching – Church – Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“SPEAK SMOOTH THINGS!”
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This intolerant condition is reminiscent of Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s day in which the Lord complained…
“this is a rebellious people, lying children,
children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Which say to the seers, See not;
and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,
speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:”
Isaiah 30:9, 10
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Yes, as it was back in Old Testament times, so it is today! Nothing has fundamentally changed from Old Testament times!
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Most parishioners today still want a smooth sermon, and a nice soft and flowery devotional.
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Cry of prophet Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem – Wikiart – US Public Domain
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GOOD NEWS: TIME FOR REPENTANCE!
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The very Good News is that there is a solution to all this!
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Yes, God is calling His professed people to return to Him in deep repentance.
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Listen to the New Testament Book of James…
“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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Yes, this above passage offers the remedy for those who find themselves grieved whenever criticized.
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Because, by returning to the Lord with deep humility and sorrow for sin, as this above passage commands, the Lord will hear, and heal our many backslidings, giving us His Holy Spirit of meekness, humility and on-going repentance!
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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain
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TO READ PART 4, GO HERE…
June 19 ((Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 4: “Jeremiah Came Out From Among Them!”)
Cry of prophet Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem – Wikiart – US Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me such a Spirit of meekness and deep, heartfelt repentance. Give me a love for correction and chastisement. Make me glad to hear Thy faithful rebukes, that I may become wise…
Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… June 23rd (The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel), or you can also read this shorter article… March 1st (A Designer Jesus!)
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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VARIOUS SIGNS SPOKEN OF…
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Now as far as those who search Bible prophecy concerning “signs of the End”, most of us were expecting extraordinary heavenly phenomena; you know, such things as giant asteroids or other colossal cataclysmic occurrences.
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VARIOUS SIGNS MENTIONED…
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But you see, God has mentioned various constellations in Scriptures: Orion, The Pleiades, Mazzaroth, etc.. But He also spoke in Revelation of “great signs” in the heavens: a woman with child, a dragon who swept a third of the stars, and Michael who fought against that dragon (see Revelation, Ch. 12).
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The Bible also speaks of other signs in the heavens, and it is the purpose of Signs Of Heaven website, to introduce these wonderful signs and to reveal the many Bible passages which explain them. And if you are one of the fortunate ones to receive this amazing message, then you too can begin to proclaim this heavenly love story to anyone willing to listen.
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Comet Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997 – cropped image – wikipedia share-alike license
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“LAY UP…TREASURES IN HEAVEN”
Matthew 6:20
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“My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Proverbs 8:19-21. This above passage speaks of a pathway which leads to riches and treasures.
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Yes, God is just now revealing the long-awaited signs, as it is written, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25. And God is just now opening up a pathway to the stars: a figurative gate to Heaven itself!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Arcturus (the star that wise-men follow!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW
March 31 The Devil’s Dirty Dozen Doctrines
Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 
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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 STUDY #89 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, slender photos are the product of being cropped by this website for better compatibility with android phones.