Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 26 (Finding Perfect Peace, Part 11, “Why Did God Take Away My Spouse?”)

By admin On April 21st, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 26

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Finding Perfect Peace,

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Part 11,

“Why Did God Take Away My Spouse?”

To read Part 1, click here… March 6th (How To Find Perfect Peace!)

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“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

He sitteth alone and keepeth silence,

because he hath borne it upon him.

He putteth his mouth in the dust;

if so be there may be hope…

But though He cause grief,

yet will He have compassion

according to the multitude of His mercies.

For He doth not afflict willingly

nor grieve the children of men.

…Let us search and try our ways,

and turn again to the LORD.

Let us lift up our heart with our hands

unto God in the heavens.”

lamentations 3:27-29, 32, 33, 40, 41

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An elderly gentleman was complaining to one of his fellow church-members about how sad he was over his wife’s passing.

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“I’m going through a whole lot of sadness! We had such a long and happy marriage together! And now it’s all gone, and I’m all alone!”, he lamented to his friend.

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Vincent van Gogh – Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity) – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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SOME REALLY WORLDLY ADVICE!

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But when confiding to this friend (a fellow church-attendee), the suggestion came back to this very sad man, “You really need to start taking antidepressants for your depression.”

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Well, then the sad widower called another church-member for advice, and was counseled, “What you need to do is get involved with some social clubs.”

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And a third friend said, “What you need to do is start eating healthier foods, and exercising in the fresh outdoor air! Maybe join a jogging club”.

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Vincent van Gogh – Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity) – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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“O TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD!”

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The fact is, God often permits us to enjoy years with many of life’s good things, so that we can…“taste and see, that the Lord is good!” Psalm 34:8

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Unfortunately, today’s churches quite often mislead their flock into the notion that God’s chief desire is for His people to live a long, happy, and prosperous life.

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And this is the essence of what has now been tagged as, “the prosperity gospel”.

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Man Husband & Married Wife on swing – Fraternal love (Prehispanic sculpture from 250–900 A.D., of Huastec origin) – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“Supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself”

1st Timothy 6:5

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It doesn’t matter whether one attends a liberal church or a conservative one, this prosperity-driven gospel is currently being taught, to some degree.

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Yes, if one surveys today’s Christian community, most churches teach this false doctrine to one extent or another!

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And whether taught from the pulpit, or taught by the wrong example set by fellow parishioners, far too many church-attendees are completely in the dark as to the actual reason why God ultimately put us here: to learn to hate this evil, selfish world, transforming and conforming ourselves into Christ’s glorious Image, thus becoming a living witness to all!

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ABOVE PHOTO: audience hands – cropped and altered image – – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS”

1st John 5:19

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Oh yes, God has left many good things in this world to enjoy: marriage, family, nature, work, sleep, food, social togetherness, as well as many similar tokens of God’s goodness.

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But this antichrist world-system is basically evil. And God wants to raise up His own army of ambassadors for Heaven, to go out and call the lost souls of this, the Devil’s world, to return back to God from our rebellion against Heaven.

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But this great truth has greatly been lost sight of! And even those congregations which still teach this truth, actually teach just the opposite, by their poor example of a world-loving personal daily lifestyle.

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Barbecue – Dutch family – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

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“That ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction”

1st Corinthians 7:35

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And so, instead of urging that sad, elderly man to begin to learn to live by God’s “great and precious promises”, well-meaning parishioners will often encourage the grieving one to “Start taking antidepressants” or to “Become socially active”, or even to “Start a daily regimen of healthy diet and outdoor exercise”, or even, “Find another spouse”.

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They just do not understand that God often allows one spouse to go before the other spouse, to give the remaining spouse time to learn to fully lean upon God’s promises instead of relying so heavily upon that deceased spouse, as they had done for so long.

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“Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul”

Jeremiah 51:6

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The fact is, the church-world is fallen and apostate. And so, we shouldn’t be surprised to hear such stories like this one about that grieving elderly widower.

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And this is just one more reason why God is calling His people to “Come out of her, My people, lest you partake of her sins, and receive of her plagues” Revelation 18:4

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Yes, today’s devotional presents just one more example of the erroneous teachings now occurring in the current-day Christian community. And God is warning us to flee from that dangerous environment and find refuge in God’s “mountain of holiness”, the heavenly “Mount Zion”.

(Jeremiah 31:23, Hebrews 12:22)

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And in that spiritual mountainous stronghold, the Christian can rest assured that his “bread (of Heaven ) shall be given him; his waters (of grace) shall be sure!”

(Isaiah 33:16 – parenthetical comments by this website editor)

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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to find that peace that surpasses all understanding, that comes when I learn to fully live by your great and precious promises…

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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FLOWER OF THE FIELD CONSTELLATION…

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LOCATING THIS CONSTELLATION…

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This constellation group can best be seen in spring through summer in the southern sky just above the horizon. Like all constellations, it slowly moves westward through the months, appearing a little earlier each night. It also appears to move through the sky westward each night. It can be easily seen under any degree of darkness. In other words, you don’t need a very dark night. In the sketch to the right, the ‘Flower of the Field’ Constellation `is in the lower part of the screen, directly under the Cross/Scepter Constellation. The sketches in this site are approximate, and not 100% accurate. The individual stars have different brightness than seen here. But these sketches are close enough in order to find them in the night sky.

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This constellation presents one of the most beautiful verses in Scripture. And yet that Scripture presents one of the most repugnant concepts (which unsaved Mankind has tried to elude for millenniums). And that concept is, that Mankind is like the grass that withers, and his glory as the wildflower that fades away. But God’s Word and those that love it will go on forever and ever!

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TOMORROW:

April 27 (“Habakkuk Says “RUN!” Part 22: “Habakkuk Says ‘RUN’ From Schools!”)

Habakkuk by James Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain

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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.

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Chapter 72 – In Remembrance of Me

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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this recording #167, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry, and includes caller’s questions regarding his teachings on “the end of the church age”…

Signs Of Heaven