Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 29 (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 10: “Peter’s Conversion”)

By admin On April 21st, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 29

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The Time of Jacob’s Trouble,

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Part 10:

“Peter’s Conversion”

To read Part 1, click here…July 13th (Jacob’s Trouble, Part 1: Alone With God)

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The denial of Jesus by Peter is perhaps one of the best-known accounts in Scripture.

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And truly, his full conversion which resulted from that devastating experience, presents a great truth which so many faithful churchgoers do not fully appreciate.

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St Peter – Brandl – 1724 – National Gallery Prague – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

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PETER NEEDED TO BE FULLY CONVERTED

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While Peter was a true disciple and follower of Jesus, he had not yet become fully converted. This is evidenced by Jesus’ remark to Peter’s impulsive and boastful claims of superiority and faithfulness.

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Listen to Jesus…“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat…and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Luke 22:31, 32

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Oh yes, Peter loved Jesus. But Peter also loved self. And from reading various Gospel accounts it becomes evident that Peter had a lot of foolish pride and self-confidence. And Peter had not yet entered into the battle over ‘self’. Thus, ‘the Old Man’ of ‘self’ kept showing up in Peter’s rash and boastful words.

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Tissot – The Sorrow of Peter – Joyful Heart.com

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Now, Peter’s discipleship and tribulation presents a huge concept, which God has illustrated in the “signs in the Sun…Moon, and…stars”. Luke 21:25

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Yes, there are three sets of constellations, the spring/summer constellations, the fall constellations, and the winter constellations.

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Exclamation Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE SPRING/SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS

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The spring/summer constellations could easily be entitled, “The ‘Follow Me’ Constellations” They present a picture of Jesus (Arcturus) leading a group of constellations northward through the spring and summer months.

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This is akin to Jesus leading His disciples as they learn more and more of His words and ways of life.

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ABOVE STAR-CHART – Summer Constellations with Two Turtledoves (Sagittarius) & Flower of the Field (aka: Scorpio) & The 12-Star Crown (aka: Corona Borealis) & The Cross-Scepter (aka: Ophiochus & Serpens) & Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) & Arcturus Star – www.theheavensdeclare.net

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THE VALLEY OF DECISION CONSTELLATION GROUP

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But this happy portion of Christianity is only part of the Christian experience.

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Eventually when a disciple has been schooled in the Words of Life, the time comes when he or she must decide whether or not to go all the way in overcoming ‘self’. This is illustrated in the fall constellations, referred to as “The Valley of Decision Constellation Group”.

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It is the time in a disciple’s life when they are asked the question…“Will you go to death (over ‘self’) for My sake? Will you fight the battle over ‘self’ until victory is finally achieved?”

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ABOVE PICTURE – Fall Constellations – Valley of Decision Constellation

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THE WINTER BATTLE-SCENE CONSTELLATIONS

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And then comes the winter constellations which present a marvelous battle scene: Orion (Christ) and His faithful steed (the Church-faithful) stomping on the Revelation 12 Dragon, while the Revelation 12 Woman (also representing the Church-faithful) flees to the Narrow Gate!

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ABOVE STAR-CHART (these Bible constellations drawn from Wikipedia star-charts – Early Winter in the east – Orion, Revelation 12 Woman (AKA Ursa Major) – Revelation 12 Dragon (AKA Hyades, Pleiades, etc.) – Goodly Horse in Battle with Rider (Camelopardelis, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, etc…) – www.signsofheaven.org – Not for profit use!

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PETER FINALLY OVERCAME ‘SELF’

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Well, obviously, Peter chose to follow Jesus even through great tribulation!

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And Peter was ultimately victorious over ‘self’!

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**And his struggle and victory over ‘self’ represents the battle which every true Believer must fight and finally win!**

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St Peter – Brandl – 1724 – National Gallery Prague – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons –

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to fully engage in the Good Fight, as I cooperate with Thee to crucify that ‘Old Man’ of selfishness….

Woman praying – Heinrich Seufferheld – 1893 – 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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VALLEY OF DECISION CONSTELLATION

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SO WHERE ARE THE “MULTITUDES”?…

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,” Isaiah 2:2, 3

So where are the multitudes in this constellation? Well if you look at this sketch to the right, carefully, you will see an ENTIRE GALAXY making a slow trek up the steep slope toward the summit of one of the mountains. It is the mountain which is to the north in this sketch. This is the galaxy commonly called Andromeda. It is estimated to have possibly a trillion stars! Is a trillion stars a big enough multitude? Oh yes! Listen to God talking to Abraham…

“And He (God) brought him (Abraham) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Genesis 15:5

But this mountain in which this multitude of stars is climbing represents a very awesome and wonderful Bible concept. This mountain in Scripture is known as Mount Zion. And it is also known as the Mount of Blessing. It represents that spiritual mountain which Believers must climb, in order to reach the City of God.

Listen to Scripture… “But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…To the…church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven…” Hebrews 12:22, 23.

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Well it sure seems that this verse is correct when it says the words… “which are written in heaven”! Because this galaxy in this constellation group is a wonderful picture of the Church as it makes it trek to the summit of this starry mountain; a picture of God’s Church…His faithful people…written in the heavens. These are the Signs of Heaven, promised long ago to be revealed before that “great and terrible Day of the Lord”…

“And I will show WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” Joel

Andromeda Galaxy – Adam Evans & Wikipedia – Share-Alike License

(Joel 2:30, 31 Drawing of Abraham counting stars wikipedia public domain. Click here for full size. Andromeda Galaxy by Adam & Wikipedia share-alike license)

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TOMORROW:

April 30 (Hands That Shed Innocent Blood: “God’s Providence in the Womb”)

Fetus Ellipse – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

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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 sampler of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.

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Chapter 75 – Before Annas and the Court of Caiaphas

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ABOVE STAR-CHART (this chart taken from various Wikipedia Star-charts with Bible constellations drawn in by this website) – Sign of the Son of Man – www.theheavensdeclare.net – Not for commercial uses

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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 #170, 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