Daily Devotional, Year 4: November 6 (Noble Bereans, Part 32: “Killing The Messenger”)

By admin On July 11th, 2023

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Daily Devotional, Year 4: November 6

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Noble Bereans,

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Part 32:

“Killing The Messenger”

To read part 1, click here…”September 2nd (Noble Bereans?)”

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“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

which killest the prophets,

and stonest them that are sent unto thee;

how often would I have gathered thy children together,

as a hen doth gather her brood

under her wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate:”

Luke 13:34, 35

hen with babies – wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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So, in this little series, the subject of those noble Bereans has been introduced. And today, it is still worthy of a little more exploration into another area of concern.

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Let’s review the key Bible passage…

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea:

who coming there, went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,

in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,

and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Acts 17:10, 11

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St Paul Preaching (Raphael, 1515) – Wikipedia – US public domain

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AN OPEN-MINDED SPIRIT IN BEREA

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Okay, so those in Berea were more noble, because they:

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1. “Received the Word with all readiness of mind.”

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2. “And searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

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And so, the Bereans were ready to receive new teachings, which no doubt, conflicted with the supposed, “orthodox” teachings of that day.

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Thus there was an open-mindedness which permeated their hearts, and a willingness to search the Scriptures daily, in hopes that these seemingly new teachings were indeed true!

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La Bible, Notre-Dame – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License

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There is a very old saying within the Church, which goes like this, “If you can’t kill the message, then you must kill the messenger!”

Crucifixion darkness – Jesus on the Cross – Gustave Dore – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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“BUT ME IT (THE WORLD) HATETH”

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Yes, Jesus was the prime example of what it means in the above saying…“If you can’t kill the message, then kill the messenger!”

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That’s exactly what they did to Jesus, because they could not kill the message that He brought to the world.

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ABOVE PICTURE – 7 Stars Constellation as the Cross (aka Big Dipper) – winter – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses

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“JERUSALEM WHICH KILLEST THE PROPHETS”

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But Jesus was not the only messenger killed because of His message. No, as today’s opening verse reveals…“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate:” Luke 13:34, 35

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Here is the testimony from the lips of Jesus during His earthly ministry, that the very people whom God called to love Him, hated not only Him, but hated all those messengers sent by Him.

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Stephen Stoned – Acts 7:57-60 – lavistachurchofchrist.org

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“THEREFORE, THE WORLD HATETH YOU (Christians)”

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But please don’t think that the rest of us are innocent of His blood!

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Just listen to this next verse…“If ye were of the world,

the world would love his own:

but because ye are not of the world,

but I have chosen you out of the world,

therefore the world hateth you.”

John 15:19

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Here is Jesus’ indictment against the entire world! Yes, the whole world hates Jesus, even most of those who profess to love Him.

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This is because we love this present evil Antichrist world-system, and hate the unselfish kingdom of Heaven!

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March – Protest – Thank God For Satan – cropped image – Wikimedia – GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later version

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“YE…KILLED THE PRINCE OF LIFE!”

Acts 3:14, 15

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And so, all through history, the world, along with the apostate portion of the Church has gone about to destroy the messengers which God has sent to us!

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We all stand guilty of this crime. The world could not kill the message brought by Christ and His fellow messengers, so we instead killed them!

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Now this fact has been true even in New Testament times. From the days of the early Church, to the Reformation era, and even to the present day, Satan and his loyal citizens have engaged in killing all those who faithfully proclaimed the message of the Gospel of Jesus!

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Oh yes, not all of Christ’s faithful followers were literally killed. But even such messengers as Wycliffe and Luther were verbally stoned by the world (and by the world-loving portion of the Church).

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Protest – Anti-Christian rally in Chicago – cropped image – Wikimedia

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SEARCH THESE THINGS OUT, O NOBLE BEREAN!

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In conclusion, we Christians today must likewise be “Noble Bereans” and study these matters out, with fresh eyes and an open mind, not prisoners of the so-called “orthodoxy”!

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And may God grant us all this great gift to be able to do this!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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CONTINUED IN TOMORROW’S DEVOTIONAL...

November 7(Noble Bereans, Part 33: “Killing The Messenger” CONTINUED)

Tissot – Jesus Pardoning Thief – www.joyfulheart.com – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to be an open-minded seeker of truth, even if it means giving up a very highly regarded Church opinion! Let me be willing to investigate any seemingly new teaching if it appears to have some biblical validity…

ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.

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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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***FINALLY WALKING UPWARD* INTO THE HIGHWAYS *OF ETERNITY***

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Day by day, you will find yourself walking, like the Disciples, spreading the precious Gospel seed wherever the Spirit leads.

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Taking the lovely name of Jesus, with every word spoken. Walking through this sin-darkened world, witnessing to those who take notice that of a truth, Jesus is present within you. Even like faithful Enoch, walking through the highways and byways of life in this world, spreading the Gospel-seed of unpretentious love.

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Day by day, you will become more and more closed in with God. Moment by moment, your heart will become intertwined with God’s heart, eventually two hearts beating as one heart.

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And just like Enoch, when the appointed time of sojourning on earth is finally done…you will walk onward…and upward…and into the highways and byways of eternity. (“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Genesis 5:24).

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ThomasCole-Pilgrim of the Cross at the End of His Journey – Wikimedia – US public domain

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TOMORROW…