Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 23 (Noble Bereans? Part 58: “Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth”)
By admin On July 20th, 2023.
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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 23
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Noble Bereans?
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Part 58:
“Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth”
To read Part 1 of this series, click here…September 2nd (Noble Bereans? Part 1)
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“These (Bereans) 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…
Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Acts 17:11 & 2nd Timothy 2:15
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Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.
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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 because of this excellent, open-minded Spirit, 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-minded love for truth 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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THREE ANGEL’S MESSAGES
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And so, the big question which any logical person would ask, concerning the three messages presented on this website is, “Why is there disagreement between these three messages? And how can all these teachings be reconciled, so as to find harmony between these teachings?”
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GOD’S WORD ALONE IS INFALLIBLE!
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As to the first question, “Why is there a seeming disagreement between these three messages”, let it be stated that the Bible alone is the infallible Word of truth.
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Never in the New Testament era, has there been an infallible teacher since the days when God completed the closing words to His Book, The Bible. Not Calvin, not Wesley, not Luther, not anyone!
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ELLEN WHITE & HAROLD CAMPING
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And both Harold Camping and Ellen White freely proclaimed their teachings to be fallible and subject to correction, if necessary. Indeed, Camping gave a warning multiple times each night on his telephone question/answer radio talk show…“Don’t trust me! I have feet of clay! Trust only the Bible!” Every night this same disclaimer was uttered by Camping, perhaps five or six times per show.
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Ellen White likewise made a similar disclaimer…“I have never made the claim that my writings are infallible. God alone is infallible.”
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Harold-Camping – courtesy Family Radio
Ellen G. White – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE
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And now comes the third message which is to tie all three messages together. But this message makes no claims of infallibility either.
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Well, the fact is, God doesn’t wish to give another infallible message. He’s already done that! It’s called, The Bible…The Book!
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And what God now wants, is for His people to place their trust in His infallible Word, the Bible, and begin to prayerfully search out what it says for their own selves!
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ABOVE PICTURE: The armor of God – theheavensdeclare.net -use by permission only
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“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers”
Hebrews 5:12
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In other words, every true worshiper must strive to attain teacher-status in his or her own life. This requires a whole lot of study, and prayer, and contemplation!
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But that’s what we are to do. And if we don’t have the ability to study for some reason, then we must beg God to graciously allow us to have that ability, no matter how much time and how many tears it takes!
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USMC prayer before study – Wikimedia – Public-Domain
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“Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.”
Psalm 119:18
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And so, in answer to the second question, “How can all these three messages be reconciled, so as to find harmony between these teachings?”, we need to plead with God to allow us to study these three messages against the Bible to ultimately strike a balance, “rightly dividing the word of truth”. 2nd Timothy 2:15
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USMC prayer before study – Wikimedia – Public-Domain
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“there shall be signs in the sun…moon, and…stars”
Luke 21:25
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Of course, this third message, written in the Sun, Moon, and stars, has attempted to balance the first two messages, harmonizing them with its additional teachings.
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But once again, this third message makes no claim of infallibility.
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The Bible alone, and in its entirety is the infallible source-book of Truth!
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ABOVE PICTURE – Starry Night at La Silla – cropped & altered photo – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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Ye need not that any man teach you!”
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But we can take comfort in the words from John’s 1st Epistle…“But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” 1st John 2:27
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Yes, as this verse informs us, God’s Holy Spirit of Truth will assist every true worshipper of God in arriving at a saving knowledge of the Bible.
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And that’s an “exceeding great and precious promise”, which each and every Noble Berean can cling to in these days of error, confusion, and apostasy!
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Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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TO READ PART 59, CLICK HERE…
May 30 (Noble Bereans, Part 59: “Go Into The Highways & Hedges!”)
Upward-Pathway-by-böhringer-friedrich-for-Wikimedia-Share-alike-License (1)
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me the heart of the Noble Berean as I search for truth. Give me a love for truth even though I may have to eventually stand alone from general consensus of the “group-think” mentality…
Praying Hands – Otto Greiner – Wikimedia – .bassenge.com – Cropped image – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…February 1 (Noble Bereans, Part 47: “Do Ellen White and Harold Camping Agree?”), or you may also read…NOVEMBER 23 (Noble Bereans, Part 20: “Re-thinking Ellen White Regarding Her Old Testament Statements”), or you may also read…October 16 (Noble Bereans, Part 21: “Re-thinking Harold Camping Regarding Proper Bible Interpretation”)
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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HEAVENLY OBJECT LESSON
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“Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” Isaiah 24:23
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When God created the Moon and the stars, He ordained them to “rule the night” (Gen. 1:16). The Moon, especially when it is full, can light your pathway through the night, as it reflects the light of the Sun.
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So too, the Christian is to be a light to the world: to this sin-darkened world. But as the Moon must reflect the light of the Sun, in order to be a light to the world, so also must the Christian reflect the light of Jesus, to be a spiritual light to this planet in rebellion. Listen…
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“Ye are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
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However, during an eclipse, the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, preventing that sunlight from shining on the Moon’s face. This is an incredible object-lesson about when the child of God allows the world to come between him and his Lord. Like the eclipse, that person no longer reflects the light of Jesus, because his or her love of this dark world of sin has eclipsed the light from the “Sun of Righteousness” (see Malachi 4:2).
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And so, this is just one of the many poetic truths seen in the Moon. (For more on this subject of an eclipse, you may link to the article… “Lunar Eclipse & Spiritual Eclipse”)
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Dutch Painting: Um_moinho_dominando_a_baía_à_luz_lunar wikimedia US public domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Moon Into Blood Trilogy: 1st Face: The Night Watchman”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW:
August 24 (How to Breeze Through the Coming Crisis! Part 9: “Three Rules for Constant Victory!”)
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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CHRIST OBJECT LESSONS, BY ELLEN G. WHITE
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this sampler of the audio book about the Bible’s parables in which Ellen White relates them to every day practical living…
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Chapter 2 – “The Sower Went Forth to Sow”
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Five Wise Virgins – Matt 25 – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain
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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 #184, 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”…
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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