Daily Devotionals – Year 2, December 19 (“The Armor of God!” Part 4 The Devil, “The Discourager-in-Chief”!)
By admin On October 17th, 2021.
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Daily Devotionals, Year 2, December 19
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“PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD”
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Part 4
“Satan, The Discourager-in-Chief”!
To read part 1, click here…NOVEMBER 27th, Year 1 (“PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD” Part 1)
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“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,
and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
Ephesians 6:13-17
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The life story of Hank Williams was a sad tale of a young man who seemed to “have had the world by the tail”, and yet had no control over his own life!
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Yes, this very gifted young man created and presented his music in such a fresh and unique style that few others have duplicated!
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Yes, as far as this world was concerned, Hank had it all! Youth, good looks, talent, fame, fortune, and the promise of a long and prosperous career.
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Hank Williams Promotional Photo – Wikipedia – Public domain
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SAD ENDING
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And yet, sadly and tragically, alcohol and drugs became his cruel master and finally took his life at the young age of 29, being discovered by friends, slumped over in his parked Cadillac Convertible, midway to a live performance before an awaiting, enthusiastic crowd.
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When they heard the tragic announcement, the crowd thought it was merely a joke!
Hank Williams Memorial Montgomery – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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“I SAW THE LIGHT! I SAW THE LIGHT! PRAISE THE LORD, I SAW THE LIGHT!
Main verse from Hank William’s song
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Minnie Pearl, a fellow Grand-Ole-Opry star, recounted an incident in which she once encouraged the very discouraged Williams to “Just look for The Light, Hank” (referring to his hit song), to which he responded, “Minnie, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen The Light!”
Minnie Pearl 1965 – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
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Well, there is no greater testimony of how discouraged life can get, than another of Hank’s hit songs, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”…
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Listen…“Hear that lonesome whippoorwill!
He sounds too blue to fly!
The midnight train is whining low…
I’m so lonesome I could cry!…
The silence of a falling star
lights up a purple sky.
I wonder where you are tonight?
I’m so lonesome I could cry!”
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Man, have you ever heard such sad lyrics!?
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Well, truth-be told, so often, this world can be a very tragically sad place to live! After all, there is seemingly no end to the many different ways in which we humans can get discouraged!
Hank Williams Promotional Photo – Wikipedia – Public domain
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“Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy…Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words…”
Psalm 64:1, 2
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But what about Christians? Shouldn’t we be the happiest people on earth!? Shouldn’t we always be walking six inches off the ground, considering the fact that we have received the marvelous gift of eternal life? Well, you’d think so.
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But we must keep in mind that there exists a literal “god of evil”, formerly named Lucifer, now called, “The Devil”, and “Satan”. And his name actually means, “The Slanderer”, or “The Accuser”!
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And this evil one should also be called, “The Discourager-in-Chief”, because he is the master of discouragement!
Eve & The Whispering Serpent – wwwsignsofheaven – Share-Alike License
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“For mine enemies speak against me…Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him”
Psalm 71:10, 11
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So often, this unseen spirit will come to a Believer and whisper some accusation into our ear: either about a friend, a foe, our Lord, or even about our own self! “God is a big Meanie in the sky!” is one of his favorite ways to discourage both Believers and unbelievers alike!
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Or perhaps, “God is cursing your life because He doesn’t like you!” is another favorite accusation.
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Or how about this one…“You are not loved, and your future is hopeless!” This accusation has probably resulted in more drug addiction, depression, so-called “mental illness”, even suicide, than any other accusation by this ‘Discourager-n-Chief’!
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“WHEREFORE TAKE UNTO YOU THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD!”
Ephesians 6:13
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So, since we can’t kill Satan, what’s the next best thing we can do to disallow this evil tyrant from discouraging us”
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Well, the Bible has the answer of course!
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Listen…“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day…
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Ephesians 6:13, 14, 16
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Here is a shortened version of how God’s people must be armored up with God’s spiritual armor in these end-times!
ABOVE PICTURE: The armor of God – theheavensdeclare.net -use by permission only
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“THE SHIELD OF FAITH!”
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Yes, the next best thing is like it says in Verse 16…“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
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Here is our great defense against Satan’s many “fiery darts” of discouragement, which he ruthlessly fires at us so often!
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It matters not whether in big things or little, Satan’s fiery darts sting…really bad!
Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises”
2nd Peter 1:4
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And yet, as we hide God’s “exceeding great and precious promises” in our heart, we can cling to such precious promises as this…
“That the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
1st Peter 1:7
Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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TO READ PART 5, CLICK HERE…
January 7: (The Armor of God, Part 5: “Satan’s War Against the Family!”)
Family Portrait – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
Dear Lord, please help me to hide Your exceeding great and precious promises in my heart, and help me to begin to walk in them and to claim them in every needful circumstance…
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Orion the Soldier (Armor of God)”, or you can also read… February 10 (Cease Ye From Man! Part 9: “Time To Be Hidden”), or you can also read…May 3rd (True Bullet-Proof Faith!), or you can also read…May 23 (A Suffering Church is a Strong Church! Part 2: “Our Favorite Party: The ‘Pity-Party’!”)
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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LOOSING THE BANDS OF ORION
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God spoke several times of Orion, in Scripture. His question to Job was a very mystifying question, to say the least… “Canst thou…loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31. Such a strange question, indeed! How could a constellation have its bands loosed, much less, even have bands? Puzzling, puzzling!
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But now, He is revealing this bright and beautiful constellation in a way that has never before been seen. God Himself is loosing Orion’s bands, as He is just now unraveling this age-old mystery. And we are beginning to understand that this most infamous of all constellations is nothing less than a remarkable metaphor concerning Jesus.
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THE 5 OFFICES OF ORION
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But like most of the other Signs which this website reveals, Orion too, has much more to say as he changes his position in the sky. And this Soldier in the Heavens puts on different garb, as he presents the five awesome aspects of his various offices. From ‘Orion the Soldier’, and ‘Orion the Reaper’, and ‘Orion the Archer’, and‘The Cross of Orion’, and last but certainly not least, “Orion, The Good Shepherd”. This amazing constellation presents a very complex revelation of the God’s magnificent love for a fallen planet.
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So read on and discover, “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 13:35
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Orion Phenomena”
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TOMORROW…
DECEMBER 20 (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner, Part 2: “Pharisees Today!”)
James Tissot – The Pharisee and Publican – Brooklyn Museum & Wikimedia – US 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 encouraged to listen to this Open Forum #36, a small 30-minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50-year long series of 90-minute nightly talk shows…
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.
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