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Today’s Devotional – January 14th

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FAINTING GOATS & US

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PART 1

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Goats are a biblically clean animal, and yet God sometimes speaks of them in the negative.

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Listen to Jesus…

“And before Him (Jesus) shall be gathered all nations:

and He shall separate them one from another,

as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

And He shall set the sheep on His right hand,

but the goats on the left…”

Matthew 25:32. 33. 46

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Goat Eating Weeds – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.”

Proverbs 8:33 

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But God has created all nature to not only be interesting, fascinating, fun, and often beautiful, but also to teach us wisdom…

“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:

and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

Who knoweth not in all these

that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?”

Job 12:7-9

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Yes, from the tiniest atomic particle to the great galaxy, and even beyond, all of nature teaches us lessons!

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Worker ant carrying leaf – Wikimedia – Public Domain

ABOVE STAR-CHART (constellations found on Wikipedia and Bible constellations drawn in by this website) – Sign of the Son of Man – www.theheavensdeclare.net – Not for commercial uses

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FAINTING GOATS

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Now, there is a certain type of goat, often called “The Fainting Goat”, which is the favorite animal on many farms, primarily in the southern states of the USA.

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This certain breed has a seeming abnormality which causes the goat to stiffen up and fall down whenever startled, frightened, or excited, as if it were dead.

But then, after lying stiff with its legs in the air, it soon regains its composure and stands back upright again.

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Fainting Goat – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.”

Proverbs 24:10

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Now, besides being a source of laughter and comedy by onlookers, these odd creatures can offer us a real teaching moment!

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Listen…“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10

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Yes, this little Fainting Goat is a fitting symbol of those of us who lack faith whenever some supposed trial, big or little, comes our way.

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Fainting Goat – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“…they could not enter in (God’s Rest) because of unbelief”

Hebrews 3:19 

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The fact is, there are multitudes in the Church who do just fine when all is going well.

But the moment some trial comes our way, we faint away from any faithful biblical response!

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Yes, instead of claiming God’s “exceeding great and precious promises”, we quite often, rather just handle that situation exactly like this faithless world reacts to such situations. (see 2nd Peter 1:4)

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Divorce – cropped image – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Ghost Stories August – 1928 – cropped image – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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“…and be not faithless, but believing”

John 20:27

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For example, when many Christians feel we’ve have been mistreated, instead of “turning the other cheek”, we rather react angrily, demanding justice and recompense. (see Matthew 5:39)

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Or many may resort to using carnal weapons, instead of claiming the promises of God, such as…“And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” 1st Peter 3:13  

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Hatfield Clan – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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Well, there could be multitudes of examples given to illustrate how we Christians react faithlessly when in the trials of life which come our way.

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Fainting Goat – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“Be strong, and of good courage!”

Joshua 1:9

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But the Good News is, this is still the Day of Salvation!

And there is just enough time to begin hiding God’s “exceeding great and precious promises” in our hearts, and praying for strength to stand and walk in those promises.

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Listen…“He (God) giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.” Isaiah 40:29 

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The Bible is replete with passages concerning this topic. And with a KJV Bible and a concordance, these passages can be searched out.

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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THE READER IS INVITED TO WATCH THIS 2 MINUTE VIDEO ABOUT FAINTING GOATS…

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to repent of my backsliding and ease-loving ways! Give me a heart that desires to follow Thee, whithersoever Thou goest…

Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…March 8 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 8: “Cancer, a Faith-building Experience?”), or you can also read…May 3rd (True Bullet-Proof Faith!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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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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THE HOLY-GHOST-RIDER CONSTELLATION

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Well, if we look in the winter-night skies, we might possibly have our eyes opened to see a most incredible constellation group, known as the “Horse and His Rider” Constellation Group.

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This constellation group is made up of a number of smaller constellations:

The horse’s head, made from the Perseus Constellation.

The tail and rear end is partly of the Cassiopeia Constellation.

The hind-leg is made partly of stars from the Andromeda Constellation.

The Rider is made primarily from the Camelopardalis Constellation.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation” or you can also read… “Goodly Horse in Battle Constellation”

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TOMORROW:

January 15th . . . . THE GOOD SHEPHERD FINDS US

Brooklyn Museum – The Good Shepherd – James Tissot – Wikpedia – US Public Domain

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20 MINUTE+ AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

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THIS IS STUDY #14 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…

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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain