Today’s Devotional – July 4th (Look Up & Lift Up Your Heads! Part 1)
By admin On January 29th, 2021.
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Today’s Devotional – July 4th
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Look Up & Lift Up Your Heads!
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Part 1
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There is one day of the year when many people in the USA look up and lift up their heads.
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It’s called “The 4th of July”, or “Independence Day”, in which Americans celebrate their independence, from foreign rulership.
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Yes, in many towns across America, the citizenry gets to enjoy a powerful display of fireworks to symbolize “the bombs bursting in air” as they bravely fought for independence from oppressive foreign rule.
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ANOTHER “INDEPENDENCE DAY” COMING!
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Well, there is soon coming the Day in which we will become independent of our servitude under a foreign dictator.
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And just who could that foreign dictator be?
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Simple! The “the god of this world”, Satan. We will be loosed from this, his prison-house of sin! 2nd Corinthians 4:4
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Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“…look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Luke 21:28
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And just like Independence Day on the 4th of July, so too, we are told to look up…
…”And there shall be signs in the sun,
and in the moon,
and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
the sea and the waves roaring…
And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Luke 21:25-28 (Condensed)
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Yes, it’s at this time that Jesus commands us to, look up, and lift up our heads, for our “redemption draws nigh!”
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Starry Night at La Silla – cropped/altered image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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RE-FOCUS OUR EYES UPWARD
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One very important reason to begin looking up, is that God’s people have been looking down too much, at the things of the earth!
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We have been immersed in many cares and pleasures of this self-seeking world.
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And God is wanting us to begin to re-focus our attention on heavenly things, as is written…
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:2
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Starry Night at La Silla – cropped/altered image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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“Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good”
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Yes, this put-down only bolsters worldly-minded churchgoers, priding ourselves on how industrious we might be in our personal worldly endeavors.
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“Other people are so earthly-minded, they are of no heavenly good!”
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And yet for every one individual who fits such a demeaning put-down…
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…there are perhaps ninety-nine others who might better be described like this…“There are many who are so earthly-minded, they are no heavenly good!”
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Yes, most of today’s professing Christians are so busy in the world, that our Christianity is usually on the backburner for about six-and-one-half-days-per-week!
Saint Francis of Assisi by Jusepe de Ribera wikipedia – public domain-
Multitask – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License
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ABANDON OUR EARTHLY DUTIES?
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Now does fixing our eyes heavenward, upon Jesus, necessitate abandoning our daily earthly duties?
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Of course not! But it does require us to no longer make the things of earth our great focus!
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It’s like that old little song…
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face!
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
in the light of His glory and grace!”
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Yes, when we fix our eyes upon Jesus, all the things of this selfish world will soon lose their tight grip on us!
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And even though our great focus will be heavenward, we will still work and live, and strive to provide for our family’s needs and comfort and happiness!
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Marine Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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PERFECT PEACE!
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And so, the next frequently asked question is: “Is this kind of selfless life a joyless, austere existence?” Certainly not!
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Listen…
“Thou (God) wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on Thee…”
Isaiah 26:3 (Condensed)
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Now what could be better than, “perfect peace”?
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And so, let’s look up and behold the signs which God has written in the Sun, Moon, and stars!
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Family Portrait – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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TO READ PART 2, CLICK HERE…
July 5th (Look Up, Lift Up Your Heads! Part 2)
Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to take my eyes from off of this sad old planet, and fix them firmly upward, into the heavenlies…
Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “MARCH 6 (How To Have Heaven Now!)”…
…or you can also read… JANUARY 9 (The Time of Trouble! Part 1: Armageddon In The Sky!)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED SIGN
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A HEAVENLY HOBBY
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“Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold Who hath created these things;
that brings out their host by number:
He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might,
for that He is strong in power;
not one faileth.”
Isaiah 40:26
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“AND WHEN YE SEE THESE THINGS…LOOK UP, LIFT UP YOUR HEAD”
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In this busy work-a-day world, there are many very interesting things which can occupy one’s time and energy
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But having said this, there is one hobby which every ‘Noble Berean’ may take up, which only compliments the pursuit of the heavenly Prize.
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Yes, Signs Of Heaven becomes a wonderfully rewarding hobby which, unlike many less meaningful hobbies, pays off with rich, heavenly rewards. Everlasting rewards!
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And unlike the person in this photo with equipment, all you need is fairly good vision, and a dark, starry night.
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And once a person really gets to know these heavenly messengers, it will become very apparent that the message connected with these signs is truly a message to be heeded.
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Astronomy Amateur – cropped image – Wikipedia – share-alike license
Shoppers in Toronto – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license
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“And there shall be signs in the sun,
and in the moon,
and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity;
the sea and the waves roaring;”
Luke 21:25
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ABOVE CHART: Summer Constellations with Doves (Sagittarius) & Woman (Ursa Major)
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FIRST FIND ORION & 7 STARS
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The very first step in finding these many constellations, should be to find the two main constellations: Orion, and the 7 Stars (aka, The Big Dipper).
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These two constellations represent Christ (Orion), and His Church (7 Stars).
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And just as these are the easiest constellations to find, so too, the first place to begin studying the Bible is the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).
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These four books present Christ and His Church, when He walked the earth, just as Orion and the 7 Stars represent Christ and His Church, as seen up in the heavens.
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Then, once you are comfortable finding these two constellations, you can begin to locate the next closest constellations, and so on.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Arcturus (the star that wise-men follow!)”
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TOMORROW…
July 5th (Look Up, Lift Up Your Heads! Part 2)
Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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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 STUDY #183 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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