Today’s Devotional – March 31st (Copy-Cut-n-Paste Christianity)
By admin On January 17th, 2021.
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Today’s Devotional – March 31st
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Copy-Cut-n-Paste Christianity
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Seems as if today’s Christianity has become like the computer world!
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Yes indeed! Seems like everyone wants to copy-cut-n-paste what we like and assemble our own credo.
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Computer hacking – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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JOHN 3:16
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Yes, there are many who simply want to copy-cut-n-paste John 3:16, and make it the last word on what the Bible says about what it means to being saved! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.”
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“See here!”, they say, “See all that God requires for Salvation!”. And this simple statement has been accepted by many churches, as to exactly what it means as to be saved!
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And, as this very old picture shows, these copy-cut-n-paste Christians have been around for a very long time!
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Nicaea icon – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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THE SINNER’S PRAYER
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Oh yes, many ministries today, especially over the airwaves might call for an unbeliever to simply repeat the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer”.
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This is based on Romans 10:9…“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
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And then, after the sinner has repeated these words, the talk-show host might say something like, “Now that you have earnestly repeated those words, you are now 100% saved! Welcome into the family of God!”
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And that sinner walks away, being confidently assured that he (or she) has salvation.
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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
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WATER BAPTISM!
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And then there are others who will take that one statement from John 3:16, and add this next passage… “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:16.
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And so now, this verse has also been copy-cut-n-pasted alongside John 3:16. And as we all know, there are many churches which make these two passages the last word on Salvation.
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Jordan river baptism – Wikipedia – Share-alike License
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CHURCH ATTENDANCE!
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But then there are still others who copy-cut-n-paste this further passage… “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting [one another]:” Hebrews 10:25.
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And with the addition of this verse, many churches have an acceptable creed, which demands the good work of church attendance.
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Tibidabo Church – Wikimedia – GNU Free Documentation license
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SIGNS AND WONDERS!
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Then there are yet others who copy-cut-n-paste this next passage… “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:17, 18.
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Now this verse really narrows down just what it means to be a Christian!
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And so, the test which many congregations use, requires every person to speak in unknown languages, and pick up snakes, and drink poison and not die!
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Snakehandling – Wikipedia – public dom.
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So just exactly what is the problem here?
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After all, each of these statements are from the Bible and are obviously true!
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So how are we to understand just what does God require from a man, woman, or child?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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ALL SCRIPTURE
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Listen to God, as He speaks through Paul…
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
2nd Timothy 3:16, 17
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Okay, so this passage declares that the entire Bible is needed to properly understand what is required for Salvation.
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In other words, one verse does not stand alone; nor does it cancel out any other verse.
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They are all of the truth!
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Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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STUDY THE WHOLE BIBLE!
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But the child of God has been admonished to constantly study and contemplate the Bible, in effort to find out more and more about just what is Salvation, and what is God’s will for the Christian, and most importantly, just who is our great God.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!
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And so, when someone tells you that John 3:16 says plainly that all we need to do is “believe” to become saved, then you can agree, and say…
“Yes, but the Bible also says…
‘Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well:
the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know…that faith without works is dead?'”
James 2:19, 20.
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And at this point you can hopefully begin a dialogue to encourage that copy-cut-n-paste Christian to begin to search the Scriptures daily to find out more and more about God, and about His glorious Salvation plan!
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Mall witnessing, Panama City, Panama.
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, It is a very big task to study the whole Bible. But give me a love for Thy Word: a love which transcends all other matters of life. Give me the great joy of contemplating Thy Word, throughout each and every passing day…
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… November 22 – (The Greatest Jig-saw Puzzle Ever!), or you can also read… December 14 (Many Wise Counsellors )
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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“CAN YOU GUIDE ARCTURUS WITH HIS SONS?”
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In the Book of Job, the last chapters, is found a very long lecture to Job, given by Almighty God Himself.
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And in this amazing lecture, God asked Job various questions. However, the questions God asked, were probably far beyond what Job could comprehend, much less give an answer to.
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But God did this to quell Job’s proud anger: Job’s anger, not only at Job’s “friends”, who were blaming Job’s sins as the cause of all Job’s troubles; but also Job’s anger at God, because God had brought upon Job all these troubles in the first place.
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Job (oil on canvas) by Bonnat, Leon Joseph Florentin (1833-1922) – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“CAN YOU GUIDE ARCTURUS WITH HIS SONS?”
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But among the various questions asked Job, were some very curious ones about the stars. And one of those questions about the stars was… “Can you guide Arcturus with his sons?” Job 38:32.
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Now Job, like many ancient wise-men, probably realized that Arcturus was that very bright star in the night skies. But what in the world was God talking about, when He asked Job if he could “guide Arcturus WITH HIS SONS“? How could a star have sons?! And how could Job, a mere man, possibly guide a star?!? What strange questions for God to be asking a mere man!!
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Job – Wikimedia – US public domain
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“MYSTERY FINISHED”
Revelation 10:7
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And so this puzzling question which God asked Job (“Can you guide Arcturus with his sons?” Job 38:32.), was never answered. And the Bible seems silent on this question. And so, this question has remained a mystery for thousands of years…until now.
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You see, God, according to His “eternal purpose” (not to mention His infinite patience), has kept these things secret through the long millenniums…until just now!
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Yes, God is just now beginning to reveal these mysterious signs in the heavens! And now we are discovering that God has written His marvelous love story in the heavens, using the various constellations as picture symbols. And this should be no surprise. After all, God plainly declares in Psalms… “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1.
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But the heavens also declare God’s righteousness, as is written… “And the heavens shall declare His righteousness…Selah.” Psalm 50:6.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Arcturus (the star that wise-men follow!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW…
“April 1st (God’s Love Written in the Heavens)”
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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 #90 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