Today’s Devotional – September 19th (Dawn of the Dead, Part 4: “Earthly Mammon!”)
By admin On February 3rd, 2021.
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Today’s Devotional – September 19th
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Dawn of the Dead,
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Part 4:
“Earthly Mammon!”
To read Part 1, click here…September 16th (Dawn of the Dead! Part 1: Music)
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Are you old enough to remember that startling movie, “Dawn of the Dead”?
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Being one of the first of its kind, it had a stunning effect on movie-goers.
That is, to see dead people slowly sleep-walking through a giant, abandoned shopping mall, surrealistically going through the motions of shopping!
And all the while, silky violin strains of “elevator music” echoed through the empty corridors: this was a giant shock to movie audiences back in those days!
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Dawn of the Dead – Wikipedia – Copyrighted – Fair-Use Rationale
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“for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.” Jeremiah 7:32
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Now the premise of that movie was that some apocalyptic holocaust had killed off the bulk of Mankind, leaving no more room in Hell. And this is loosely based on Jeremiah’s prophecy…
“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that it shall no more be called Tophet,
nor the valley of the son of Hinnom,
but the valley of slaughter:
for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.”
Jeremiah 7:32
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Thus, the world was now mostly populated by these half-dead zombies, who continually sought to cannibalize the few surviving humans left on earth!
And that infamous shopping mall became the dark, frightening and macabre backdrop for that shocking movie!
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Dawn of the Dead – Wikipedia – Copyrighted – Fair-Use Rationale
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DEAD-MEN-WALKING TRULY EXIST!
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Now this devotional is not promoting the idea that we should be watching movies.
No, but rather, the intent is only to provide an earthly analogy for biblical ideas! After all, Paul quoted a line from a secular poet, when trying to make sense with a group of potential converts. (see Acts 17:28)
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And of course, the Bible declares our pre-Salvation condition in the following manner…
“And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
Ephesians 2:11, 12
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Yes, the Bible repeatedly pronounces our condition as being walking-dead souls, prior to Salvation!
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Zombies Night of the Living Dead – Wikipedia- Public-Dom.
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WALKING-DEAD SHOPPERS
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Now this 1970’s shocker has been the backdrop for the previous three devotionals (To read, click here).
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But this current “Dawn of the Dead” devotional will finally deal with those walking-dead ones who continued to shop at the mall. Oh well, they were just going through the motions of shopping!
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But it was very surrealistic and macabre to see these half-dead ones, as they lurched through that post-apocalyptic mall, as if they were still alive!
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Toronto zombie walk – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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WALKING DEAD CHURCHGOERS
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But there is somewhat of a parallel analogy that could be drawn from that aspect of the movie.
Yes, those of us who claim to have been buried with Christ in that watery grave called baptism, might have been buried alive!
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So many of us still behave so much like the walking-dead, as we come up from the baptismal pool, and begin to live like we did when we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (this miserable wretch included)! (See Ephesians 2:2)
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RETURN TO THE DEAD
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Yes, so many of us Christians continue to pursue the earthly Mammon, without giving it a second thought!
We buy and sell just like we did before we supposedly died-to-self!
We pinch out our 10% into the offering plate and think that’s all that God expects!
And then we spend the rest on whatever suits our fancy!
We buy our expensive cars and boats and big-screen TV’s and high-end hotels, and bigger homes and whatever else catches our eye!
We “max out” our credit cards, overeat, exhaust our time-schedule, deplete our brains with worldly thoughts, and then wonder why our spiritual life is so thin and anemic!
And we cannot understand why we easily lose our temper! And we cannot understand why we still cuss under our breath. And why we laugh at crude jokes! And why we would rather watch TV than study our Bible!
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PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! – Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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WE’VE NOURISHED OUR HEARTS IN THE DAY OF SLAUGHTER
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“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth,
and been wanton;
ye have nourished your hearts,
as in a day of slaughter.”
James 5:5
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This above verse from James really says it all! So many of the pleasures and pursuits of the world have found their way into the Christian community.
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BABYLON ALL AROUND US!
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Well of course, if we have a family, we must care for their needs! And if they are yet worldly-minded, then we must care for the things of the world, “how we might please them!” (2nd Corinthians 7:33, 34)
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But even in this case, we can still pursue our heavenly Prize, while going about our daily duties!
Silent prayers can be breathed!
Spiritual hands can be lifted up in the secret sanctuary of our heart!
A pocket Testament can be read on a break, and a verse committed to memory!
A personal pleasure can be sacrificed upon the altar to the attending Angel of the Lord, even as we provide a worldly happiness for our unsaved loved-ones!
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Morning Prayers – Ebenezer Newman – Downard – 1860 – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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THE FLESH-EATING ‘OLD MAN’ MUST DIE!
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Yet in the sanctuary of our heart, we have to kill that Zombie! Yes, that old Zombie within must die! The Bible speaks of him as that, “Old Man” with all his fleshly desires (see Ephesians 4:22), and begin to empower our inner “New Man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24
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And so, there is a battle to be fought, and a war to be won! But the Word of Christ has promised us…
“Being confident of this very thing,
that He which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Philippians 1:6
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TO READ PART 5, CLICK HERE…
March 25 (Dawn of the Dead! Part 5: “Cannibalizing Our Children!?”)
Cannibalism in Russia and Lithuania 1571. – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to cast away the vain idols of this world, that I may run toward Thy Holy Zion! Help me to fix my gaze on the things that are not seen…
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…February 4th (Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work? Part 1), or you can also read…“May 25 (The Natural Man’s Prosperity Gospel, Part 2: “Peace, Prosperity, Health & Family Values”)”
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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THE ARK IN THE HEAVENS
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So what importance to us is all this information? Well, if a person goes out at night, beginning in April (earlier in southern-most latitudes, and later in northern-most), in the pre-dawn hour, they just might locate the constellation commonly referred to as the Sagittarius Constellation . It is located in the southern sky. (Each night it appears a little earlier, slowly inching westward, through the summer, until it finally disappears below the western horizon in November.)
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At first, it simply appears as two twin birds flying westward. But if you look once again, it just might appear as a long box-like figure, with one star on the right, as you face it, and two stars on the left. The box, of course would be the Ark, and the stars on either side would represent angels, which are sometimes referred to as stars in the Bible (for instance, “the seven stars are the angels…” Revelation 1:20). To the right is a star-chart from Wikipedia, in which the editor of this site has sketched in this Sagittarius Constellation, to show how God created it to appear.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Ark of the Covenant Constellation”
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TOMORROW:
“September 20th (Don’t Miss The Boat!)”
ABOVE PICTURE: The Gospel Ark (ship) of Salvation
ABOVE PICTURE: The Gospel Ark (ship) of Salvation
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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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 #260 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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