Today’s Devotional – September 2nd (Noble Bereans? Part 1)
By admin On February 3rd, 2021.
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Today’s Devotional – September 2nd
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Noble Bereans?
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Part 1
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“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,
in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.”
Acts 17:11
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So, in this little series, the subject of those noble Bereans has been introduced. And
today, it is still worthy of a little more exploration into another area of concern.
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Let’s review the key Bible passage…
“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea:
who coming there, went into the synagogue of the Jews.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,
in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,
and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Acts 17:10, 11
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St Paul Preaching (Raphael, 1515) – Wikipedia – US public domain
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AN OPEN-MINDED SPIRIT IN BEREA
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Okay, so those in Berea were more noble, because they:
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1. “Received the Word with all readiness of mind.”
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2. “And searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
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And so, the Bereans were ready to receive new teachings, which no doubt, conflicted with the supposed, “orthodox” teachings of that day.
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Thus, there was an open-mindedness which permeated their hearts, and a willingness to search the Scriptures daily, in hopes that these seemingly new teachings were indeed true!
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La Bible, Notre-Dame – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License
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NOBLE BEREANS TODAY?
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But where are the Noble Bereans today?
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Well, maybe some groups are indeed like those noble Bereans. But other groups are anything but open-minded! This is made manifest, because they spend their efforts in condemning anyone who does not subscribe to today’s mainline popular theology!
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And somehow they figure that this is what it means to be a noble Berean?!
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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
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TOTALITARIANS
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And even more than this, these gifted debaters have a way of making us feel like heretics, if we even dare to question their authority!
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“We will tell you who to listen to and who not to listen to”, they might say. And because today’s listeners are quite often too busy in life to do their own personal study, they simply follow these prestigious teachers who not only have the charisma, but also have a big voice over the airways!
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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
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PAUL’S VEILED WARNING
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Paul warned Timothy of such totalitarianism…
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving
of them which believe and know the truth.”
1st Timothy 4:1-3
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Now Paul warns that these apostate ones are forbidding the Church to marry. This is actually speaking of the Church marrying Christ. In other words, by their false doctrines and church dogma, Christians become confused as to what is true Salvation. Thus, today’s church-world is filled with many who attend church faithfully, but have never truly become “Born Again”!
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THE MEAT OF THE WORD
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And these next words, “commanding to abstain from meats”, are actually speaking of abstaining from the strong meat of God’s Word which is veiled in allegorical language. (see Hebrews 5:14).
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Yes, today’s teachers are commanding the Church to never try to see the spiritual interpretation of God’s Word. They call this the “Historical, grammatical method of interpretation”.
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But there is nothing in the Bible which commands us to abstain from the strong meat of the Word. Yes, we are to compare, “spiritual things with spiritual” when trying to find the deeper spiritual interpretation.
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Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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“THY WORDS WERE FOUND & I DID EAT THEM”
Jeremiah 15:16
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And all this concept of spiritual meat is only confirmed in the verse, which says…
“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things,
thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ,
NOURISHED UP in the words of faith and of good doctrine,
whereunto thou hast attained.”
1st Timothy 4:6
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Ah ha! So, by accepting this spiritual meat of God’s Word, we will be “nourished up in the words of faith”. So, in other words, Paul is here confirming just what he was really saying! Being “nourished up” has to do with the eating God’s Word. Thus, this is part of the key to spiritually understanding this above passage from 1st Timothy 4:1-6!
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And in Hebrews 5:12-14, Paul likened the deeper truths of the Bible to, “Strong meat”.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused”
1st Timothy 4:4
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This passage from 1st Timothy goes on to say…
“For every creature of God is good,
and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer…”
1st Timothy 4:4-6
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The Bible uses many earthly object lessons to teach the Gospel. From Genesis to Revelation, the many true stories, prophecies, parables, etc., are all orchestrated by God to teach some aspect of the Gospel, using the objects of creation to teach spiritual truths. They are all the “hidden manna” which those whose eyes have been enlightened can discern these hidden truths, veiled in allegories, types, shadows, and parables.
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Yet, those who can discern these hidden truths will understand that…
“every creature of God is good,
and nothing to be refused,
if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
(1st Timothy 4:4, 5)
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Thus, those whose spiritual eyes and ears have been opened will, like Timothy, receive and teach these hidden truths, becoming…“nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” 1st Timothy 4:6
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Worker ant carrying leaf – Wikimedia – Public Domain
Spider Web – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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BIBLE A SPIRITUAL BOOK!
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And so, this passage from 1st Timothy is really just confirming what this devotional is saying: that today’s church-world, while thinking we are like those Noble Bereans, are in reality, forbidding the Church to marry Christ, by commanding the Church not to partake of the deep spiritually allegorical nature of God’s Word!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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TO READ PART 2, CLICK HERE…
September 3rd (Noble Bereans, Part 2: True Bereans)
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Let me not be led astray with the error of the wicked. But give me a love for truth, which refuses to be satisfied with anything less…
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 14th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian!)”, You may also read…May 8 (“He That Hath An Ear To Hear”, Part 3: “Do Ye Not Hear The Law veiled in Allegories?)
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 SCORNER (THE PHARISEE)”
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“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, AN EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:18-23
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Please tilt your head to the left. Do you see a man with a very long pointed nose. (Obviously, the sketch to the right is just an exaggeration in order to help you find the face in the photo to the left.)
Do you see an angry look? His right eye-brow is raised as if he is judging.
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This second face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox. Or maybe a wolf. Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox? Maybe even a dog. Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn. Unlike the first Moon-man’s sad shock and awe; this ‘man/fox/wolf/dog’ appears to be that of anger and scorn. As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below. He is very moral, you see!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Moon Into Blood Trilogy: 2nd Face: The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner”
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TOMORROW:
“September 3rd (Noble Bereans, Part 2: True Bereans)”
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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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 #243 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Harold Camping Jeremiah Series #243
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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