2 Corinthians 2:11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev used to tell of a time when there was a wave of petty theft in the Soviet Union. To curtail this, the authorities put guards up around the factories.
At a timber works in Leningrad, one guard knew the workers in the factory very well. The first evening, out came Pyotr Petrovich with a wheelbarrow containing a great bulky sack with a suspicious-looking object inside. "All right, Petrovich," said the guard, "What have you got there?" "Oh, just sawdust and shavings," Petrovich replied. "Come on," the guard said, "I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out."
The worker tipped, and nothing came out but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home. When the same thing happened every night of the week, the guard became frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration. "Petrovich," he said, "I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go."
"Wheelbarrows, my friend, " said Petrovich, "wheelbarrows."
Is your attention being diverted? Think about it. Are you (allowing yourself to be) preoccupied with something that seems innocent while the real, significant, substantial matter is slipping by every day, unnoticed? The strategies of Satan to divert our eyes onto “sawdust” and miss "wheelbarrows" are many. What is the "sawdust" in your life, in mine? For some of us, it might even be a fascinated preoccupation with Last Days events, which diverts us from the mandate to make disciples...for others, it might be neglecting our children for the sake of "ministry." If we take the time to look, each of us really knows how we miss the "wheelbarrows" for the "sawdust." But just like that savvy guard, we ought to wise up quickly and identify the problem. Right?
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named Louis.
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Knowing He was about to depart, Yeshua (Jesus) left His disciples with a final command: stay in Jerusalem, and wait…for the promise. Of the thousands who had witnessed His miraculous ministry and heard His amazing teaching, and the hundreds that had actually seen Him after the resurrection, we read in Acts that only 120 stayed and tarried until the promise arrived. But these 120 were steadfast. They waited the full term…
I don’t know about you, but it seems that the tests we’re going through are getting harder and harder. Do you remember when you took tests in high school? At the time they may have seemed hard. But imagine if you had to take an elementary school test when you were in high school. You’d probably think – oh this is so simple.
Over the past month, it seems that we’ve been dealing with different internet issues … and hopefully, these issues will be resolved sooner rather than later. Being that the bulk of our ministry is based upon the internet, it can be problematic at times, especially when you’re suddenly disconnected from the web!
As we continue this study of the Dead Sea scrolls, authorities announced the discovery of several more scrolls as their extensive search for more hidden caves and treasures continues. Given the “coincidence” of the events described in previous devotionals, God’s providential involvement in these developments becomes clear. His Word tells us what is about to happen, and new discoveries of Biblical texts seem to be directly related to modern prophetic fulfillments.
As we continue this study of the Dead Sea Scrolls we jump to 1963 and the unearthing of Masada.
Flavius Josephus the Jewish historian recorded the tragic events at Masada in “The Jewish Wars.” Masada was ignored for years as it reminded the Rabbis of the failures of the many false messiahs that appeared after Yeshua (Jesus).
As we continue into the historical and prophetic significance of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, I take you back to 1948. Professor Eleazar Sukenik discovered that Mar Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem purchased several of the Dead Sea scrolls. So Professor Sukenik visited the archbishop and took several photos of the scrolls which were then sent to William Albright, a Biblical archaeologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.