The Common Raccoon is famous for its black
bandit mask and ringed tail. The mask
fits for this creature loves to steal from gardens, campsites and
garbage cans.
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 The
raccoon is curious but is not savage. It is very playful
and gentle unless cornered or threatened.
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 Raccoons
eat duck eggs, frogs, salamanders and insects.
The raccoon also eats fruits, nuts, berries, insects and
crayfish and clams.
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One of the best known characteristic of the common raccoon
is its habit of dunking its food in water before eating it.
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 OOn
our porch of our home in Gresham, Oregon these coons came often to eat
dog food. They never washed it first. They just had their meal right
on the porch. This animal needs food all year round. They favor woodlands
near streams. They are not found in high mountains.
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The raccoon makes a variety of sounds. They can purr,
growl, snarl, scream, hiss, trill, whinny and whimper.
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| Here
are some of the sounds raccoons make. Can you guess which sound is the
distress call? I think it fits with the no hunting sign the best.
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The
mother carries her young around by the nape of the neck like a cat
carries kittens.
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 The
coon walks on its heels like people do so there is a very impressive
footprint. |
 A
typical raccoon den is located in the hollow tree, abandoned
buildings, or under wood piles. In rocky places, the mother might pick
a rocky crevice. She carries in grass to cover the floor.
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 One
night after our pet
ducklings were asleep, the raccoons came looking for food. They found a
duck leg on the edge of the cage and grabbed
it and started eating. Kyles poor duck was being eaten alive. It hurt
so bad it quacked loudly. The neighbor woke up and called us.
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 Kyle
came running to comfort his little duck as it bled to death. He was so
angry at the coon, he howled. The sympathetic neighbors were shedding
tears over His sorrow. Kyle
did not stop crying till we went to find him another duckling at the
store. He was so angry at the thief who
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| Raccoons
are awake at night. They are unexpected thieves because we do not plan
on them looking for food around our homes while we are sleeping. They
have a mask so they are often called thieves.
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 People
who steal usually do it at night while people sleep. They
surprise the one they plan on stealing from.
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I
 Thessalonians
5:2 For yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night.
(It
is a surprise to those who are living without even a thought of Jesus
and His soon coming. They are too busy to think of Jesus.)
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 I
Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail (labor pains)
upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
There is no way but through it when it is time for baby to be
born. You cannot decide you do not want to have the pain. There is no
way around it but to have the baby. The same with the end. There is no
one who can stop the destruction that is coming.
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Jesus
is coming for those who love HIM.
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I Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and
the works that are therein shall be burned up.
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 I
Peter 3:11 [Seeing]
then [that] all these things shall
be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye
to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, 3:12
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat?
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Whether He comes as a thief or as our FOREVER FRIEND
depends on what we do each day. First thing in the morning read
your Bible and pray. Finish each day the same way. It will be no
surprise if you are studying the Bible for the signs of His coming.
The books of Daniel and Revelation are full of these signs. Most all
have been fulfilled. There is only a little left. Get ready now.
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 If
Kyle had been looking for the raccoon, he would have put the duck cage
in the pump house at night. If we know Jesus is coming, and we
look for Him with joy, He will not be as a thief to us. Jesus brings
with Him eternal life, and gives us mansions and all kinds of
blessings.
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 Mark13:35
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the
house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the
cockcrowing, or in the morning:
13:36 Lest
coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
13:37
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
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 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to
show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he
sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John:
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 Revelation
1:2 Who bare record
of the word of God, and of
the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
1:3 Blessed
[is] he that readeth, and they that hear
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
therein: for the time [is] at hand.
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Rev. 1:7 Behold, he
cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of
the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
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 Rev. 1:8 I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the
ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
the Almighty.
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 Rev.
1:12 And I turned
to see the voice that spake with
me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one]
like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and
girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and [his]
hairs [were] white like wool, as white
as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
1:15
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in
a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
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 1:16
And he had in his right hand seven stars:
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 and
out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance
[was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
Here is a statement that tells us what it means
and out of His mouth issues a sharp two-edged sword,
an emblem of the power of His word. Patmos is made
resplendent with the glory of the risen Lord.
{AA 582.1}
Let the truth do the cutting; the word of God is as a
sharp, two-edged sword, and will cut its way to the heart. {CW
58.3} Heb. 4:12
Hebrews
4:12 For
the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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 1:17
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his
right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the
last:
Revelation 1:18 I [am]
he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,
I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death.
Jesus lived, and then died and now lives forever. He proved
he had power over death.
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 It
is nice to have lots of keys on the key ring. Some open
the car, some the house, some the padlock. What if the
keys are to the
wrong car? I have locked up my car thinking the keys in my purse would
open up the car. I felt so foolish locked out of my car. I had many
keys but none of them worked on the car I was driving. The keys I
needed were inside the car.
Jesus has the right key that can open the grave. When He
is ready He will come and His voice will open the graves.
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 God
and Jesus are the only ones who have power
over death. No one else does. They are the only ones with the keys.
They will never give these keys to any other person on this earth.
Elijah prayed in the name of Jesus, and Gods power only brought
life to the dead boy.
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| 1:19
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter;
1:20 The mystery of the
seven stars which thou sawest in my
right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the
angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou
sawest are the seven churches.
There are two meanings to this. First, there were 7 churches
and 7 time periods in history of the church.
The second meaning is a very practical one for all time.
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The picture reveals eternal vigilance. Christ is in the midst of
the seven golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from
congregation to congregation, from heart to heart. He that keepeth
Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to
the care of human beings, how often the light would flicker and go
out! But God has not given His church into the hands of men. Christ,
the One who gave His life for the world, that all who believe in Him
may not perish but have everlasting life, is the Watchman of
the house. He is the Warder, faithful and true, of the temple
courts of the Lord. {LHU
318.2}
"These
things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right
hand." The words are spoken to the teachers in the
church--those entrusted by God with weighty responsibilities. The
sweet influences that are to be abundant in the church are bound
up with God's ministers, who are to reveal the precious love of
Christ.
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 The
Stars of heaven
are under His control. He fills them with light. He guides and directs
their movements. If He did not do this, they would become fallen
stars.
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 So
with His ministers. They are but instruments in His
hands, and all the good they accomplish is done through His power.
Through them His light is to shine forth. The Saviour is to be their
efficiency.
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 If
they will look to Him as He looked to His Father, they will do His
work. As they make God their dependence, He
will give them His brightness to reflect to the
world. {LHU 318.3}Lift
Him Up
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He (God) cherishes carefully every act of love and
endurance performed by them. . . . Christ holds the stars in His right
hand, and it is His purpose to let His light shine forth through them
to the world. Thus He desires to prepare His people for higher service
in the church above. . . . (Review and Herald, May 26, 1903).
{LHU 318.5} Lift Him Up
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Let
us watch and pray that we have no surprises about the future.
We must watch for Jesus to come. Then He will not be as a thief.
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1. What does the raccoon eat?
2.
How many stars were in Gods right hand?
3.
How many candlesticks were there?
4.
Who has the only key to unlock the grave?e?
5.
What habit does the raccoon have before it eats?
6.
To those who are not ready what is Jesus coming like?
7. What must we do so He is not like a thief?
8.
What are the stars a symbol of?
9. What does it mean that Jesus walks among the candlesticks?
10. How do the working stars gleam?
11. What color was Jesus hair and robe?
12. What did His eyes look like?
13.
What did His feet look like?
14. What came out of His mouth?
15.
What is the two edged sword?
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 |
When the law of God is finally made void by legislation. Then the extremity of God's people is His opportunity to show who is the
governor of heaven
and earth. As a
Satanic power is stirring up the elements from beneath, God will
send light and power to His people, that the message of truth may be
proclaimed to all the world. {Mar
189.4}Maranatha
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The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him,
while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them, as
Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the earth. His voice is
soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones
he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the
Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and
then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed
the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he
has blessed.
He declares that those who
persist in keeping holy
the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to
his angels sent to them with light and truth. This is the strong,
almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were
deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the
greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying: This is "the
great power of God." Acts 8:10.
{GC 624.2}
But the people of God will not
be misled.
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| Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
His commandments stand forever. Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Read Exodus 20 for all the commandments. The 2nd and 4th have been changed by many. God does not look upon this with favor. Keep His commandments and receive HIS I John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. |
1. What is the sign that the end is right on us?
(What is happening in the law
making of our country?)
2. What Will Satan look like when he tries to look like
Jesus coming to earth? (State the Bible description in Revelation)
3. What BIG CLUE gives him away? 4. Does God ever change His mind about the law He made? |
In
different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a
majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the
Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15.