Are you ready for Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
(Revelation 22:12 (NIV))

I don’t know if you have been keeping up with all of the things going on in the world. The Shemitah, the blood moons, the harbingers, the papal visit, the dreams and visions that are running rampant, the world financial crisis, ISIS, CERN and many other things all point to something happening. Things are reaching a boiling point very rapidly.

I realize that the Bible says that no man knows the hour or the day, but I want to ask you a simple question, If Jesus were to return for His true church this very day, would you be ready?

Let’s look at this with a few quick questions.

Are you fearful of what may happen in this world and in your life, or do you have peace in knowing that God is in control?

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV))

Are you timid? Are you fearful, or do you stand firm on the promises that are yes in Christ?

Do you love the world? Do you cling to your possessions and your position?

Here comes the big question. Are you afraid of death? Nobody in their right mind wants to die, but are you confident in knowing what will happen to you when the time comes?

No one knows what tomorrow may hold, but we can rest assured that we know who holds tomorrow.

Are you ready if tomorrow brings something that you don’t expect?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
(John 5:39-40 (NIV))

How well do you know God’s Word?

Do you know it well enough to not twist it to your own interpretations?

Do you pick and choose what you want to believe?

Are you hypocritical?

Have you come to the realization that God is not situational? In other words, the way that you act when around one group of people should be the same way that you act when around another group of people. The way that you expect others to act is also the way that you should act.

The time is coming when the Body of Christ will be persecuted. It may be closer than you think. Will you be able to stand firm in your faith? Will you be able to cling to the hope that we have through God’s Word as it was manifested through Jesus?

Can you stand firmly on the truth that we call the Bible even if and when it becomes illegal to possess God’s Word?

Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
(Proverbs 7:3 (NIV))

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV))

We, as the Body of Christ, must study God’s Word and live by what we study. There is a huge test that is coming from the world.

Are you ready?

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready for whatever may happen today?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
(Matthew 24:14 (NIV))

Have we, as the Body of Christ, been able to preach the gospel in the whole world? Is it close? Are there certain areas that have not yet been exposed to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

It is difficult to say exactly what has been accomplished and what still has to be accomplished.

I do know that every day we are getting closer to the moment when this will be true. Perhaps satellites and television will play a big role in the fulfillment of this scripture. Perhaps it will be solely through person to person contact. We do not know. The only thing that is certain is that God wants every nation, tribe and tongue to have the opportunity to know grace and mercy through the gift of His Son, Jesus.

I was watching something on television the other day that stated that many Muslims are accepting Jesus! The reason that this is happening is that they are claiming visions where Jesus appears to them. Could it be that Jesus is actually appearing to people who are persecuting His church today in the same way that Saul was persecuting the church? An appearance by Jesus would change even the hardest skeptic into a believer. Is Jesus taking a hands-on role in the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14? If He is, then could it be too far off from when the rest of Matthew 24:14 will come about?

Are you ready for whatever may happen today? Only by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior will you be saved from the fate of Satan in the end.

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV))

Are you ready?

If you know something is going to happen, you prepare for it. If you do not expect something to happen, you never prepare. It is human nature.

Now, as the Body of Christ, we should know beyond a doubt that what He has told us will come true. If we know that Jesus will return, we should be prepared for his return. We may not know the exact hour or day, but we know that He has promised that He will return.

If you have a loved one who has gone away for any length of time, you stand on the promise of that person returning when they say they will return. You prepare for that return. We place our faith and our trust in one who is sinful by nature. We place our faith and trust in a sinner to keep their promise. If we can trust in a sinner to keep their promise to return, how can we deny that He who was and is without sin will return as He promised? We prepare for the uncertain and ignore the certain!

With this perspective on Jesus’ return, are you ready? Will you find yourself bewildered and confused when everyone who is ready is taken? It is time to get ready by asking Jesus into your heart.

Are you ready?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
(Revelation 21:5 (NIV))

We are between the Creation and the re-creation that this passage speaks of. Exactly where we are is only known to God, but we are given some insight into which end of the timeline we are living in.

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ‘ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
(Matthew 24:4-8 (NIV))

With all of the events in the world at this time, we are seeing wars and rumors of wars. We are seeing conflicts that only a few short years ago would have been considered atrocities and would not have happened. Now we see innocent children brutally murdered all in the name of a “holy war.”

I do not venture to say that I have any insight into what is in God’s timeline. All I know is that each of us must be ready to be the witness for God that He calls us to be in these uncertain times.

Are you ready?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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