Do you have your full armor on?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV))

Like you, I was repulsed and saddened by the news of the events in Paris. This is just another in a long line of physical terrorist attacks. These attacks are only the surface!

There is a spiritual battle going on in the world and for the world.

Is the Body of Christ prepared to face the enemy directly? Will we stand our ground when we are faced with the evils of the enemy? Will we know that our faith is strong enough to endure whatever we may face?

God’s Word gives us the faith, the hope and the strength to face whatever may come our way. Rest assured, if you are immersing yourself in God’s Word and living according to what God is teaching us, then you will be attacked. It may not be anything like what happened in Paris, but Satan, through one of his various tools, will attack.

Stand firm. Be prepared as any good soldier is prepared. Know your responsibilities. Know the tricks of the enemy. Be able to discern when something is not one hundred percent truth according to God’s Word.

Know God’s Word.

Pray!

Seek God’s face.

Do you have your full armor on?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Be still and rest in the presence of God

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
(Mark 6:30-34 (NIV))

We are told many times to be still and rest in the presence of God. We need to spend quiet time with God so that He may pour out His teachings and His blessings upon us through the Holy Spirit. This cannot be done when we are busy all of the time.

Jesus had sent the disciples out to minister and to teach. When they got back, He knew that they had probably exhausted themselves in the works that they did and that they had probably been under attack from the enemy. Jesus knew that they needed to rest and to recharge themselves so they could continue.

Doing the work of God is not a race that must be finished quickly. It is an endurance race that requires rest and rejuvenation along the way.

Even when we plan to get the rest that we need, God may place people in our lives who need to have some of our time. Just as the crowd followed Jesus when He was taking the disciples to get some rest, sometimes, unexpected people come into our quiet time. This is not a bad thing if what they are seeking is also to learn and to be still with God. Solitude is not necessarily the prerequisite for being still before God.

You can be still and listen to God even in the middle of a large crowd. Jesus spoke many times to groups of different sizes. Do you suppose that the people in the large crowds listened to His voice as if He were speaking only to them? It is possible to hear God no matter where you are. All you have to do is be still.

When was the last time that you took the opportunity to be still and listen to God?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What are you worth to God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
(Luke 12:6-7 (NIV))

It is human nature to feel that we are worthless from time to time. Perhaps it is a direct attack from the enemy or perhaps it is just an inherited memory of the lie that brought about the fall from grace. Either way, we are all prone to fall into this trap of Satan’s from time to time.

That is exactly what the enemy wants to happen. He wants us to feel worthless and afraid. He wants us to forget that we are all bought by the atoning blood of Jesus. He wants us to forget that as believers in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have the power to defeat him at every turn. Satan uses this trick to make us look at our failings instead of looking at the power of the one who saved us.

Without Jesus, we are worthless, for we are all lost in our sin.

With Jesus, we are children of God and heirs to the promises that are fulfilled through Jesus.

Even in our sin, God does not see us as worthless.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8 (NIV))

If we were worthless, then why did God send Jesus to die for us? Why would someone pay such a great price for garbage?

What are you worth to God?

If we are of great worth to the Creator of all things, then why do we allow the enemy to tell us that we are worthless?

What is your worth?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
(John 16:24 (NIV))

Are you hesitant to ask God for something in the name of Jesus? What is your hesitation? Is it an uncertainty about what you want to ask? Is it the fear that what you are asking for is not something that God wants you to have? Is it a fear that you are being selfish by asking? Perhaps it is even the fear that He will give you what you are asking for!

Let’s face the truth about human nature. We always want what we don’t have, yet, at the same time, we are afraid to get what we ask for. We are comfortable in our current condition. We know how to handle our current situation. If we are given something new, we have to learn a new way of handling our life. We will have to come up with something new to ask for.

How much of this is an attack from the enemy, after all, Satan despises anything that God has created. He despises God for he longs to replace Him. These doubts and fears are nothing more than subtle attacks from the enemy so that we begin to doubt ourselves and God. We soon begin to replace our doubt with fear and then Satan has won.

We can overcome Satan.

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))

We must overcome the spirit of fear and embrace the power and love that God longs to give us. We have Jesus to intercede for us, “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand–with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:22 (NIV))

If we desire God’s Will, we can ask confidently.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
(1 John 5:14 (NIV))

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