Pray for discernment as we face the future!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
(Revelation 13:16-17 (NIV))

Control . . . and on a global scale.

In order for this to happen, several things must occur.

First and foremost, something must happen that makes people willing to do whatever those in authority say needs to be done. Then, they will need to remove cash and coins and convince everyone that it is for their own safety, security and convenience that everything goes digital. They will need to isolate people and then convince them that in order to resume normal life, they must receive something that indicates that they are safe from whatever excuse they originally used to make them go into isolation. In essence, they remove the ability to buy or sell without being tracked. They implement a way to tell if you are able to be tracked, and then they force you to be tracked if you want to participate in this thing that we call life!

Does any of this sound familiar?

Satan is the father of lies. He is maneuvering to have humanity do exactly what is told of in Revelation.

Watch the things of this world closely, for many lies are being told and many are believing them as truth. History is being rewritten. God’s Word is being ridiculed. Israel is being accused of war crimes for defending themselves. There are people who are trying to make us do things in the guise of making people safer. Will these actually pave the way for great confrontation? Nothing can be taken at face value.

Deception is the key to what is currently unfolding. Stay firmly rooted in God’s Word. Study so that you may know what the events in the world actually mean. Test everything by God’s Word. Do not accept anything espoused by man as the truth. Only God’s Word is true.

Don’t fall into the traps that are being laid. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus.

Pray for discernment as we face the future!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you ask the Lord for boldness in the face of threats?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
(Acts 4:29 (NIV))

Most people hate confrontation and would rather avoid it at all costs. In fact, most people who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior have this false understanding that we are to avoid confrontation. Too many people believe that being a follower of Jesus means that you are to be passive in the face of threats.

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
(John 2:15-17 (NIV))

Does this sound like Jesus was passive?

Why does the world believe that those who follow Jesus are to be passive?

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
(John 14:12 (NIV))

It is true that Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, but that was in respect to personal attacks and showing love in return. We are to love the Lord!

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
(Matthew 22:36-38 (NIV))

When you love someone as strongly as we are told to love the Lord, then it is human nature to speak up when we see someone doing something wrong to them. For those who have families, would you sit idly by and watch a group of people do harmful things to your children? You would be bold and step in to defend them. And, no, I am not saying that we have to defend God. What I am saying is that we should be bold about pointing out that people are doing something contrary to what they should be doing. If that means that we speak the truth of the Gospel in the midst of threats and danger, then we need to ask the Lord for boldness.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV))

Do you ask the Lord for boldness in the face of threats?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Protection from the evil one

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
(John 17:15 (NIV))

Everyone who claims that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior clings to the hope that they will be taken to heaven. It is a promise that, if we maintain our faith, will come true. However, there is a fine line that many cross. Whenever they face troubles, they pray for that time to come quickly. They pray for Jesus to come and take them out of the world. Personally, I look forward to the day when I will be with Jesus in heaven. I also know that His timing is perfect and that I must remain strong and be patient. There are many times when I feel that I would rather be taken out of the world, but I know that it is not God’s timing. It is my desire to escape the attack of the evil one. I would rather flee than stand my ground.

Let’s face it. No one really likes confrontation. We want to avoid it if at all possible. The words that Jesus spoke in John 17:15 tell us that He does not want us to avoid confrontation. He does not want us to be removed from this world. He wants us to stay in the world and to stand up to the attacks of the enemy. He wants us to not only stand up to them, He wants us to be victorious. Jesus prays that God the Father will give us strength and that He will protect us so that the victories will come through Him and His strength. How is God glorified if He removes us from our attacks? God is glorified when we allow Him to be with us in all that we do.

If Jesus prayed for us not to be taken out of the world, why do we look for it when we are under attack? We must remember His prayer and join Him in His prayer for God to protect us. We can then be used to glorify God. There is an old saying that someone can be so heaven minded that they are no earthly good. How is God using you in the world? What battles has He won because of your willingness to go?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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