It seems that we are surrounded by fools!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.
(Proverbs 17:12 (NIV))

On the surface, this doesn’t make much sense from our limited worldly understanding. We think that the dangers from an angry bear far outweigh the dangers we would encounter when meeting a fool. We can potentially get away from the fool, but there is no way that any of us could outrun an angry bear. Our physical life would be greatly crippled or ended by encountering an angry bear. But, we have to stop and reflect on God’s definition of a fool.

The fool says in his heart,
     “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
     there is no one who does good.
(Psalm 14:1 (NIV))

If you encounter someone who says that there is no God and they intend to do harm, they can potentially do far greater damage than any of us could possibly imagine. They have no moral compass. They have no sense of right and wrong, good and evil. All that they think about is themselves and their folly. If you look back on history, you can probably pinpoint examples of such people as these simply by the shear evil that they have caused, by the shear volume of deaths that they are responsible for.

Sadly, historical figures do not appear to be the end of these types of people!

We are told what the world will be like at the end of the age. We are told that people will be lovers of self and that they will deny God. I don’t know about you, but this sounds pretty foolish to me. We are told that the wheat and the tares, good and evil, will grow together until the harvest. We are told that as believers in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we will face persecution. It is not too far of a stretch of the imagination to draw the conclusion that this persecution will come from fools bent on folly. As the world stands now, half of the world’s population seem to be fools who say that there is no God. We must stand firm in our faith even in the midst of troubles, even in the midst of fools.

Stand firm!

It seems that we are surrounded by fools!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do you use to light your way?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
(Psalms 119:105 (NIV))

Have you ever stumbled in the dark? I am sure that each and every one of us has experienced this. We even take measures to make sure that our path is well lit. We have exterior lights going from our car to the front door. We have little night lights that we plug in so that we can determine where the furniture is. For situations where we can’t guarantee that there will be available lighting, we even carry flashlights with us. Still, we all know what it feels like to stumble in the dark, to trip over something because we couldn’t see it, and to walk into the corner of the coffee table!

That is the physical. Sadly, too many of us don’t realize that we need spiritual light. We probably stumble more in the spiritual than we ever would in the physical. We recognize the dangers in the physical realm, but completely ignore the greater dangers in the spiritual realm. Without spiritual light, we walk in blindness. We never know the best path to take. We only know the results of our blindness when we falter. Even then, we simply keep on going in the darkness and in the blindness that it causes. We never know just how much damage we are doing to ourselves in the present and in the future until it is too late.

How would you like to be able to change that? How would you like to have a guide to light your path and to show you the way? How would you like to trust in the guidance that you receive? How would you like to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the light that you follow will never lead you astray?

There is only one source of spiritual light that promises all of this and more. There is only one light that is faithful. There is only one light that will never leave you. There is only one light that came into this world to bring the light. Jesus is that light.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12 (NIV))

What do you use to light your way?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you fulfilling your duties?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.
(Ezekiel 33:9 (NIV))

Do you consider yourself a watchman? Do you think that you are accountable for others?

If you are like most people, then your answer is probably a resounding no!

I want to ask you a few questions based on the following passages that hopefully will get you to change your mind.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV))

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(Mark 16:15-16 (NIV))

Now that I have established a baseline, time for the questions.

Do you believe that Jesus is God’s one and only Son? Have you accepted Him as your personal Lord and Savior?

Are you preaching the Gospel? Do you keep Jesus all to yourself or do you tell others about the grace and mercy that can be theirs if they believe? What happens to those whom you have not been willing to tell about Jesus? Are you thinking that someone else will step up and tell them? What happens if you are the last person whom they ever see? Are you willing to allow them to not be told about God’s love for them? Are you willing to accept the personal consequences of your inaction, not to mention the anguish of knowing that they are spending an eternity in hell because you didn’t want to be bothered?

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you are called to be a watchman. You are called to let people know of the dangers, the wages of sin. You are called to let people know that they can escape the wages of sin. You are called to tell them of the good news of Jesus Christ!

You are called to be a watchman. Are you fulfilling your duties?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you yoked by the burden of slavery to sin?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
(Galatians 5:1 (NIV))

If you are caught in a trap and will surely die, how do you react if someone rescues you?

Do you turn away from the trap and promise to never go back there again, or do you fight the one who rescues you and jump right back into the trap?

Human nature is a funny thing!

When the dangers are physical and immediate, we have a tendency to thank the one who rescues us. We have a tendency to embrace the rescue and turn away from the danger, but we seem to be blinded when the danger is not immediate. The danger may be just as real, but because it is not immediately life threatening, we think that we have time to address the issue before it takes its toll.

We also seem to be blinded when the danger is spiritual.

Many times it is a spiritual danger that temps us into the physical dangers. The enemy knows that if he can trick us into believing that the spiritual side of things are not important at the moment then he can subject us to the physical dangers. He knows all too well that the physical dangers can lead to death. He knows that if we have not accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then our physical death will also mean our spiritual death.

The enemy knows that sin leads to death!

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Romans 6:16 (NIV))

Are you yoked by the burden of slavery to sin?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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