What are you ensnared by?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.
(Deuteronomy 7:25 (NIV))

There are many things in this world that vie for our attention. If we are not careful, some of them may actually cause us to do something that we know that we shouldn’t do. This passage speaks of images of their gods. If you stop to think about it, and are honest with yourself, anything can become a god to someone. Anything can ensnare us and cause us to falter. In today’s society, we don’t speak of god’s, we speak of obsessions.

Human nature finds it easy to become obsessed with things. Basically, anything that is so important to us that we fixate on it is an obsession. Anything that we make a priority can easily overstep the fine line and become something that we fixate on. When this passage was written, it was easy to fixate on silver and gold. It was the benchmark for wealth. Today, wealth is measured in dollars, but no matter how it is measured, wealth is definitely one type of god that someone can worship. There are many more.

Power!

Fame!

Lust!

Drugs and alcohol!

These things and many more can easily become a means for the enemy to ensnare us. It starts off with a subtle temptation and then it grows into a full blown obsession. Once we become obsessed with anything other than Jesus, we have become ensnared by the enemy.

What are you obsessed with?

What are you ensnared by?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Where does your help come from?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
(Psalms 121:1-2 (NIV))

Too many people seek help from sources that can at best only provide a brief respite from the troubles that this life sends our way. They look to money to solve all of their problems. They look to drugs and alcohol to make the problems go away. They look to fame to draw attention away from their problems and onto their abilities. All of these forms of help are actually no help at all. Even in the midst of these attempts, the very thing that people turn to for help causes even more desperation and grief.

What do you turn to for help? Perhaps I should ask it in this manner. Who do you turn to for help?

Human nature is a fickle thing. We seek validation in what we do. We seek someone or something that will tell us what we do is ok. We are seeking to fill a void in our lives with something, with anything. Only God can fill that void. Only God can give us help that truly works. He gave us the ultimate help through the atoning blood of His Son, Jesus. Through Jesus, God helped us by providing a way for our sins to be forgiven. Through Jesus, God helped us by providing a way to be righteous in His eyes. Through Jesus, God provided a way for us to spend eternity in His presence.

It seems such a shame that more people don’t turn to the true source of help. There is so much to gain when we lift our eyes to the hills and seek God.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Who holds your future?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.
(Luke 21:12-19 (NIV))

It doesn’t seem like we are too far away from the time that Jesus is speaking of when He says that all men will hate us because of Him. Think about that for a moment.

How many Christmas Nativity scenes have had to be altered because someone filed a lawsuit? How many court cases have there been because a student or group of students decided to pray in school? How many times have people attempted to remove God and Jesus from the history of this nation? How many times have other religions been tolerated while the name of Jesus is forbidden to be spoken?

Do you see a developing trend? Things have drastically changed since prayer was removed from the schools. Violence has increased. Divorce has increased. Drugs have increased. We have become a society that wants nothing to remind us that what we have become is wrong. The further we turn from God, the further we want to go and the more that we need to return to the One who created us.

People who profess a faith in Jesus are being persecuted and put to death all over the world. Our nation has come to the point where we no longer value the Judeo-Christian ethic. We are rapidly moving toward the time when we go beyond the court cases to remove the words “In God We Trust” from our money to the time when just the mention of Jesus will have people wanting to harm us. We must be prepared. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future.

Who holds your future? Where does your future lead?

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