Would you receive this mark today?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
(Ezekiel 9:4 (ESV))

This was recorded by Ezekiel at a time in history when the majority of the people were defiling the temple, sacrificing their sons to foreign gods, blatantly misusing power and authority, sinning in whatever manner that they chose to, and ignoring the Lord and His Laws and commands. Does any of this sound familiar when you look at the state of the world today? Ezekiel recorded what God told the six men in the vision to do. God was looking for those left in Jerusalem who hated the abominations that were occurring. The one of the six men in the vision was to go throughout Jerusalem and mark these individuals before the judgments were to be fulfilled on those who did not receive this mark.

We like to think that if we had lived during times like this, that we would have said something, that we would have done something.

I want to let you in on a little secret!

We are living in times like this. False teachings have defiled the church. Our society willingly sacrifices children to the god of convenience. Everywhere that you look, people are misusing power and authority. People are not only unwilling to remove sin from their lives, they are embracing it as a life choice. To take this to the next level, people are not only ignoring God, they are blatantly in His face with their rebellion and sin. The saddest thing that I see is that all of this is done openly and with no remorse!

Does any of this make you sigh and groan?

Are there some things that you are willing to accept because that is the way society is today, or do you despise all of the abominations that are occurring throughout the world? If these things don’t bother you, you need to check the status of your salvation. If good being called evil and evil being called good is acceptable to you, then you are not following Jesus and you are not worshiping the God of the Bible. You are worshiping something of your own creation who does not have the power to save.

If God called a prophet to tell the world the same things that Ezekiel told Jerusalem, what would be the end result for you? Would you be part of the problem or would you be part of those who wish for God’s righteousness to prevail?

Would you receive this mark today?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What do your groanings mean?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
      when the wicked rule, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2 (NIV))

I am going to ask a question that many people will say has an obvious answer, but just to make sure, here goes.

What are you hearing from the people, from the world today?

I honestly believe that the only people you hear rejoicing are the ones at the very heart of all of this mess. There is a big push by the global elite to do things that are fulfilling things foretold of long ago in God’s Word. Whether you believe that the new world order is planning a great reset or you believe that Planet X is making people crazy, one thing is certain – there is something big going on in this world. I want to let you in on a little secret that should put your mind at ease if you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. God is still in complete control! None of this has caught Him by surprise. We are the ones who are surprised.

Why?

Do we not spend enough time in His Word? Do we not know His Word well enough to know what He is allowing to happen as it happens right in front of us? Are we groaning because we are saddened by the state of the world as it has so rapidly changed? Are we groaning because we long for the way things used to be?

Personally, I like to believe that the groaning that we are hearing is from the Body of Christ as we pray through the Holy Spirit to express our desires for His righteousness and His plan as it unfolds.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
(Romans 8:26 (NIV))

This may sound strange, but I believe that those who profess a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior can groan in the Spirit, yet still be able to rejoice, for we know that Jesus will return sooner than any of us would have even considered ten years ago. We groan because we long for the evil to end and His righteousness to be established, and we rejoice because we know that it will come.

We don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but we do know who holds tomorrow. All that I know is that I pray to be able to be as faithful as those whom were fed to the lions in the Colosseum. It is written that they sang with eyes lifted toward heaven!

Are you prepared? Do you stand firm in your faith?

What do your groanings mean?

Copyright 1998 – 2022 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you hearing groans?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2 (NIV))

Sadly, people have been groaning ever since the fall from grace!

There are many times throughout history where the wicked have ruled. It is not difficult to identify many of these. Each continent has had their share of wicked rulers. Some are currently groaning under the weight of oppression. If you stop to honestly think about it, God’s Word has many examples of wicked kingdoms from the past. We are even given a very detailed picture of many of them from the stories of the Tower of Babel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lion’s den, the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and all of Israel, and the crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Romans.

We are also told of a time when wickedness will rule the whole world. When good is called evil and evil is called good. The whole world will be groaning in anguish during this seven year period of tribulation. With what is going on in the whole world at this moment and what is currently happening in this country, many people are in anguish. They are groaning because of what they see currently and what they see as the next logical step as it leads down a path from which many feel there is no return to what we now long for as normal.

Privacy is going.

You have to think a certain way. Anything different is vilified.

Sin is embraced and righteousness is ridiculed.

There is talk in many countries and regions in this world of having to have a vaccine passport in order to take part in society. Some places are even going so far as to hint at requiring this to even go to work, or to buy and sell basic commodities such as food. This is rapidly looking like it could evolve into what the Body of Christ refers to as the mark of the beast.

It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
(Revelation 13:16-17 (NIV))

There is a time rapidly approaching when the father of lies will have his way with the whole world. Does this make you groan? I know that this is all part of God’s plan, but it still makes me groan deep in my spirit. I ache for those who have not come to a saving knowledge given to all through the atoning blood of Jesus. I can only imagine that if this makes my spirit groan, what is it doing to God?

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))

If you are hearing groans or are groaning yourself, imagine what this is doing to the very heart of God!

Are you hearing groans?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Let’s continue to turn to God in righteousness!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2 (NIV))

Ouch !!!

Have we been rejoicing or groaning?

Think about the implications of that simple question.

Have we lost track of the principles upon which we were founded? Have we grown so accustom to looking out for only ourselves, that we forget that what we do has an affect on others? Have we allowed wickedness to replace righteousness? Do we look upon sin as something that is wrong, or do we look upon sin as an alternative lifestyle? Do we see those around us as individuals whom God created, or do we simply see someone who is an obstacle in our way?

I could go on and on with these types of questions, but I hope you understand my point.

Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
  who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
  who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
    and clever in their own sight.
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
    and champions at mixing drinks,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
    but deny justice to the innocent.
(Isaiah 5:20-23 (NIV))

Does any of this sound familiar? It does to me.

Fortunately, God allows us to turn away from our sin and return to Him.

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV))

The heavens may not be shut so that there is no rain, but I think I see the telltale signs of a different type of locust. This locust devours just like the type referred to in this passage, and just like we are told, if we will humbly turn to God in prayer, and turn toward Him, He will heal our land.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of groaning. Join me in prayer! Let’s continue to turn to God in righteousness!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you find yourself groaning in your weakness?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
(Romans 8:26 (NIV))

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation and not know just how to say what you want to say? Perhaps you didn’t even know what to say, you just knew that you had a very strong opinion on the subject.

What do you find yourself doing in situations like this?

Do you through up your hands in frustration and let out an audible sigh? Do the people around you understand what you are attempting to express?

That is definitely a weakness of the human condition. We are often found without adequate words to express exactly what we want to express. When we simply can’t say what we want to say, we groan or sigh out of frustration. It’s too bad that we can’t be understood when we simply cannot verbalize what we feel.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was someone who could understand the groanings that we make when we can’t find the words to express ourselves?

I want you to consider something with respect to your relationship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
(Psalms 139:13 (NIV))

You are known intimately by the Lord. He understands you like no other. He understands the groanings of our spirit. He understands these groanings to be exactly what they are, for they are our desire to communicate concepts, emotions and desires that no earthly language is capable of communicating. We fail to be able to express our inner desires because we are a weak, sinful creation, but we still have the inherited memory of and a desire for a deeper communication with the Lord. Out of this weakness, our prayers are lifted up as groanings of the spirit.

Do you find yourself groaning in your weakness?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do we have a right to be angry at the world?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, 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! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
(John 2:15-16 (NIV))

Do you ever get mad at those who ridicule and mock God?

I can hear the wheels turning inside the heads of many people right about now. It is believed that if you follow Jesus that you are not supposed to get mad. It is believed that you are supposed to just let people run over you and your faith because that is what Jesus would do. After reading the passage above, do I need to remind you what Jesus would actually do?

As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
(Galatians 5:12 (NIV))

Did you ever read this passage that was written by Paul? He got mad at people twisting God’s word, too. He never went so far as to do what Jesus did, but he did get extremely mad. He got so angry that he wished that those people would emasculate themselves.

If Jesus, who is God’s only begotten Son, and Paul, who spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, could both get mad at those who abused God’s temple and His Word, why do we sit back and take what society sends our way? I am not saying that we should be violent, but what I am saying is that the events of this world should make us extremely angry. If they don’t make us angry, what does that actually say about our faith? Do we lack the faith to stand up to the world for what we know to be true? Do we simply look at the events of this world and say to ourselves that Jesus must be coming for us at any moment, so why do we bother? Have we been so conditioned by the world that we believe that we can’t do anything about it?

I will say this. The things that I see in this world do make me angry. They make my spirit groan. At what point do we, as the Body of Christ, fall to our knees in earnest prayer because the things of this world make us extremely angry?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you experiencing the groaning?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
(Romans 8:22 (NIV))

Am I the only one who groans in anguish over the things I see in the world?

I know that I can turn off the sarcasm of a rhetorical question. I know many people are feeling the very same things that I am feeling. It is so hard to not have your spirit groan in compassion for the groanings of what God has created. Even though I know how things turn out as God will unfold His plan, I still can’t help but groan out of sadness for those who are so blinded by the lies of the enemy that they refuse to see what is happening.

The whole world is upside down.

Good is called evil and evil is called good. I honestly can’t remember a day where something evil and demented has not happened somewhere in the world.

Jesus, we need you. The world is falling apart and You are the only way to stop the insanity. My heart is heavy for I know that things will get much worse before you do return. I take no pleasure in knowing that there will be those who reject you. I take no pleasure in knowing that many will vehemently deny you. It is my prayer that somehow their hearts will be softened and they will turn to you. I am at a loss for what to pray for. I long to see you return, yet I don’t want to see any perish. Is this how You feel when you see Your creation?

Lord, give me a heart that loves like Yours!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Do you preserve Godly knowledge?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction–because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the LORD Almighty.
(Malachi 2:7-8 (NIV))

This makes my heart hurt and my spirit groan!

I realize that this is Old Testament, but it brings something to light that has always been a problem. That problem is that some people who claim to be priests, preachers or teachers are not preaching and teaching the truth. As a result, many people have been led astray.

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
(James 3:1 (NIV))

What is it about human nature that makes us think that we can change God’s Word and have it mean what we want it to mean? Why do some people think that the Bible is no longer relevant in this day and time? Truth is truth no matter when and where it is spoken. Sadly, too many people no longer speak the truth. They preach and teach what man wants to hear and not what God wants us to hear. Too many people preach a feel good theology that cannot save.

What did Jesus preach and teach when He walked among us?

Did He preach social justice? Did He preach good works? Did He preach legalism? Did He preach prosperity?

Jesus did not preach any of these things, so why do so many stray from the true message of the Gospel? He preached the good news of salvation through repentance of sins. He preached that He is the only way to the Father. He taught us that there would be false teachers. His disciples taught that there would be false teachers.

It saddens me to the point where my spirit groans to think that someone could take such a fantastic gift of grace and distort it so that people are caused to stumble. It is a sad reflection on society when so many of those who are supposed to preserve Godly knowledge are the very ones who are perverting it.

We, as the Body of Christ, must study and understand God’s Word. We must hold each other accountable. It is often said that the members of the Body of Christ are to be priests to one another. What does that say to you with respect to preserving Godly knowledge?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Is anyone else tired of groaning?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
(Proverbs 29:2 (NIV))

I don’t know about your thoughts on the current state of the world, but I feel that there is far more groaning going on than I have ever seen in my lifetime!

What does that say about those who are in authority over the people all over the world?

What does that say about the current desires of the people all over the world?

I honestly believe that the current state of the Presidential race in this country is a direct result of far too many people groaning. Whether the groaning is leading us in a direction that God wants us to follow is yet to be seen. All that I can do is pray for God’s wisdom and guidance. I can pray for repentance. I can pray for humility.

To simplify this, I can pray!

We can all pray!

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV))

It is said that when you don’t know what to pray, your spirit will groan in agony and that this is your spirit calling out to God when you don’t know what to pray or how to pray. If that is the case, then I find it interesting that when people are ruled by wickedness, something inside each spirit utters such a heartfelt cry to God that it is the purest of prayers that we could ever lift up to God.

I am in no means trying to be political. What I am trying to be is godly in my thoughts, actions and prayers. Sadly, for a long time, my spirit has been groaning. We need to humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face and repent!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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