Are you prepared to stand firm?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
(Matthew 24:9 (NIV))

I realize that this sounds harsh and extreme. We look to Jesus to save us from our sin, but do we really accept the fact that we will face persecution, that we will face troubles and death? Is this what you signed up for when you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Where else do we have to go?

Hopefully, you answer as Peter did.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
(John 6:68-69 (NIV))

The world is in a mess and getting worse every day. We cannot trust in man’s governments. We cannot trust in man’s wisdom. Anything in this world is corrupt and only produces more corruption. Anyone who professes a faith in Jesus is proclaiming that they do not trust anything of this world and that they only trust in Jesus. As a result of this proclamation of faith, the enemy is closing in. The world hates those who love Jesus.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
(John 16:33 (NIV))

I am sure that you have heard the saying that it is better to be judged by the world than to be judged by God. The world’s judgment is temporary. God’s judgment is eternal. No matter what the world may send our way, we are to stay focused on Jesus. We are to do what Paul strived to do.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:14 (NIV))

Is the world better than the prize that we long for? Is the trouble that we may face worth it if we can see Jesus face to face? Is the hatred and the scorn of the world counted as joy because we are holding fast to the hope that we have in Jesus? I realize that many people who profess a faith in Jesus believe that we will not see this persecution because we will be raptured before it begins. I once had a preacher who would say that we should pray for pre-tribulation rapture, but we should prepare for post. I don’t want to get into a theological debate about when, but I do want to ask one simple question based on that statement about being prepared. Is your faith strong enough to stand firm no matter what you may face? We are told that many will turn away because of this persecution.

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
(Matthew 24:10 (NIV))

Are you prepared to stand firm?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you comfortable in this world?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
(John 15:9 (NIV))

I want to get something straight. I want it to be known by anyone and everyone who sees me.

This world is not my home!

I may live in it, but I do not like the things of this world. My focus is on Jesus! I cling to the words from what Jesus prayed for His disciples while in the Garden of Gethsemane.

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
(John 17:14-18 (NIV))

In other words, we, as the Body of Christ, are to occupy until we are called home. We are to spread the Gospel. We are to pray. We are to be salt and light in this earth, but we are not to get comfortable here. We are called to not be content in a sinful, fallen world. We are called to not find our security in this sinful, fallen world. The only place that we, as the Body of Christ, should be comfortable is in the will of the Lord.

The world has many things that can be used to distract us. We must be on our guard against the distractions of the enemy and focus solely on Jesus. He is our true source of all comfort!

Are you comfortable in this world?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Are you ready to be hated?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Matthew 10:22 (NIV))

Following Jesus apparently has its drawbacks! The world looks at us with disdain. The enemy looks at us and sees our former sinful selves. We will be shunned and ridiculed by the world. We will be hated, despised, rejected and accused of being ignorant fools. We will be laughed at, mocked and possibly so much more, yet, we who have professed a faith in Jesus are ready to stand firm in our faith. We pray that we are prepared to face the battles that will come our way.

We must be prepared!

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.
(Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV))

I know that this sound like an impossible task, but we must remember who is for us if we profess a faith in Jesus.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

With these scriptural truths, I pray that we are fully prepared for what the world, for what the enemy may send our way. They can hate us all they want as long as we have a God who loves us for proclaiming that Jesus is Lord!

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))

We are given a choice. We can love the world and be despised by God or we can be hated by the world and loved by God?

Are you ready to be hated?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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I don’t ever want to be like this again!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
(Titus 3:3 (NIV))

Do you ever look back at your life before you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

No matter how “good” you may have been, it was a far cry from what we have been called to as followers of Jesus. In this current state of our faith, we are by no means mature and perfect. We still have human nature to contend with. We still have times when we fall and find ourselves having moments that remind us of this passage. No matter how close we try to follow Jesus, on our own we are still unclean.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
(Isaiah 64:6 (NIV))

Thankfully, we have been saved by grace. We have been saved from ourselves. We have been saved from our sinful nature by the only one who is perfect.

I know that I am far from perfect. I know that I have a long way to go. I know that I am being matured in the image of Christ. I also know that what I was is someone that I don’t ever want to be like again!

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
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Is it your goal to be accepted by men or accepted by God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
(Luke 6:22 (NIV))

Do you want to be blessed by man or by God?

If you are blessed by man, they will love you. They will embrace you and what you do because you lift them up, The things that you do bring glory to man. The things that you do are the things that they seek to be able to do. They idolize you.

God will still love you, but it is hard to be righteous when you are exalted and God is not. Just try to exalt God in the proper way and watch what the world does to you. Unfortunately, the world rejects God and elevates many members of society to a godlike status.

Think about that last statement.

Think about what the world did to Jesus!

Jesus was part of the Holy Trinity. He was God made flesh. All of the power and authority and the people rejected Him because He would not submit to the ways of the world. The world turned on Him. The world hated Him. The world crucified Him!

How can we expect the world of men to love us if we love Jesus after what they did to Jesus?

Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
(John 15:20-21 (NIV))

Is it your goal to be accepted by men or accepted by God?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing to be despised and hated?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
(Mark 13:13 (NIV))

We see this very thing coming true in today’s society. People who call upon the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior are despised, ridiculed and hated simply because they have the faith to believe the truth. They choose to look beyond what the world says is true and seek the truth for themselves.

Christians are considered to be uneducated, ignorant, and intolerable people who are a blight to the world. That is not true. Consider that many of the same scientists who, in the 1960s and 1970s were saying that God does not exist, are now believers themselves. They have proven, many times against their own desires, that the universe is too ordered to not have been part of a grand, master design. Christians are in every walk of life, and in just about every profession, except the illegal and immoral ones, I pray!

What is it about the name of Jesus that makes people hate someone so much? Jesus, Himself, stated that brother would turn against brother and children against their parents all over His name. However, the times that Mark is writing about have yet to come. As bad as the hatred is today, consider that during the Tribulation, hatred will be world-wide, and those who confess Jesus will probably be put to death. The battle lines are being drawn. What we face today is only the beginning of what is yet to come. The events in the news each day are troubling. Many of the things that we see are directed towards Christians or nations that have a Judeo-Christian heritage. Could this be part of what is spoken of in this scripture?

Choose sides prayerfully, and pray for strength in your decision. Pray that you may not waiver when you face adversity. Use the trials of today to test your faith and sharpen it for the coming days so that you may be saved.

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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