Are you prepared?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

The days of punishment are coming,
      the days of reckoning are at hand.
      Let Israel know this.
Because your sins are so many
      and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,
      the inspired person a maniac.
(Hosea 9:7 (NIV))

These words were written to and about Israel long ago, but do you see anything in them that is true today?

Let me rephrase that general question into a few distinct questions.

When you look at the things that are going on in this country and in the world, are you overcome with the vast number of ways that humanity has found to sin against God? We take innocent life and call it choice. We take all the things that God has called a sin and an abomination and call it good. Anyone who points out that the world is going against God is ridiculed, chastised and labeled an old-fashioned fool. Anyone who speaks about Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and the only way to get to the Father is labeled a bigot and a lunatic. Do I need to go any further? Do you see these things happening more frequently or are you looking at the world through blinded eyes?

If Israel was warned of days of punishment coming for doing these things, where does that leave today’s society and world?

You may call me a fool and a maniac, but I need to ask more questions. I will say that many people are thinking about the world in its current state, for I am seeing many people who are posting Bible verses, ideas on how to love our neighbors, and even very strongly worded instructions to pray for God to protect His people. With this in mind, I want you to seriously think about your answers to the questions that are probably already lingering in your thoughts and hopefully your prayers.

Are you following God’s Word and have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Does it break your heart to see the things that go against God’s Word?

Is it possible that everything is coming to pass just as God has foretold?

Is it possible that we are too blinded by the world to truly recognize what is in front of our eyes?

Would you recognize unfolding events as part of God’s plan?

Do you believe that God will punish His creation for their sinful nature?

Do you believe that the world is becoming more engrossed in sin?

Sadly, most of us go about our daily lives with no thought about what is going on around us. We need to open our eyes. We need to be aware of the times and our surroundings. We need to wrap ourselves in God’s Word. We need to wrap ourselves in God’s love by accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We need to embrace the truth that God has a timeline and it is drawing close to His fulfillment of that timeline. We must be prepared to be called a fool for Jesus and a maniac for God.

Are you prepared?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There is definitely power in the Word!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(John 1:1 (NIV))

Have you ever heard that there is power in the spoken word?

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword?

If you stop to think about these two statements and what they convey, then it makes perfect sense if you fix the foundation for both of these firmly in the Word of God. Can you think of any other word that has the power that is contained within the Word of God? It can bring the earth, moon and the stars into existence. It can bring beauty out of a formless void. It can bring life with the mere mention of life existing!

I realize that we are far from being able to do what God can do with words, but we seem to be able to do a great deal of wrong with our words. Think about that for a moment. Humanity turned over dominion of the earth to the greatest liar of all time. We turned it over to the father of all lies.

We, as a fallen creation, are torn. We are divided. We are made in the image of God, and inherently, that means that we have the power to speak good into the world. We have fallen as a result of believing the lies of the enemy, and as a result, we have learned to lie. Our words can be used to lift up or they can be used to tear down. Even on our best days, we are not capable of firmly following good no matter how hard we may try. It is just not possible for a sinful creation to be perfect.

It is said that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. It’s wag can be extremely hurtful if we don’t control it. If we watch what we say and exercise it sparingly, the tongue can have the opposite effect. We must remember that we have the power to speak into existence either love or hate, wisdom or foolishness, peace or hostility. If we base all of our words on the Word of God, then the outcome is much better for everyone.

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