Are you prepared?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
(Luke 21:25-28 (NIV))

Are we beginning to see these things come to pass?

I saw something on TV that stated there have been more cosmic events in the last few years than have ever been recorded. These events, according to this show, have all sorts of repercussions including a hotter sun, higher temperatures, and warmer oceans. All of these lead to events like the ones that we saw that left New Orleans in a disastrous state. This show also made it a point to say that the tsunami in southeast Asia may have been influenced by these cosmic events.

Are these the beginning of the signs in the sun, moon and stars. I do know that nations are starting to feel the anguish and perplexity at the roaring and the tossing of the sea.

I do not begin to know God’s prophetic timeline, but I do believe that what we are seeing is no accident or no coincidence. We must look not at what the creation is experiencing, but we must continue to look at the Creator, for it is through Him that our salvation comes.

We must turn to Jesus and place our faith in Him. We must look for His return and be like the wise virgins who were prepared for the bridegroom’s return.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
(Matthew 25:1-5 (NIV))

Are you prepared?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing to be a watchman?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
(Ezekiel 3:16-19 (NIV))

When God spoke to Ezekiel and told him to warn Israel of their wrongdoing, God made it clear that if He sends someone to deliver His Word, that person carries the weight of those people as his responsibility. That is also true for today.

When God sent Ezekiel, Ezekiel did not have the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to deliver. He had the teachings of the Law to deliver. God sent Ezekiel to deliver prophetic words that would greatly impact their lives.

Today, we have words that will impact lives even more than in Ezekiel’s time. We can speak in general terms, not as prophets, but as people empowered by the Holy Spirit to warn people of their impending danger if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Where we differ from Ezekiel is that we have a direct route to God that we can offer to anyone who is willing to receive it.

If God places us in situations that He desires for us to warn and to witness, we need to respond. If we do, then the decision and the consequences are the responsibility of the person we witnessed to. If we do not tell them, then the responsibility is ours to bear.

If we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we need to heed what God asks of us to do. It has a far greater impact than we realize.

Are you willing to be a watchman?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are we living our lives expecting to see Jesus?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV))

Many prophetic signs are lining up for this year, and some are saying that they all converge on this weekend. I am not date setting, for it is not my place to say when things happen, but I have a question for you.

What if something in God’s timeline does happen this weekend?

Everybody who professes a faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior longs for Him to return for His church. If we long for this to happen, then why do so many people claim that it couldn’t be this weekend? It will happen at some point. God could make it happen whenever He wants, so why couldn’t it be this weekend.

We need to live as if it were!

If you knew that Jesus was returning for His church this weekend, how would you react? Would you still do the things that you know are sinful? Would you still live your life as if you had all the time in the world to repent? Would you scoff at the possibility and claim that it has been two thousand years so why would He come now?

I want to ask you some very serious questions.

What if Jesus did return this weekend for His church? Would you be ready? Would He call you to go with Him, or would you be left behind. One day time will run out. It could be this very minute. It could be this weekend. It could be next week or next month. The question that we all have to ask ourselves is whether we will be blessed by grace and love or whether we will be left behind.

Are we living our lives expecting to see Jesus?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Who do you see when you look up?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
(Matthew 17:1-8 (NIV))

When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus!

Think about that statement.

Peter, James and John were Jewish. The core of the Jewish faith hinges upon what God did through Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John were probably awe struck. The men whom God used to lay the foundations of what they had been taught all of their lives were standing supernaturally right in front of them. They wanted to commemorate this moment. They wanted to be able to have a place where they could relive this very moment.

Isn’t it interesting how these three men had spent several years with Jesus and this is the moment that probably made them truly aware of who He was and who He is. I love the symbolism of their faith traditions being overshadowed by Jesus. When they looked up, all that they saw was Jesus. Moses and Elijah were no where to be seen. Traditions can not save you.

Moses can’t offer salvation. Elijah can’t offer salvation. They brought God’s Law and His prophetic Word, but they can not bring salvation. That is available through only one source.

Jesus!

Moses and Elijah were only human. Jesus has a much higher authority as the Son of God. Only Jesus can save.

When you seek grace, mercy and salvation, whom do you see?

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