Pray for discernment as we face the future!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
(Revelation 13:16-17 (NIV))

Control . . . and on a global scale.

In order for this to happen, several things must occur.

First and foremost, something must happen that makes people willing to do whatever those in authority say needs to be done. Then, they will need to remove cash and coins and convince everyone that it is for their own safety, security and convenience that everything goes digital. They will need to isolate people and then convince them that in order to resume normal life, they must receive something that indicates that they are safe from whatever excuse they originally used to make them go into isolation. In essence, they remove the ability to buy or sell without being tracked. They implement a way to tell if you are able to be tracked, and then they force you to be tracked if you want to participate in this thing that we call life!

Does any of this sound familiar?

Satan is the father of lies. He is maneuvering to have humanity do exactly what is told of in Revelation.

Watch the things of this world closely, for many lies are being told and many are believing them as truth. History is being rewritten. God’s Word is being ridiculed. Israel is being accused of war crimes for defending themselves. There are people who are trying to make us do things in the guise of making people safer. Will these actually pave the way for great confrontation? Nothing can be taken at face value.

Deception is the key to what is currently unfolding. Stay firmly rooted in God’s Word. Study so that you may know what the events in the world actually mean. Test everything by God’s Word. Do not accept anything espoused by man as the truth. Only God’s Word is true.

Don’t fall into the traps that are being laid. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus.

Pray for discernment as we face the future!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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What will you have to say for yourself?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
(Romans 14:12 (NIV))

If you have ever written a resume or a bio, you have had to tell others about yourself. Perhaps you have found yourself in a conversation and you felt that you had to tell about your exploits. Perhaps you have had a work related situation that didn’t go as it should and you had to elevate yourself. In any of these situations, do you ever find yourself stretching the truth to make yourself sound better? Do you select words in such a way that they can be interpreted in your favor? It is human nature to “toot our own horn.” We have a tendency to embellish ourselves in such a way that we appear to be better than others at just about anything and everything.

Most of us don’t actually lie, but rather, we say things that drop hints without coming right out and saying something that isn’t true.

Is this lying? Is this aspect of human nature something that we just can’t overcome? In doing these things, we are actually judging others as not as important as we are. This even implies that we place ourselves above others in the eyes of God!

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.'”
(Romans 14:10-11 (NIV))

God sees the truth because He sees the heart. Our words can be used to deceive, but our heart tells the truth. We need to make sure our words reflect the fact that we have invited Jesus into our hearts. If our words and actions reflect this in our daily lives, then our accounting of ourselves to God will reflect that as well.

What will you have to say for yourself?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you strong in the Lord?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
(Ephesians 6:10 (NIV))

It is common to refer to something that someone is good at as being one of their strengths. If you were writing a resume, these would be listed at the top where they could be prominently displayed. We all have our own unique strengths. For some people, it is easy to see these strengths. For others, it is not so easy. In most instances, it is easier to see the strengths of others than it is to see our own strengths.

What about spiritual strengths?

Have you ever thought about your spiritual life as a strength?

Have you considered praise and worship a strength?

Have you considered spending time in God’s Word a strength?

Is prayer one of your strong points?

When you spend your life relying on the Lord, the world may see this as a weakness, but it is a strength!

Do you desire to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power? What does that question mean to you? Does it mean that your faith is strong and you fully rely on God’s promises no matter what the world may say? Does it mean that you have peace? Have you ever thought about the peace of God being one of your strengths?

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 (NIV))

Are you strong in the Lord?

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

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.
(Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV))

Do you ever boast and brag?

Be honest!

It is human nature to boast about things. Even when we don’t mean to, we have a tendency to boast and brag. If you have ever written a resume or gone on a job interview, you have probably boasted about your accomplishments.

Have you ever been around someone who bragged so much that they were difficult to put up with?

Let’s face it, there is a fine line between being truthful and being prideful. It is a fine line that is very easy to cross.

What happens if someone asks you about your job? Do you tell them that you are part of a team or do you lay out your responsibilities to make it sound like you are the central core to all of the functions that are performed at your office?

What happens when someone asks you about your children? Do you respond with what they are doing or do you go on an on about how they are the center of every activity that they are involved in?

We all boast, but is there anything in our lives that we can truly boast about? Did we create our job? Did we build our house? Did we design our car? Did we teach our children all that they know? We have had a hand in none of these things, yet we boast about them all of the time.

What do you do when you are confronted about your faith?

What do you do when you are confronted about knowing Jesus?

Personally, I find it very disturbing that people do not boast about knowing Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Creator of all things, God, the Father, has sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us from our sin. Jesus calls us by name. God calls us by name. The Creator knows my name and He has a plan to redeem me for a full relationship with Him.

If this isn’t something to brag about, I don’t know what is!

Our society has become too complacent, too jaded with God and with Jesus. We have gotten to the point where we simply take it for granted. We are not willing to share the good news. We are not willing to boast about our relationship with the Creator. We are not willing to boast that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sin! Instead, we boast about things that are trivial. We boast about the football team that we support. We boast about the fish that we caught. We boast about our new car. We boast about everything but that we know and understand our Lord.

Will your car save you? Will your job bring you eternal life? Will your favorite football team pay you when they win?

Boast about Jesus!

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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