Are you prepared for what is coming?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.
(Ezekiel 39:8 (NIV))

Does it scare you?

I realize that your answer to this question relies on an understanding of what this passage is referring to as “it.”

To put is simply, it is the point in history when the Lord decides that enough is enough. It is the point in history when evil is running so rampant that all nations have turned against Israel. It is the point in history when Gog and Magog have attacked Israel and God supernaturally defeats those who would destroy Israel and Jerusalem. Many people believe that this event will happen first and then the seven years of tribulation spoken of in Revelation will soon follow. This time period is often referred to as the End of the Age and the Day of the Lord.

Does it scare you now?

God’s timeline is unfolding right before our eyes. Every day we see things happening that can be interpreted as signs of the times. We see nation rising against nation. We see wars and rumors of wars. We see every nation turning against Israel. We see the nations aligning themselves in the exact alliances that are prophesied in God’s Word. With all that is happening, most people are oblivious to the events unfolding. They are more concerned with returning to a normal life after COVID-19 while they completely miss what God is placing right in front of them. Nothing in God’s Word promises a life of “normal” in this sinful, fallen world.

Are we paying attention?

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
(Matthew 24:6-8 (NIV))

I want to ask some very direct questions and I want you to honestly take a look at your life and give yourself honest answers.

Do you believe that the Bible is God’s Word.

If you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, do you read and study prophecy for the Bible is more than life lessons from the past?

Do you believe that it is a forewarning of what the Lord is doing now?

Do you know God’s Word well enough to know the difference between His truth and the lies of the enemy?

Have you bought into the lie that says that prophecy is for some generation far in the future?

Have you decided that you don’t need to worry about the Day of the Lord?

What if you are wrong? What if you wake up tomorrow and find that it has begun? Now is the time to get ready. Now is the time to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior!

Are you prepared for what is coming?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you following God’s will?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV))

If you profess a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that it is your heart’s desire to be in God’s Will for your life. If you are like me, you desire to be in God’s Will in all aspects of your life, but it isn’t always easy. We are still humans and are bound by much more than we care to admit. Even though we profess a faith in Jesus, we still cling to our sinful nature even when we want to leave it all behind. The Lord knows that we have trouble with ten things that we are asked to obey. Perhaps this is why we are given three simple things to do.

Rejoice always!

We are to be thankful for the grace that has been freely given to us. We must remember that no matter what our circumstances, God’s grace is still there for us. We must rejoice when things are going well and we must rejoice when things are not going so well, for our circumstances are temporary. Grace is eternal. For this reason, we must rejoice in all things!

Pray continually!

Prayer in communication with God. We must learn to seek Him and hear Him in all things. When we are sad. When we are mad. When we are happy. When we feel all alone and scared. God is there to guide us and to comfort us. This only happens when we are truly in a relationship with the Lord and not just an “I need something, God” type of attitude.

Give thanks in all circumstances!

Are you able to be thankful for hardship? Most people only give thanks when something truly good happens in their lives. I want to propose that there is a reason that this is the last of the three things that we are called to do. If we learn how to rejoice always and then learn how to pray continually, giving thanks will come easier. We will have already cultivated the proper attitude. We will have already learned to rejoice in all things. We will have learned to pray in all things. The next logical step is to give thanks in all things. It makes sense to me that this is the last thing that truly proves that you love the Lord.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28 (NIV))

Are you following God’s will?

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does this passage scare you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
(Ephesians 5:5 (NIV))

Did you catch yourself reading this and doing a quick, personal inventory to make sure that you didn’t fall into one or more of these categories?

Did you answer honestly? Did you like your self evaluation?

It is human nature to think that things are either better or worse than they truly are. Did you read this passage and brush it off with the thought that you have it made? Perhaps you read this passage and each word that you read had you squirming because you think you haven’t done well enough! In all honesty, if you profess a faith in Jesus and strive to be an obedient disciple, then you probably had some fleeting thoughts that you have disappointed Jesus in some manner! If you are like everyone else who professes a faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then it is safe to say that not a single day goes by where you don’t do something less than perfect.

Fortunately, our perfection is not what is required, especially when you consider what we are capable of!

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))

It is not our perfection. It is not our righteousness that gives us grace. It is a gift and all that we have to do is accept it!

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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
(John 3:16-18 (NIV))

If you have truly accepted this gift and have made Jesus your personal Lord and Savior, then you have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. You have been redeemed. You are being transformed and matured into the image of Christ. No matter what you may have been, you are a new creation in Christ. You may have been immoral, but you are being changed. You may have been impure, but you are being changed. You may have been greedy, but you are being changed. No matter what you may have been, grace has been given and you are being changed!

If you truly have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then all of your sins have been forgiven. Don’t let the enemy tell you otherwise. Don’t let the enemy scare you with the thought that you aren’t redeemed.

Does this passage scare you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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